[TheGreatOldOne]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this forum. An enthousiast music lover, I have the new Technics stereo and Piega speakers for my music enjoyment at home.
I'd like to also have a good, portable music setup. I use my smartphone (Samsung S10e with 1More Quad Driver iem) and get decent sound. But I'm wondering if I can go to a higher level. Cash to spend: around 1K euro/dollar (dap/dac with iem).

I'm listening to many genres, though mostly classical and (during my hikes) heavy metal.

I almost decided on the FiiO M11 with an Etymotic ER4-SR iem. But I am an avid walker (10km is a short walk for me), and I wonder if the M11 is portable enough: it looks like a large device. And I have to carry my smartphone and a dap.

I've read about dac's and I'm curious whether a S10e with a good dac and iem delivers the same result. That would be great - much more portable than a dedicated dap. One website says a dac only gives more power, the other says it gives much better sound.

I'm also interested if you know a smartphone which has such a great dac that a seperate dac is not necessary. My wife's smartphone is old, so she can have the S10e.

I'm curious about your experiences and if you can make recommendations!
Cheers, Martijn

 

[baskingshark]

Hi I have used the Tempotec (or Hidizs) Sonata HD which is a DAC (with lightning connector) for smartphone and it does generate better details, volume and soundstage. And it is pretty cheap at $30ish USD, which is worth a try.
There are definitely higher end and pricier DAP/DACs out there, but I personally would rather keep the cash for more expensive IEMs.

 

[TheGreatOldOne]

Thanks for the advice!

My wife's smartphone is old. As an alternative, if you know a smartphone which has such a great dac build-in that it equals a seperate dac (or dap), I could also give that a go.

 

[baskingshark]

Thanks for the advice!

My wife's smartphone is old. As an alternative, if you know a smartphone which has such a great dac build-in that it equals a seperate dac (or dap), I could also give that a go.

I heard most of the LGV20/30/40 series smartphones have a powerful DAC inside, almost equivalent or better than most current DACs. I don't own one though.
There's a forum in headfi that deals with good audiophile smartphones, maybe u can ask there.

 

[TheGreatOldOne]

Unfortunately, I don't have priviliges for that. Hopefully I will receive those soon, so I can post there.

 

[mattiav]

DAP will have the ability for ‘better’ output, but it also depends a bit on your source files. Lossless? Streaming? Large collection of high def? CD rips?

A small (Bluetooth) DAC+headphone amp will be cheap and cheerful and let you drive most IEMs pretty darn well. If you want more power, you either need a bigger (and often pricier) dedicated headphone amp/DAC or a DAP. Which will generally be lighter than a DAP by at least a bit.

There are a lot of dongles that I can’t comment of quality for. I decided to go with a DAP (iBasso DX220) so I had he option of also driving bigger headphones and leaving my phone to be a phone (though I could use it as a source as well). It is bigger and heavier than, say, an iFi xDSD or xCAN, with similar power (bit more) to the latter, but I did not want to have a less portable stack of devices with dangling bits attached to my phone - which is used for other stuff. For me, a separate device was the better choice due to less cables and connections, at the penalty of - bit of bulk and less than 200g weight.

 

[TheGreatOldOne]

Interesting perspective. I have a large collection of hi-res audio files (24-48 and upwards). In your experience, and using the Shure 535, do you notice a real difference when you listen to the iBasso (nice, btw) or your smartphone as a source? As in, it justifies the cost of buying the iBasso?

 

[mattiav]

Interesting perspective. I have a large collection of hi-res audio files (24-48 and upwards). In your experience, and using the Shure 535, do you notice a real difference when you listen to the iBasso (nice, btw) or your smartphone as a source? As in, it justifies the cost of buying the iBasso?

Yes. I can easily hear the improvement compared to my 6s Plus. Both the Shure and the CA Andromeda are pretty finicky about source, so the difference is obvious. But even the less sensitive Atlas improves with the iBasso. And this is all single ended since I don’t have a balanced cable. Most folks seem to feel that adds a little extra headroom/ oomph as well, although I’m mostly using the SE only Amp9 right now (new toy...)

It also justifies the cost for me because it also lets me use my open back headphones portably around the house, driven properly. It’s not a cheap upgrade though - but no buyers remorse here.

 

[baskingshark]

Unfortunately, I don't have priviliges for that. Hopefully I will receive those soon, so I can post there.

Hi this is the thread for audiophile smartphone queries. U can actually start posting there even with a new headfi account.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/best-smartphone-for-audiophile-part-ii-updated-mar-2019.853115/

 

[bzippy]

I didn't vote because I don't know your preferences, but I just wanted to point out the small USB DAC's at Hifimediy, which work great with phones. And his best ones have integral headphone drivers that should be enough power for IEMs. I have a handful of them scattered through my house and in the car. Very inexpensive and sturdy.

 

[TheGreatOldOne]

Thanks everyone. I will also post in the other thread to see the opinion of the others. For now, it looks like a dac will be worth trying out, while I can save for a very good dap

 

[bzippy]

Thanks everyone. I will also post in the other thread to see the opinion of the others. For now, it looks like a dac will be worth trying out, while I can save for a very good dap

Great. Good luck.

I'd like to add one thing: in my experience whenever the budget requires a decision to be made about which component should get the most money, putting the most possible into the speakers makes more difference than anywhere else in the chain. All the other components start to exhibit the effects of "diminishing returns" at a relatively much lower $$ level. IMHO. In other words, it's pretty hard to beat FiiO's bang for buck, especially for portable use (non-critical listening environments).

 

[tiaocunha]

I sometimes use my Dragonfly Cobalt with the S10+ its a great combo! but i dont think for walking would be a good choice.

 

[galaxysound25]

Very old thread, making it ive again

With DAP, it becomes very restrictive. Im not sure if the apps like USB audio payer pro can be used in DAP. It is a very nice app which can be used in any android phone. DAPs case is portability, so comparatively there are very few high end options in portable DACs ike gryphon, mojo2, hugo2, H7, Q7 etc. Finally it comes to one's own preference and DACs are definitely more features rich wrt to similar priced DAP...