[SciOC]

I think it's important to make sure one spends as much time as possible with an earphone and to try with multiple eartips and cables. Music genres are also important. Some phones will sound better with certain genres, not so great with others. I've mentioned this previously in other posts here, and on other threads, like on the KZ thread. I don't believe in "one size fits all, that there's an absolute perfect iem, bud, headphone; that does everything and all music best"). Every iem, bud, headphone, amp, dac, dap, etc...is tuned for certain type or a few types of music. But certainly not ALL. That's why I'd rather have several sets that I can whip out whenever I want to experience different genres. I'm a music lover, first and foremost. I'm into lots of different types, styles and genres. I DON'T just listen to the same 10 songs from a certain genre, over and over again. I like to switch it up...alot! I can start a listening session with some old jazz, and by the time I stop listening to music and go to bed, I'm listening to metal/hard rock/80's-90's dance. There's no such thing as a transducer that does it all. If you're into multiple types of music (like I am), you need to find sets that work for you...and that means multiple sets that are tuned best for certain genres. Case in point: the TFZ NO.3. I did NOT like this iem AT ALL for SQ, when I first obtained them in May this year. As recently as less than a month ago, I rated them LAST, of the four iems I currently own. Within the past 2-3 weeks, they have moved up the ladder, based on the type of music I've been listening to ( old school Reggae, dance, funk, r&b) off Spotify. After a cable and tip change, this set now sounds excellent with that type of music. Folks, ya gotta not make snap judgements on your gear. Take the time to play with it a bit, and it can be rewarding. At this point in this game, I will NEVER sink kilobucks into anything; whether it be an amp, dac, dap, iems, headphones, etc. Not when there's so much great gear coming in at $100 and below. The TRUE discoveries, are those that do 80+% of what the TOTL gear does...at 10% or less of the cost. DB3, NX7, BLON BL03, KZ ZSX, CCA C12, TRN V90...are all under $100 and all give a slightly different sound signature. But they are relatively affordable and your can own them all for about a quarter of the price of something like Andromeda.

The thing i REALLY like about chifi stuff as a hobbyist and not a reviewer is that you can demo different stuff for extremely cheap and have a lot of different types of sets. If you find something you really like, you can hop into a higher end TOTL model of that type that'll be much more expensive, and only a little better.

I live in Iowa, so I don't get... Any local chance to demo gear unless I order it and return it...

In the past I'd been doing it in reverse, basically just "guessing" on pairs I might like and ordering them (Andromeda and CL2 come to mind). For $130, I can easily consider the Shuoer tape as nothing more than a demo if I end up not liking it... The EE est models though? Hell no, that's too big of a risk having never heard them.

I wish I understood a little more about the designs to tell how similar they really are... But the gap definitely seems to be narrowing, especially with 3d printing and crossover tech being so widespread now. I consider my bqeyz bq3 to basically be a budget version of the EE Legend X. I understand that it does some of the things the EE Legend X does only in cheaper or less complicated ways, but I'm not asking it to be essentially perfect like the legend x needs to be at that price.... The thing cost me $50, and with EQ and MSEB I can get it within spitting distance of the LX to my ears, and that's pretty damn impressive.

 

[Dsnuts]

This is the whole idea of discovery there. Reason why I started this thread.

 

[Carlsan]

So I don't know if you guys are seeing all the new DAPs that will be out or are out soon. I am thinking of getting a new player. Love me a new source.
Shanling M6, Ibasso DX160, Sony ZX500, Fiio M11 pro. Hiby R5.

As of now I am leaning in no particular order Shanling M6, M11 pro or DX160. Will be interesting to see how these stack up against each other. I bet they all sound stellar for their respective prices. Exciting times.

Yeah, some good DAPS coming out. I'm kind of interested in the M11Pro myself, shame they limited it to only one card slot, as the original M11 has two. On paper, with it's internals and stats, it looks like it will rock.
The DX160 isn't as good as the DX220, according to a trusted reviewer friend of mine, but still good. I have the iBasso DX220 and DX200 (to lazy to sell) and love both.
But yeah, exciting times, gone are the days when one had to spend over a grand to get a great DAP.

 

[SciOC]

This is the whole idea of discovery there. Reason why I started this thread.

I love it. Kudos. I can see why so many on here want to get more involved in whatever way and make it part of their "side hustle", as they're calling it now.

I'm sort of thinking of ways I could get more involved in the industry but keep my day job and family life in tact. It seems like sort of a brutal industry in some ways, so I get the feeling I like being a hobbyist who works in a totally different field versus an industry professional or entrepreneur of some sort.

I'm passionate about this stuff, which I can't really say for my actual career, and I worry about at what point does my passion go away and it's just work if I were to get more into the industry somehow.

 

[Jupiterknight]

Yeah, some good DAPS coming out. I'm kind of interested in the M11Pro myself, shame they limited it to only one card slot, as the original M11 has two. On paper, with it's internals and stats, it looks like it will rock.
The DX160 isn't as good as the DX220, according to a trusted reviewer friend of mine, but still good. I have the iBasso DX220 and DX200 (to lazy to sell) and love both.
But yeah, exciting times, gone are the days when one had to spend over a grand to get a great DAP.

Damn.. and I stayed for a decade with my Sansa Clip and iPod Classic 5th gen and I missed out on all those +$1000 DAP.. What a failure I was..but the future will save me

 

[DynamicEars]

So I don't know if you guys are seeing all the new DAPs that will be out or are out soon. I am thinking of getting a new player. Love me a new source.
Shanling M6, Ibasso DX160, Sony ZX500, Fiio M11 pro. Hiby R5.

As of now I am leaning in no particular order Shanling M6, M11 pro or DX160. Will be interesting to see how these stack up against each other. I bet they all sound stellar for their respective prices. Exciting times.

I also considering to get Shanling M6 / ibasso DX160 or Hiby R5. Which 1 is the best?

 

[Luis1316]

I also considering to get Shanling M6 / ibasso DX160 or Hiby R5. Which 1 is the best?

https://www.bilibili.com/video/av69445482
You have this "super comparison" if you know chinese. Basically it ended up like a Shanling M6 vs Ibasso DX160, because he didn't like the sound of the M11, calling it "not special" compared to both of them. In a nutshell, his conclusions are: get M6 if you want extra navigation smoothness or get DX160 for the best sound performance and screen, but they're actually not that far from each other than you think.
Me personally, i have chosen the DX160 because i'm only going to use it for music and not other stuff that i can do with my phone. Using my Audiosense T800 and comparing the DAP with my NX4 DSD (both on High Gain), on the DX160 I feel that the sound stage has been widened and that the highs harssness of some pieces has been tamed down (smoothened i would say?). Maybe that's because of the super low noise floor? i'm not sure, don't really understand about the numbers on the DAPs. I don't really know why but the high sensitivity of the T800 don't hiss at all at high gain on 3.5mm on the DX160, i will try it with a 4.4mm balanced cable when i get them.
For now, i'm pretty impressed by the sound performance of the DX160 so far, an easy recommendation.

P.D: oh, i have forgotten to say that i also tried my HE-400i on the 3.5mm at high gain and i feel very satisfied by the outcome at 68 of volume.

 

[DynamicEars]

https://www.bilibili.com/video/av69445482
You have this "super comparison" if you know chinese. Basically it ended up like a Shanling M6 vs Ibasso DX160, because he didn't like the sound of the M11, calling it "not special" compared to both of them. In a nutshell, his conclusions are: get M6 if you want extra navigation smoothness or get DX160 for the best sound performance and screen, but they're actually not that far from each other than you think.
Me personally, i have chosen the DX160 because i'm only going to use it for music and not other stuff that i can do with my phone. Using my Audiosense T800 and comparing the DAP with my NX4 DSD (both on High Gain), on the DX160 I feel that the sound stage has been widened and that the highs harssness of some pieces has been tamed down (smoothened i would say?). Maybe that's because of the super low noise floor? i'm not sure, don't really understand about the numbers on the DAPs. I don't really know why but the high sensitivity of the T800 don't hiss at all at high gain on 3.5mm on the DX160, i will try it with a 4.4mm balanced cable when i get them.
For now, i'm pretty impressed by the sound performance of the DX160 so far, an easy recommendation.

P.D: oh, i have forgotten to say that i also tried my HE-400i on the 3.5mm at high gain and i feel very satisfied by the outcome at 68 of volume.

Thanks for this, so in the end still about Shanling M6 vs DX160. will read up more while saving money. Im leaning towards DX160 though by just a little bit.

 

[Luis1316]

https://www.bilibili.com/video/av69445482
You have this "super comparison" if you know chinese. Basically it ended up like a Shanling M6 vs Ibasso DX160, because he didn't like the sound of the M11, calling it "not special" compared to both of them. In a nutshell, his conclusions are: get M6 if you want extra navigation smoothness or get DX160 for the best sound performance and screen, but they're actually not that far from each other than you think.
Me personally, i have chosen the DX160 because i'm only going to use it for music and not other stuff that i can do with my phone. Using my Audiosense T800 and comparing my NX4 DSD (both on High Gain), on the DX160 I feel that the sound stage has been widened and that the highs harssness of some pieces has been tamed down. Maybe that's because of the super low noise floor? i'm not sure, don't really understand about the numbers on the DAPs. I don't really know why but the high sensitivity of the T800 don't hiss at all at high gain on 3.5mm on the DX160, i will try it with a 4.4mm balanced cable when i get them.
For now, i'm pretty impressed by the sound performance of the DX160 so far, an easy recommendation.

P.D: Oh

Thanks for this, so in the end still about Shanling M6 vs DX160. will read up more while saving money. Im leaning towards DX160 though by just a little bit.

From what i'm hearing in the chinese forums about the M6 is really about system navigation smoothness compared to the DX160, which is a bit laggy if you compare it with a phone. Well, besides the sound i was also really attracted by the appearances .

 

[gazzington]

Love this thread and the blon 03 I bought because of it. What would you guys say are budget versions of legend X, Andromeda and Solaris just to get a tough idea what they sound like

 

[Thesonofkrypton]

So I don't know if you guys are seeing all the new DAPs that will be out or are out soon. I am thinking of getting a new player. Love me a new source.
Shanling M6, Ibasso DX160, Sony ZX500, Fiio M11 pro. Hiby R5.

As of now I am leaning in no particular order Shanling M6, M11 pro or DX160. Will be interesting to see how these stack up against each other. I bet they all sound stellar for their respective prices. Exciting times.

Good specs on the M6, not seen that one.

 

[DynamicEars]

Love this thread and the blon 03 I bought because of it. What would you guys say are budget versions of legend X, Andromeda and Solaris just to get a tough idea what they sound like

yes pretty much TOTL tuning, not saying resolution, and other technicalities. very very good for $30

 

[Dsnuts]

Thanks for this, so in the end still about Shanling M6 vs DX160. will read up more while saving money. Im leaning towards DX160 though by just a little bit.

I have owned several Ibasso and Shanling products so I have a good idea of how both houses like to tune their sources. Ibasso is typically all about neutral and precision. It is how they tune their higher end phones too. I think it might come down to preference in how you want your source but typically Shanling is all about dynamics and musicality vs being more strictly neutral.

My Shanling M5s has a warm tone to the tuning but has outstanding dynamics of any source I own, I have a feeling this will be expanded upon with the M6. Ibasso has always tuned their sources with a side of precision and neutrality so that is where the wide stage comes from. I am not giving up on the M11 Pro however. Initial reports looks promising. Should be an interesting month for new daps.

 

[gazzington]

I have owned several Ibasso and Shanling products so I have a good idea of how both houses like to tune their sources. Ibasso is typically all about neutral and precision. It is how they tune their higher end phones too. I think it might come down to preference in how you want your source but typically Shanling is all about dynamics and musicality vs being more strictly neutral.

My Shanling M5s has a warm tone to the tuning but has outstanding dynamics of any source I own, I have a feeling this will be expanded upon with the M6. Ibasso has always tuned their sources with a side of precision and neutrality so that is where the wide stage comes from. I am not giving up on the M11 Pro however. Initial reports looks promising. Should be an interesting month for new daps.

So many daps out in a short space of time. They all look like they could be very good as well

 

[Dsnuts]

The nice thing about these new daps is that they all seem to be pushing what is possible in the price range. In other words. They know very well there are other manufacturers making products for your hard earned cash.

Bang for buck on the sources?. It has to be now. No way your gonna make a mediocre sounding source now a days. It wont float in the market. I know a lot of guys want what is best for your cash. I am thinking any one of these newer sources will be pushing their perspective sounds and all of them should give what we are looking for. Now it will come down to what type of power, user experience and sound you want.