[CamWuu]

Take a look at headfonics review, Volt needs a neutral dap, consider also M11 pro, sometimes you can find good deals

Those are now the contenders but i think its ibasso dx160 but since we need 2 possibly, get one m11 and one ibasso dx160

 

[WendyLi]

Looking forward to seeing what it looks like.

Yes, just stay tuned! It is coming out soon!

 

[Xinlisupreme]

Those are now the contenders but i think its ibasso dx160 but since we need 2 possibly, get one m11 and one ibasso dx160

dont forget M11 is different, I saw some M11 pro used in your country, take a look

 

[Poganin]

@CamWuu I have the Shanling M6 and I'm not entirely happy with it. It sounds very good, the sound is clean and crisp, it has a lot of power, and battery life is very good, too (they declare 12 hours single-ended and 9 hours balanced, but I've left it playing overnight to burn in some IEMs and over balanced I still had 30% of battery left after 9 hours, so I think you can squeeze more out of it).

That said, it's really slow. Nearly half a minute to boot up. Nearly half a minute to connect to Wi-Fi (where Nintendo 3DS, which has a notoriously slow Wi-Fi implemented, connects in 4-5 seconds). The DAC chips sometimes freeze when using one music app and switching to another and the device won't play. It sometimes closes apps for no reason at all. And the built in Shanling Music App lacks some basic functionalities. The battery charge meter is not reliable, either, either due to the battery circuitry or their android implementation: instead of being linear, the charge loss when playing music behaves erratically, and the battery section in the settings doesn't even work properly.

 

[CamWuu]

Thank you. So last question... HIBY R6 PRO OR IBASSO DX160?

Strictly to power sensitive iems like the Volt and 3dt Terminator and Moondrop Blessing2 + Penon Orb

Which one sounds better and is capable of streaming Tidal music at it's full hifi output?

 

[cleg]

Probably it's the most appropriate thread for this video. Veedix Silver String appeared to be a fairly good model. Well-balanced sound and decent look

 

[tgx78]

Shanling ME700 lite

An audition was performed by connecting to the 2.5mm balanced terminal of the E1DA 9038SG3 and 3.5mm out of the iphone 6S.

Immediately after first listening session of the ME700 lite, I could tell the transparency and resolution level are extremely high.
For Mid to High frequency range, ME700 lite almost matches the IT07's detail retrieval level and only drops slightly behind on bass resolution.
Dynamic rises quickly and the image is very clear. One thing I noticed with the ME700 lite's imaging is that fine sound grains are tightly packed inside, and yet the images of the instruments are well separated. For a hybrid IEM, timbre is very good and have no peculiar habits, and even if I listen at high sound pressure level, my ears were not stressed as distortion level seemed quite low. I was also impressed by the clear separation of each note in the bass, and the faithful reproduction of the changes in timbre down to the lowest octave. Overall all frequency ranges are integrated harmoniously to make it quite musically accurate sound.

Also one thing I found interesting was that no matter what genre I listen to, I heard the optimal sound, as if this was tuned for that individual genre.
I think balanced frequency response is one of the attributing factor for this impression. Genres I tried were classical, jazz, hip hop, rock, metals, and folk.

First, I tried songs centered on live musical instruments. In Bill Evans Trio's masterpiece "My Foolish Heart", I paid attention to the relaxed piano sound at the beginning.
The ME700 lite shows a delicate touch and intonation. When listening with earphones such as Legacy 4 or TSMR-5, the sound becomes bit thin and it is difficult to understand how it spreads in the space, but with the ME700, it gently extends into a wider space. In the following, cymbal, the luscious fine sound of the sizzle and the sound of the snare with a brush do not become a lump, but are intertwined with the relaxed piano. It's a pleasant sound that makes you feel like you're listening to live music.

Then, "Respighi: Symphonic Poem Roman Pine" (Boston Symphony Orchestra) conducted by Seiji Ozawa is played. A high-energy performance is unfolded in a large space that does not make you feel the ceiling. The sound of orchestra is faithfully open and spacious. Even the details of low-volume woodwind instruments are heard clearly. String instruments are silky smooth from the mid to high frequencies. Even in the part where the sound changes finely, the sound of a quick attack approaches one after another with natural decay. I enjoyed the brilliant scale of playback which perfectly achieved both smoothness and speed.

Now after all this praise, there are few cons I need to disclose. ME700 Lite's cable is pretty bad: noodly, feels cheap and only single ended. Shell is on a larger size and maybe challenging for some to fit them properly. Also similar to my Andromeda, because of its impedance curve, it is super sensitive to output Z. I felt the iphone 6S with a Z-out of 4ish ohms was better match than >1ohm of E1DA.

Overall, the Shanling's flagship IEM lived up to its price tag and then some. ME700 lite provides a balanced sound with very pleasant treble and an open, spacious soundstage. Blindfolded, you’d hear that you were in the presence of a big, dynamic, full-range, and incredibly balanced set. You might not know how much it cost, but you’d know it was expensive. With your eyes open, you’d see that you were paying for gorgeous white shell and superb presentation (sans noodly cable) and finish.

 

[Poganin]

Thank you. So last question... HIBY R6 PRO OR IBASSO DX160?

Strictly to power sensitive iems like the Volt and 3dt Terminator and Moondrop Blessing2 + Penon Orb

Which one sounds better and is capable of streaming Tidal music at it's full hifi output?

I haven't used either, so I can't advise you on that, but I'm looking at Hiby R6 2020 myself right now (you may want to ask in the dedicated product threads for people to advise you).

/offtopic

 

[CamWuu]

Researching DAPs has been the most confusing and frustrating thing I've yet encountered in this hobby. I'm fed up to the point I'm going to just pass on them altogether. All have technicalities, if it sounds good it doesnt play tidal, if it plays tidal it has a hiss with high end sensitive iems. It's almost comedic

 

[Xinlisupreme]

@CamWuu Wait 1 month for Shanling M3x if you can't buy M6 pro, Fiio M11 pro or Hiby R6 2020 model.
M3x looks quite interesting.

 

[CamWuu]

Just learned I can turn my old Galaxy 5 and Note 4 into a dap. Money saved

 

[zenki]

Which is why you should just get a dongle

 

[baskingshark]

Which is why you should just get a dongle

Dongles DAC/AMPs are possibly more cost effective than DAPs, but they have their downsides, such as:
1) Draining the battery on the smartphone, some dongles are rather power hungry beasts, so best to have some way to charge your phone on the go.
2) Smartphone memory space is gonna be a limiting factor, especially if you use a lot of lossless files. But I suppose some phones do accept SD card memory top ups.

 

[unifutomaki]

God help me if I'm not getting a bit sick of the endless purchase-related questions in this thread... There's an intro/help/recommendations section for a reason.

Once is fine, twice is tolerable, but Christ I came to this thread to read about what folks have been listening to lately and their thoughts on it, not somebody's Amazon shopping bloody cart

 

[FlacFan]

Researching DAPs has been the most confusing and frustrating thing I've yet encountered in this hobby. I'm fed up to the point I'm going to just pass on them altogether. All have technicalities, if it sounds good it doesnt play tidal, if it plays tidal it has a hiss with high end sensitive iems. It's almost comedic

Yes. Been there, done that. I still have and use my iBasso DX50 and the Cowon Plenue D every now and then. Most of the time, however, I use my phone connected to a Topping NX4 DAC/AMP.

Unless you have an LG 30/40/50 phone, you need to have an additional DAC/AMP carrying around. If you use your phone without something like that all your IEM's sound is rubbish.

The other option is to use your phone and connect it to a Bluetooth RX like the Shanling UP4 or the EarStudio ES100.

Cheers.