Luis Mad
Headphoneus Supremus
I have a plan to refrash my DAP usage. I'm about to buy the new Astell and Kern SR 25. I'm using now the Sony NWA-105, with the fantastic Sennheiser IE 800 S in-ears. What do you think guys, will I have have get some significant development in any segments (for first in sound quality)?
I have the sony nwa-55L, I had briefly the nwa-105, I returned it because of the volume cap of European models and the poor battery life. Otherwise I liked very much the 105. I then bought the SR25. It is an excellent product, amazing sound, excellent battery life and premium look and feel. It is in a different league to the 105. I believe it is in the same level of the 507 but I have not heard that one myself. I was thinking of buying a Japanese 507 because of the volume cap but was afraid of being without warranty. The weak points of the SR25 are Bluetooth (for others, I did not have issues apart from taking some time with the first connection) and weak wifi ( nothing serious for me but some complain of serious problems). Also you have to consider than it is a limited Android that only allows a few selected apps to be installed. The trade off is the good battery life and quite good, in my opinion, integration of the approved apps.
as to the Ibasso I also considered it. I have not heard it but in its thread most praise the sound but there are many serious complaints of Bluetooth and wifi issues from last years version and also from the last one. I cannot compare with the 507or the Ibasso since I have not heard them but compared to the 105, the SR25 is even better I would say. Also consider that you have the balanced output which is amazing. My iems, Final E4000 sound so much better out of the balanced output. If you can find a balanced cable for your Sennheiser it would make a big difference in sound quality in my opinion.