[groupama3]

I've reached the point whereby the A105 is my very last DAP. With the massive improvement in Bluetooth earphones I see little point in investing in a DAP to use as a mere transport. A mobile phone with good codec implementation and support is all I need into the future.

yeah true, but I just love having physical buttons on the device, never been a fan of in line remotes on wired earphones

 

[groupama3]

Bluetooth headphones are better that they were, and they are better for sports applications, but none of them can hold a candle to the wired enthusiast market so for me that day will be further off. Also, BT headphones that require a pod are a major annoyance for me. I can never find the headphones, or the pod, or have them both be charged (sometimes one will not charge in the pod correctly) and wired headphones don't have ANY of those issues. And there there is the issue of using non-lossless or non-high fs streams, which is not a big deal, but having whatever DAC is on the headphone and is tiny enough (and cheap enough) to work to produce sound IS... so... yeah. not yet. One day tho. I and don't use my enthusiast models when I go for a walk or run.

A good trade off is a Fiio BTR5, offers the best of both worlds, will do a much better job than most onboard dacs

 

[fish1050]

Bluetooth headphones are better that they were, and they are better for sports applications, but none of them can hold a candle to the wired enthusiast market so for me that day will be further off. Also, BT headphones that require a pod are a major annoyance for me. I can never find the headphones, or the pod, or have them both be charged (sometimes one will not charge in the pod correctly) and wired headphones don't have ANY of those issues. And there there is the issue of using non-lossless or non-high fs streams, which is not a big deal, but having whatever DAC is on the headphone and is tiny enough (and cheap enough) to work to produce sound IS... so... yeah. not yet. One day tho. I and don't use my enthusiast models when I go for a walk or run.

Yeah I have demoed dozens of headphones and owned several more over the years wired and bluetooth and I have yet to hear a pair of bluetooth headphones that sound as good as my wired headphones. I can't use iem's as I get ear infections and I find them uncomfortable to wear. Bluetooth headphones are often to heavy and have connection issues and are quite a bit more expensive for lower sound quality, it is enough for me to charge my phone and DAP let alone headphones as well.

 

[lordstargazer]

Hi all. I'm new but I've been reading this thread since before I bought 100TPS. A quick review/experience.

I'm very happy with the purchase. I don't have expensive earphone. I use this DAP with Sora Light and happy with it. I'm no Audiophile
The earphone is loud. Really loud. For MP3 i only use up to volume 40. FLAC is below 30. This volume setting is when I'm outside. I wonder how everyone can use higher volume than that .

Battery is good. Spotify online can last 6 hours. More than enough as I don't listen to music all the time. But as per recommendation in this thread, I bought Anker power bank. Not expensive.

I don't use other player than the walkman app. I have UAPP but the customer service told me there's a lot of issue and he didn't recommend using it. I actually bought this app to use it with Hiby R5... But something happened. The battery explode during postage. So I return and get a refund. Good thing lol.

TLDR I'm a happy user.

 

[Anthony9]

Hi all. I'm new but I've been reading this thread since before I bought 100TPS. A quick review/experience.

I'm very happy with the purchase. I don't have expensive earphone. I use this DAP with Sora Light and happy with it. I'm no Audiophile
The earphone is loud. Really loud. For MP3 i only use up to volume 40. FLAC is below 30. This volume setting is when I'm outside. I wonder how everyone can use higher volume than that .

Battery is good. Spotify online can last 6 hours. More than enough as I don't listen to music all the time. But as per recommendation in this thread, I bought Anker power bank. Not expensive.

I don't use other player than the walkman app. I have UAPP but the customer service told me there's a lot of issue and he didn't recommend using it. I actually bought this app to use it with Hiby R5... But something happened. The battery explode during postage. So I return and get a refund. Good thing lol.

TLDR I'm a happy user.

Good for you. Glad you're happy with the purchase. The A105 is a nice DAP let down mostly by the battery life. I'm presuming you have the non EU capped version. This would explain the decent volume level. In Europe our overlords believe they can chose listening levels on our behalf which makes the the A105 only barely acceptable imo.

 

[lordstargazer]

Good for you. Glad you're happy with the purchase. The A105 is a nice DAP let down mostly by the battery life. I'm presuming you have the non EU capped version. This would explain the decent volume level. In Europe our overlords believe they can chose listening levels on our behalf which makes the the A105 only barely acceptable imo.

Yes it is non EU version . Thank goodness.

 

[psikey]

.

 

[fish1050]

So I am wondering how Sony closing the Mora-Qualitas streaming service in May will affect their future DAP's. The A105 was released back in 2019 when the streaming service was still running. Without the need to support the streaming service will Sony change direction with the A105 updates going forward? The biggest complaint of course is the poor battery life. Could Sony drop android on the A105 going forward to address the poor battery life? Hopefully we will hear about the next A105 variant after May. Clearly Sony will have issues supporting android on a $350 DAP without killing battery life or jacking up the hardware and thus increasing the price. This gives me a glimmer of hope that another Sony Linux based DAP will be in my future.

 

[tradyblix]

The battery life is never going to get fixed, not in this device.

It's actually not that bad if you make sure it auto turns off. you can get several hours of listening out of it. It's not a phone, remember, you don't need to preserve it for use all day. it's you listen to it, and at the end of the session recharge.

Now what would have make things better is if it had wireless charging. Then you could listen, not worry if you took it down to 40 percent in a few hours, and put it back on a wireless pad around the house to recharge for next time.

 

[Pylaczynski]

There are wireless charging pads with adhesive to stick on the back of it if needed (see super reviews video on YouTube on his mods towards A105).

Speaking of tricks to make it bearable (at least battery) - have any of you users tried the heavy debloating as suggested from Reddit thread (https://www.reddit.com/r/walkman/co...life/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share ). They claim you could get up to 20h of playback with that tricks!

Also - any users of A series with UM Mest OG/MK 2 to tell how this pair works together (any lack of power felt)?

 

[Gamerlingual]

Would this be considered the cheapest priced android DAP in your opinion? My FiiO M6 didn’t fair well. So I would like a low priced Android DAP that will allow be to change my codecs from LDAC to AAC., etc on the fly.

 

[groupama3]

There are wireless charging pads with adhesive to stick on the back of it if needed (see super reviews video on YouTube on his mods towards A105).

Speaking of tricks to make it bearable (at least battery) - have any of you users tried the heavy debloating as suggested from Reddit thread (https://www.reddit.com/r/walkman/co...life/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share ). They claim you could get up to 20h of playback with that tricks!

Also - any users of A series with UM Mest OG/MK 2 to tell how this pair works together (any lack of power felt)?

I have that pad for my 105, works well.

Interesting, I never looked into debloating, I do use streaming Tidal/Spotify a lot, along with plexamp and YT music tho

 

[fish1050]

Would this be considered the cheapest priced android DAP in your opinion? My FiiO M6 didn’t fair well. So I would like a low priced Android DAP that will allow be to change my codecs from LDAC to AAC., etc on the fly.

Actually the Shanling M3X is around the same price but offers better specs across the board including alot more power, better battery life and balanced output. Reviews I have read indicate it sounds noticeably better than the A105. To me matching the two head to head is an argument for Sony to go back to making A series Linux OS based DAP's in this price range. I would love to see Linux based A105 (A65). I know there are more than a few M3X owners on that thread that sold A105's in favor of the M3X.

They can't compete on power, or it seems battery life and with the Mora streaming service ending this month an argument to go back to a Linux OS. But trying to predict what Sony will do is virtually impossible.

 

[Anthony9]

Actually the Shanling M3X is around the same price but offers better specs across the board including alot more power, better battery life and balanced output. Reviews I have read indicate it sounds noticeably better than the A105. To me matching the two head to head is an argument for Sony to go back to making A series Linux OS based DAP's in this price range. I would love to see Linux based A105 (A65). I know there are more than a few M3X owners on that thread that sold A105's in favor of the M3X.

They can't compete on power, or it seems battery life and with the Mora streaming service ending this month an argument to go back to a Linux OS. But trying to predict what Sony will do is virtually impossible.

I wonder if the MX3 would be a worthwhile long term investment. I have the EU capped A105 which can't be circumvented. This combined with the weak battery has left me dissapointed from the outset. The A105 is just a weak device all around.

 

[fish1050]

I wonder if the MX3 would be a worthwhile long term investment. I have the EU capped A105 which can't be circumvented. This combined with the weak battery has left me dissapointed from the outset. The A105 is just a weak device all around.

If budget is a factor I think the M3X is the best alternative in this price range. Long term is another question only you can answer. It seems once you go to the next level up and move to android 10 the battery life declines alot so this is really the sweet spot price wise for a balance of battery life and decent performance. A new Shanling M6 is supposedly coming soon, maybe this month but it is a next level up in price with android 10, better processor and more RAM. I would expect battery life to drop to about half of the M3X. The $1250 Shanling M7 only offers 10 hours SE and 8.5 hours Balanced so the new M6 will likely be closer to the M7 than the M3X.

I am taking a different track going forward. Instead of investing in a new DAP I am planning to buy the Topping desktop DX3 Pro+ USB DAC and headphone amp. https://www.tpdz.net/productinfo/711796.html. This offers alot more power and flexibility than a DAP alone. I can connect it to my home computer and my Shanling Q1 via USB. For $260.00 CDN you get into the sound quality range of $600+ DAP's for a fraction of the cost and enough power to drive any headphones. It also supports all of the bluetooth codecs including LDAC and AptX LL.

I find when traveling my Q1 is more than adequate given the less than ideal listening conditions. When at home I can use my Q1 as a transport connected to the DX3 for a a major step up in sound quality and connect my home computer at the same time. It is also small enough to be transportable if need be. It will be alot more future proof than any DAP and no batteries to worry about. The non-android DAP options are disappearing and I am not going to spend $600+ for an android DAP with terrible battery life. As the battery starts to age and the battery life starts to decline it becomes a very expensive paperweight. I might even buy another Q1 as a backup in case Shanling stops making Linux based DAP's.