[r31ya]

I have(or rather, had*) both and love both, but i think the link2 bal is the better device. Is it $63 dollars better? Unfortunately only you can answer that question, as its largely opinion. I can tell you that, for my preferences, it is absolutely worth the extra cost. I prefer a more neutral amp, so i can fully appreciate the sound as it is intended to be heard(and also assess quality of the track). Link2 is very neutral, very powerful and pretty efficient (turbo mode will definitely be less efficient lol). The KA3 sounds full and rich, the sound carrys weight. Thats why i love the ka3 for movies/single-player games/ambient tunes. Both are great, i suggest trying them both out and returning the one you prefer less. But if you're like me, the link2 bal will be a clear winner.

One thing that still stuck in my head through relatively short audition on Xduoo XD05 is how grand the sound is.
Great separation, imaging, and neutral yet somewhat expansive sound. couldn't quite believed my iem at the time can make such sound.

If Link 2 bal manage to get 80% of XD05 while being actually portable and small (unlike XD05 "technically portable" status). it might be worth it for me.

 

[Fourier transformer]

need an opinion, As these two become available locally,

I gonna buy either Fiio KA3 ($90) or Xduoo Link 2 Bal ($153)
Do Link 2 bal worth the extra $63 ?

none

at the price of the Link 2 buy a dap

 

[r31ya]

none

at the price of the Link 2 buy a dap

Half the time, it'll be attached to my laptop.
Do modern DAP do well as DAC?

Older dap that i tried have noticable lag for gaming. i look for usb dongle as my old Dragonfly is pretty seamless for gaming.

 

[andjayik]

What good dap u going to buy for $149

 

[r31ya]

What good dap u going to buy for $149

Its been awhile since i stroll in DAP market,
but in the price range, maybe Fiio M3Pro or M5 which i'm not sure if its "better" sounding compared to KA3 or Link 2 Bal
Or get used Astel and Kern AK100ii which not sure its a good pc/laptop dac.

 

[G33dubz]

Dap is limited in its use, where as a dongle like link 2bal can be used with literally anything with a usb output. I have used it with ps4 and 5, my laptop, phone, etc. I even used it with an older DAP with an older/inferior chip

 

[TheUnknow]

What good dap u going to buy for $149

What is a " good " DAP ?

 

[Hyde00]

none

at the price of the Link 2 buy a dap

What is a " good " DAP ?

I'm assuming in this case, to match the performance level of xDuoo Link2 Bal. And I'm going to take an educated guess that at the same price point the DAP will not match the level of performance of a dongle due to allocation of resources.

xDuoo Link2 Bal
In this case if you have $150 to spend on buying the parts for dac/amp and usb c plugs, 2 button toggle, and the casing.

DAP
If you have a $150 not only you need to spend the money on all of the above thing xDuoo Link2 Bal has, on top of it you need to spend money on screen, battery, software for interface, hardware knob for volume control, if it has wifi function it also adds cost to wifi antenna. So you have less money for more things so naturally manufacturers would start cutting corners and use cheaper parts. In this case you might just get a lower grade dac chip and amp module. Which might explain why good DAPs usually cost a lot more. It's just that more parts = cost more.

I think the only case where DAP win out is if xDuoo only spend say....... $50 in parts and $100 in profits. In this case then it depends on profit margin of the said DAP.

 

[r31ya]

...DAP
you need to spend money on screen, battery, software for interface, hardware knob for volume control, if it has wifi function it also adds cost to wifi antenna....

If only could outsource all of that into a device we conviently carry on daily basis so we can just buy the DAC/AMP part to compliment it.

 

[ExTubeGamer]

If only could outsource all of that into a device we conviently carry on daily basis so we can just buy the DAC/AMP part to compliment it.

What we need is a tiny linux PC with USB dongle. All possible Software EQ available.

 

[originalsnuffy]

If dongles continue to evolve as well as they have recently, pressure will definitely come to bear on the DAP market. There are already some good sub-niches. Like units that can power the phone and the dongle. I eagerly await the return of AKM.

 

[r31ya]

If dongles continue to evolve as well as they have recently, pressure will definitely come to bear on the DAP market. There are already some good sub-niches. Like units that can power the phone and the dongle. I eagerly await the return of AKM.

What i curious to see is DAP that is also a smartphone. I mean, with Android based DAP flocking around, this should be possible.
A Sony W(alkman)Peria, a niche DAP first, smartphone second.

 

[Gilles De Rais]

If dongles continue to evolve as well as they have recently, pressure will definitely come to bear on the DAP market. There are already some good sub-niches. Like units that can power the phone and the dongle. I eagerly await the return of AKM.

Low-end (cost) yes, mid-fi and above no - the markets are too different. Dongles and phones are about streaming, daps much more about local replay(hence the micro sd card…) The impact of dongles is at that lower end of the dap market, where cost is a significant driver. At the higher pricepoints, there are other factors at play - aesthetics, amplification, display, android compatibility…

While the dongle explosion of the past two years is interesting, I’m not sure that it isn't at close to peak saturation as a market share.

As far as tech goes, most of the variants have been produced (balanced, R2R, etc), so ‘improvements’ are more likely ‘tweaks’ to power management, new dac chips.
I suspect interest will wain by the end of the year…
Still it was good while it lasted!

 

[lushmelody]

Hey... I know its not dongle related, but I did my phone audio processing through PowerAmp EQ maximum blocks (16384) and resolution/refinement increased in significant margin (bass and especially treble). Now my phone 3.5mm port is as good as my trasam dongle lol. Sadly, the dongle struggles and do clipping when 16k or even 8k blocks are applied. But I'm addicted to only listen through the phone's source anyway. Now I only want to buy a new phone if it comes with headphone jack

 

[Hyde00]

Hey sorry I have a dumb question, since I'm lazy so I'm not listening to my devices the "proper way" through wasapi, asio, bit perfect.......etc.

I literally just plug my device into my PC and listen through Spotify. I max Spotify volume to 100% and disable all the normalization, crossfade......etc. and set to highest quality.

Now my question is, for Spotify is 100% volume correct? I'm always under impression that just max Spotify volume and max Windows volume and you're good.

But lately I start to have suspicion that is 100% volume the "default" volume level, or is 50% volume the actual "default" volume level (in Spotify)?

What I mean is is 100% volume = how loud the source file is?
OR
50% is actually how loud it is and 100% volume is actually double (over amplifying) the source loudness?

I'm asking because I notice at 100% Spotify and 100% Windows volume there is always clipping (shown from my Equalizer APO), that's what stems my suspicion. Just wondering if anyone actually know?

Thanks!