[ProtegeManiac]

 
Anyway, I'll have a look to the solution you've suggested, as well to others. Since needs change during the time, I don't rule out that I could end up changing, rather than adding, some component of my system.

 
That's also why I didn't get this or the AK100II (although this one the thing is the dock makes just keeps it upright, but it's still a USB DAC with the cables coming out the top instead of a docked server with the cables coming out the back), so I just figured in the long run when I have the cash I might actually just get a music server with an internal HDD to avoid possible issues setting up the access to the HDD server (noise on the mechanical drive can be minimized with a quality server drive, like the WD Red, plus the case is thick) but still has WiFi so I can use a smartphone as a remote instead of the tiny screen. I don't want tospend that much on the portables anyway, but then again if I could get a portable that's really nice with IEMs like the AK but once docked works more like the HiFiMan, well, I might just get that.

 

[sbregudal]

  the A-10 can give digital out to any battery powered DAC or AC powered ( as i believe ) with this cable specifically :
WMC-NWH10 ... this is the only cable that can extract the digital out from it 

http://www.oppodigital.co.uk/customer-services/knowledge-base/outputting-high-resolution-digital-audio-from-the-sony-walkman-nwz-a17-to-the-oppo-ha-2.aspx 

WAIT A MINUTE !!! ..... i searched on your DAC a little ... i think it don't has a battery or independent power source ! ... in this case ...  sorry , A-10 is not what you want or need 
 

 
Just to show you a set-up similar to that I had in mind (the player isn't a Sony NWZ-A10, but a NWZ-F886, while the USB DAC isn't a Graham Slee Bitzie, but a FiiO E07K, which has a micro-B, instead of a standard-B, receptacle). I think the USB power supply can be a battery pack, as shown in the picture, or an AC adapter (it could be a PC USB port as well, if this made sense).
 

 

[Mmet]

nice 

 

[sbregudal]

Quote:

  nice 

 
But when I look at set-ups that are really plug'n'play, as the one below, I think I should give up the idea of having a dedicated DAP, and go back to the USB audio capable Android phone option (like, to give you an example by Sony, Xperia Z1/Z3 Compact, which is said to have one with a good sound with IEMs connected directly to its headphone out).
 
 

 

[Mmet]

i agree with you ... if i were you i will sell my oldy android phone to get a newer one with digital out support and good headphone out quality (there is plenty of quality and really good sounding phones out there ) and that's it ... hassle free ... on the go and at home 

 

[Mmet]

and also on the go you might consider upgrading your iems ... i don't know what you are already use but upgrading headphones always good 

 

[sbregudal]

Quote:

  i agree with you ... if i were you i will sell my oldy android phone to get a newer one with digital out support and good headphone out quality (there is plenty of quality and really good sounding phones out there ) and that's it ... hassle free ... on the go and at home 

 
From A to B, and then back to A again

Anyway, I'm happy of having investigated what I can do with my current equipment, and recalled a few things from when I opted for the Bitzie.
 
Quote:

  and also on the go you might consider upgrading your iems ... i don't know what you are already use but upgrading headphones always good 

 
I bought a pair of SoundMagic ES18 a few weeks ago (after I'd trampled on both my Senneheiser MX 500 and the earphones that came with my old iAudio G3) but I haven't had the time to try them yet.

 

[Mmet]

  Quote:
 
From A to B, and then back to A again

Anyway, I'm happy of having investigated what I can do with my current equipment, and recalled a few things from when I opted for the Bitzie.

good .. no harm at all ... as long as we learnt some new things the - most importantly - didn't cost us money to know and learn 

 .... and the idea of getting a dedicated DAP on the go  and the Bitzi with the laptop for home is very good too as long as it suites your life style 

 

[sbregudal]

  good .. no harm at all ... as long as we learnt some new things the - most importantly - didn't cost us money to know and learn 

 .... and the idea of getting a dedicated DAP on the go  and the Bitzi with the laptop for home is very good too as long as it suites your life style 

 
I'm a unwilling to spend money for a DAP that I would use only with IEMs when I'm out, usually in a far-from-optimal acoustic environment (oh, but I did, I really did when I bought my iAudio G3 in an "era" during which flash storage was incredibly more expensive than today), because I'm unsure of what improvements in sound quality I could get in comparison to G3 (you can load A10, for example, with lossless files, but can you hear the difference between a FLAC and a high bitrate lossy file ripped from the same CD track, just with quite cheap IEMs and while walking in the streets? Maybe in a park it could easier to spot; anyway, I'd be curious to try). But my desire of having a "thing" that can contain all (OK, it's better to say most of) my music files and can only do one thing, playing those files, well, it's not vanished at all (that's why I don't consider the picture with all those cables around that Sony Walkman to be madness yet; after all now, in order to use my USB DAC, I have to turn on my laptop, which, at home, is always plugged to the mains).

P.s. I've a couple of questions about Sony NWZ-A10, but I'll post them under your review, for other readers' benefit.

 

[Mmet]

   
I'm a unwilling to spend money for a DAP that I would use only with IEMs when I'm out, usually in a far-from-optimal acoustic environment (oh, but I did, I really did when I bought my iAudio G3 in an "era" during which flash storage was incredibly more expensive than today), because I'm unsure of what improvements in sound quality I could get in comparison to G3 (you can load A10, for example, with lossless files, but can you hear the difference between a FLAC and a high bitrate lossy file ripped from the same CD track, just with quite cheap IEMs and while walking in the streets? Maybe in a park it could easier to spot; anyway, I'd be curious to try). But my desire of having a "thing" that can contain all (OK, it's better to say most of) my music files and can only do one thing, playing those files, well, it's not vanished at all (that's why I don't consider the picture with all those cables around that Sony Walkman to be madness yet; after all now, in order to use my USB DAC, I have to turn on my laptop, which, at home, is always plugged to the mains).
 
P.s. I've a couple of questions about Sony NWZ-A10, but I'll post them under your review, for other readers' benefit.

you are welcome  
and about your question : but can you hear the difference between a FLAC and a high bitrate lossy file ripped from the same CD track, just with quite cheap IEMs and while walking in the streets? 
NO ,i can't detect those differences ... even with my Shure and the Walkman when sitting home ... simply inaudible to me ... the only difference i could detect is with some songs .. between the 320k mp3 and FLAC is a little tiny harshness in the treble with the mp3 versus the lossless formats ... upgrading the player is not about lossless vs lossy  sound quality for me 

 

 

[sbregudal]

Quote:

  you are welcome  
and about your question : but can you hear the difference between a FLAC and a high bitrate lossy file ripped from the same CD track, just with quite cheap IEMs and while walking in the streets? 
NO ,i can't detect those differences ... even with my Shure and the Walkman when sitting home ... simply inaudible to me ... the only difference i could detect is with some songs .. between the 320k mp3 and FLAC is a little tiny harshness in the treble with the mp3 versus the lossless formats ... upgrading the player is not about lossless vs lossy  sound quality for me

 
Yes, it's not about that, what I wrote is a bit misleading.
 
A note. I've just realised what kind of IEMs you use with your A10: you've put together a pretty high quality system, that it's portable, too; instead, in my posts, I always referred to DAP + IEMs as a portable, sort of second-choice solution, which lets me to listen to music when I'm out. Don't know if my approach to portable devices would change when my finances allow me spending more (and here, with a loud laugh, my Sense of Reality could say: "I'm going out for a beer, see you later!").

 

[sbregudal]

Dropping that blah, blah, blah about my needs, etc., if you're reading this thread because you're trying to understand, for whatever reason, what devices capable of playing audio files audio can be used with an external USB-only DAC, here is what I've found (I've personally tested only a PC running GNU/Linux):
 
- PCs running any OS that supports audio on USB (GNU/Linux, OS X, and Windows do it without the need of need of installing additional drivers);
- smart phones, tablets, or other more-than-just-a-DAP devices running Android (≥ 3.1/4.3 probably - you could also need or like to install this), iOS (≥ 7 - you also need, at least, MC531ZM or MD821ZM adaptor: read here), or Windows Phone (but also, at least, also a couple running Windows CE, too, COWON Q5 and V5);
- just a few DAPs (most of them, including the ones by iBasso and Fiio, cannot), like Sony Walkman NWZ-A10 (you also need, at least, WMC-NWH10 adaptor: read here), and, unexpectedly, the ones from old iriver H100 series.

 

[dwbeeker14]

Teac ha-p90sd has everything you need for about $600. Primitive user interface though.

 

[sheldaze]

The Pioneer XDP-100R looks promising. The PDF linked below mentions a USB OTG digital output:
 
https://www.pioneerelectronics.com/StaticFiles/PUSA/Files/CEDIA/XDP-100R_Single_Sheet_Final.pdf

 

[ducatirider]

Bump. I am new to this and hoping to find a reasonable dap with usb out. A year later and still nothing new.