[Cruelhand Luke]

TLDR: is there a tablet known to have a good dac....similar to the way the LG V40/50/60 is known for it's quad dac setup? Apple products need not apply.

My main audio chain is: Ifi Zen Can 6xx, Bellari EQ570 (for those unfamiliar it's a 4 band, analogue eq.) As a source I use an LG V50 or a Hiby R5. My primary headphones are Beyerdynamic T 1.3. But I also use my Grado 325e, Fidelio X3, Argon, and HD 58x as the mood/genre/use case calls for.
I live on a sailboat that has a liveable space similar to a studio apartment. In the next month or two I am going to acquire a boat that is more like a one bedroom apartment. I'm setting up a small media station. I want to keep it as simple as possible (it's going to be on a boat) I intend to just have some powered bookshelf speakers and a small amp, or maybe a couple of Sonus speakers, I haven't decided. And then my headphone stack and a tablet to feed it Spotify, youtube, etc. (Which will all potentially feed into a big TV)
Is there a tablet out there with decent audio? As far as OS, I'm, not picky (android chrome, whatever), just not Apple, I don't funk with Apple products.
thanks in an advance for any input.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

If you don't need a tablet necessarily but just want something small, you could consider a Bluesound or Denon HEOS streamer.

 

[Cruelhand Luke]

If you don't need a tablet necessarily but just want something small, you could consider a Bluesound or Denon HEOS streamer.

i actually need a tablet to use as a reader/audiobook player.
But i also like the idea of having a bigger screen than my V50. I Like running Spotify with an easier interface.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

i actually need a tablet to use as a reader/audiobook player.
But i also like the idea off having a bigger screen than my V50

Well these streamers will be better from a sound quality point and they support a bunch of music services (especially Bluesound) so you don't have to have a bunch of apps, one for each of your music services. But they have no screen and no display, the UI is a phone, tablet, or PC.

You could look at Huawei, I have a model which is no longer made that has very good onboard sound. I don't know if there is any obvious best choice like the LG phones used to be, in either phones or tablets these days. Hopefully somebody will.

 

[Ufanco]

There's also the option of buying a separate dac. Something small like a L&P W2 you you end up with better quality audio than a tablet. Included pictures of how I used the W2 with tablet.

 

[Cruelhand Luke]

Sooo....i guess the answer is, there aren't any particularly good sounding tablets?

 

[Mattyjm]

Sooo....i guess the answer is, there aren't any particularly good sounding tablets?

there probably are, but you'd be better off getting a nice dongle for it. it's less fuss and more versatile (most dongles are plug and play)

 

[Poganin]

I haven't heard of any. Mobile devices seem to be going the Bluetooth way these days, abandoning audio jacks altogether.
An external dac seems to be the best solution for a modern tablet to get the best sound quality.

 

[Roseval]

i guess the answer is, there aren't any particularly good sounding tablets?

Do you now any source specifying the DAC's as used in tablets?
I don't.
Maybe #8 is the right answer https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...s/any-modern-2019-tablets-with-good-dac.6984/

 

[HipHopScribe]

I would imagine most modern tablets, just like most modern phones, have high quality, low distortion, audio output, other than maybe really bargain basement stuff. The real question here is probably about amplification power to drive full-size headphones. In that regard you're probably best off investing in a small external DAC/Amp, as most manufacturers are probably using integrated audio solutions, rather than investing in discrete internal audio components like LG and a few others have done in select smartphones.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Do you now any source specifying the DAC's as used in tablets?

Yes, the Huawei I mentioned upthread has an AKM, they stated which chip but I bought it years ago and don't remember.