Basically im looking for something to upgrade my btr5 which I use for portability, I dont think its good enough to match my current headphones
I use my desktop setup 80% of the time so I want to spend as less as possible, but I wonder if the budget under 500 dollar daps can really provide a good sound quality or if something like an xduoo plus could, or if cheap audio sources as a whole are not worth it, maybe a chord mojo? what do you guys think?
priorities are in this order:
sound quality
compatibility with tidal, apple music (or LDAC with my cellphone)
UI, portability and build quality
other features
Pairing with:
ATH-wp900
ATH-ad2000x
HD6xx
grado sr80e
nighthawks
emu teak
VE Zen v2
Beyer T1.2
focal clear in the future lmao
I have SE and Balanced cables for most of these headphones
I like the Mojo a lot. It’s a versatile device and it sounds very good. I’m using it as my transportable setup as well as my primary DAC on my desktop chain for the time being. They can be found for around $300 used which is a solid value in my opinion if sound quality is highest priority.
I would not really use it portable though, so if that is your goal I would steer you toward something else. The bulkiness and micro USB ports make it not ideal for that use case. Something like a higher end dongle DAC or dedicated DAP would be better for that imo.
I’d say either go chord mojo or luxury and precision W2, both of those would pair well with what you have, and given they connect to your phone you will already have all the features you are after likely, and it offers better bang for buck than a dap. The t1.2 might be a bit of a harder one to drive out of what you have but both those should be able to get it done well enough
If you had to have a dap, I’d go with an ibasso dx160 2020. Sound wise I think the mojo does offer the highest quality, followed by the w2. The mojo has a bit more of a more forward and brighter tilt in a non offensive and enjoyable way imo, where the w2 is a bit more neutral warmer tilt. Spatially both have good size and mostly depth with the mojo having a bit better depth. Dynamically I do think the mojo is more alive, and the mojo is also more resolving as well.
So, imo, they are orth it but expectations need to be tempered. Also, in my experience, the best sq under $500 portable will need to be used as a dongle. Idsd signature, honey h1, and mojo can all be had sub 500 and are honestly pretty damn solid, but all of them also need to ve used with a USB connection. For a stand alone device going with an older dap is probabaly the best move but you can run into app compatability for streaming. I think m11 pro is sub 500 pretty easily and is proported to be fairly solid bjt I’ve never heard one myself. Another odd ball to check out may be the yin li mev M400 Plus (this one does have LDAC but is also a dac/amp not a dap)
If you realy want a solid dap i would recomend probabaly stretching your budget more to the 750 range as that would open up a ton of options from sp1k (if you find a smoking deal), paw 6000, and maybe even an m15. Once you hit thus price range (yes I realize I asked you to bump your budget 50% btw) there are a ton more options with good app compatability.
I read the m11 has problems with apple music, on the dap side the dx160 seems like a solid choice I can probably test one.
On the dac/amp size the L&P w2 and chord mojo seem like they would fit best in a pocket, specially the w2 but mojos marbles are adhd gold, im kinda abandoning the ldac idea as I think the sq wont be up to the level.
It’s pretty neat, sounds reasonably nice, although I personally don’t think it offers that great of sq for the price, guess it makes sense when you have to make 2 amps in one that both take a sq hit from that. Otherwise interesting player though
I mean, makes sense, I feel like that cayin will have durability issues and not the best price-perfomance, but im very tempted to get it for its 300usd used price. Which is also the price of a new L&P w2, do you think its a step in sq or comparable?
my friend who had the dx160 sold it 2 days ago and he never told it was for sale, feels bad.
Im also now really doubting how comfortable is the chord mojo in the pocket along with the phone and cable, same goes for the w2 but looks more doable.
I think the w2 is a step ahead of the cayin outside of timbre imo
Hm, I think it’s a bit awkward either way, but manageable if you have reasonable sized pockets imo, attaching it to the back of the phone helps with like perhaps stick on velcro or something of the sort
in this case I will wait a month or two to see if a good used DAP pops up for a good price or maybe black friday deals, if that fails i’ll go for the mojo/w2.
feel free to leave other budgetish DAP recommendations if you have any.
I’d also give a nod to the hiby r5, which does drive more power demanding headphones a bit better than the dx160 2020, although personally I find the dx160 to offer a more refined and slightly more technical experience. Both players lean more toward warmth, but the 160 is more relaxed where the r5 is more forward. The ibasso takes a bit more of a micro focus where the r5 is a bit more macro focused
I had an m11 (non pro) and on first listen i decided to sell it. Ui was nice but the sound was… no thanks. Flat dynamics, small boxy sounding, layers all squished on top of each other. I dont normally say things are unenjoyable but i was on a trip listening and i unplugged the m11 and plugged into the airplanes free tv offerings.
The only reason I bought an m11 is because it’s a cheap transport that’s reasonably fast and has dual SD card slots, otherwise I can’t say I enjoy the sound of that dap lol
Hi guys, haven’t posted in a while but have been busy with University. I have a mate who is currently using the FiiO BTR5 with his moondrop starfields, but is looking to upgrade the source then the IEMs later on (a couple of months probably).
He’s looking into a DAP this time as he wants to move to FLAC only. Has anyone got any good suggestions on a DAP? He doesn’t mind buying second-hand at all. He also doesn’t need an Android player as he won’t be using Spotify or anything. He’s in love with my QP2R but we can’t find any good deals online at the moment and his budget is max £400 so about $550.
He listens mostly to rock/jazz, some indie as well. So is looking for mid-focused IEMs soon.
Not that I know much about portable gear, but is he only considering DAPs or also portable DAC/amp using phone/tablet as a transport or maybe a cheap DAP/Bluetooth transport as the source?
From what I’ve read at the 500USD level most DAPs don’t offer the sound quality to make it worthwhile, and especially for folks in the UK since everything here is more expensive. I mean I myself have briefly entertained the idea of a budgetary DAP but gave up for this reason.
There are several daps in the <$500 range that are worth it for sq, it just a matter of finding them over there. A few I can think of would be the qp1r and 2r if you can find them for a good price. Cayin n3pro which can be had new for under budget. For Android there is shanling m6 and ibasso dx150, which are pretty decent for the price.