Best compact headphone listening solution?

[Jasonovich]

https://www.whathifi.com/speakers/wireless-speakers/these-massively-oversized-headphones-are-actually-a-bluetooth-speaker-you-can-buy

these Planners are the best solution 😆🤣

What da........!!! 🤣

 

[RTHerringbone]

Humour me.....

I quite like the idea of a DAP but don't really know what they are 😆

I'd like a portable audio solution that I can either use on rare commutes into the office, or (more likely) in common wanders around the house into rooms where my current main systems aren't based. So: is a DAP the best option? If so: where do I start - what are some decent options to look at? Budget is flexible as usual, but I'd like the whole package (DAP and headphones) to be sub £1,000, preferably sub £750.

Requirements are TIDAL and Spotify integration and I don't know if this is a thing, but can DAPs act as a streamer as well as a storage unit? I can see a benefit of both, and if at home I could just use it as a streaming device in any room. I also don't know what their limitations are in terms of headphones. I would need to use headphones rather than IEMs and from a commuting POV I suppose closed-back has to be the socially responsible way forward. I've been intrigued by Meze and their newest 99 Classics would tick an easy box - can a DAP power those sufficiently?

 

[RTHerringbone]

Just rummaged about and found my dad's old DAP (Sony NWZ-ZX1) but it has no peripherals so I'm not quite sure how usable it is. As a minimum I need a propriety power cable as it looks like a funky input. There's a USB-B slot which I assume means you need to physically copy music over to it, but I could well be wrong. Might try and resurrect that to see if I actually use it.

 

[Jasonovich]

Just rummaged about and found my dad's old DAP (Sony NWZ-ZX1) but it has no peripherals so I'm not quite sure how usable it is. As a minimum I need a propriety power cable as it looks like a funky input. There's a USB-B slot which I assume means you need to physically copy music over to it, but I could well be wrong. Might try and resurrect that to see if I actually use it.

It's a bit of a relic RT 🙂
Get yourself a FiiO M21, or a HiBy. The former is about £270 on Amazon, you may find cheaper if you look around.



PS. It works well with Meze or FiiO FTI or FT13 (dynamic closeback)

 

[RTHerringbone]

How do you transfer music onto a DAP? Can it all be done over WiFi through apps @Jasonovich ? Like it's treated as a separate on-network device?

Ideally I'd like to just install the equivalent of TIDAL or Spotify Connect to the DAP and install locally.

 

[Jasonovich]

How do you transfer music onto a DAP? Can it all be done over WiFi through apps @Jasonovich ? Like it's treated as a separate on-network device?

Ideally I'd like to just install the equivalent of TIDAL or Spotify Connect to the DAP and install locally.

Firstly all today's branded DAPs have TF SD Card slot. So you need one of those for your DAP. 1 TB should do it, avoid generic cheap Chinese and be aware not all branded TF SD memory are genuine.

There's many ways to do it it's all PC dependent. I assume your backup music is stored on your PC?

The most straight forward is get yourself USB microSD card adapter, format it to exFat or NTFS if it requires formatting and simply copy and paste your music files to TF SD Card.

Or you can download the DAP USB drivers from suppliers site, this will allow your PC to recognise the device and follow as above.

I have my mobile linked to my PC, same thing, most DAPs are android based. Also, as it is also an Android device, you can download all your streaming apps like Spotify, Tidal etc.

 

[RTHerringbone]

How does it work if you don't have a PC? My music is either streamed or physical vinyl (which isn't really DAP compatible!) I just use a Chromebook as my "laptop".

I'd love a product where I can install and download music locally at maximum quality, in much the same way as I can on my mobile. If a DAP offers no tangible upside from me downloading on my phone, then I can save myself a few quid, though I'd hope a DAP offers a vastly superior DAC compared to a mobile.

 

[Messiah]

Perhaps consider a dongle DAC for your phone?

 

[Jasonovich]

How does it work if you don't have a PC? My music is either streamed or physical vinyl (which isn't really DAP compatible!) I just use a Chromebook as my "laptop".

I'd love a product where I can install and download music locally at maximum quality, in much the same way as I can on my mobile. If a DAP offers no tangible upside from me downloading on my phone, then I can save myself a few quid, though I'd hope a DAP offers a vastly superior DAC compared to a mobile.

Oh ha ha ha Ok!

Most DAPs are wireless and have Bluetooth and you can use it as a streamer around the house. If you're streaming wireless, you can download music to your DAP device directly.

I'm not really familiar with Chromebook, I assume it does the same kind of stuff as a PC.

If you have music stored on your Chromebook, and there's a USB slot you should be able to copy music on to microSD card.

DAP is better sounding than your mobile. Does it justify the extra costs?
It really depends on the quality of the DAP.
Do your research and weigh up the pros and cons.
When I'm commuting I have my DAP drilling into my head.
Leaving my hands free to tap into messages on my mobile. The two can coexist. 😀

 

[RTHerringbone]

The FiiO M21 is an interesting option. I'd seen it mentioned in various online reviews and videos and frankly the cassette case accessory is also very cool:

View: https://youtu.be/hKLDqqWipB4?si=R2jkS3AsMVVfAsIB


It has me now wondering that IF I were to go down this route primarily for commuting, if I'd consider bluetooth headphones. Clearly not the optimum solution sonically, but a pragmatic compromise for the use case. Presumably I could get Bluetooth headphones with optional cables for any time when I'm at home listening and not near my current setups.

 

[Rodolfo]

(I had missed that this is an old post; I may be repeating myself here partly or mostly.)

I have and use three DAPs: a 3+-year old HiBy R3 Pro Saber, a 1.5-year old HIBYDIGITAL M300, and a 2-month old Fiio M21. I also recently trialed and returned a JadeAudio JM21 and a HiBy R4 -both able, but not as good for me as the M21. All DAPs I've had include a microSD card slot -for up to 2TB of storage, audio jacks, and (LDAC) Bluetooth. The latter two are android-based so I can install any app I want, including Tidal and Spotify. The first/older is not, but it does come -like some other non-android HiBy DAPs- with Tidal and Qobuz apps/support built-in (I have no experience with either). The first two DAPs fit in the little coin/watch pockets of my jeans, The M300 has a 3.5mm jack, while the R3 and M21 have balanced jacks as well. The M21 has a remarkable (unique-to-DAPs, I believe) Desktop Mode, which does remarkable powerful and dynamic things to my stereo when connected to its PC-USB input -at least- of my Rotel A12 integrated. The R3 has also offered a less-impressive such connection for its 3+ years.

I'm pro-DAP. The last phone I had that offered card storage and an audio jack was a 2019 Samsung S10e: I had 2 and still hold on to and take care of one of them. I can play through my own digital music collection and stream Amazon subscription music though each device.