DAPS! which one?

[Imusicman]

Hi guys,

I am in the market for a DAP. I have a max budget of £1500. I am looking for good quality on the go sound quality as well something that can be used in conjunction with my current set up at home.

Most of my music is on my PC ripped from CD's to ALAC via iTunes. I do also have a small collection of Hi Res downloads which I'm hoping to build upon in the future. My PC operating system is windows not Mac. I play my music when in via AirPlay to my Naim Mu-so( living room )or my Monitor Audio S200 ( bedroom ) either controlling it via my iPhone or PC . The Mu-so is also connected by Ethernet to my router.

any suggestions please

 

[Imusicman]

Hi guys,

i would really appreciate and welcome your comments.

if there are no suggestions as to which DAP to consider how about sharing your user experience with a player?

 

[The_Lhc]

WTF's a DAP?

 

[Imusicman]

It's a Digital Audio Player ortherwise known as a potable music player?

Not sure why you felt the need to respond that way.

 

[chebby]

Why not sync the music to your iPhone / iPad / iPod Touch?

Then just use AirPlay. You can sync and play content up to 16 bit / 44.1KHz (Apple Lossless) this way.

Given your budget, a 128GB iPhone or 128GB iPad Mini are both well within it.

The on board DACs in both devices won't be used via AirPlay (or connection with USB - lightning cable). The DAC in your Naim will do those duties.

The same devices will also use AirPlay for other audio apps like BBC iPlayer Radio or YouTube or Spotify or whatever.

 

[The_Lhc]

It's a Digital Audio Player ortherwise known as a potable music player?

Not sure why you felt the need to respond that way.

Because you posted in the DACs section and I've no idea what you were talking about, I've never heard anyone use that acronym before.

 

[Imusicman]

Thanks for your response Chebby. What you describe is exactly what I am currently doing. What I would like to do is replace my iPhone with a music player capable of hi res playback but with the same kind or similar functionality as the iPhone to use as a high quality standalone player as well have control over my current set up.

Although I'm not sure if this is possible

 

[Imusicman]

Theses types of players usually contain either a single or double DAC's and headphone amp and can also be used as either a portable player or desktop set up.

i couldn't find a forum topic which covered this subject. DAC seemed to be the nearest

 

[spiny norman]

It's a Digital Audio Player ortherwise known as a potable music player?

I prefer my music players to be non-drinkable. ;-) But having recently bought one I'd suggest the Astell & Kern AK Jr. will do almost everything you need, and for considerably less than your stated budget.

However, it won't control your existing devices, so I'd stick to what you have now for that functionality, or perhaps just buy a budget tablet purely to use as a remote control. Almost any basic Android model will do the job, and there are some around now for very little money.

 

[cheeseboy]

i'm not 100% sure that airplay supports high res - as in I have a hunch that anything sent via airplay will get downsampled so if that's your primary way of streaming music, the high res thing might be a red herring.

I think the only thing that would give you the features of a iphone with 24bit dac is some of the newer android phones.

Otherwise most stand alone music players will do that and not much more.

 

[MajorFubar]

I know you said 'on the go' but you also said 'at home'. Just for info as much as anything, your iPhone is already more than capable of streaming audio to an external powered DAC using Apple's proprietory lightning-to-USB adapter, confusingly marketed as the camera connection kit. If you're not bothered about using the built-in Music app, you can even stream lossless rips stored on your PC or on a local NAS using the FileBrowser app, which at £4.49 is pricey for a mobile app but it does what it says on the tin.

 

[Imusicman]

Thanks for the response. I will probably stick with my set up for now and see what comes out over the run up to Xmas.

I must say I do like the look of the AK120 11 and the Jr. How much of an improvement in SQ over a smartphone would you say?

 

[Imusicman]

Thanks I was considering the Samsung Edge due to its hi res capability. I don't think Apple or iTunes are interested in moving in this direction.

 

[Imusicman]

Thanks. I will look into the file browser app

 

[chebby]

It's disappointing that there is no upgrade to the maximum storage on the new iPhone 6s and iPad Mini 4. Still 128 GB (as are both of mine).

Also disappointing that there was no significant increase to the maximum storage on the iPod Touch. There needs to be a 256 GB version in all three model ranges.

Apple lossless compression yields around 3 albums per GB (I think), so 128 GB is still a bit 'stingy' for those who like their playback in 'full-fat' CD quality and have large libraries to sync.

I use 320K AAC VBR for everything, so I don't get capacity problems (and I believe the difference is only just audible to younger teenagers and bats with £20K + systems) however the OP is going to need a lot more capacity than that on whatever portable he chooses (especially with those ever growing numbers of 'hi-res' files).

10 seconds of research suggests the A&K only has 64GB (internal) with 64GB (maximum) external card memory, so it's also a bit 'nobbled' for anyone with ambitions to house a large library of lossless and hi-res content without juggling content around periodically or just loading up an edited version of the full collection on the PC.

 

[MajorFubar]

Thanks I was considering the Samsung Edge due to its hi res capability. I don't think Apple or iTunes are interested in moving in this direction.

Indeed it's a bandwagon they have so far ignored on the mobile side (iTunes on the Mac and PC is capable of hi res). I almost kind of respect them for it.

 

[Imusicman]

I like to think of myself as a young Bruce Wayne lol.

The storage space is disappointing considering the lack of a high GB iPod in the range. The Mrs has the 128 iPad but as you even then it's a trade with quality vs space.

I have done lots of research from so called experts but much prefer hearing about actual user experience. Tends to be more neutral imho.

How about the SQ of the Jr?

 

[Imusicman]

It will be interesting to see what the future holds for digital music that's for sure.