Digital Audio Players (DAPs)

[PieterG]

I wear hearing aids so it's over-ear or nothing for me. And I'm fine with that because my recent headphone purchases have been a revelation.

That's unfortunate. Glad you can enjoy music in good quality nonetheless.

Good to hear your portable solution is still going strong after a number of years. My only reservation about getting the FT1 headphones are quite a few reports questioning their durability. More research required.

I had not heard that about the FT1.
What are your thoughts on the FT7 in that regard? And in general? I'd like to get those some time soon.

 

[RTHerringbone]

I had not heard that about the FT1.
What are your thoughts on the FT7 in that regard? And in general? I'd like to get those some time soon.

Don't tell @Jasonovich but I think I marginally prefer the FT7 to the HIFIMAN HE1000 Stealth.

The build quality is significantly better, comfort is too. I have them connected to my main system downstairs so can't reasonably compare sound signatures, but build quality and comfort are obviously big considerations with headphones. The HIFIMAN sound excellent through my office setup and their comfort is fine (I use them for 3+ hours a day) but just not as nice as the FiiO.

 

[Al ears]

My DAP is from several years ago: a Fiio M9 paired with F9pro IEMs on a 2.5mm balanced output. It opened my eyes (and ears) to high quality digital music and i still find that it's my best allround setup. It's the benchmark to which i compare all other hifi gear i try.

It has one major drawback: the OS is limited to some Fiio customized version of Android 7 and it doesn't have the support required for newer authentication mechanisms used by streaming services. As a result, i can't directly access Tidal with it. But it still holds 500GB of flac files i can carry with me everywhere, and the battery still lasts long enough after 8 years of use.

I'm sure that any Fiio DAP will let you enjoy your music for years. I was wondering if you really need full size headphones or if you might consider IEMs instead. I think they're not just convenient but also isolate better than regular closed headphones (without active noise cancelling).

Exactly what I was going to suggest. I use IEMs mostly for travel etc.
However, I understand some cannot get on with them