Digital Audio Players (DAPs)

[woodbar]

No, it appears to have been picked up twice when I commented. No idea why.

Gremlins in the machine!

 

[RTHerringbone]

Micro SD cards aren't cheap, are they? I figure that 1TB is absolutely ample for me as I don't need access to ~50k tracks at max quality, so 1TB can save me a few quid.

Are there any brands to favour / avoid, and do things like read / write speeds actually matter for audio, or are they more relevant for other media types?

 

[Al ears]

Micro SD cards aren't cheap, are they? I figure that 1TB is absolutely ample for me as I don't need access to ~50k tracks at max quality, so 1TB can save me a few quid.

Are there any brands to favour / avoid, and do things like read / write speeds actually matter for audio, or are they more relevant for other media types?

One TB?, How much music do you want on a card?

 

[RTHerringbone]

One TB?, How much music do you want on a card?

I thought it represented a compromise from the 2TB that the DAPs I'm looking at can take 😆

What sort of card size do you typically use?

In reality I'm not really likely to ever need as many as 1,000 songs on there so I can easily scale right back as there's no point having masses of redundant space. I think I'd probably go slightly overboard with 256GB just for headroom but even that's moot because I can obviously just add / remove tracks as I see fit anyway.

 

[Dave_]

I thought it represented a compromise from the 2TB that the DAPs I'm looking at can take 😆

What sort of card size do you typically use?

In reality I'm not really likely to ever need as many as 1,000 songs on there so I can easily scale right back as there's no point having masses of redundant space. I think I'd probably go slightly overboard with 256GB just for headroom but even that's moot because I can obviously just add / remove tracks as I see fit anyway.

Even a 128GB card will hold several thousand lossless tracks....

 

[Jasonovich]

Micro SD cards aren't cheap, are they? I figure that 1TB is absolutely ample for me as I don't need access to ~50k tracks at max quality, so 1TB can save me a few quid.

Are there any brands to favour / avoid, and do things like read / write speeds actually matter for audio, or are they more relevant for other media types?

Beware of SD fakes, particularly Sandisk and Samsung.
I buy from Amazon because there's no fuss if I need to return.
The good memories are, Kingston, Lexar, Sandisk, Samsung, Integral and Amazon Basics.

Slightly off topic, I only wish DAPs use CFexpress like digital cameras, less fragile and much faster. I guess, speed while necessary in video and photography, not so crucial in audio.
It'll be nice to have CFexpress reliability and longevity, happy to pay a little extra for it.

 

[Al ears]

I thought it represented a compromise from the 2TB that the DAPs I'm looking at can take 😆

What sort of card size do you typically use?

In reality I'm not really likely to ever need as many as 1,000 songs on there so I can easily scale right back as there's no point having masses of redundant space. I think I'd probably go slightly overboard with 256GB just for headroom but even that's moot because I can obviously just add / remove tracks as I see fit anyway.

I currently employ a 256gb card. It has loads of tracks on it including many hires ones...... and it's still only 60% full.
Mind you it's mainly used at work and travelling.
All my CDs get backed up onto an external USB hard drive which is 1tb for home and archive purposes

 

[RTHerringbone]

I'm going to break recent habits and scale back my initial foray into DAPs and portability in general.

I've decided that unless I hear strong opinions to the contrary, that it makes most sense for me to go in right at the budget end so I get a sense of what that end of the market offers me, rather than flying in at the mid-tier and feeling a bit lost.

My DAP of choice is going to be the modest FiiO JM21 rather than the M21, and I'll pair that with their sister FT1 closed-back DD headphones rather than the £200+ costlier Meze Audio 99 Classic Gen 2s. I do have a bit of an affinity with FiiO given other products of theirs that I own, so they've earned my trust.

It's a simple decision really. It's a portable setup so if I drop it / lose it / it's pinched, then it's not a disaster. The FT1s look less "showy" than other closed-backs I've seen, so I won't feel like a tit wearing them when commuting. The DAP has what I need - balanced option, Android, battery lasts long enough, it's small and light.

 

[woodbar]

I'm going to break recent habits and scale back my initial foray into DAPs and portability in general.

I've decided that unless I hear strong opinions to the contrary, that it makes most sense for me to go in right at the budget end so I get a sense of what that end of the market offers me, rather than flying in at the mid-tier and feeling a bit lost.

My DAP of choice is going to be the modest FiiO JM21 rather than the M21, and I'll pair that with their sister FT1 closed-back DD headphones rather than the £200+ costlier Meze Audio 99 Classic Gen 2s. I do have a bit of an affinity with FiiO given other products of theirs that I own, so they've earned my trust.

It's a simple decision really. It's a portable setup so if I drop it / lose it / it's pinched, then it's not a disaster. The FT1s look less "showy" than other closed-backs I've seen, so I won't feel like a tit wearing them when commuting. The DAP has what I need - balanced option, Android, battery lasts long enough, it's small and light.

That sounds like a plan. Think you will be pleased with that setup - I use FT1s with my Fiio M15S on occasions and it all works well.

I do rather regret paying the rather high price for the M15S especially as I don't use it that much these days!

 

[RTHerringbone]

That sounds like a plan. Think you will be pleased with that setup - I use FT1s with my Fiio M15S on occasions and it all works well.

I do rather regret paying the rather high price for the M15S especially as I don't use it that much these days!

The bold bit particularly applies to me and a DAP. I will certainly use it on holiday in July and for mooching about in the garden, so with such limited guaranteed use it would just be pointless throwing a lot of money at it.

Have you had any issues with the FT1s? I saw some issues with the early production runs and then some reviews speculating that longer term durability might be an issue.

 

[Jasonovich]

I'm going to break recent habits and scale back my initial foray into DAPs and portability in general.

I've decided that unless I hear strong opinions to the contrary, that it makes most sense for me to go in right at the budget end so I get a sense of what that end of the market offers me, rather than flying in at the mid-tier and feeling a bit lost.

My DAP of choice is going to be the modest FiiO JM21 rather than the M21, and I'll pair that with their sister FT1 closed-back DD headphones rather than the £200+ costlier Meze Audio 99 Classic Gen 2s. I do have a bit of an affinity with FiiO given other products of theirs that I own, so they've earned my trust.

It's a simple decision really. It's a portable setup so if I drop it / lose it / it's pinched, then it's not a disaster. The FT1s look less "showy" than other closed-backs I've seen, so I won't feel like a tit wearing them when commuting. The DAP has what I need - balanced option, Android, battery lasts long enough, it's small and light.

FT1 closed-back dynamic headphones are really good, real wood and very good quality. I'm using Meze ivipQ-238 HIFI 8-Core litzs cables with mine but stock cables are good also.

 

[woodbar]

No issues at all - I know they had a problem with the swivel joint pivot on early ones where the fixing would just fall off!

Mine came with the newer modified joints and not had any problem with them. I did try some sheep skin ear pads from Ali originally, because I just can't get on with fabric faced ones they supply. Unfortunately they did change the sound profile quite a bit so I ended up getting the proper Fiio genuine leather ones which sound great and are very comfortable.

They tend to be my first choice when having a session although depending on my ears performance that day sometimes I perceive they are a bit "forward" but that is probably just my variable hearing !

They seem to have a good bass performance, not bloated at all, and very dynamic sounding.

Hope that all makes sense?

 

[RTHerringbone]

Perfect - thanks for your input @woodbar and @Jasonovich 👍

The deed is done - the DAP, headphones and a separate case for the DAP all arrive tomorrow. My scaling back of ambition also extends to me just getting by with the stock 64GB SD card for starters.

EDIT: I lied and have ordered a 256GB card too - I saw how big my favourited track list on Tidal was.....

 

[Al ears]

Perfect - thanks for your input @woodbar and @Jasonovich 👍

The deed is done - the DAP, headphones and a separate case for the DAP all arrive tomorrow. My scaling back of ambition also extends to me just getting by with the stock 64GB SD card for starters.

EDIT: I lied and have ordered a 256GB card too - I saw how big my favourited track list on Tidal was.....

I hope you enjoy.
Mine is currently in its second role as a music system in my kitchen paired with a Dali Katch speaker. It does the job well enough......

 

[woodbar]

Perfect - thanks for your input @woodbar and @Jasonovich 👍

The deed is done - the DAP, headphones and a separate case for the DAP all arrive tomorrow. My scaling back of ambition also extends to me just getting by with the stock 64GB SD card for starters.

EDIT: I lied and have ordered a 256GB card too - I saw how big my favourited track list on Tidal was.....

Gonna be like Christmas again tomorrow then?

I use a 512Gb card in the M15S but I could have easily got away with a 256Gb - reassuring to have plenty of free space though.

 

[Jasonovich]

Gonna be like Christmas again tomorrow then?

I use a 512Gb card in the M15S but I could have easily got away with a 256Gb - reassuring to have plenty of free space though.

You can never have less, I have 1TB on my DAB, both DABs.

I have stored mostly DSD and this gobbles up a lot of SD memory but if you only have FLAC or lesser loss compression format, 256GB is more than sufficient.

 

[RTHerringbone]

Early impressions are that this combo for the price delivers in spades. I'm very satisfied with my first half hour of listening.

I can't separate which component is delivering what, but as a duo the detail retrieval is great, tonality seems as I like, the soundstage whilst obviously tighter than open backs is still more than enough.

Currently on medium gain through the balanced input and 55 on a 120 volume scale is more than plenty for me.

More listening to do and some photos when it's daylight! Plus an embarrassing anecdote about a now defunct leatherette case.....🤦

 

[Jasonovich]

Early impressions are that this combo for the price delivers in spades. I'm very satisfied with my first half hour of listening.

I can't separate which component is delivering what, but as a duo the detail retrieval is great, tonality seems as I like, the soundstage whilst obviously tighter than open backs is still more than enough.

Currently on medium gain through the balanced input and 55 on a 120 volume scale is more than plenty for me.

More listening to do and some photos when it's daylight! Plus an embarrassing anecdote about a now defunct leatherette case.....🤦

View attachment 11483

I'm glad you took the plunge, it is multiple times better than listening to music on your mobile.
I think the FT1 is amazing closed budget headphone, still gives me great pleasure on my walks through the common.
Enjoy!

 

[RTHerringbone]

Those early impressions are still with me; I'm quite astounded by how good the pairing is, and that may be a little bit due to me assuming that there would be major compromises made versus my other systems.

Obviously the other setups have a bit "more" of everything, but the quality I'm getting here is miles better than the low bar I'd set in advance. I've dropped the Gain down to Low and the FT1s are given plenty of juice and performing just fine at 55/120. I'm going to rotate through a few very familiar tracks and albums today to really get a feel for it. Battery life seems fine to me - currently dropping about 8-9% per hour of listening time.

Out of curiosity I'll try some planars later (and will likely have to crank the Gain to at least Medium) but I'll never use them in practice with the DAP, just an enquiring mind seeing what this little box can do.

 

[RTHerringbone]

Apologies for the double post, but I'm quite pleased with things.

Forgot to mention that I tried out the automated EQ feature which purports to match my FT1s to the 2018 Harman curve (obviously for over-ear headphones). And in my opinion, this pairing sounds *miles* better without EQ. My understanding is that the curve is effectively just a preference for most people and it seems like I am a contrarian because it was far more engaging without EQ.

Another point: FT1s are very, very comfortable. Good passive isolation and the build quality seems fine - no squeaks, creaks or wobbly bits, and the size adjuster works well without any apparent sign of it readjusting itself.

EDIT: And an edit to avoid posting thrice in a row. I'm comparing my headphone setup to the DAP and I love that they're different and it's just enjoyable to be able to experience the same tracks in different ways. It's an obvious statement but open-backed versus closed-back headphones are wildly, wildly different and both have some unique qualities which are lovely to be able to experience; I'd never had closed-backs before and now I'm rather intrigued about how good they can be further up the range...... 😆

 

[woodbar]

And in my opinion, this pairing sounds *miles* better without EQ.

Exactly my thoughts - having tried the PEQ in the Eversolo DMP-A6, Topping DX5 II and the Fiio K13 R2R for my headphones I came to the conclusion it might be able to correct some parts of the spectrum to suit BUT overall it just seemed to take some of the "life" out of the music?

Probably more expensive stand alone DSP might give better results than the "added feature bundled versions" in these units but mine is turned Off across the board!

 

[woodbar]

I'd never had closed-backs before and now I'm rather intrigued about how good they can be further up the range...... 😆

I missed that bit, hence two posts......

You've only had the setup 24hrs and you've already got upgraditis??!!

 

[RTHerringbone]

it just seemed to take some of the "life" out of the music?

Yeah, it all just felt a bit flat and lifeless with EQ.

It made me wonder about people who are firmly wedded to EQing to fit specific things like the Harman curve. Do they actually listen and critically, independently decide whether or not they like what they're hearing, or are they conforming to a mantra that "this is what right sounds like" and just assuming that it's how music is best presented?

You've only had the setup 24hrs and you've already got upgraditis??!!

Like many, I'm in a permanent state of having upgrade-itis 🤷‍♂️

 

[Jasonovich]

I'd never had closed-backs before and now I'm rather intrigued about how good they can be further up the range...... 😆

In my other life, when I was commuting to work (retired) in the middle of cold winter, the FT1s were the perfect ear warmers 😄

I'm not encouraging you to spend your money 😜but Meze and ZMF do excellent closed back dynamics and planars, worth investigating.

 

[Jasonovich]

I missed that bit, hence two posts......

You've only had the setup 24hrs and you've already got upgraditis??!!

That's my boy!