Mobile audio nirvana, sort of....

[Al ears]

Many of you may know if you have been following my threads that I work away from home more than I am there. I have been, for some time now, trying to find a portable equivalent of my home system and I now appear to be getting there. I was fortunate enough to get a very good deal recently on eBay for an Onkyo DP-X1 and this, along with a pair of B&W P7s have been a revelation.

I had set my sights on a nice Questyle digital music player but they are not cheap and are difficult to audition. Whatever, they Onkyo blows my current Fiio X5 out of the water and, considering the value for money these devices offers that's really saying something.

I feel my search for portable music may have come to a halt for the moment. Time no to invest in more music.

 

[insider9]

Now you can treat yourself to some MQA files

 

[QuestForThe13thNote]

I'd like to go down the Astell and kern route as they sound lovely. Downside is they are expensive.

 

[chebby]

Hmmm ...

... more time away working than at home ... needs to use ear protection at work as well as when going to and from it ... cannot carry cameras (or phones with cameras) when working ... nature of work is confidential and "sort of" related to/similar to GCHQ in some way (according to a recent post).

I'll get there one day.

 

[Gazzip]

Hmmm ...

... more time away working than at home ... needs to use ear protection at work as well as when going to and from it ... cannot carry cameras (or phones with cameras) when working ... nature of work is confidential and "sort of" related to/similar to GCHQ in some way (according to a recent post).

I'll get there one day.

He could tell you, but then he'd have to kill you...

 

[nopiano]

I don't know the player but I've heard the phones and they're super. Comfy too, even for my big bonce.

Hope you enjoy them!

 

[Gazzip]

Hmmm ...

... more time away working than at home ... needs to use ear protection at work as well as when going to and from it ... cannot carry cameras (or phones with cameras) when working ... nature of work is confidential and "sort of" related to/similar to GCHQ in some way (according to a recent post).

I'll get there one day.

...AND Al ears is an anagram for "A laser"... the plot thickens...

If of course Al Ears is his real name at all? Hmmm...

 

[newlash09]

Glad you are happy with the sound

 

[Al ears]

I'd like to go down the Astell and kern route as they sound lovely. Downside is they are expensive.

w

Yep, too expensive and overrated in my opinion when you look at pricing. Not the best bangs for bucks which is why I went the Onkyo route.

 

[Al ears]

Hmmm ...

... more time away working than at home ... needs to use ear protection at work as well as when going to and from it ... cannot carry cameras (or phones with cameras) when working ... nature of work is confidential and "sort of" related to/similar to GCHQ in some way (according to a recent post).

I'll get there one day.

Do you like cryptic crosswords??

Perhaps the GCHQ reference was a red herring.... please feel free to ignore....

 

[Al ears]

Now you can treat yourself to some MQA files

'Where we are going we don't need MQA'

Very limited on choice and I am not limited too much on storage capacity.

 

[insider9]

Now you can treat yourself to some MQA files

'Where we are going we don't need MQA'

Very limited on choice and I am not limited too much on storage capacity.

Haha, hence the wink. I know your position on MQA. It's been really quiet on that front and I was really hoping it would take off.

Congrats on your purchase! It's a great looking piece of hardware.

 

[Al ears]

Now you can treat yourself to some MQA files

'Where we are going we don't need MQA'

Very limited on choice and I am not limited too much on storage capacity.

Haha, hence the wink. I know your position on MQA. It's been really quiet on that front and I was really hoping it would take off.

Congrats on your purchase! It's a great looking piece of hardware.

Damn people with long memories but yes, nothing has changed, availability cr*p, it's still compressed, only good therefore for streaming.... if they can ever get the act together. Otherwise it's hires and DSD all the way. ;-)

 

[Andrewjvt]

Am i missing the point but when i read the thread my eyes lit up only to see the price £399
Is that cheap then?

 

[Al ears]

Am i missing the point but when i read the thread my eyes lit up only to see the price £399 Is that cheap then?

What is £399?

 

[Andrewjvt]

Am i missing the point but when i read the thread my eyes lit up only to see the price £399 Is that cheap then?

What is £399?

£1 Less than £400

But seriously they are quite expensive but then again I've not looked and they have high storage also so maybe its justified. Just thought they would have been a little cheaper.

 

[paulkebab]

I feel I had to comment on this as a few months ago you swayed me away from the AK towards the Fiio X5. Now I didn't aud the AK but after many reports on the Fiio I bought one. No regrets either although the search function is sh!te as it is on all DAPs. Now, my main gist is you still have preference for the (in all tests I've read) the slightly inferior Onkyo, why is that? The AK70 is subjectively or objectively better but you can't seem to accept that. Now I realise it might sound better to x person's ears but you don't present any evidence for trying both units out. Not having a chew at you but you seem biased against AK for some reason.

 

[Al ears]

I feel I had to comment on this as a few months ago you swayed me away from the AK towards the Fiio X5. Now I didn't aud the AK but after many reports on the Fiio I bought one. No regrets either although the search function is sh!te as it is on all DAPs. Now, my main gist is you still have preference for the (in all tests I've read) the slightly inferior Onkyo, why is that? The AK70 is subjectively or objectively better but you can't seem to accept that. Now I realise it might sound better to x person's ears but you don't present any evidence for trying both units out. Not having a chew at you but you seem biased against AK for some reason.

Not biased at all, and for your information I have heard many DAPs before making my choice including a couple of AKs.

To my mind the older versions couldn't handle native DSD as well as some and where, to my mind only you understand, overpriced.

People are obviously going to make their own decisions but I would urge them to listen to as many as possible before making their minds up.

I'd be interested to see what 'tests' you have read about the Onkyo and what exactly it is supposed to be inferior to. Hopefully you can find a back-to-back review of something in the same price bracket otherwise it's pretty irrelevant.

For what it's worth I kept the X5 mark2, my daughter now uses it.

 

[Al ears]

Am i missing the point but when i read the thread my eyes lit up only to see the price £399 Is that cheap then?

What is £399?

£1 Less than £400

But seriously they are quite expensive but then again I've not looked and they have high storage also so maybe its justified. Just thought they would have been a little cheaper.

Decent DAPs like most things are not cheap, it's pretty difficult to condense something of that quality, as a player, DAC and headphone amplifier and streamer, into something you can put in your pocket.

The price you quote is for the cheaper S1, I managed to source the more expensive X1 (£599 rrp) for a little over a third of the price, which is something of a bargain I feel and might still be even at full price.

I never said it was going to be a cheap system, quality sounds on the move was never going to be, and for all those who may say well I just use my iPhone 7 I'd ask them to look at the cost of that phone.

 

[insider9]

Am i missing the point but when i read the thread my eyes lit up only to see the price £399 Is that cheap then?

What is £399?

£1 Less than £400

But seriously they are quite expensive but then again I've not looked and they have high storage also so maybe its justified. Just thought they would have been a little cheaper.

Decent DAPs like most things are not cheap, it's pretty difficult to condense something of that quality, as a player, DAC and headphone amplifier and streamer, into something you can put in your pocket.

The price you quote is for the cheaper S1, I managed to source the more expensive X1 (£599 rrp) for a little over a third of the price, which is something of a bargain I feel and might still be even at full price.

I never said it was going to be a cheap system, quality sounds on the move was never going to be, and for all those who may say well I just use my iPhone 7 I'd ask them to look at the cost of that phone.

You... Never pay full price for anything, there is always room to haggle!

+1

And at that price even I'd be interested also even though I don't listen to music on the go. At the end of a day it's a quality source after all that could easily be used as part of a system.

Interesting that some will happily pay £400 for Chord Mojo to improve how their phone sounds but will not consider a DAP.

 

[Al ears]

Am i missing the point but when i read the thread my eyes lit up only to see the price £399 Is that cheap then?

What is £399?

£1 Less than £400

But seriously they are quite expensive but then again I've not looked and they have high storage also so maybe its justified. Just thought they would have been a little cheaper.

Decent DAPs like most things are not cheap, it's pretty difficult to condense something of that quality, as a player, DAC and headphone amplifier and streamer, into something you can put in your pocket.

The price you quote is for the cheaper S1, I managed to source the more expensive X1 (£599 rrp) for a little over a third of the price, which is something of a bargain I feel and might still be even at full price.

I never said it was going to be a cheap system, quality sounds on the move was never going to be, and for all those who may say well I just use my iPhone 7 I'd ask them to look at the cost of that phone.

You... Never pay full price for anything, there is always room to haggle!

+1

And at that price even I'd be interested also even though I don't listen to music on the go. At the end of a day it's a quality source after all that could easily be used as part of a system.

Interesting that some will happily pay £400 for Chord Mojo to improve how their phone sounds but will not consider a DAP.

I always wondered that as well with the Apple variety having non upgradeable storage capacity. Pure waste of time and money but obviously, each to their own, you do what you feel best.

As I have stated in other threads I am limited on where I can take my phone.

And yes, the Onkyo will plug into my home system and gives my Oppo a run for it's money.

 

[pauln]

Hmmm ...

... more time away working than at home ... needs to use ear protection at work as well as when going to and from it ... cannot carry cameras (or phones with cameras) when working ... nature of work is confidential and "sort of" related to/similar to GCHQ in some way (according to a recent post).

I'll get there one day.

Do you like cryptic crosswords??

Perhaps the GCHQ reference was a red herring.... please feel free to ignore....

I've got a vague recollection of you once saying you were a radio operator on an oil rig - ear protection on the way to work in a chopper follows from that, don't know why you can't have a camera though.

 

[newlash09]

From your above post, understand that you have tried the aux-in into your amp from the onkyo. And seem to be more pleased than the oppo via the line-in's. Am I right in understanding it this way

 

[Leif]

Sounds like you have a very nice system.

Am i missing the point but when i read the thread my eyes lit up only to see the price £399 Is that cheap then?

What is £399?

£1 Less than £400

But seriously they are quite expensive but then again I've not looked and they have high storage also so maybe its justified. Just thought they would have been a little cheaper.

Decent DAPs like most things are not cheap, it's pretty difficult to condense something of that quality, as a player, DAC and headphone amplifier and streamer, into something you can put in your pocket.

The price you quote is for the cheaper S1, I managed to source the more expensive X1 (£599 rrp) for a little over a third of the price, which is something of a bargain I feel and might still be even at full price.

I never said it was going to be a cheap system, quality sounds on the move was never going to be, and for all those who may say well I just use my iPhone 7 I'd ask them to look at the cost of that phone.

You... Never pay full price for anything, there is always room to haggle!

+1

And at that price even I'd be interested also even though I don't listen to music on the go. At the end of a day it's a quality source after all that could easily be used as part of a system.

Interesting that some will happily pay £400 for Chord Mojo to improve how their phone sounds but will not consider a DAP.

I always wondered that as well with the Apple variety having non upgradeable storage capacity. Pure waste of time and money but obviously, each to their own, you do what you feel best.

As I have stated in other threads I am limited on where I can take my phone.

And yes, the Onkyo will plug into my home system and gives my Oppo a run for it's money.

The point about Apple is that most of us carry a phone anyway, and with the lighning output we can use headphones with an integrated DAC such as the Audeze Sine, but there are others. The iPhone DAC is of course not a patch on the one in your DAP. The non upgradeable storage is not an issue for me, but it is annoying. No doubt it is a cynical ploy to force us to buy the more expensive model, or upgrade.

I can see these things getting much cheaper in 5 years time, especially the external DACs.

I assume your unit can drive demanding headphones such as Sennheiser HD600? They are too much for an iPhone without an external amp.

 

[Al ears]

Sounds like you have a very nice system.

Am i missing the point but when i read the thread my eyes lit up only to see the price £399 Is that cheap then?

What is £399?

£1 Less than £400

But seriously they are quite expensive but then again I've not looked and they have high storage also so maybe its justified. Just thought they would have been a little cheaper.

Decent DAPs like most things are not cheap, it's pretty difficult to condense something of that quality, as a player, DAC and headphone amplifier and streamer, into something you can put in your pocket.

The price you quote is for the cheaper S1, I managed to source the more expensive X1 (£599 rrp) for a little over a third of the price, which is something of a bargain I feel and might still be even at full price.

I never said it was going to be a cheap system, quality sounds on the move was never going to be, and for all those who may say well I just use my iPhone 7 I'd ask them to look at the cost of that phone.

You... Never pay full price for anything, there is always room to haggle!

+1

And at that price even I'd be interested also even though I don't listen to music on the go. At the end of a day it's a quality source after all that could easily be used as part of a system.

Interesting that some will happily pay £400 for Chord Mojo to improve how their phone sounds but will not consider a DAP.

I always wondered that as well with the Apple variety having non upgradeable storage capacity. Pure waste of time and money but obviously, each to their own, you do what you feel best.

As I have stated in other threads I am limited on where I can take my phone.

And yes, the Onkyo will plug into my home system and gives my Oppo a run for it's money.

The point about Apple is that most of us carry a phone anyway, and with the lighning output we can use headphones with an integrated DAC such as the Audeze Sine, but there are others. The iPhone DAC is of course not a patch on the one in your DAP. The non upgradeable storage is not an issue for me, but it is annoying. No doubt it is a cynical ploy to force us to buy the more expensive model, or upgrade.

I can see these things getting much cheaper in 5 years time, especially the external DACs.

I assume your unit can drive demanding headphones such as Sennheiser HD600? They are too much for an iPhone without an external amp.

They can up to a point. One of my only concerns, compared to the X5 , is the volume levels achievable but then I never play tracks at disco levels.. ;-)