Mp3 player of amp for headphones ?

[moodysky]

Hi everyone


The jack input of my Fiio Mark 3 being broken, I've been thinking about buying a new player (Sony NW A105 or Hiby R3 Pro Saber), but after reading different articles (some of them contradictory) I'm now wondering about the usefulness of a headphone amp

I'm ignorant about all that stuff so I have some questions :


Is it wiser to simply buy a new player OR to use this amp with my Fiio X3, which would solve the jack input problem ?


This second solution would be better budget-wise, though I'm not sure I understand the role of the headphone amp here : the sound I'd get using the Fiio X3 and the amp ; would it be the result of the amp sound treatment only or would I also get the treatment (and the quality) of the Fiio X3 ? Or the Fiio would no longer play a role regarding the audio quality?


And if the headphone amp is the only responsible for quality, why not just buying an amp that you'd plug into anything (smartphone, etc) without worrying about the quality of the player ?

I hope I've been clear in my questions. Thanks a lot for your help guys !

 

[Al ears]

Confused but that I can understand.
Do you really want to carry around two devices when one will do?
The sound will still be dictated by the DAC in the Fiio.
Buy yourself a new player would be my opinion.
NOTE: I have removed your link as it's in French.

 

[Gray]

I briefly saw the amp in your (since removed) French link.
It looked very much to me like a combined DAC and amp.
Could you even plug its USB plug into your Fiio? I doubt it.

If you can't get the broken socket repaired, I reckon you'd do better to get another player.

 

[Al ears]

I briefly saw the amp in your (since removed) French link.
It looked very much to me like a combined DAC and amp.
Could you even plug its USB plug into your Fiio? I doubt it.

If you can't get the broken socket repaired, I reckon you'd do better to get another player.

That's what I thought and why link was removed (apart from the fact this forums content has to be in English).

 

[moodysky]

Hi guys, thanks for your help. Sorry, didn't know about the link.

Of course I'd prefer to have only one device, but the price difference is about $200, so I'm considering the amp solution.

You're right Gray, it is both a DAC and an amp and I'm pretty sure I could plug it into my Fiio since it has a USB-C connector.

So if I get it right, using the amp would be relatively the same in terms of sound quality as when I could plug my headphones directly into the Fiio ?
Sorry if I'm redundant, english is not my native language as you can see and I want to be sure I understand what you guys are saying.
Thanks a lot.

 

[Al ears]

I will make a correction in that case. If it is a DAC as well as an amplifier then it will depend what sort of signal you are sending from the Fiio.
If it is digital out then the sound will be determined by the DAC in that DAC / Amp

 

[moodysky]

Alright, thanks for this clarification.

In that case, why purchasing a mp3 player instead of investing in a DAC/amp and plug it into your phone ?
I can imagine that at the same price a DAC/amp would deliver a better sound than a whole MP3 player.

 

[Al ears]

Alright, thanks for this clarification.

In that case, why purchasing a mp3 player instead of investing in a DAC/amp and plug it into your phone ?
I can imagine that at the same price a DAC/amp would deliver a better sound than a whole MP3 player.

You have changed the subject yet again.
You first mentioned adding a dac / amp to your Fiio X3 now you are talking about adding it to a phone.
Please decide what you want to do finally.
One of the main reasons to use a separate Digital Music Player is storage, another is the quality of the inbuild dac / dacs within those DMPs along with the ability to attach different types of headphones.
Many expensive phones these days have no headphone sockets
If you own an expensive phone with excellent storage capability and a good dac then you don't need to add an amp / dac at all

 

[moodysky]

Well, I'm just trying to understand how it all works, sorry if my questions seem a bit out of subject.
I get what you're saying and having a cheap smartphone with an SD card in it, I'm wondering about purchasing a good DAC/amp that I'd plug into it rather than buying a whole new DMP. But I guess the size of the amp would be a problem if I want to use it during my strolls...

 

[Al ears]

Well, I'm just trying to understand how it all works, sorry if my questions seem a bit out of subject.
I get what you're saying and having a cheap smartphone with an SD card in it, I'm wondering about purchasing a good DAC/amp that I'd plug into it rather than buying a whole new DMP. But I guess the size of the amp would be a problem if I want to use it during my strolls...

I understand you are trying to figure it out but most people aee still trying to answer your first question.
Carrying around two objects can be an issue, storage space in a cheap phone can also be a problem if you use hires files.
Having two items to do the job of one good DMP doesn't seem a good idea to me but it might to others.
I guess it all depends on your budget and what you already own, most people already own a phone. That phone will contain a DAC so buying yet another DAC can seem a waste of money unless you feel the phones DAC is rubbish.....
I own a mid priced smartphone but all my music requirements are carried out using a good DMP because I use hires files and not mp3 files

 

[moodysky]

Alright, that makes sense.

My phone DAC is rubbish, I can easily hear the difference between the music coming out of it compared to what it sounded like from the Fiio.
I use hires files as well, but putting an SD card in my phone is sufficient in that regard.
Thanks for your patience.

 

[Al ears]

Alright, that makes sense.

My phone DAC is rubbish, I can easily hear the difference between the music coming out of it compared to what it sounded like from the Fiio.
I use hires files as well, but putting an SD card in my phone is sufficient in that regard.
Thanks for your patience.

If your phone's dac is rubbish but you can get sufficient storage in it and you can output digitally to an external dac then, in your case, it makes sense to buy one.

 

[moodysky]

Thanks, I think that'd be interesting to try.