Portable DAC for my train journeys?

[jonathanRD]

With work I spend a lot of time on trains these days, and whilst I spend much of the journey working on my surface pro, there are times when I need a break. I am not able to utilise my work mobile for Spotify (Premium) so I recently upgraded my personal mobile to a Sony Xperia (an upgrade for me anyway). I have a pair of AKG Y50 headphones which I intend to use with my new phone.

I'd like to get a portable dac to use between my phone and headphones so that I can listen to music downloaded to my phone from Spotify. I appreciate that my headphones are pretty basic, but I don't really want to carry around more expensive headphones.

I have a couple of questions.

For a budget of say £30 - £60 - is it worth purchasing a portable dac/headphone amp? (I want to get the best sound in the context of the partnering equipment)

Does anyone have any recommendations?

Would something like this be worth a shout?

 

[jjbomber]

I'd like to get a portable dac to use between my phone and headphones so that I can listen to music downloaded to my phone from Spotify. I appreciate that my headphones are pretty basic, but I don't really want to carry around more expensive headphones.

For a budget of say £30 - £60 - is it worth purchasing a portable dac/headphone amp?

FiiO K1 would be my guess. If you are able to try them out great. If not, buy on the internet with a 14 day returns policy. You may get a Audioquest Dragonfly open box for £60 if you are lucky.

 

[jonathanRD]

I'd like to get a portable dac to use between my phone and headphones so that I can listen to music downloaded to my phone from Spotify. I appreciate that my headphones are pretty basic, but I don't really want to carry around more expensive headphones.

For a budget of say £30 - £60 - is it worth purchasing a portable dac/headphone amp?

FiiO K1 would be my guess. If you are able to try them out great. If not, buy on the internet with a 14 day returns policy. You may get a Audioquest Dragonfly open box for £60 if you are lucky.

Thanks JJB, it's seems that the Xperia does output usb audio, but it's not very clear. If I could find something online that definitely confirms it would be good.

The Fiio K1 looks a good bet. I could stretch to the Audioquest Black but it does seem overkill unless I could get a deal.

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll let you know how I get on.

 

[MajorFubar]

You're going to be dragging more kit around with you on trains which are already cramped to start with, and it's something else you'll need to remember keep charged. Is it really worth it?

 

[Al ears]

You're going to be dragging more kit around with you on trains which are already cramped to start with, and it's something else you'll need to remember keep charged. Is it really worth it?

Personally, unless the DAC in the phone is really rubbish, I would doubt it. Spend the money on decent NC headphones.

 

[jonathanRD]

You're going to be dragging more kit around with you on trains which are already cramped to start with, and it's something else you'll need to remember keep charged. Is it really worth it?

Plenty of room in First Class old boy! *music2* *smile*

 

[jonathanRD]

You're going to be dragging more kit around with you on trains which are already cramped to start with, and it's something else you'll need to remember keep charged. Is it really worth it?

Personally, unless the DAC in the phone is really rubbish, I would doubt it. Spend the money on decent NC headphones.

The research I've done so far suggests the Sony Xperia L1 is a little on the quiet side in terms of audio output, so would the budget option of the Fiio K1 boost it somewhat? I don't mind paying £40 to try that.

Mentioning NC headphones has got me thinking - first I usually book a seat in the Quiet carriage on my trips back and forth to London, so I need to check how much noise my current cans emit. If in fact you can hear the music in the next seat on the train, then that's no good and I would then be looking for NC's.

But how much are portable and reasonably good sound quality NC's? And then would it be worth getting a headphone dac/amp but I suspect a better one to match the quality of the cans? Nice one Al ears - you have just unwittingly raised my budget several times over. *smile*

 

[jonathanRD]

You're going to be dragging more kit around with you on trains which are already cramped to start with, and it's something else you'll need to remember keep charged. Is it really worth it?

Plenty of room in First Class old boy! *music2* *smile*

Kidding aside, my train journeys are for work, but not commuting, so I always have a reserved seat. And I already carry my mobile and can charge my phones at the same time as charging my surface pro (keeping things charged becomes part of the daily routines when travelling a lot with work).

So really, the only extra kit are the portable headphones, cables and a small headphone dac. My water bottle and unbrella take up more room.

 

[Al ears]

You're going to be dragging more kit around with you on trains which are already cramped to start with, and it's something else you'll need to remember keep charged. Is it really worth it?

Personally, unle

ss the DAC in the phone is really rubbish, I would doubt it. Spend the money on decent NC headphones.

The research I've done so far suggests the Sony Xperia L1 is a little on the quiet side in terms of audio output, so would the budget option of the Fiio K1 boost it somewhat? I don't mind paying £40 to try that.

Mentioning NC headphones has got me thinking - first I usually book a seat in the Quiet carriage on my trips back and forth to London, so I need to check how much noise my current cans emit. If in fact you can hear the music in the next seat on the train, then that's no good and I would then be looking for NC's.

But how much are portable and reasonably good sound quality NC's? And then would it be worth getting a headphone dac/amp but I suspect a better one to match the quality of the cans? Nice one Al ears - you have just unwittingly raised my budget several times over. *smile*

I always aim to please. ;-)

 

[jonathanRD]

Tested the Y50's last night to make sure they did not leak too much sound if I was using them sat next to somebody and they passed the test. So tonight I downloaded some music from Spotify and used the headphones, and compared that to using my Lenovo Yoga tablet. So not much difference, and the sound was ok for what they are.

So unless anyone tells me that I will get a big improvment in sound quality adding a headphone dac/amp, I am going to trial using the headphones connected directly to the Sony Experia mobile and see how that goes. Next train journey is Monday next week.

 

[nick8858]

The Xperias volume will be throttled because of nanny state EU egislation that limits volume output so you don't damage your ears. Fiio headphone amp would help but like others have said another gadget to carry. Why not a dedicated music player Fiio X3 or something - plenty of volume there as the EU haven't gotten their nosey hands on it..

I had a pair of PSB m4u1 phones once which had an in built amplifier which were quite good. Quite bulky though

 

[MajorFubar]

The Xperias volume will be throttled because of nanny state EU egislation that limits volume output so you don't damage your ears.

Agreed, and people listening to anything but smashed-to-the-limits modern pop can't get the sound loud enough, expecially if they're not using very low impedance headphones. The Y50s are 32ohms which is probably near as low as you find in headphones, so at least OP should be getting the maximum volume he can realistically expect.

 

[jonathanRD]

The Xperias volume will be throttled because of nanny state EU egislation that limits volume output so you don't damage your ears. Fiio headphone amp would help but like others have said another gadget to carry. Why not a dedicated music player Fiio X3 or something - plenty of volume there as the EU haven't gotten their nosey hands on it..

I had a pair of PSB m4u1 phones once which had an in built amplifier which were quite good. Quite bulky though

A small headphone amp does not create an issue to me really, in relation to everything else I carry I doubt I would notice having extra gadgets.

Why not a dedicated music player?

1. I already carry a personal mobile phone which I have just renewed (I actually managed to reduce my monthly charge) with the capability to download and store music.

2. My travel is part of my work time, I still want to spend most of my time working (on the train) so this is just for those occasions where I am tired, need a break, or it's not approriate to work.

3. I wouldn't use a dedicated music player enough to justify paying 150+.

I'm still going to test the phone on it's own, but I might yet still get a small headphone dac/amp just to try.

 

[jonathanRD]

During my train journey yesterday I tested using my headphones connected directly to my Sony Experia phone listening to Spotify (both live streaming and some downloaded music). The volume was comfortable around 60% - so no need to max it or any issues with it being too weak.

Whether a portable dac/headphone amp will give me an appreciable improvement in sound quality is a moot point, as I found that the noise/sounds created by the movement of the train, seats, and general noise created around me would prevent me appreciating any better quality sound reproduction.

I'm still curious as to the benefits of a headphone dac/amp, so I might re-visit this again, but for now there seems little point for my train journeys. Thanks to everyone who contributed.

 

[MajorFubar]

I think what you've discovered is what a few of us were politely trying to say: it's a faff that's not going to be worth it.

 

[jonathanRD]

I think what you've discovered is what a few of us were politely trying to say: it's a faff that's not going to be worth it.

Thankfully I've not wasted any money so far, but it has got me thinking further.

Really stupid question maybe, but with noise cancelling headphones, is their primary purpose to cancel all external noise? I'm just thinking that will cut out all those noises I heard from the train. (yes I know you all told me so beforehand).

 

[dalethorn]

I think what you've discovered is what a few of us were politely trying to say: it's a faff that's not going to be worth it.

Thankfully I've not wasted any money so far, but it has got me thinking further.

Really stupid question maybe, but with noise cancelling headphones, is their primary purpose to cancel all external noise? I'm just thinking that will cut out all those noises I heard from the train. (yes I know you all told me so beforehand).

The Bose QC25 and 35 are the best at suppressing the low-freq. rumble in public transport. They cancel best in the midrange, and the only limitation in treble cancelation is people speaking close by.

 

[jonathanRD]

The Bose QC25 and 35 are the best at suppressing the low-freq. rumble in public transport. They cancel best in the midrange, and the only limitation in treble cancelation is people speaking close by.

Thanks Dale - just been reading about them.

I think I will see how I get on for a while, and if I start to become dissatisfied with what I have, the above suggestions become a good option.

The options for use with a phone and for air travel are interesting - that might tip the balance in their favour, it would increase their usefulness to me.

 

[iandb1970]

I use a Samsung S7 with FLAC files using VLC Player. I recently added a Cyrus Soundkey and some QC25's and the effect is amazong. The sounkey is no hassle (powered by the phone and is tiny) and the QC25 excellent. If I don't want the QC25s with me (lot so train travel) there is still a noticeable improvement in sound quality with some £30 in ear phones.