I don't think so.


If you guys don't know about this, then who will?


I also listen to good vocal track like rebecca pidgeon but those are becoming secondary to me. Not as important anymore.
Nice but not necessary.

Yeah you're right most good Dap don't have good enough interface.

Only good phone like htc. Which is a bit bulky but there is no other option. not as good as dedicated dap out of headphone jack but loud and good enough speaker.

Maybe can ask in handphone/tablet section?

thank you for all the advices. i already got myself a fiio x1 from AcheenAudioShoppe. too late for x3 i guess.

I doubt anyone who's only into portable media players in an audiophile section wouldn't know about mobile phones, unless they have researched about it them selves.
As for most audiophiles, they would avoid listening to anything on a speaker on a phone. Basically it's just not good enough.

This is the actual thread you were supposed to ask recommendations from: https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/3583048

But since you already posted here, a good budget phone with decent speakers, I would say Moto G 2014. or get a tiny portable speaker you could carry around with your phone.

I already asked there long before. Can't find sstisfactory answer so I asked here.

Just want some audiophiles perspective.

Of course mobile would not be audiophile grade, only want to know what's the best among the worst.

One need to put an affordability, portability and usage criteria. Adding an external speaker is just adding more gadgets to bring. And sound quality would still not be as good as headphones or a good speaker. But much more portable.

Audiophiles are Neverending quest of better dap,better headphone or better sound system.

trolling

Don't call me a troll. I might buy something from you when I get back to audiophile hobbies.

It's an honest question, and you guys suggestionhat htc s are the best in term of dB output and cleanliness is very appreciated. It's a bit too big and costly. Moto g would be smaller and cheaper although not as good.

Most modern phone are to thin, therefore the speaker too tinny and unacceptable. Making everyone think it's supposed to be like that. Old phones are thicker with bigger speaker driver.

That's why I ask. Maybe you guys have some experiences on this.

Of course it would not be up to a real audiophile standard.

Sorry if you think I'm trolling.

Well actually Im a patron to mobile section and had share of rooting experience on budget smartphones namely Lenovo P780 and Huawei Mediapad X1. These are the best in term of 3G browsing performance vs value for they have big capacity battery 4k and 5k mAh respectively. They're of course lacking in term of giving out the best to dedicated DAC like OPPO HA-2 because of low bandwidth output coming out from their micro USB port hence I have to keep my fiio E18 for portability since it pairs better with budget smartphones than the demanding HA-2.

Now that it's very clear to our friend here am3 that he will not get anything better with a low budget dap while Sony's and AK240 have better ui and sound performance but very steep in price. He'll get a remedy in the like of HTC phones especially their flagship One M8 and 9 which has front speakers spewing the best in sound quality smartphone's speaker wise whilst its not the loudest plus friendlier Android's ui for his picking. With the price of Sony nw-zx2 he could buy htc flagship phone which is very close to his preferences. That will save him an extra speakers. Yes and again it's very true he was looking at the wrong place just because he doesnt want to have an extra gear and stretching the budget.

Nicely said

This post has been edited by raeimad: Jul 12 2015, 01:39 AM

It seems more like you're in a dilemma now. You've basically got the answer already.

HTC tend to make most phones with front facing speakers, and there are others like Xperia z3 (do correct me if I'm wrong) and the budget phone, Moto G.
Now these might not be the loudest phones out there, but when you're listening to anything, it's better having a front facing speaker rather than any other.
And any Android phone has basically the same UI, differences here and there depending on the brands but it's easy to use.

When I needed to play music outside my house, I took my USB speakers, plugged them to my phone via an OTG cable and 3.5mm jack. Rather than complaining about phone speaker not being loud enough, I could choose from an unlimited amount of USB speakers to buy, which ever size and weight I want from any price range.

This post has been edited by raeimad: Jul 12 2015, 04:35 AM

You guys are right. It's either htc or the cheaper Moto g.

Or some small portable speaker.

Sony has a better reputation with their audio playback in their phones than HTC IMO.
On a side note you can consider Vivo as they have their "audiophile range" phones (haven't tried them before though)

Vivo make good phone but a bit worried about service centre availabilities.

coming soon

That thing is RM3k, Mr David?

I'm in a position to consider a purchase of a new DAP as well. Here are my criterias:

1. Digital transport only. Never felt that I can get enough power and drive from a DAP alone. If it was a light travel day I'd be with my WS99BT or B&W P5 Wireless and AptX it with my S6 Edge.

2. Large enough storage. Herein lies the dilemma. DAPs with dual storage slots like X5ii aren't Tidal-friendly (which will be my 3rd criteria later). Although storage problem will be solvable with swapping microSDXC cards (when are the 200GB microSDXC getting here la?), that is not really ideal.

3. Tidal-friendly. That covers Qobuz too if or should I decide to splurge on that. Therefore the DAP must be able to install the Tidal app. Hence either iOS or Android only. Unless you go desktop route, which what I am doing with my 2015 MacBook and Chord Hugo.

4.. Minimum 24bit/384khz, DSD for future-proofing(somewhat). I could live with 24bit/192khz, since that's where highest quality of the content I listen to is at. Therefore requires data stream to the DAC after playback decode on the DAP to the DAC at those quality rates, via whatever connection that it has (coaxial, SPDIF or USB).

With these criterias, the DAP only works as digital transport, therefore the bigger storage size it is, the better. And please no clunky UI bullshit like in the Lotoo PAW or its equivalent, no matter how godly the DAP's sound processing or amplification circuitry is, it's useless since the DAP will be digital transport only. The DAP fucntion is to display the UI smooth enough, and to process, decode and play the files of the quality mentioned above, pass those signal to the DAC (Chord Hugo) via SPDIF, coaxial or USB.

With all those said, I believe my option has been reduced to either Android smartphones with USB OTG function, iOS device with Onkyo HF player (can decode and play up to DSD via PCM conversion), or hybrid DAPs with Android functionality(to be able to install Tidal, Spotify, Qobuz app) such as the Sony ZX1 or ZX2. Am I correct to assume this?

I'm sure if I eliminated the need to Tidal, my options are wider open than it is now, but I use Tidal (and to a certain smaller extent, Apple Music) to discover new music and new artists. Don't get me wrong, there are artists who are my staple diet in music, I cant live without Charles Mingus, Ella Fitzgerald and Diana Krall, but I like the new upcoming ones like Ed Sheeran and Charlie Puth as well, and would not have discovered them without Tidal or Apple Music.

So, are my choices limited to Sony ZX1/ZX2, iOS devices (iPhones, iPads, iPod Touch) and <insert whatever Android smartphones here>? I've just tested my S6 Edge--> Chord Hugo, works fine but damn crackly and noisy unless I turn on airplane mode. No such crackle and fuzz with my iPhone 6 Plus. And then there is the problem of storage. Which I foresee will never be enough with the burgeoning filesize of HiRes content. Hence why I see Tidal being the solution.

Even just use the player as digital transport, sound quality and signature might be different also.
I've tried the coaxial output of Fiio X5ii, iBasso DX90 and Cayin N6, the difference is quite obvious.

Not really recommend Andoird phone + OTG. Sound quality is not up to audiophile level. A HiFi quality OTG cable is difficult to find also.

X5ii and N6 both can support DSD natively, but it will convert to PCM format (normally is 88kHz/ 24bit) when using coxial output.
Most of the digital transport and DAC can only transfer or receive PCM signal via coaxial.

If you can accept desktop unit, Oppo 103 / 105D will be a good choice. They support Tidal and Youtube. Also support SACD/ CD/ DVD/ Blue-ray. Can connect to USB thumb drive or hard disk, then use iPad/iPhone or Android device to control and select music.

iPhone works fine. Android works fine once you enter Airplane mode. Player needs to be portable, so desktop unit is a no go. I may be moving to work in East Asia soon, so desktop unit is not an option.

Tidal is a must. Downloading and transferring is archaic to me, plus the spur of the moment music discovery is addictive to me. My scope of music used to only be retro music and jazz, but now with Tidal, music discovery is at my fingertips. I used to scoff at modern music not being up to par to my taste previously, but my activity has moved from sitting down and actively listening (which means desktop/home setup), to moving about (commuting) and work trips (transportable setups). Listening to just select few downloaded albums kinda makes me a closeted listener, and not exploring the other options available.. I dont wanna grow up to be an old fart who listens to Diana Krall and Eagles all the time.

Thanks to Tidal, I've just discovered an enjoyable listen to Robin Thicke's new single "Back Together" yesterday, a mish mash of retro 80s funk and disco and modern hip hop and rap track. I wouldn't have discovered this is the track wasn't slipped into one of the Tidal playlist I was listening to.

I've narrowed it down to the 2015 iPod Touch and Sony ZX1 (both have 128GB options) for digital transport AND Tidal streaming. I've also revived my AK120 (new updates plays DSD files via PCM conversion) with two 128GB cards for that need to transport music around.

This post has been edited by stringfellow: Aug 17 2015, 04:45 PM

hi guys, can recommend me a bluetooth pmp to replace my old sony A828 unit? sound quality on par or better preferable.
size : 8gb or above is enuf, i don't travel much so only use heavily during traveltime
able to play lossless file like ape and flac if possible. my sony can't do that

Budgetwise : RM500 enuf?

thx

edit : my sony a828 is giving problems nowadays. its been with me for years.. sadly it's dying..

This post has been edited by Shoot@M3: Sep 4 2015, 06:53 PM