Question Which DAP ?

DJM1976

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Hi all,

After years of using my phone as my music device for on the go, I have decided that it is high time that I got myself a DAP for DSD and other high resolution audio formats. Ideally the DAP will need to have plenty of battery life for long journeys should it be Train / Coach / Plane, also another essential for me would be Playlist compatibility like M3U etc. I have a number of playlists which get used to what mood I am in & so it would be brilliant to have this facility at hand, rather than searching through track by track.

Now I am set to go away in a couple weeks and will be doing around 10hrs of travelling, so do need to get a device ASAP. I do have a budget in mind of say no more than £300. I have seen a few makes like Sony, Cowon, Fiio etc, but have seen so many mixed reports on Playlist compatibility that I really don’t know what would be good to go for or shortlist.

i am not too worried if the DAP has Spotify capabilities as I do have my phone for that, but really don’t want to be killing the phones battery before I get to airport security.

is there anyone here that can suggest a DAP with the needed requirements within my price range ?

Many thanks
 
Why not buy an external USB battery charger for the trip rather than rush into a dap decision?
 
No experience with others but the Sony NWA 40 series is a nice machine. I never bothered with playlists, and just run the device on random pot luck,with in excess of 7000 pieces, of music ,I never get bored.
 
Sony NWA-A45 (newer A105 on the horizon but not yet released) or Fiio M9 or M11.
 
I’ve just returned from a week’s holiday and that’s exactly what I did.

The only real issue was not being able to charge my iPhone whilst listening to it, but I was usually savvy enough to avoid this.

This is the power block I used:


A smashing feature is the digital read out telling you on a %age scale how much power was left. It charged my phone very quickly, and has outputs to charge two devices at once, though I never needed that.

I would listen to my phone (Amazon Unlimited Music), then if the power was running low, I’d read from my Kindle Fire tablet while I recharged.

If I’d wanted to I could have set up my phone as a wi-fi hotspot while recharging and listened to the music app on the tablet. Not as good quality, but okay.

Hope that helps.
 
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Hiby R5 (just released) if you use the likes of Tidal/Spotify but its £399.

If just your own music tracks then the Hiby R3 (R3 Pro due soon). Sony ZX300 is also nice but way above £400. The Sony A50 range could be good if your using low power ear/headphone.

Also depends on what ear/headphones your driving but the Hiby R5 should drive nearly everything. Up to 18 hours if not using balanced.
 

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