Phone as DAP?

[Ste_S]

Currently have an iPhone 12, and have been impressed by how well a cheap Android phone (my work Samsung A20) is more flexible for music than an iPhone.

So, I'm thinking about either moving into Android full time, or purchsing a cheap Android phone of my own to use as a DAP. For the latter, the Sony Xperia 10 series have expandable storage to 1TB and a 3.5mm jack, does anyone have any experience of these? Or alternatively, have other recommendations?

 

[Turambar]

Think twice, you will need a tool to cheat the Android mixer or get everything resampled.

 

[staticV3]

Think twice, you will need a tool to cheat the Android mixer or get everything resampled.

UAPP does exactly that (or HiBy Music, Neutron Player, FiiO Music, ...)

I highly recommend UAPP!

 

[Vincent Kars]

Any phone allowing you to add a SD card will do.
If you are not happy with the analog out or if it doesn't come with a analog out, a USB DAC will do if you plan to go wired.
I use a very simple and cheap Ugreen

If I combine it with Onkyo HF player (or any already mentioned by staticV3), I can even play 24/96. Not that it makes any audible difference but the idea appeals to my purist taste.
When traveling I go for the convenience of Bluetooth.

 

[TonyJZX]

where i am you can buy brand name phones with 8gb ram 128gb nvram for around $100 usd

w/ acceptable 3.5mm performance

but i mean with bluetooth it barely matters

256gb sd cards are like $25? heaps of rooms to store music

w/ foobar and just bulk copy files over

 

[Joe Smith]

I still use an older Galaxy 6 phone for this purpose when traveling, as well as a fleet of iPod shuffles that still keep a decent charge for workout/walking use. (The free program "Copy Trans" does a pretty good job of letting me put new music onto the shuffles in Windows 10, without having to fire up an old Mac laptop.)

 

[Duffy Moon]

Moondrop will soon release the MIAD01, which could be promising.

This Android phone for audiophiles offers a hi-res DAC, balanced output and 3.5mm jack – plus a cool cyberpunk look that puts Google and OnePlus to shame

This Android phone for audiophiles combines a headphone jack, DAC and Cyberpunk looks

www.techradar.com

 

[Somafunk]

The Hiby music players work with a stripped down version of android that removes the resampling issue, Hiby have a new R4 player out soon for a very good/cheap price £/$249

Hiby R4 Dap here

 

[ciccio1378]

I use a Samsung A5 2016 with a microSD card and I'm very happy with it. Since I have a WiiM Mini, I also installed its Wiim Home app. The only problem is that this Samsung does not have Ldac, when I use it in bluetooth.

 

[DS_Construct]

 

[DS_Construct]

US$399