DAP or dedicated DAC for home listening?

[pwjazz]

I'm a big fan of the LG V20. It's a got a great built-in DAC (basically the same as the LG G7) and enough juice to easily power my DT 1990 and HD 58X. It's available on eBay for around $150 new, it supports expandable storage and the battery is user-replaceable. Compared to dedicated DAPs, it has a much nicer screen, way more CPU power and memory and the ability to run whatever music player software you want (I really like Neutron App).

I use the LG V20 both as a DAP for my DT 1990 and also as a source/transport feeding a JDS Labs Atom for listening to my LCD2C. For my 2-channel speaker system I just use a Chromecast.

 

[bravomail]

get a smartphone instead of DAP. Amir measured LG G7 ThinQ as very good. G8 is out. So G7 is cheap now. With phone u will have ample local storage (512GB microSD) and streaming and widest format support.

 

[artnoi]

A desktop bus-powered USB DAC + Raspberry Pi Volumio server

For USB DAC I recommend

Khadas Tone Board ($99)
Topping D10 ($99)

And the Pi costs $35 for the maxed out model.

This way, you have an always running bit-perfect music setup with very high performance. With Volumio, you can pull your music library from your NAS, local drives, and stream your music via AirPlay. The software here is entirely free and open source as well.

edited: Volumio also has Web UI, so every computer, smartphone, and tablet connected to the same network can always control Volumio via polished web interface in the browser.

 

[GioF71]

For mobile use, I would not even bother buying a hi-end smartphone for audio, even if I appreciate knowing the LG G7 ThinQ has good audio performance.

Not to repeat myself, but unless you can listen in a quite environment, I do not believe that any internal high quality dac can make any noticeable difference when you are travelling on a train or on the metro. So my latest mobile audio equipment is my android phone (brand irrelevant...) and a bluetooth headphone amp (I use the Fiio BTR1K iirc). Next, I will probably buy some dj style bluetooth headphone for ultimate comfort: no cables (not even the one from the amp to the headphone itself), and they do not limit your neck mobility when not listening.
Also, consider the fact that if you are using a DAP when you are travelling on public transport, you will probably miss phone calls, or will have to quickly get rid of cables just to reach your phone, assuming you notice a call is coming. Definitely a stressful situation if you ask me.
So after a long while doing things like these, I simply stopped. My Fiio X5 is mostly collecting dust now.
I am giving priority to convenience over quality in this scenario.

Of course I do not mean to offend anyone who wants ultimate audio performance with portable gear, this is only my personal opinion.

 

[GioF71]

I have read again the first post...
I do not see a reason to consider portable gear for home use only. They are usually more expensive. One can get a single board computer (like a raspberry pi or, even better, a Asus tinkerboard) and connect it to the dac. Fancy linear power supply might (...) help.
If you also plan to bring the portable gear around on public transport, I confirm the thoughts I expressed in the previous post.
My .02 ¢

Regards

 

[Peter Leyenaar]

Just received an AR-M200 from Massdrop $100 + the Canadian government's and the Canadian Postal sevices's take for $26.
Outstanding quality sound, clutsy, clumsy user interface reflected in this review, https://primeaudio.org/ar-m200-review/
However, the sound quality is so good , that one can overlook and get used to the U I, it doesn't even have facility for playlists (bummer)

But then $126

 

[Peter Leyenaar]

I now also have the Shanling M3S DAP, the sound quality of these 2 DAP's is equivalent to any good quality CD player,
I wasn't aware of the battery problems others have mentioned,however, I find them very convenient with my main system
or in the car, they also sound great (audiophile quality ) with my planar headphones.

 

[Cahudson42]

Anyone else remember the Wang and Lexitron dedicated/one-trick pony word processors from c1980? As soon as Word-perfect was available for the PC, these products (and Companies?) were dead.

DAPs are today's one-trick word processors. And the cellphone is today's PC which will wipe them out. Just IMO.

Like Alton Brown says, go for the multitaskers..