DAP under 50EUR for IEM

[CommanderBrot]

Hi, I currently use my iPhone 16 pro with an Apple Dongle as my source. As I have the EU version it only produces 0.5 Vrms - which at times is a bit weak. I use Truthear Hexa IEMs, so I don‘t need loads of power, but a little more would be nice.

There are of course a lot of other Dongle DACs with more power. But as listening to music on the go also uses up the iPhones battery and I have to place the iPhone strategically for the cord, I thought about buying a DAP.

I don‘t want to basically lug another phone around and I don‘t need too much in that thing, so I‘d like a cheap, small und light one with good audio quality. I don‘t need a big display, I don‘t need metal casing and I don‘t need Power for big headphones. But I do want a good sounding one.

I saw the Snowsky Echo Mini which looks very good, but are there cheaper and comparable DAPs? I see a lot of different ones on Aliexpress…

Or am I better off with another USB Dongle DAC?

 

[staticV3]

HiBy R1 would likely be a solid choice.

 

[Chr1]

Got several DAPs and my favourite is the Xduoo X2S. It's very small with plenty of power and excellent sound. It also has some basic, but very good EQ options. They are alloy and pretty much bullet proof too. Plus the battery is easily replaceable.

Link here

 

[SlowJim]

Got several DAPs and my favourite is the Xduoo X2S. It's very small with plenty of power and excellent sound. It also has some basic, but very good EQ options. They are alloy and pretty much bullet proof too. Plus the battery is easily replaceable.

Link here

Saw an old review of that one where it couldn't read FLAC tags - is that still an issue?

 

[Chr1]

To be honest, I am not sure. Can't say that I have come across the issue myself and am away on holiday at the moment, so can't check unfortunately. Apologies!

Edit : The X2S is not the best for browsing due to it's small OLED screen tbh. I also have a HiBy R3 Pro, which is better in this respect. Where the X2S wins for me is in superior sound quality, battery life and smaller form factor. But if ease of browsing is a priority, the HiBy R1 is probably a better option.

 

[CommanderBrot]

Thanks for the valuable input. Maybe I'll expand my budget a little and go for the Hiby R1, but the X2s seems like another good option.