Hello! Very inexperienced, technologically ungifted semi-audiophile here. A few months ago, I bought my first DAP when my Dragonfly Cobalt DAC started having issues; after a short life consisting of confusing onlookers and gorging down all of my remaining battery (I know I probably should've chosen something else). The DAP I was able to find is a secondhand Ibasso DX200 from 2017, which turned out to have a similar audio quality paired with my 99 Classics as when I used those headphones with the Dragonfly DAC connected to my laptop, but I've been bothered by how bulky and excessive the Ibasso DX200 is. I would preferably use a smaller DAP that just has my downloaded files on it, without any additional apps or options (why does my music player have a location feature?!). I'd also appreciate it if it had a longer battery life and a lot of storage/the option for an SD card/something similar. When I look at the DAP's that don't have WiFi or Bluetooth, they mostly seem to use cheap materials or outdated tech. Which is why, despite some of them supposedly performing very well compared to their price point, I'm not sure if they perform at the same level as my current DAP. Is there anyone with more experience that could tell me which simple DAP's would have a similar or better audio quality?
Hi, I'm new to this forum, but not to DAPs. I have 3, including two very compact ones from HiBy with which I've been happy. I've had older DAPs from Sansa, Microsoft, and Sony, at least, but mine did not have features I required as my digital collection grew, including and especially expandable storage. The main concern I'd have with used devices is not knowing how they've used, especially the batteries, including how many charging cycles they've had, how they were charged -such as were they subjected continuously to heat-producing long and/or fast charging, other heat exposure, and any battery-draining/trashing use or abuse. Few features are more important than battery performance and battery life. The other main downside to old devices (in any audio category) is being able to get parts and/or repairs for them (which old devices or old anythings are more likely to require).
My HiBy R3 Pro Saber is a quite simple device that has performed wonderfully for >3 years, and my HIBYDIGITAL M300 is also going great after 1.5 years. Both of them take microSD cards like most all DAPs, and each fits in the coin/watch/fifth pocket of my jeans, which makes them great for outdoors and travel, as well as for under the pillow, etc.. The M300 is android-based, but I have very few apps on it. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are usually off on both of them, always to preserve battery life, though both excel on this. A great R3 may be available used, but I'd shop very carefully; the M300 should be available new (I have and recommend the cheaper/original 3GB RAM and 32GB internal storage model}.
Finally, if I was starting out and my needs were minimal, I'd look and trial if possible, the newer small HiBy R1. Here is a short but good review of it:
Enjoy your patient shopping and your music. I'd be happy to answer any follow-up question on any of the above, etc..
