Hi!
I have been on the hunt for a portable audio player and discovered this forum while doing research. I own a Fiio M11 Plus, but have found that it is too big to be portable. I have been looking for opinions on the daps in the title compared to one another from people who own any or multiple. Mostly, I've been looking for answers or opinions regarding a few points for each:
I have a library that is almost 30,000 tracks and climbing. The main reason I've been searching for a dap is so that I could take this entire library with me on the go. From my research I've found that the R3 ii has a total limit of 50,000 tracks (more than enough). The a306 and JM21, both being android based, I believe have no limit aside from the storage of the microsd (my M11 Plus doesn't seem to have a limit, please correct me if I am wrong)? The only dap I have not been able to find information on whether or not it has a total limit is the V3 Blaze. I assume that it would have a similar limit to the R3 ii; from my understanding the V3 Blaze uses a modified version of the Hiby software, but I don't want to purchase one on an assumption and find that it can't handle the library (I had looked into the Shanling M1 Plus as an option, but it's 20,000 track limit made it a non-starter). Do yall have any info on the track limit for the TempoTec V3 Blaze, if there is one?
I'd prefer a dap that has a decent battery life. All the options I listed seem to have a good battery life from my research, save for the JM21 which I just keep finding people saying that the battery life is not great, and that the idle drain is also pretty bad. I'm not looking for something that lasts forever, I understand to temper my expectations there. For people who own these daps, what is the battery life like for them in average use? I tend to prefer leaving the screen on and looking at the album art if I'm not on the move, if that helps.
While not super important, I'd like to get more info on how each of the daps feel to use on the software level. Like, how responsive the ui is, or how long it takes to load the music, things like that. I understand that next to none of these daps will have a responsiveness of say an iphone, but I'd still like to know how they fair in comparison to one another, if possible. For reference, I found my M11 Plus to be kind of sluggish, and I really didn't like how loading a song not only takes a second or two, but also cuts out the beginnings of the song (which, from my research, seems to be a Fiio thing?). Also, I'm not strongly one way or the other in regards to android versus non-android, I understand people have many opinions for either, and I'd like to hear them.
Currently my main portable source is an iphone with an apple dongle. While, from my research, this is not bad, I do believe that in comparison any of the above daps would be at least equal or an improvement. As such, I am not really picky about the specific sound of any of them. That said, I would like to know more how they compare to one another, and what aspects between each one differ. If I understand correctly, each one uses different or mostly different hardware? Also, in terms of output power, I plan to use mostly a 7hz Timeless 2 with the chosen dap. While I believe all of them can run those just fine, I'd like some more clarity on that, as you guys would have better knowledge than I regarding that fact. I also don't have any plans to use a dac as of right now (though in the future, I may get one of the bluetooth ones soley so I could leave the dap and/or my phone in my pocket, but that's a later thing).
All four of the listed daps are within both my budget, and (at least from reading the specs and measuring out with a ruler) within the 'portability' I am looking for.
I appreciate any help yall can give me in my search.
Also, if this thread is in the wrong place I can delete it and repost it in the correct spot, and if this kind of thread isn't allow then I apologise and will delete it.
Thank you! ^w^
