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No nonsense portable DAP

xykreinov

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I'm looking for a simple DAP with just three priorities in mind:
- Battery life
- Good UI (preferably has a physical volume knob instead of buttons)
- Compatibility with external DACs
That's about it. I don't care about sound quality, as I'd be hooking it up with a Qudelix 5k, anyway.
 

Helicopter

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I'm looking for a simple DAP with just three priorities in mind:
- Battery life
- Good UI (preferably has a physical volume knob instead of buttons)
- Compatibility with external DACs
That's about it. I don't care about sound quality, as I'd be hooking it up with a Qudelix 5k, anyway.
I would get an LG tracfone and a big micro SD card.
 

JJB70

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If you want battery life and are only buying it as a memory bank then I would second the advice to just buy a phone. You can pick up refurbished phones with either good built in memory capacity or memory card slots for not a lot and the battery life and OS implementation tends to be better than DAPs. However, if you are going to use it as a mobile solution then a separate DAC is a PITA.
 
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xykreinov

xykreinov

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I would get an LG tracfone and a big micro SD card.
If you want battery life and are only buying it as a memory bank then I would second the advice to just buy a phone. You can pick up refurbished phones with either good built in memory capacity or memory card slots for not a lot and the battery life and OS implementation tends to be better than DAPs. However, if you are going to use it as a mobile solution then a separate DAC is a PITA.
They miss the mark on good UI, though. I should have emphasized the physical UI is more what I'm looking for, not software. More buttons and nobs, less screen.
Also, yes portable external DACs are a PITA, but the Qudelix's hardware PEQ is handy for rhythm games, video editing, etc. Software PEQ's audio latency is too high for that, but fine for just listening to music ofc. I'll probably only use the Qudelix with my laptop.
 
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xykreinov

xykreinov

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I don't get all these big touchscreen DAPs on the market nowadays. Like, if I wanted to use a smartphone interface, I'd use a smartphone. There's a reason Apple still made the iPod Classic alongside the iPod Touch. I guess it's akin to modern cars with giant TVs slapped on the dash. Touchscreens for the sake of touchscreens.
Anyway, I'm probably just going to end up getting a LG G7 with Viper4Android, DDC Toolbox, Poweramp, etc. installed. Plus, it has an extra button I could hack into a media key. It's one of the last decent phones with an LCD. I realized awhile back that OLED is hard on my eyes, even when I use tools to eliminate PWM flicker. Sucks, cause I used OLED phones for years and like how it looks.
 
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xykreinov

xykreinov

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Though, I did discover a pretty interesting DAP: The Hisense Touch.
hisense-touch.png

E-ink, a solid metal build, and solid DAC/AMP chips. Surely great battery life.
 

sq225917

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I run an ipod classic 7th gen with a quad sdxc card conversion and 2200mAh battery. I get a solid week between charges with sensitive iems.
 

madwyn

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I run an ipod classic 7th gen with a quad sdxc card conversion and 2200mAh battery. I get a solid week between charges with sensitive iems.
How about the compatibility with external DACs?

I used to have a SONY PHA-2 which worked pretty well, but I’m not sure about the modern DACs.

The only limitation to the IPC is no support of DSD, which is the only reason why I’m still downloading music.
 

sq225917

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I can plug it in via a dongle, but what's the point I have exactly the same music on an ssd in my macbook connected to my hifi dac. It's purely a portable source for me.
 
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