What DAP to buy for use with Sennheiser IE600

[shuvadeep]

Hi All,

I recently got myself a pair of Sennheiser IE600. Right now I am using them with my Z Fold 5 via the Questyle M15. While this setup is good, I am not sure if Apple Music is bitstreaming or Android is resampling the audio. Hence thinking if I will get better audio from a DAP.
Some of the DAPs that I have shortlisted based on availability:
1. Shanling M7
2. iBasso DX320
3. Cayin N7
4. AK SP3000
My concern is that I should not end up burning money by buying a DAP and then realise itsnot worth the upgrade. Can someone assist me on this?
Is a DAP going to give me better audio than what my current setup gives? If yes, which one?

Thanks!

 

[Jimbob54]

Hi All,

I recently got myself a pair of Sennheiser IE600. Right now I am using them with my Z Fold 5 via the Questyle M15. While this setup is good, I am not sure if Apple Music is bitstreaming or Android is resampling the audio. Hence thinking if I will get better audio from a DAP.
Some of the DAPs that I have shortlisted based on availability:
1. Shanling M7
2. iBasso DX320
3. Cayin N7
4. AK SP3000
My concern is that I should not end up burning money by buying a DAP and then realise itsnot worth the upgrade. Can someone assist me on this?
Is a DAP going to give me better audio than what my current setup gives? If yes, which one?

Thanks!

I'd honestly focus less on the source and bit perfect and more on being able to EQ those IEMs. Not sure if Wavelet app picks up what apple music is playing but that is one way of adding EQ into the current system. Or look at a usb dac with EQ like the Qudelix 5k. Any changes due to source equipment is (at best) going to be minimal and at worst detrimental, certainly to your wallet.

 

[shuvadeep]

Thank you for your response. I have tried Wavelet and it does not do anything noticeable with Apple Music.
Tried UAPP and found that local Flac files (16 bit, 44.1khz) sound better than playing lossless from Apple Music. This tells me that Android is screwing up the audio by resampling.
Would the ifi xdsd Gryphon be a better buy? But I would still be limited by resampling.

 

[FrantzM]

Thank you for your response. I have tried Wavelet and it does not do anything noticeable with Apple Music.
Tried UAPP and found that local Flac files (16 bit, 44.1khz) sound better than playing lossless from Apple Music. This tells me that Android is screwing up the audio by resampling.
Would the ifi xdsd Gryphon be a better buy? But I would still be limited by resampling.

Hi! Welcome to ASR!

Were you using the exact same recordings from same mastering? The best way to conduct this evaluation would be to make sure that levels are matched and that you don't know the provenance of the files ( In other you should not know whether it is from Apple or your own flac files) In most cases, those who have conducted such, have found that same version of mastering sound the same, whether these files are flac, wav. or anything ... Heck! you may find (like many here) that once levels are matched, it may become quite difficult, even impossible to distinguish lossless from mp3 ... at 256 Kb/s !!! Let alone 320... And to compound this , you will learn here at ASR, that past a certain level of technical performances ...all DAPs sound the same, once levels are matched... One more thing: Bit perfect is an audiophile obsession... You don' need things to be bit perfect.
Stay, learn and you will definitely enjoy more music... Much more... while spending less, much less...


Peace.

 

[shuvadeep]

Thank you for the warm welcome. Unfortunately I cant test that in the current situation as I am mostly sure the Android Audio Driver is screwing with the audio.
What I did try is using the same dongle and IEM connected to my PC (high end) and play the same file using Apple Music. This resulted in better audio from the pc.

 

[Jimbob54]

Must confess I do try and avoid the Android audio stack (I use Tidal/ Qobuz with UAPP and a good dongle). But you will need to be careful even if you get a DAP (lots are android based) that the Apple Music app on it avoids teh same issue. If they just use the Android stack for any apps other than the inbuilt player app you are no better off.

But my main point wasnt about avoiding the android resampler - it was about using EQ.

 

[shuvadeep]

Being in India, Tidal and Qobhz are no longer an option post foreign currency payment restriction on domestic cards. Hence only option is to fall back to Apple Music. The DAPs I am looking at support Android Global Losless Audio (AGLO). Hence Apple Music should work. This is the only reason I am avoiding Sony DAPs as they dont support bypassing Android Audio stack expect for the walkman app for local audio files.
Considerind this, would the Shangling M7 at Rs. 84000 be a better buyor should I look at iBasso DX320 at Rs 150000 or the otherd which cost more?

 

[Dunring]

I've got the IE600 and with the Apple 3.5mm to USB and USBPlayerPro or Neutron to bypass the Android stack they sound really good (most music I have is 44.1khz 16 bit FLAC so the 48khz limit isn't an issue). The TANCHJIM Space Portable DAC is much better though at $80. I've tried DAPs and they're not worth the hassle. Instead I use a phone with a 5,000ma battery and the Apple or Tanchjim instead of lugging and charging them both. That little $9 Apple adapter really does a good job though, and it's light as a kite.

 

[shuvadeep]

For me the main problem is streaming from Apple Music. UAPP doesnt support it. Ended up getting the iBasso DX320 and couldnt be happier.
Did blind A/B tests (me and 4 of my friends) and all of them preferred the output from the DX320 as compared to Questyle M15 + Z Fold 5 or S22 Ultra.

 

[sushi2020]

I usually enjoy listening to songs from Apple Music with Xperia XZ2 Compact and Qudelix-5k. It sounds good for me.
I also use Wavelet occasionally, it works fine with Apple Music.

The Galaxys have a feature called UHQ Upscaler that resamples to 192khz by default, whereas the normal Androids resample to 48khz. This may be what is causing your problem.