Audio Please suggest a decent DAP

red dragon

red dragon

Justiceforall
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Currently I am using a clip+ and a 3rd gen ipod touch unamped with IE7 and hd25 respectively.
Please suggest a decent upgrade.
Probably I am looking for something with sq like clip+ with more driving power.
Does a cheap amp like E11 can control the untamed upper frequencies of the ipod touch?
 
red dragon said:
Currently I am using a clip+ and a 3rd gen ipod touch unamped with IE7 and hd25 respectively.
Please suggest a decent upgrade.
Probably I am looking for something with sq like clip+ with more driving power.
Does a cheap amp like E11 can control the untamed upper frequencies of the ipod touch?
Click to expand...

So am I! I love the Clip Plus, just wish it had more juice!
 
Does it make any sense to pair the clip with something small like fiio e6 using the headphone out of the clip?
Does Fuse plus have line out?
How do the Sony walkmans sound?
 
C4 is almost as expensive as HM801!
I was even thinking of dx100,but thankfully controlled the impulse.Looking for something cheaper.
May even end up buying a FiiO E17 and hook it up with an ipod touch,but do not know how much sense does it make(as this set up will not by pass the ipod`s DAC)
Is the old Fuse still available?Where can I buy a LOD for it?
 
Do you have a budget in mind for source / amp for iPod Touch?

Have you tried an old iPod Video 5G/5.5G? It's headphone out is terrible (high output impedance), so you have to use an LOD and an amp with it. To my ears, iPod Video -> UHA6S / 2SD sounds better than Clip+. On the flip side, it's a brick pack. Mine lasts a little close to 20 hours (haven't checked it), but takes a very long time to charge. I'm not sure where I am going with my portable setup, so have not gone for any upgrades with battery / iMod yet.

Do you have a LOD? If not you should try by-passing Touch's amp section first. A warmer amp like TTVJ Slim might help, I'd think. Bypassing DAC is possible with a cheaper Pure i20 and using it's Toslink out to feed a DAC+Amp of your choice, but it's not a portable solution. Besides it's OOS at Amazon now.
 
Thank you sir for your reply.
I have not thought of any particular budget as such,anything less than 20k will be nice.
No,I don't have a LOD.Only have a 3rd gen ipod touch and a clip plus.

The ipod can drive the hd25 to sufficient volume,but it sounds thin and lifeless.
Does any online store in India sell LOD cable for ipods?
Till now I avoided an amp for the portable set up.
 
There are a few options, none of them all that enticing.

1) Get a LOD. If you want a cheap LOD, try and get the FiiO ones. Not sure if @PristineNote sells them here, but PM them. Now, bypassing the internal amp of iPod Touch 3G is no guarantee that it will sound better. So, everything comes to the choice of the amplifier which will add a bit more body to the sound without making it overly warm and muddy. No idea of how FiiOs sound though. Long back when I had the iPod Touch 3G, I did not find them all that great even with LOD -> iBasso T3 and even Arrow 3G. TTVJ Slim is supposed to be a little on the warmer side, though I have no personal experience with it.

2) Get a working condition iPod Video 5/5.5G. It's HDD based, bulky, may not have great battery life. But, it certainly sounds far from the cold sound of the Touch 3G. But the downside is you will have to go with the LOD and a good amp. UHA-6S is very transparent and gels well with the iPod, 2SD is certainly more 'etched' with a black background, but I prefer UHA-6S with OPA209. This is a bulky setup, costlier because you are adding a whole new setup and you'll be wanting to upgrade iPod into an iMod or do mods like replacing the HDD and battery - which again add to the cost down the line.

3) Hifiman HM-601 Slim at $250. I am not a big fan of the bulk (even at 4mm less thick), most likely not so great build quality and high output impedance of the player (I only heard the original, no sign Slim is better in this area). It is a warm sounding player, a different kind of sound compared to iPod Touch and the Clip+, can drive even demanding headphones with the high gain mode. But the downside is that you need a headphone or IEM which meshes and has good synergy with the sound signature and high OI of the 601. It's tough to say which ones will suit your taste without buying and testing them yourself. It's more of a risky experiment. If you end up liking it, it would be worth the effort, otherwise not.

Let me think if there are any other options...
 
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What about Colorfly C3?
How is the amp section of something like Cowon C2?
I had a V5 and D2 long back,but can not seem to remember their sound signature.
 
I have no idea about Colorfly C3. Based on my experience with Hifiman 601 and RoCoo-P, I am a bit skeptical of the tall claims of 'better sound quality'. Most of them end up being poor when it comes to UI and ease of daily operation next to all the branded players. Both were inconsistent across IEMs unlike Clip+. I for one value IEMs being allowed to show their signature through the source unhindered. I did not get that with either. Colorfly may be better, may be not!

Cowon is a decent choice. I currently have the X9, which gives around 70+ hrs of battery life with an all FLAC library (only 10 songs in 320kbps MP3) on shuffle and repeat. It took 7 hours to charge from the USB Wall adapter though. I have hardly listened to it - so take everything I say with a pinch of salt as true A:B may discredit everything I say.

As for overall SQ, I think it is about par on Clip+ - more or less (for me, I still prefer Clip+ a bit). It's a bit more smoother, more powerful for driving IEMs, a bit better in treble, but does not have as good a bass punch as Clip+. It may appear to be a bit more clearer than Clip+, but I feel, without any backup of evidence that the separation of Cowon is a bit less than I'd like. I also feel that the sound of Clip+ is a bit more 'etched'/sharper. If only Cowon had a true line out / digital out, I could find out if their headphone out could be improved with an amp, but they don't.

It's UI is decent enough to navigate, though you'll likely get frustrated every now and then with the resistive touch screen coming from the much smoother iPod Touch . This is all with the Normal EQ setting. I don't generally use EQ, but BBE increases the general loudness a few notches (can listen to the same IEM at lower volume without touching any other effects) and seems to shape the sound a bit differently. I am yet to try and figure out exactly what it does though. It has everything that you need - better battery life, more power, touch interface, plenty of EQ. Is it possible to try a friend/colleague's Cowon before jumping the ship?

Personally, I owned Clip+ (two of them), Cowon S9, Nanite N2, iPod Touch 3G - all at the same time, but did not feel anything was superior to another. Of all these, I liked Clip+ most and sold the rest. Even now, if I clean up my inventory, Clip+ won't go anywhere.
 
The HD25s scale nicely with an amp. If you're looking to run it straight out of a DAP then maybe the Telcast T51/SFlo 2 would make a pretty decent unamped source that's not too expensive. UI won't be the best though.
 
red dragon said:
^^Please suggest a vfm amp mate.
Click to expand...

The thing is they're not very hard to drive but sound better amped to me, my version was different though. What amp to get would depend on your budget, if you're looking to reel in the highs a bit then something warmer like a used mustang would be nice.

The amps psygeist suggests would be nice too, haven't heard the 6S but all the reviews and user experiences on TE seem to suggest its a good vfm amp.
 
Thanks a lot guys!
After spending a lot of time at head-fi and bothering few members with lot of pms,settled with the cheapest upgrade option available!
As I have zero knowledge and experience of portable amps,many hd25 users told me to pair it up with a cheap FiiO E11.
The headphone out of iPod is true garbage,but the line out is definitely better even with such an entry level amp.
 
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