Looking for recommendations on a good DAP that wont brake the bank. About 600 dollars is the budget. Looking for something that has EQ capabilities.
Thank you!
Itāll somewhat depend on what you want to drive with it.
I enjoyed the A&K SR15, which is usually $699, but thereās one for $549 on headphones.com at the moment. Itās deceptively tiny, as well ā¦ which is a good thing in general. Thereās a thread on it, here.
The FiiO M11 Pro is decent, as well. Though Iād take the A&K over it, especially if the primary use-case is for IEMs. FiiO tend to have really interesting hardware, that is sometimes (quite often with the prior generations) let down by firmware/software issues, so itās worth doing some reading there.
Beyond that, again, it depends very much on what you want to drive with it. If itās IEMs there are lots of less expensive, feature-rich, options. If itās full-size cans, then herd thins rapidly.
2 Likes
Thanks @Torq., Yes is going to be IEMās. Ill check out the A&K SR15.
How long does your honeymoon period usually last? Iām two months into mine with the Focal Clear. Am I just besotted, or is it true love?
4 Likes
The Clears are an excellent headphone.
4 Likes
Iām currently using DH Lab Redwave cables with Furutech FI-50 connectors. I am getting DH Labs Corona cables with Watgate Blue Dot gold connectors. Which cables would be better? The DH Lab Redwave with the better connectors or the better Corona DH Lab cable with the lesser quality but still decent Watgate Blue Dot gold connectors?
That should be almost 3 months by now. How is the honeymoon going? Or something has happened?
2 Likes
Youāre entirely right, after three months the infatuation really should be over, and I suspect whatās happened is that the honeymoon has morphed into marital bliss. Weāve not had any arguments yet 
. As it happens, Iāve been thinking about writing up some impressions, in part to help me appreciate better what there is to love about the Clear.
Iāll say this right now, though, without much hesitation: the descriptions of the Clear as great all-rounders are exactly right. Iāve enjoyed them with a wide range of musical styles and instruments. For me, theyāre a significant step up from my HD 6XX. I understand the Sennheisers scale well, but I donāt have a high-end amp, and the Focal have none of the veiled - or muffled - quality of the HD 6XX. Rather, they have a sweet, clean sound, even as theyāre punchy and extend fairly deeply into the bass, but Iām mainly in love with the treble extension and smoothness as well as the resolution. The fairly narrow headstage doesnāt bother me as much as Iād expected (this had held me back from purchasing a pair sooner), and Iāve been surprised at how close they come to the HD 800 in being wonderful for listening to classical music. I suspect part of the Clearās appeal is the nice synergy with my source and amp: I have the Massdrop stack of the Airist RDAC and the MCTH (stock tube, no linear power supply), and I think this combination strikes a nice balance. @Torq described the RDAC as having a sweetness to its sound, and its slightly dark signature seems to pair well with the amp and with the Clear.
In other words, my Clear and I have had a lovely, extended honeymoon in a happy place, thanks for asking!
[edited for typos - sorry]
4 Likes
Thanks for the feedback.
The Clears are currently on my shopping list. Better start a dedicated piggy bank for this. 
2 Likes
Question please re portable DAP.
I have c75,000 largely lossy files (I am afraid I started years ago copying cds using iTunes). I want a player that can carry all 75,000 and function effectively. Is there such a device? Fiio X5iii is the best I have found so far but is a bit flakey. A&K SR15 not capable - lovely machine but (although none of the press or specs say this) I have now found out from A&K their devices are only proofed to 10,000 files. In practice it can handle c50,000 files before functionality drops.
I appreciate most people on here will despair at someone using largely lossy files but I havenāt got the time to go through the lot and re do and of course there is a massive trade off between file size and quality. I listen to music on the DAP mainly on the go so even with really good noise cancelling headphones (Bowers and Wilkins PX) or in ears (Sony WF1000xm3) the subtle quality differences become less noticeable (at which point many reading this will probably give up on me as a philistine!!)
Nevertheless any recommendations gratefully receivedā¦
1 Like
Anyone know of any music visualizers for Mac either as plugin or app? I donāt mean an audio analyzer. I mean something pretty to look at while I listen to music. The only ones I can find are on the App Store look super cheesy with appropriately low customer ratings.
2 Likes
Curious question: For folks who have used moon 430HA headphone amp, what volume setting were you typically at? Iām using Focal Clears with balanced input/output and stay around 20.
What cell phones are compatible with Beyerdynamic MMX Gaming Headset Mark II?
The microphone does not work with Samsung Galaxy A20. All Beyerdynamic Australia will tell me is that it works with the latest Apple iphone. I want suggestions for a reasonably cheap Au $250 to Au $400 phone that works with it. Beyerdynamic say most phones will work with it. But some phones have non standard wiring and wonāt work with it, and they donāt have a list of phones that work with it.
I just got a new pair of Susvaras, and Iām trying several different HP amps with them.
But this makes NO sense to me. The sound I like best is from a Little Dot mk3 !! Itās an OTL amp, so thatās not even supposed to work with low-impedance cans. And it only puts out 200mw, but seems to have plenty, as I only listen at around 85-90 dB (1.5-15 mw needed for the Susvara at those levels). Bass even sounds quite good. How can that be?
I also tried a couple of amps that put out 1.5-4 watts (one hybrid and one SS), but keep going back to the Little Dot.
That flies in the face of everything Iāve read about the Susvaras. What am I missing here???
2 Likes
Your probably not missing anything. Its an āear of the listenerā situation. That Little Dot is meeting your expectations compared to the other amps youāve auditioned so far. My OTL HP amp works optimally with 300 ohm loads yet it had no issue with the 80 ohm Utopia and 32 ohm Oppo PM-1ās when I owned both of them.
Eventually you could try your Susvara with another amp design that gives you a little more of what you want sonically but until then continue to trust your ears.
And welcome to the community.
2 Likes
Itās a case of an amplifier affecting the sound of a headphone in a way that is to your liking.
There is no right and wrong in terms of taste, if your ears tells you it sounds good, then it sounds good!
4 Likes
Why does the little dot sound better? Hmmmā¦
Grabs my soapbox
I was watching Andrew, Tyler and Chrono on YouTube today, and Andrew said something that, in hindsight, triggered me a little. Something along the lines of Product X is more āidealā but product Y sounds better. (I donāt recall the specifics.)
Butā¦ If product Y sounds better, why is X considered more ideal, and by inference thereby better? I find the entire notion absurd.
I think this is an example of how we are influenced by overly simplified ideals, such as the pervasive mentality that only good measuring gear can equal good sound. Iāll bet the A&S Mogwai or ZMF Pendant measures like crap on other siteās measurements scales, but itās still a damn good sounding amplifier.
People seem to acknowledge that tubes sound good and give them a pass where measurements are concerned, which points out the hypocritical nature of the measurements are everything ideology.
If only good measuring products can sound goodā¦ and tubes donāt measure well at allā¦ then no amplifier that uses tubes can sound good. Thatās either true or itās not, right?
(That, by the way, is an example of Sophism - a failed and dangerous method of rationalization, and one that many use to push their agendas in this hobby.)
My whole point here is that āidealā in this hobby is often times very arbitrary - because people arenāt measurement rigs that are devoid of bias and preference.
If all of us were measurement rigs, then no, you arenāt supposed to enjoy it. 
To answer the question though, perhaps the damping factor between the Little Dot and Susvara is adding some harmonics or looseness to the sound that you find enjoyable? Maybe the natural harmonics of tubes just works for you? It could even be that the tone of a warmer OTL synergizes well with the frequency response of the headphone. Iām not sure it matters.
The only thing that matters is that you like it, as the gentlemen before me have already said. 
Enjoy!
(Not trying to pick on you Andrew. I totally got what you meant on the stream, and Iām taking it a little out of context here. Sorry mate.)
9 Likes
You just like (that specific type of) distortion. Admit it. If you want to gourmetize, maybe you can probably say āI like added harmonics given by the Little Dot mk3 with my Susvarasā.
The real question to be answered ā in my humble opinion ā is, what frequency range(s) are triggering that distortion that youāre liking with that specific gear combination.
At least I gave you another (hopefully more meaningful) question. 
1 Like
Looks like Iāll be spending some coin if I want to find an amp that beats the Little Dot (with the Susvaras). I really expected the Cavelli Liquid Platinum and the Audio-gd NFB-1amp to be significant audible improvements. So far, it appears that these cans like pure-tube amplifiers.
Iāve also found minimal impact of amps when used with theoretically āwrongā headphones too. It could follow from the limitations of the drivers to generate bass at all. The amp may be sending a signal to nowhere (ending up as heat), or a signal that affects unintended frequencies in a positive fashion. Someone with a test rig might measure it.
Headphones are for enjoyment, so enjoy.
3 Likes