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Re: DAP recommendations

February 4th, 2020, 4:30 pm

doug2761 wrote:I also use my phone instead of a dedicated DAP. I augment it with an Audioquest Dragonfly usb DAC. I just got the Dragonfly Cobalt for Christmas and it sounds great. If you want to give that kind of a setup a try then I can lend you my Dragonfly Red that I’m not using.


Dragonfly Cobalt is spec'd as 24x96Hz. Does it down sample higher resolution audio? Does it play DSD?

Re: DAP recommendations

February 4th, 2020, 8:05 pm

I don’t think it can do DSD natively. I use it to stream Tidal and to playback albums from Tidal that I’ve downloaded for offline playback. For that use the Tidal app handles all the format conversions. Same holds for use with a computer. The playback app should handle conversions.

Re: DAP recommendations

February 4th, 2020, 8:11 pm

doug2761 wrote:The playback app should handle conversions.


Exactly. I've never seen a DAC that down-sampled....

Re: DAP recommendations

February 6th, 2020, 9:33 pm

Yesterday the iBasso DC02 arrived in the mail from Shashi. Thanks, Shashi.

https://www.amazon.com/iBasso-DC02-USB-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B07WDLJP1Y

I tried it out last night using my Moto G7 and Sennheisers and it was a dramatic improvement over the G7 itself. There is so much more detail and fuller bass. It can play louder but it does tend to chew more battery.

Today I used it while I was getting my infusion but this time used my Final E3000 earphones. The bloke at Tubecad recommended the earphones and they seem to fit my ears reasonably well and I can afford to lose them on the flights across the Pacific. Again the improvement was dramatic.

https://www.amazon.com/Final-Audio-Design-Resolution-Headphone/dp/B072MKR1BC/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=final+e3000&qid=1581038209&s=electronics&sr=1-2

Tonight I am using the Sennheisers comparing the iBasso connected to the G7 against an Extrempro connected to my laptop. Somehow I thought I had bought a Dragon Black but old age has crept in. I am listening to a free streaming of the Philadephia Orchestra playing Rachmaninov's Symphony 1 recorded last year on June 8.

https://www.philorch.org/your-philorch/learn-more/ondemand/russian-masters/

The Entrempro sounds fine but bloated compared to the iBasso.

So I am not really comparing apples to apples but pretty close. In any case, the iBasso will dramatically improve the quality of my listening at the hospital and it is very portable.

The performance is really good but then that is what I would expect from Philly playing Rachmaninov. I'll talk more about it on the other thread about streaming classical music.

ray
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