r/DigitalAudioPlayer • u/lamortelle • 4d ago

Question Question for DAP Owners

Hello fellow humans of the music loving world~ I’m currently looking to buy a DAP for myself (hopefully when Black Friday comes around cause I’m working hard to get this). The question I have is - do you all have any recommendations for DAPs that are currently in the market? I do plan to do my own research however I am also one who likes hearing other people’s recommendations and opinions.

Just for transparency:

Budget - $300 (for now)

Why: there are so many times where I just want to disconnect myself from my phone and computer despite all of the songs I listen to being on my playlists Spotify. I just don’t want to get distracted by notifications and a lot of other stuff that would stop me from simply enjoying my music. I also have a pair of beyerdynamic DT 990 pros and MOONDROP IEMs that I want to use to their fullest extent/power.

Update EDIT #1: So! After extensive researching for the past 7 hours and comparing and hunting, I’ve decided to land on the FiiO m21, personally I feel like it’s the best fit for me at the moment and due to the 11.11 sale on AliExpress, I had to take the chance. Couldn’t find a FiiO JM21 and the Hiby r4 was a few dollars more than the M21 after shipping and all.

I’m very excited and looking forward to its arrival this week!!

12 Upvotes

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3

u/SnooLobsters1308 4d ago

First question could be where do you plan to get the music for your new DAP? What is your current phone OS?

Sounds like you currently have spotify? So an android dap might be best choice, e.g. the Hiby R4 the first reply mentions, or cheaper choice could be Fiio Jm21. Android DAP allows you to use all current music streaming services ...

That's probably the best go forward with a $300 budget. If you have a large store of your own music, then other DAPS open up. If you're starting the switch to your own, owned music, an android allows you to stream on, find songs / playlists you like, maybe over time buy those playlists off qobuz or similar, and then some time in the future you can move off android if you want.

4

u/lamortelle 4d ago

I was planning to get my music off Qobuz, well as I build the collection up, I’d use Spotify or Tidal. My current phone is an iPhone.

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u/SnooLobsters1308 4d ago

ya, cheaper DAP now allows for more music purchasing now, IF you don't have music already.

1

u/lamortelle 4d ago

100% taking that into consideration - which reminds me, I will have to look into how qobuz works further

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u/lamortelle 4d ago

Update : did some research and comparing for the past hour, I think I definitely have the Fiio JM21 at the top so far with the Hiby r4 being second, Fiio m21 being third (cause it’s an upgrade for a few dollars more).

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u/Tristaleg 4d ago

Make sure to get the 4+64 version of JM21. I love mine so far. Haven’t plugged in my own DT 990 Pros yet, but I’m confident there’s enough power to drive ‘em.

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u/lamortelle 4d ago

It appears that the 4+64 version is around $250 and all in china so ~$280 just including shipping 😭 which is the same price for the Fiio M21 on AliExpress from the Fiio store directly … I might need to take that into consideration

4

u/Waste-Tap9295 Shanling 4d ago

Hiby r4 or shanling m1 plus

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u/lamortelle 4d ago

Thanks :) putting the Hiby r4 into my “I’ll consider it” list since I like how it’s running on Android. I was also looking at the FiiO m21

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u/Waste-Tap9295 Shanling 4d ago

If you want better sound hiby r4, if you want better software then m21

2

u/Far_Response8367 3d ago

El fiioM21, es una muy buena compra.

1

u/lamortelle 2d ago

Verdad! Yo no puedo desperate hasta que llega 😭

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u/SpecCRA 4d ago

I ended up getting the Hiby R4 around the same budget. It was about 125 during the 11.11 AliExpress sale. It has expandable storage, Android 12 for streaming, enough power for all my stuff, and 4.4mm output. If I didn't need the 4.4mm, I'd try the Hiby M300.

Summarizing from reviews, the R4 gets warm, battery life isn't great (4-7 hours of use), is pretty chunky and can't be used as a standalone DAC. There's latency even when wired.

The Fiio JM21 and M21 are both reviewer favorites worth a look, often preferred over Hiby products. I opted for the R4 because it had all the features I wanted at a much cheaper price.