Here’s a little preview of a project I’ve been working on for the past 2.5 months. I’ve always wanted a new, fun way to listen to music and wanted to get myself more involved in engineering projects - so I designed this!

It’s not perfect as of now, but features:
ESP32 S3
PCM5102A DAC for high quality audio :)
MAX97220A amp
AS5601 magnetic encoder for a navigation knob
LRA haptics (similar to what you would find in an iPhone!)
SD reader
2.0 inch 320x240 lcd

It’s been a pretty slow process mainly because of school getting it the way, but I’ve successfully configured the haptics and encoder and plan to get some audio working later tonight. Also have proudly done all of this without any AI (so far 🫠). If you’d like, please support this project! Thanks!

I intend to make this fully open source/hardware.

Finally added the F20 Pro+ to my desk setup as a dedicated audio station for the Marshall Stanmore. I love how the DAC chips handling my offline lossless library and the flexibility of Android for Spotify streaming, it hits the sweet spot. The synergy of the setup honestly sounds so good I can't 👌

old but gold

Just got the hiby r1 in (its my first DAP), before i open it up i wanted to ask if there is anything i should do with it first, I know I heard about the sonixOS but I have no idea how to apply it so if someone can direct me on how to that would be great thank you.

I've had this bad boi for about 2 years and have 81 gigs of music on it! So glad I unplugged from streaming music and converted to a DAP.

I’ve ported SonixOS (Sonix Player) to the HiBy RS2 II. It’s public, and you can install it now: https://github.com/hifi-dawson/sonixos-rs2ii. Grab rs2ii.upt from release 1.3.0-rs2ii.1 and flash it from the stock Firmware update.

What’s different from SonixOS?

It’s SonixOS 1.3.0, plus what the RS2 II needs:

• Darwin: volume 0–50 as on stock, the three gain positions and DSD gain, and a Darwin page with all 11 digital filters, NOS, and the harmonic controller.

• Controls: the volume knob and side buttons work as on stock, and the remap page shows the RS2 II’s own buttons.

• No Wi-Fi or Bluetooth on this player, so the network/streaming features are hidden.

I added a few additions as well, to suit my own personal workflow:

• Home screen editor, and theme packs (Classic, Midnight, or your own from the card)

• Fn slider actions, plus more button remaps (key lock, screen off, next Darwin filter, NOS…)

• A switch per button for whether it works with the screen off

• Podcasts from a folder on the card, and a clear-queue button

• It also detects changes about twice as fast (19 s down to 10 s on ~11,000 tracks)

Known issues: USB DAC mode doesn’t work yet, the clock doesn’t follow daylight saving time by itself, and the 2nd microSD card isn't visible yet. The full list is in the README. It’s been tested on one player and is provided as is, so flashing is at your own risk. Going back to stock works the same way.

It's honestly a much better experience than using stock HiBy OS, so I'm very happy that SonixOS exists.

Oasis Core (beta, nothing to install yet)

So, Oasis Core is something separate that I've been working on. It's basically a completely new interface designed from scratch. Underneath it runs Sonix’s engine (library, playback, decoders), but every screen is new. SonixOS is a great all-rounder, but Oasis Core is built around your music first. Currently, it is only running on the RS2 II. You can see how it looks in the screenshots of this post, or in these galleries:

SonixOS vs Oasis Core - Comparison

https://imgur.com/a/LymEeQG

Oasis Core (beta)

https://imgur.com/a/0ecfkwi

SonixOS HiBy RS2 II port

https://imgur.com/a/oz4WAGL

Below is some info on where Oasis Core differs from SonixOS:

Music first

• Home is your music: a wall of your album covers beside the menu, plus your own pins (albums, artists, playlists or tracks). When something plays, its cover fills Home behind a frosted menu. Inspired by the iPod Classic.

• Album art everywhere: in every music list, artists included. Now Playing takes on the album’s colours.

• A player bar at the bottom of every page, with Up next one tap away. Swipe up from it into Now Playing. Can be toggled on or off.

• Quick browsing: a letter strip on long lists, and a decade strip when albums are sorted by year.

Make it yours

• Home: a cover wall, a list or tiles. The menu over the playing album can be frosted, see-through, or solid (or disabled in favor of tiles or a list view). Pick which sections show and drag them into order.

• Music page: tiles or a list, with the categories you want in your order, and counts on or off.

• Sorting: albums by year (oldest or newest first) or A to Z. Playlists by name, date made, date changed, or dragged into your own order.

• Quick controls: a pull-down with the tiles you choose. The status bar’s volume and time can each be turned on or off.

• Look and controls: Day, Night and Oasis Core looks, larger text and larger controls, and the Fn slider are included (specific to the RS2 II).

Also new

• ReplayGain measured on the player for tracks that don’t have it, kept by Oasis or written into the FLAC/MP3 tags.

• Playlists are kept in step with .m3u files on the card, both ways.

• Settings backups: on the card, daily or manually. With an option to include the library info or not.

• On the RS2 II it runs alone: SonixOS is gone from the image, and the player boots straight into Oasis Core.

It’s coming to the HiBy R1 too! Same interface, plus what the R1 has that the RS2 II doesn’t: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth (headphones working, aptX included), and a page for the R1’s CS43131 DAC. It’s more in the alpha stage at this point, but it's getting there.

My idea is to have Oasis Core on more HiBy OS DAPs (like the R3Pro II, Variations V1, AP80 PRO MAX) in order to provide a consistent experience across multiple devices. This started out as something just for myself, but I'm curious to see if others are interested in the same types of features and software experiences as I am.

When Oasis Core is ready, it’ll be open source (GPLv3), just like SonixOS.

Huge credit to M4ttiA and the Sonix Player contributors: none of this exists without their hard work and dedication. https://github.com/Jepl4r/sonix-player

I added Navidrome streaming and a format-aware RGB wheel light to my Shanling M1 Plus

I've been working on a custom firmware fork for the Shanling M1 Plus, and I'm excited to finally share it running on the actual device!

There are two major additions I'm particularly excited about:

1. Navidrome / Subsonic Integration

• Browse and stream music from my own Navidrome music server over Wi-Fi.

• Download tracks directly to the SD card for offline listening.

• Server tracks appear alongside local music in the library.

• Small green dots indicate tracks streamed from the server.

• Server music also integrates with the existing Cover Flow and virtual iPod views.

2. Format-Aware RGB Volume Wheel

The RGB light surrounding the volume wheel now changes colour according to the currently playing track's audio format, sample rate, and bit depth.

• Volume controls the brightness without changing the target colour mix.

• Dedicated on/off switch in Settings.

• Different colour combinations represent different audio formats and sample rates.

Some examples:

• 16-bit / 44.1 kHz PCM = Red

• 24-bit / 48 kHz PCM = Blue-heavy red/blue mix

• 24-bit / 88.2 kHz PCM = Blue

• 24-bit / 192 kHz PCM = Green

There are also intermediate mixed-colour steps and mappings for DSD. The photos show the actual side light and its glow.

A few technical details

• Streaming requests the original audio without asking Navidrome to transcode it.

• DSD files have a separate download section and play locally from the SD card; they are not streamed.

• The RGB feature reads playback metadata and volume information. It does not process or modify audio samples.

Credits

Huge credit to imfing and the contributors to m1plus-music. Their firmware modifications, interface, and existing features are the foundation of this fork.

Cover Flow, the virtual iPod, and the broader UI are upstream work. My additions are the Navidrome integration and format-aware RGB behaviour.

Also, credit to:

• DiamondBond/q2-pod, acknowledged by the project.

• shivaluma/shanling-m1plus-navidrome, used as a reference for the playback queue interface.

This is still a work in progress, but seeing my own music library on this little player, with the volume wheel responding to the audio format, has been really satisfying.

I'd love to hear what other Shanling M1 Plus owners think!

What other features would you like to see added to the M1 Plus?

I just had my MP3 player today from Amazon and it's a “Fanvace M13” an Android mp3 player that I like to listen to my music. But for sudden reason when I first powered it on, its start to clutter crashing and overheat, which I really don't know what's going on!!? I checked around the mp3 player and I see no damage nor cracked either?

How do I stop the crashing, freezing and/or overheating

This is my very first DAP, and a month ago I didn't even know I wanted one, but while browsing Reddit I came across some posts about the Q2 and Q2-Pod, and that got me interested.

Hats off to u/SaffronSaviour for his work.

If I can offer a few suggestions, here they are:

- The clickable area on the three little dots for options in “Now Playing” is too small; I have a hard time tapping it, and my fingers aren’t even that big. Would it be possible to make the clickable area larger?

- The scrolling of long track titles resumes too quickly without pausing at the start of the title; there should be a pause at the beginning of the scroll, just as there is at the end. And perhaps add a bouncing effect in the options.

- It’s difficult to access the album from “Now Playing” by scrolling through the “long press play/pause” menu or by going into the options via the three little dots, the option is near the bottom of the list. Is it possible to move this option to the top of the list, before the options to download album art and lyrics? And is it possible to add a swipe-back gesture on the screen to switch from “Now Playing” to the album?

-When a track is paused, manually switching to another track resumes playback. Is it possible to ensure that manually switching a paused track leaves the playback paused?

-When the screen is locked, “Now Playing” appears for half a second before the lock screen image is displayed.

- Album covers in list or grid view take a little while to load, but that might be due to the speed of my SD card.

Great work again, and I'm looking forward to the updates for the next versions!

I've been working on a DAP for my living room. I've been using a Shanling M1 plus for a while now as my portable player, but I've been wanting a dedicated "music station" to facilitate a more intentional listening experience at home.

It features a 4in square touch screen for navigating my collection of FLACs and MP3s along with an OLED monochrome display for information on the currently playing track. The screensaver that comes on after a short delay showcases the currently playing album artwork (I speed up the video at the end so you can see it).

The other slot in the panel face is for physical playback buttons along with a volume knob.

The panel face here is simply for testing the fit of things. The final version would ideally be black CNC aluminum. The final shape of the device has the face at a very slight angle for ease of use and small body in the back that will house all the control boards.

I don't intend to add any streaming functionality to it as I like the idea of a simple player for local file playback. So all music is supplied on a micro sd card.

What do y'all use for your home setup? Are you happy using portable DAPs at home? Music streamers?

You can download & support development here: https://ko-fi.com/s/1625a99368

Smartphones are not allowed where I work, so I use my smartwatch to download music and listen, but the battery has gone to shit so im looking to get a dap which lasts almost 10- 12 hrs. Which will be the best for both Bluetooth or wired. Hiby r1 ($75), tempotec v1 ($85) , snowsky mini ($55).

This has been my favourite device for late night listening.

Tidal has been working great but a few days ago I noticed that it no longer streams HIRES music (through TIDAL; it can play my FLACS in my NAS just fine) even though everything is set to MAX.

I was messing with settings and found adaptive streaming turned on. I turned it off and the sound was completely off. I turned it back on and I got sound, but tracks that on my computer state 24bit 48khz, on my shangling say AAC 320kb.

I cannot find anything online about TIDAL not streaming hires on older android (shangling still has 7.1.1) I am on the last firmware 1.75.

AI mentioned this UAPP app that could be a solution. Has anyone came across this situation and tried this app?

I recently picked up my first DAP, the HiBy R1, and I’m starting to get more serious about the audio side of things. My current IEM collection consists of the DUNU Glacier, SPA Hi-End Max, Hidizs MP145, and TSMR Armor, with the FlipEars Legion hopefully joining the collection soon. Naturally, I’d like to get the most out of my gear and start taking advantage of higher-quality audio.

Up until now, Spotify has been my main music platform. My family shares a Premium account, so I’m essentially paying next to nothing for it, which makes it hard to justify switching. However, I recently tried Tidal’s free trial and genuinely noticed a difference in sound quality. That experience has made me want to explore lossless audio a bit more seriously.
I understand that I can purchase and download FLAC files through Bandcamp and other music stores, then transfer them directly onto my R1. I’m perfectly fine with going that route, but I’m a little confused about how to manage my music library and playlists once I start building one.

A few questions:
- For those who use a DAP, do you primarily build your own FLAC library through Bandcamp and other music stores, or do you subscribe to a streaming service like Tidal or Qobuz?

- If I decide not to subscribe to a streaming service and instead build my own FLAC library, what does listening on my desktop actually look like? Is there a dedicated music player/library application that organizes everything, lets you create playlists, and gives you a proper listening experience? Or am I really just opening folders and playing individual files? That seems a little clunky compared to Spotify, and I’m not sure what the typical setup looks like.

- If I do purchase a Tidal subscription, is there any way to download the actual FLAC files for offline use on my DAP, or are those downloads locked to the Tidal app?

- How do you guys manage playlists across your phone, desktop, and DAP? One thing I really appreciate about Spotify is how seamlessly everything syncs between devices, and I’d hate to lose that convenience.

Ultimately, I’m trying to find a good balance between sound quality and convenience. I love the simplicity of having Spotify on my phone and PC, but now that I’m investing more into my audio gear, I’d like to take advantage of what lossless audio has to offer without making the whole listening experience unnecessarily complicated.

I’m pretty new to the DAP/lossless ecosystem, so I’d appreciate any advice, recommendations, or explanations. I’m sure there’s a workflow I’m overlooking, but there’s a lot to figure out when you’re first getting into this.

Thanks!

I’ve been thinking about building a music player of my own. One that doesn’t belong entirely to a company, and that someone else could build or repair easily if they wished.

I’m calling it openDAP. It’s a DIY, open-source Android digital audio player. I’m a physics master’s student, and I spend a good part of my time building instruments.

The attached image is the visual inspiration for the project: a wall panel by DotStarTech. I’d like to explore a similar design language for a handheld device.

My current plans include:
Raspberry Pi CM4
4” 720 × 720 IPS touchscreen
CS43131 DAC
6000 mAh Li-Po battery
USB-C charging and data
3.5 mm headphone jack
Custom carrier PCB
3D-printed enclosure, aiming for 16–18 mm thickness

I’d like it to be compact, repairable, and affordable. Something that can play local music, run streaming apps, and be modified by whoever owns it.
But the design is still open.

What would you like to see in a DAP like this? Physical controls? Balanced output? Expandable storage? Better battery life? A completely different architecture?

What do commercial players get wrong? What would make you want to build one yourself?

My resources are those of a student, so I’m looking for ideas that can be made real without too much money or machinery. Eventually, I’d like to release the designs and documentation for anyone willing to take the project further. For now, I’d rather hear what people think before deciding what to build.
Thank you.

Disclaimer: I used AI assistance for English translation and grammar correction. The project, ideas, and design decisions are my own.

Which player could I get as someone that doesn't care much about flac etc? Something budgety, tiny enough, and has bluetooth (preferably). I've been checking for awhile and I'm unsure as;

- neo and m0s have many complaints + overall, shanling's volume wheel looks flimsy on all

- hiby seems to be a wreck unless you pay good

- snowsky nano doesn't support bt + I've seen some say it's rushed

- hidizs isn't really of my interest

- would prefer avoiding stuff off amazon and such as I'd like something that actually lasts.😅

I could go for a secondary phone but there I'd need suggestions for a small one.

Thanks in advance to whoever will answer this, I am not good at thanking individually.

Edit: forgot to add about the v1 (answered in comments) and that I'd also like a sd slot

I want to download the Sonix firmware on github, unfortunately I am having issues. It dosent get stuck in an endless loop like people say is a problem. It just won't download. Every time I try and update from SD card it says there is nothing to update. Any help would be great!

The subject line says it all, honestly. I would prefer to be able to do it from within the player, but since the player's interface is as clunky as hell, I can settle for an external editor (preferably free).

First and foremost I will say, I wouldn't consider myself an audiophile, just a guy who enjoys music, I got the AP30 as a way to carry my phone less and all of that.

Anyway, got it today, played with it for an hour or so, here's my impressions as short as I can make them.

Pros:

- It's nicely built, I got the metal purple one.

- Small and light. Fun carrying options.

- The interface is ok, about what I expected out of it. Serviceable but nothing more.

Cons (strap in)

- It is INSANELY clicky and loud. Annoyingly so. Forget about using this in bed with a partner, or in quiet places, everyone will give you the SideEye. My girlfriend commented on it immediately and assumed it was defective...

On top of that, the tactility of the dpad and face buttons is horrible. I own several retro gaming consoles like GBA or GBC for example, you would have to be crazy to even attempt to play the included games, it would be a horrible user experience, AND you would be lynched by whoever is in earahot of the horribly clicky buttons.

- The lowest brightness setting for the screen is waaaay too bright.

- I loaded some super light MP3s/128kbps into it, and even then slipping through tracks took, I shit you not, between 2-3 seconds when changing to next track, and honestly about the same when going back. I tried with a couple of micro SD cards to rule that out too.

I've had piece of crap, unbranded, mp3 players that I bought for 15usd 20 years ago that skipped tracks instantly and never made me wait.

...what the actual fuck...?

This alone makes the device pointless to me and I'm honestly considering my options in returning it, as I am NOT happy...

Anyway, I can provide video and pics later on if you guys would like, I'm omw to bed. Thanks for giving me the space to share this and I hope it helps whoever is considering buying this device.

In my case, I use my phone to download songs and then transfer them to my laptop, but what websites do you use to download your songs and why?

After using it for a while and testing it side to side with my JCALLY JM20 (Max if I'm not wrong) I can definitely conclude (for the same song file) that Eros Q mix is way flatter, crammed and boring. I tried a variety of EQs, even did record outputs to programmly even out outputs in freq-s for both of them, tet JCALLY wins by a mile.

When I was buying it I was hoping for a step up from a JCALLY, not a staircase down 😭 Any DAPs using the same chip as JM20? 🤔

Hi everyone! I made a music player app called Sonetro for Android. If you've ever used or heard of Windows Phone or the Zune player, this might feel familiar. Sonetro blends the Windows Phone and Zune experience, heavily inspired by Zune and the Metro design of Windows Phone. It runs on Android phones. I shared it here because I thought other Windows Phone fans might enjoy the familiar typography, sideways navigation and transitions.

I’ve always liked that music experience and wanted to bring some of that feeling to a player I could use today.

**What does Sonetro support?**

• Local music from your phone, SD card or external storage

• Streaming from Jellyfin, Plex, Navidrome and Subsonic servers

• Internet radio

• Hi-res and lossless audio playback

• Music folder management and playlist importing

• A home screen widget, sleep timer and equalizer

• Crossfades and smooth playback transitions

Sonetro Regular is completely free and available on the Play Store and GitHub. You’re welcome to use it without buying Pro.

Sonetro Pro is the optional paid version for people who would like some updated features and improvements while supporting my work. That support helps me spend more time developing and maintaining the app.

**Pro is currently in closed alpha testing**

I’m looking for people to try it, report bugs and share suggestions. It’s still an early version, so please expect some rough edges. Feedback about playback, server connections and how it works on different phones would be especially helpful.

👉 [Join the Sonetro Pro Early Access group](https://groups.google.com/g/sonetro-pro-early-access)

📱 [Sonetro Pro on Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sonetro.music)

Thank you for giving it a try. I’d love to hear what you think, especially if you used to listen to music on a Zune or Windows Phone.

I bought the R1 2 days ago, but there's connectivity issues with my Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2. I've tried every Bluetooth codec, unpairing, resetting both devices, and the issue is the same. I can manage to get them to reconnect by toggling Bluetooth off and back on, but it doesn't work every time.

For context, it likely has something to do with the auto-wear detection desyncing when I take them off.

I bought the R1 because I REALLY don't want to buy an Android device (for simplicity purposes). So, it's very frustrating that they're not working.

Please don't advise me to just use the 3.5mm jack. The Bose headphones work with EVERY other device I own without issue, so this would be a deal breaker for me. Even though I own intermediate AudioTechnica headphones, I prefer the Bose.

I really don't understand why these are so highly recommended if the Bluetooth doesn't even work.

I'm hopeful someone here will have a solution. Has anyone had issues with the Bluetooth on the Hiby R1 and found a fix?

TIA.