Tag Archives: best mp3 player

Best DAP 2020: Hi-Res, Audiophile, Budget, Portable

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Our pick of the 8 Best Digital Audio Players for all budgets and uses:

We know how important it is to find the right player; whether it is for your mp3 collection, hi-res music or streaming apps such as Tidal or Spotify.

Whether you call them DAPs, players, music players, portable players, mp3 players or anything else, this is the post for you. We’ve gathered our picks for the best digital audio players that you can buy!

 

BEST DAP UNDER £100

1. Shanling M0 – £99

shanling m0

Shanling M0

If you fancy getting better sound on the move, but don’t want to add a large device to your setup – the Shanling M0 could be just what you’re looking for. This tiny player delivers top quality Hi-Res audio and can be used in two different ways. The SD card slot allows you to store your own library of tunes, from mp3 to DSD – it can handle it all. The M0 can also act as a Bluetooth amp and DAC for your headphones. So, if you prefer using Spotify or Tidal on your phone, then wirelessly connect to the M0 to boost the audio quality while using an interface you are comfortable with.

READ MORE: Shanling M0 Portable Digital Audio Player Review

 

BEST DAP UNDER £200

2. Shanling M2X – £199.99

Shanling M2X

Shanling’s impressive M2x is our choice for under £200. The impressive build quality and easy to use software makes the M2x an enjoyable experience. Sound quality is well balanced and clean, with superb detail retrieval. Then the addition of Tidal streaming via the app, opens up the listening possibilities.

READ MORE: Shanling M2X Portable Digital Audio Player Review

 

BEST DAP UNDER £500

3. Cowon Plenue D2 – £259

Cowon Plenue D2

The Cowon Plenue D2 may seem simple to look at, this is certainly not the case though. Cowon are very well known and admired for the sound quality of their players. Bringing life and energy to music, as well as impressive customisation with their well developed EQs. The Plenue D2 is solid and very easy to use, with impressive battery life giving up to 30 hours of HD audio playback.

MORE INFO: Cowon Plenue D2 Portable Digital Audio Player

 

4. iBasso DX160 – £349

iBasso DX160

A new addition to the iBasso family, the DX160 sports an updated design to previous models and the addition of a 4.4mm balanced headphone output. The large touch screen is very clear, with vibrant colours and responsive touch control. As for sound, the DX160 provides a well balanced and organic sound with an emotional quality to it.

5. FiiO M11 – £449.99

FiiO M11

FiiO have really upped their game with the release of the M11. The impressively designed and built player houses some impressive technology. Dual AKM DAC chips and their custom made op-amp helps make the most of the aptX HD, LDAC and LHDC compatibility. Then the flexible headphone connectivity brings 2.5, 4.4 and 3.5mm ports to accommodate all popular jack sizes.

MORE INFO: FiiO M11 Portable Digital Audio Player and DAC

 

6. Shanling M6 – £499

Shanling M6

Shanling has long flexed its muscles in the portable audio player scene, and M6, the latest digital audio player offering takes its place at the top of Shanling’s Hi-Res audio player line-up. M6 is the first Shanling audio player to run Android OS and is armed with Hi-Res Audio and Hi-Res Wireless Audio certification taking your audio to the next level.

MORE INFO: Shanling M6 Digital Audio Player & DAC

 

BEST DAP UNDER £1000

7. iBasso DX220 – £799

iBasso DX220

We feel that the iBasso DX220 hits the ultimate price and performance point in the higher end of the digital audio player market. The DX220 is superbly built, with solid software and an easy to use design. The dual Sabre DAC chips help to achieve a clean and neutral sound, and the replaceable amp modules provide a level of customisation that is not common at this level.

MORE INFO: iBasso DX220 Portable Digital Audio Player and DAC

 

BEST DAP OVER £1000

8. Astell & Kern A&ultima SP1000M – £1999

Astell & Kern A&ultima SP1000M

Astell & Kern were not sure whether it was possible to come up with a product that is different from the SP1000 while delivering the same sound quality, but they decided to take up the challenge so that more people could experience their products’ fidelity. There were many trials and tribulations in making the SP1000, A&K’s best product, smaller. They were determined to not compromise sound quality in the process, and ultimately developed the second A&ultima product, the SP1000M.

MORE INFO: Astell & Kern A&ultima SP1000M Digital Audio Player

Have We Missed Anything Out?

Please feel free to leave a comment below and let us know…

Shanling M0 Review – Mo’ Minuture Still

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Shanling M0 DAP Portable Audio Player Review

Shanling’s shrinking players know no bounds; the titchy M0 measures just 4cm by 4.5cm. Add to that the touchscreen feature, two-way bluetooth, DSD capabilities and 512Gb Micro SD compatibility and you have a fully functional micro miracle! Much smaller, and we may start needing tweezers to handle the thing..

Pros:

  • Tiny size and light
  • Good sound
  • Versatile
  • Touchscreen operated

Cons:

  • Can require some practice to operate
  • Small screen can omit parts of longer folder/file names

Design and Appearance

The Shanling M0 is very smart and simple-looking from the outside with only one control; that being the combined power and volume control on the right side. On the left is a covered slot for a micro SD card of your choice (all currently available capacities are supported) and along the bottom is a USB-C socket and a 3.5mm headphone socket.

The casing is metallic, with an anodised-style paint job which looks the part and is kind to fingers in that no obvious marks are left after handling. The touchscreen is not so fingerprint-proof but a quick wipe deals with that.

Since the screen is so tiny, any list of folders and tracks may not be so meaningful if you have a few folders which are named starting with the artist name, for example. The album titles are not visible as they are cut off by the edge of the screen, leading the user to guess which album they are going into. There is no option to alter the text size, or use two lines of the display to display the folder or file names – perhaps a future firmware update will address this.

The touchscreen operation is quite intuitive, but some may require a little practice with their swiping actions in order to use the M0 and navigate through the various menus and options.

Durability and Build Quality

The bevelled edges make it sit great in the hands of most people; it feels like a solid and dependable unit with a combined power button, selector and volume control which has a knurled edge so it’s not fiddly. If your fingers are dry (or banana-like) and you’re concerned about dropping this little fella, there are natty little leather cases available for the M0 which will offer some additional grip and protection.

Suitability for intended application

The Shanling M0 is a versatile unit; there is a number of bluetooth standards it can operate by, and the two-way bluetooth feature will allow the M0 to act as a receiver so it can be used with a full-size music system (outputting audio at line-level) if you wanted to listen to the music stored on it whilst relaxing at home. Just remember to alter the output setting back to ‘PO’ (phones out) when connecting headphones again.

Its light weight (37.5 grams or about an ounce and a bit) makes it perfect for joggers who are keen on using bluetooth headphones; slip it in a pocket and it can be virtually forgotten about!

Sound

Considering the diminutive size of the Shanling M0, it packs a surprising punch and can adequately power any portable headphones, with a decent amount of bass and clarity. It also has a few EQ presets for a limited amount of sound customisation but the sound is really quite good as it comes, with the EQ off.

Shanling M1 Portable Audio Player Review

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Shanling M1 DAP Review

The Shanling M1 is the perfect everyday DAP, also doubling up as the perfect gym companion, offering a clean and detailed sound for under £150, very impressive.

Pros:

  • Size
  • Features
  • Price to performance

Cons:

  • Button layout could be more like the M2s

Aesthetics, Accessories and User Interface

The Shanling M1 is a tiny player, it is shaped like the later iPod Nano and is sleek and easily slips into your pocket. The front is glass, the edges are aluminium and the back is plastic, you have a volume wheel (which is also the select button) on the top right hand side and the power button underneath. On the other side you have playback buttons (skip track and back), on the bottom you have the USB C port for charging and also file transfer along with the headphone jack and MicroSD slot. The power button also works to unlock the screen, overall the look and feel of this player is excellent.

The M1 comes with a USB cable, Card reader and 4 screen protectors, all you need is a microSD card with music on. Available separately is a leather case, and you can also purchase extra screen protectors.

The user interface is easy to get around, you have plenty of settings and then when in your music you can either browse by Artist, Album, Genre, Playlist, Favourites or display all tracks. The wheel acts as the scrolling mechanism, and click inwards on the wheel to select. The playing screen displays the album artwork, with the format below and the track name and artist. The button layout is not as intuitive and natural as the M2s, but it doesn’t take long to get used to it.

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READ MORE: Thomson WHP3311 Wireless TV Headphone Review

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This player has some added functions, it can be used as an external USB DAC for your computer.
The USB C port can feed a digital signal to an external DAC too, it has high and low gain settings, EQ, two way Bluetooth (AptX) support and more.

Sound

I would class the Shanling M1 as one of the more neutral sounding players, it’s sibling the M2s has a noticeable warmth to the sound that the M1 doesn’t have. The M1 has plenty of gain, but the actual output power is lower than the M2s, meaning the M1 is best paired with in-ear headphones and easier to drive full size ones.

There is still a slight smoothness to the sound, which makes this an easy listen. The lows are slightly full and easy to follow, they are not lacking in extension are definition but they are slightly fuller than a strictly neutral sound.
The mids are detailed and present, and the highs are well extended with possibly a hint of softness making this a non fatiguing and easy listening player.

Conclusion

The M1 is the perfect player for everyday easy listening and also for sports use. It’s size and aftermarket case allow you to clip it to an armband, and the bluetooth support allows you to go wireless when out jogging.

It has some great features like USB DAC support, USB output support, Bluetooth and more, it may not be the most powerful player but for under £150 you get a surprisingly clean and detailed sound.

Best high resolution players to buy in 2016 – Expert Reviews

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Best DAPs to buy in 2016

We have looked at the best high resolution players from brands like Astell&Kern, Acoustic Research and Lotoo as well as new entries into the market like Questyle and Pioneer and great value offerings from FiiO.

DAPs are audiophile quality digital audio players that support 24 bit formats such as FLAC, OGG and WAV as well as compressed formats such as MP3.  These high end audio players are often capable of driving the best full size and on ear headphones.

— Scroll to the bottom of this page to watch the video

FIIO M3

The FiiO M3 can’t be beaten in terms of value for money. The player will support lossless formats such as flac and wav up to 96khz/24bit and thanks to the 8gb of on board storage as well as a microSD card slot for up to 64gb you have plenty of space for your music. And to top it all off you get a free pair of earphones in the box!

FIIO X3-II

FiiO really dominate the low priced DAP market and the X3-II is our most popular model. It’s the perfect entry level player for those wanting to upgrade from their phone as it handles all popular lossless formats as well as DSD. The amplifier is powerful enough to drive most headphones and currently the microSD card slot can accept up to 128gb for storage. The player can also act as a USB DAC for your PC or Mac.

LOTOO PAW 5000

You could think that Lotoo have taken a risk with the PAW 5000’s retro design – opting for a small non-touch screen and a small wheel/button combo. But doing this has allowed the engineers to focus on speed and responsiveness as well as power and a microSD card slot that will take cards up to 2tb once available to store as much lossless audio as you like.

ASTELL&KERN AK JR

Astell&Kern are known for their truly audiophile sound and no corners were cut with the AK Jr. It’s one of the thinnest players around with a large touch screen making it very attractive. The player has 64gb of internal storage and can take up to 64gb via the microSD card slot giving 128gb in total. It also supports lossless and DSD formats and can double as an external USB DAC when connected to your PC or Mac.

THE BIT – OPUS #1

New kids on the block The Bit have released the Opus #1. This player runs on a stripped down version of android – this means that it won’t support apps such as Spotify and Tidal but will make the player more efficient and concentrate more on sound quality. The Opus #1 has 32gb of on board storage and the 2 microSD card slots allowing a total of 400gb for all of your high quality files. There is also an optical output allowing the player to connect to an external DAC.

PIONEER XDP-100R

Pioneer’s addition to the digital player market comes with a catchy name – the XDP-100R is a superb player! Running on android the player can host popular apps such as Spotify, Tidal and Google Play. The player has on-board Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, can support the most popular lossless formats as well as MQA audio, has a built in speaker and with 32gb of on board storage as well as 2 microSD card slots that can handle up to 200gb each – you get a lot for the money!

QUESTYLE QP1R

The sleek and stylish QP1R doesn’t just look pretty, it can handle all popular formats and has plenty of power to keep all portable headphones sounding their best, and a lot of full-size cans too! Questyle have gone with buttons as opposed to the more modern touchscreen approach, but many people prefer buttons for their tactile feedback. It’s good to know when a button’s been pressed. The QP1R has lots of storage space, with 32gb onboard and two 128gb microSD slots which makes.. plenty of room!

ACOUSTIC RESEARCH AR-M2

The AR-M2 is a full android-powered device and since it can connect to local Wi-Fi networks, it can download your favourite android apps as well as connect to music streaming services like Spotify and Tidal. It has as much power as any portable DAP and sounds superb with almost any headphone you’d care to throw at it. Careful though, as it’s so well put together that your headphones might sustain damage during any such collision.

ASTELL&KERN AK320

Another Astell&Kern player, the AK320 promises to take us most of the way towards the giddy audio quality and functionality offered by the likes of the AK380, but for half the price. Still, the AK320 does nothing else by halves as it can handle all popular formats up to 24bit/192kHz, has 128gb storage built in, and has a slot for the same again making a whopping 256gb for all your favourite music!

LOTOO PAW GOLD

Lotoo’s current flagship DAP, the PAW Gold, has exceptional sound quality and a huge amount of power. Unusually for portable players these days, the PAW Gold accepts SD cards. Of course, microSD users can make use of an adaptor to get their collection working, or they might take advantage of the greater capacities available on this format, currently at 512gb. Lotoo say that SD cards sporting capacities as high as 2tb are compatible with the PAW Gold – if they were to exist yet!