Blackstar1886 t1_j4mockw wrote on January 16, 2023 at 8:16 PM

Audio companies really need to bring back listening stations. If you haven’t heard the difference, there’s no way this can make sense. If you’ve heard the difference between a Smartphone and a good DAC paired with good headphones, the “Why?” question goes away.

asdaaaaaaaa t1_j4o5rrk wrote on January 17, 2023 at 2:15 AM

Listening stations being those setups where you can listen/compare different products? I'd agree on that. I never cared about music quality until I tried a friends setup that was really nice. Not an audiophile, but even just buying a nice pair of headphones/speakers and cheaper DAC or sound card can make a huge difference.

victorpaparomeo2020 t1_j4n1u15 wrote on January 16, 2023 at 9:40 PM

Am a bit of a headphone / portable audio buff. I’ve got an Astell & Kern AK380 DAP and it’s pretty awesome. For the sake of convenience when travelling however I got a Dragonfly Cobalt DAC.

It’s for use with my iPhone and my wired headphones. I also use Qobuz as a streaming service and the results are phenomenal.

So yep - the need for another device has almost gone away.

That said, what Sony are doing with their latest generation of Walkmans/men(?) is to be commended.

Blackstar1886 t1_j4njiqr wrote on January 16, 2023 at 11:36 PM

Fair to say you spent $350 on the Cobalt DAC to bypass the iPhone’s audio output because you can tell a significant difference between the iPhone and something designed with audio quality as a priority?

victorpaparomeo2020 t1_j4pcofi wrote on January 17, 2023 at 9:01 AM

No, I spent €250 but for the same reason you describe. But I use it on my iPad and PC too so I get quite a bit of value for it. Compared to the price of a DAP it’s quite a bargain.