Do affordable DACs make a difference for music streaming from mobile phones?

[arnprasad]

Hi - I plan to buy a Poco Phone having sole my Essential phone last week (Essential released a DAC last month which I dont have). I spend at least 2-3 hours on my headphone and came upon a DAC review on youtube for around 70 dollars (6K in India) - FIIO MK3 - and then I also googled similar ones below 100 dollars. While this DAC needs an SD card which I guess needs to be loaded with FLAC files given most of us dont have DSD type files. But if one were listening to Google/Amazon/Apple streaming services -would such a DAC make a difference or can they even be used in the first place? (Connecting another rectangular box with phone during morning walks seems too much off an hassle.

Do things like sound stage, imaging....etc..whatever those means - make sense with these kinds of DAC on streaming services? Also do we need to buy 100 dollar plus headphones to make these out? I have a KZ headphone and have ordered couple more and today ordered the Tin Audio T2. I also have the Bose 25 which I have put up on sale as I was not impressed with it.

 

[hifitoaster]

I use a Samsung Galaxy S8 for since it launched and was using AK70 as a DAP along as I never was impressed with the sound of s8. While my JDS labs c5d was making a huge difference, it wasnt convienient, and and most of the time my listening continued with s8 itself many a times, I end up forgetting to charge the ak70.

In many of my recent posts I had mentioned the Venture electronics Odessey Type C dac, https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Ven...y-Type-C-to-3-5mm-DAC-dongle/32913164008.html. To say, apart from hiresolution, as its limited to 44.1 I am hugely impressed with how it sounds beyond its down to earth pricing. The last DAC I ended up buying and sending back was as a Astell Kern XB10 bluetooth DAC. I side by side compared it and found the thing damn smooth, less digital sounding than any under 10k dac I tried. By the way I have the Tin audio T2, which was harsh sounding directly from s8, VE and Tin audio are a great match. It lacks timing of more expensive dacs, but its really smooth. You can check headfi reviews where ppl who uses lot of expensive DACs wrote positive about the same.


I sold the AK70 and now have a mojo and this Odesssey for my DAC needs. To say, VE is in use much more than the mojo for convinience reasons, still sounding decent. The dac picks up a bit of static, depending on the phone, as on 2 Huawei's it sounded without static and on s8 it makes a bit of noise occasionely. I must not complain about that as even Mojo despite being about 40 times more expensive has the same problem.

 

[arnprasad]

Hi.. Many thanks for that reply.. Will take a decision on a DAC including the one you mentioned. Thx

 

[elangoas]

(Connecting another rectangular box with phone during morning walks seems too much off an hassle.

If you already have a headphone, you may consider USB DAC, which is almost the size of pen drive and has 3.5mm headphone out..
Ex : Dragonfly

(or) the Poco phone has USB type-C port.. You may get USB Type-C earphones (which would have inbuilt DAC), straight fit to mobiles port.. You also have Oneplus bullets earphones.. Abt Rs 1,500..

My wife had LeEco Le Max2 mobile, the first mobile to ditch the 3.5mm port and had USB type-C connector.. So i got the LeEco USB Type-C earphones for abt Rs 700/- to try and feel how it was.. First hand experience was very good..

 

[flute]

A Dac makes a lot of difference.

 

[amit_s]

I have sabaj da2 which I baught from AliExpress, I use it with OnePlus 6, it improves the sound in all departments comparing with stock aux output.