My experience with this is I’ve had 3 different Dac Amps DAC x6 was the first one I had which I did not have any reference to before switching over to a Schiit Magni 3+ and Schiit Modi 3e (Both give plenty of volume). On the Hifiman Edition XS using the DAC x6 the sound was very claustrophobic and warm compared to using the Schiit stack which was much wider and neutral sounding, for me this was a huge upgrade. To add to this I also tried this on a portable DAC Amp which is the DC03 Pro which soundstage sounds closer on the side but a bit sounds warmer. What’s your experience?
do a blind test… personally, I enjoy more cheap, slightly warm dacs and transparent, powerful amplifiers
amp and dacs are resolved topics full of snake oil (just like everything related to this topic)
The healthy thing would be to have a variety of obviously different equipment without spending too much and use them to better fit the music you listen to or just for the fun of changing equipment
I’m a fan of smart spending, but sometimes you have to pay for extra quality that really isn’t there with cheaper stuff. Like I was skeptical about expensive DAPs until I got one, they’re for real. The sound is completely different and I’m grateful I gritted my teeth and spent the money. I still waited to get it used though, no way I’m paying full price.
Oh, I have a walkman nw-a55 and I find its performance and construction disappointing. I don’t like the sound or the amplification.
I find Apple’s small DAC much more convenient and equivalent… although my favorite device is a generic external audio card connected to three simple amplifiers
The change for me is in trying headphones with different firms, although… when the right music appears, the equipment doesn’t matter much
I’ve had a few less expensive daps and I didn’t like them, they were annoying to use and the amplification made things louder but not necessarily better, and they were still expensive. The DX240 was different, it functions smoothly and the sound is legitimately much better, I can hear details in songs I can’t hear on my other equipment. The presentation is a lot more refined, there’s no rough edges or digital feeling, instruments and voices sound realistic and the imaging is crazy.
I tried upgrading my headset to the Mest MKII and I didn’t like it despite the technical improvements, but upgrading my source to the DAP was the major change I was looking for.