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?
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.