I’ve been listening to Raptgo Hook-X for about a month now. I used them with my iphone 15 via an apple dongle and listened music in Tidal. Don’t get me wrong, these iems are really good for me (except the treble, sometimes it doesn’t sound good). Before them, I was listening to AirPods pro 2 gen, and I loved them. When I got these iems, I was blown away by the sound.
Now, I don’t really get this feeling of “I CAN REALLY HEAR THE DIFFERENCE”. Instead, it’s just “yea, i can tell the difference “ if u know what i mean.
So I wonder if a dac/dap or whatever can make my iems better again. For the context, these iems is the first item from the audio world. Besides, I’ve never listened to any dac/amp/dap or anything like that.
I like the Fiio BTR5 (2021/2020) ≈ 65-100USD in my country second hand. It’s really small and powerful. Maybe Fiio BTR7 ≈ 100-150 usd will suit me.
But I wonder do I really need em? I mean, will these amps or what are they called improve my iems sound quality? Or is my apple dongle okay?…
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No. Your phone is already enough. Ppl who said otherwise are mega copium. I own DAP (shanling M6) and I dont even use it (regret).
No. I refunded mine after a day. My phone was literally better.
Yes, a DAC/amp will improve the sound quality. The BTR5 is a great choice and what I still use on the go. It is small, powerful, has great battery life and is highly customizable. And bluetooth is just much more convenient versus the dongle if you’re moving around.
Get a 2.5mm balanced cable to use with it, that way you can plug into the balanced port which will give you more power which in my experience with the 7hz Timeless make planars sound significantly better. Also, it has its own battery, which will extend the battery life of your phone.
If you want to hear a big difference over the Apple dongle try a Cayin RU6/RU7.
Holy, thanks for the answer. Appreciate it) Isn’t balanced output 4,4? Also, I’ve heard about cayin ru6/7 (120 and 180 usd respectively) but holy shit they are expensive. I bought me iems raptgo hook x second hand for like 185 bucks))
You know what can make them better? Setting them down for a few days or a week and listening in something else (like the AirPods, if you still have them).
I’ll try the hack and yes, I still have AirPods on me.
well you can get the qudelix 5k and eq it is strong enough to power even a couple of headphone out there so it is a good investment for the next couple of year. I recommend it over btr5 because it have plastic shell -less fragile and better connect range. I have the hook x and qudelix and for my experience with those you can find some eq profile that very interesting. My favorite is the Diva profile for vocal and sa6 ultra for instrument track.
Do you need one: No.
Does dac amp improve the sound: Yes.
Switching to bluetooth dongle will greatly increase convenience.
Qudelix 5k might be able to fix some of issues too by using EQ.It won’t make a difference sonically.
Dongle is fine and if there’s something about the sound you don’t like different eartips can make a huge difference. That said, I’m currently using a gaming phone so it has a 3.5mm jack but I still bought a dap so my headphones aren’t connected to my phone, especially while I’m out of the house. I bought a tiny one, (Shanling m0 pro) and love it. I clip it on the outside of my pocket I paid $130 for it and it’s been completely worth it. But that’s so I don’t have a cord attached to my phone not for sound quality and I’m using downloaded files on it. My dap also works as an external DAC/amp but I’ve only used it that way to get more power to some over ear headphones.
no
I personally would like more headroom in volume, my S12 needs 100% volume to my listening preferences. So i bought a Hiby FC4 DAC Amp combo which got the balanced 4.4 options for more volume (although the 3.5 got enough juice too).
I personally prefer a non-bluetooth dac amp, purely for bypassing battery usage, i mean i understand the convenience of wireless but i don’t want more device to charge.
It all comes down to preferences.