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Best portable digital music player?
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Ash View Drop Down
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Points: 4334 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ash Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Aug 2019 at 3:49pm
Bitzie + Lautus Powerwire £450
LG V20 ~£200
Aftermarket battery and powerbank £100+
Micro SD of at least 256GB also
ER4XR ~£300

Over 1k for this setup and it would pale in comparison to a home MySphere 3.1 system. So I'm happy with LG V20 into V30+ B&O stock earphones for <£200. Decent, musical and cheap.
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miT View Drop Down
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Points: 890 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote miT Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Aug 2019 at 11:31pm
Originally posted by Ash Ash wrote:

Bitzie + Lautus Powerwire £450
LG V20 ~£200
Aftermarket battery and powerbank £100+
Micro SD of at least 256GB also
ER4XR ~£300

Over 1k for this setup and it would pale in comparison to a home MySphere 3.1 system. So I'm happy with LG V20 into V30+ B&O stock earphones for <£200. Decent, musical and cheap.
Cost is sadly always a case although looking at your list, I already have the Bitzie and Lautus Powerwire, too many large microSD cards (currently using  a 512Gb), and the ER-4P which could be converted to the S. My IEMs are especially enjoyable as I invested in custom tips many years ago so the isolation and fit is amazing.

I would presume that if using the Bitzie, the V20 would be overkill though due to essentially bypassing the DAC? If this is the case then any phone would do as it is simply a music transport, possibly making it cheaper still...
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Ash View Drop Down
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Points: 4334 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ash Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 Aug 2019 at 7:52am
I only suggested the V20 as it has a removable battery and the aftermarket batteries can hold much more charge than stock. It is pretty much losing software support though, not that these V devices get the most up-to-date version of android anyway. It has a nice size screen that is pretty sharp and clear with good colour accuracy IMO. Also running at least Android 7.0, it is more likely to support OTG I guess. But yes, any OTG capable phone with micro SD is suitable. I have a sneaking suspicion that not all phones are equal though, even though you are taking the digital audio out of the phone before it reaches the internal DAC. There seem to be different qualities of digital circuitry as my former Galaxy S3 digital out did not sound as good as my laptop or PC. Maybe just me??
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miT View Drop Down
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Points: 890 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote miT Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 Aug 2019 at 8:06am
Originally posted by Ash Ash wrote:

I only suggested the V20 as it has a removable battery and the aftermarket batteries can hold much more charge than stock. It is pretty much losing software support though, not that these V devices get the most up-to-date version of android anyway. It has a nice size screen that is pretty sharp and clear with good colour accuracy IMO. Also running at least Android 7.0, it is more likely to support OTG I guess. But yes, any OTG capable phone with micro SD is suitable. I have a sneaking suspicion that not all phones are equal though, even though you are taking the digital audio out of the phone before it reaches the internal DAC. There seem to be different qualities of digital circuitry as my former Galaxy S3 digital out did not sound as good as my laptop or PC. Maybe just me??
Ah, that makes sense then.

I would presume that if LG have completely gone against the mold to design a DAC into a specific range of their phones, something which to my knowledge no one else has done, then I would not put it past them to "clean up" the internals to make it sound better anyway. I did not realise it had a removable battery; that alone makes so much sense!

I would not survive using a touchscreen device as my actual phone as the frustrations of typing on a piece of glass is enough to give me an aneurysm! As a DAP though it makes perfect sense, and the removable battery is something I do not believe any other dedicated device can compare to.

What were your reasons for preferring it to the V30 or any of the new V series?


Edited by miT - 17 Aug 2019 at 8:19am
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Ash View Drop Down
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V20 has more realistic colours whilst V30 has oversaturated colours. V20 has wider screen whereas V30 screen is taller. V20 display is square at the corners whereas V30 display corners are curved. V20 has secondary display at the top for my 5 main apps, which I prefer. You can make out pixels on V20 screen but not on V30 as it has higher PPI. Both have same DAC and FM radio and SD card slot. V20 is cheaper than V30. V20 battery removable, V30 not removable.

Overall I prefer V20.
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That all makes sense, thanks Ash.
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I have potentially increased my budget quite drastically so while I have been quiet on here, I have been doing a lot of research about this.

Now I have a question for the more technically minded out there:

Can the design of a PCB give you an indication of whether a product is particularly good, and therefore worth considering? 

Unfortunately the DAP market has limited options to demo kit in the UK so you are generally left buying blind, but two players I found seem to be above the competition due to their design focus. Separating the power supplies, etc. makes sense to me (in theory) as that is high-end Hi-Fi mentality but would it actually achieve anything in a DAP, or is it simply marketing fluff?

Please have a look at the two players below and let me know your thoughts:





Edited by miT - 25 Sep 2019 at 10:37pm
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