I have been listening music for a long time. As far as listening equipments go I have only gotten what you would describe as entry level audiophile stuff. Like $20 IEMs, and I had an Audio Technica M50 at one point.
For the last few years I have been listening to music on my Shanling Q1, a Chinese portable hifi music player. It died last month. So I got a new phone with a 3.5 mm audio out. But I have noticed that music doesn’t sound as good when using the IEMs with it. The Q1 can also double as a wired or bluetooth DAC so I am wondering if I need something like that to make the music sound good from my phone.
You should try something like the grave audio cx31993. Its really cheap and will show you what the purpose of a DAC is. Notably no distortion at any volume, and no background noise. Be aware that what you perceive as “better” sounding could just be the volume you are listening at. We percieve music/devices to sound better at higher volumes. There is also the possibility the EQ is different on the devices, which can factor into the difference in quality (most devices let you chose your own EQ, flat or a “v-shape” are common, the latter because it accentuates the highs and lows, which sounds nicer to us for some reason.
Yeah you are right. I pulled out what remains of the Q1 to do a comparison. At similar volumes I couldn’t tell them apart. The only difference was that the 90% volume of my phone was equivalent to the 30% of the Q1.
The DACs built into phones are fine for standard lossy audio files. What you may be missing is simply power. I am not current in terms of mobile audiophile gear so I can’t make any product recommendations but from what you describe a headphone amplifier is what you’re missing.
Gsmarena said the 3.5mm output was “hi-res” whatever that may mean. It sounds alright as I said in my other comment. You are right about the amp being the missing sauce. I will decide later if I need one or not.
You’ve probably heard that to get the most out of your audio gear you need a DAC. Basically it’s the chip that turns digital music like an mp3/flac/wav into actual sound. Your phone and pc already have one but it’s super basic
When you upgrade to a dedicated DAC (or a hi-fi player) you get much better chips that make the conversion a lot cleaner
So basically: better conversion = cleaner / better sound
This is why audiophiles recommend getting one to get the best sound possible
- Why doesn’t my phone sound as good as my old hi-fi player?
You guessed it. Because it doesn’t have the same high quality audio chips
- Can I fix it?
Yes absolutely. You can buy a dongle DAC that has better chips. I use a ‘‘Moondrop Dawn Pro 2’’ for my phone. IT’S A DAC ONLY, meaning it just focuses on improving the audio quality. It won’t deliver a ton of power if you have power hungry headphones. Since it’s a portable dongle it’s designed for convenience, so it balances audio quality with energy efficiency
It delivers up to 32-bit/384kHz and I’d describe its sound signature as ‘‘analytical and neutral’’
- What if I only listen to music at home and want the best audio possible?
If you want maximum quality you have to sacrifice portability and get a big desktop DAC. I have a ‘‘FiiO K7’’… it’s a mid-range amp/dac that uses different chips. These ones are power hungry and their entire focus is on delivering the best sound possible
The Fiio K7 also supports up to 32-bit/384kHz but I’d describe its sound as more ‘‘fun with depth’’.
But yeah generally speaking the desktop Fiio sounds better than the portable dac
Thanks
