Top Portable Player(DAP) Summer 2020!!

The digital audio player market is developing at a speedy rate. We are getting new products every day and this increases our confusion when we search to buy a new DAP. Today we have brought you a list of the best DAP’s currently available in the market which will help you decide on your next purchase.

Fiio M15(Best DAP Money Can Buy):-

Pros:-

Flagship chips, AK4499EQ, CSR8675, Outstanding Sound Quality, Powerful Sound Output, Android OS, 8x MQA, 64GB internal memory, up to 2TB expandable, PCM 32-Bit/768kHz, DSD up to DSD512, All to DSD, Bluetooth with Hi-Res Codecs support, Long Battery Life.

Cons:-

None.

The Fiio M15 is the king of the DAP’s currently available in the market, it was released by Fiio early this year during the January,2020. The M15 runs an Android OS and also houses a pure music mode. It features a large 5.15” display with corning gorilla glass, a flagship DAC setup featuring dual AK4499EQ DAC chips, and much more. It has every feature right to be called a flagship device, flagship Bluetooth chip, class-leading femtosecond crystal oscillators from NDK, Japan. The Fiio M15 features a headphone mode, to provide juice to your power-hungry full-sized cans, yeah you heard it right, now you can enjoy music on your full-sized cans portably with powerful output from the M15. The M15 unfolds 8X MQA truly providing the user with an unmatched sound output. It has got a large battery with 7490mAh rating and can play music for up to 15 hours on a single charge. The M15 features three output ports,3.5mm single-ended, 2.5mm-4.4mm balanced ports. The M15 is one of the best available flagships in the market and it comes at half the price of other flagships. The Fiio M15 is priced at just 1399$ and you can check more details about it here.

Technical Specifications:-

>Dual Flagship Dac setup AK4499EQ.

>Lightining Fast SoC Exynos 7872 Processor.

>3GB RAM+64GB ROM.

>MicroSD card Support up to 2TB card support.

>5.15" HD display(720P) with 18:9 support with Corning Gorilla Glass.

>2.4/5GHz dual-band Wi-fi Support.

>7490mAh Battery with 15 hours of Music Playback.

>2.5mm balanced, 3.5 standard and 4.4 balanced port.

>Qualcomm Flagship Bluetooth Chip CSR8675 with two-way LDAC Bluetooth.

>Two Class-Leading Femtosecond Crystal Oscillators from NDK, Japan.

>XMOS XUF208 Control Chip which supports direct decoding 768kHz/32bit, Native DSD512 support.

>Fully Decode (8x) the Original MQA Files.

>CNC Machined Aluminium-Magnesium Alloy Chassis.

>Five Physical Buttons with Customizable Functions.

>All to DSD 2nd Gen.

>One-click Standby Mode.

>21W Dual Quick Charging.

Shanling M6 Pro(Best Mid-level DAP):-

Pros:-

Dual AK4497EQ DAC, 2.5D glass back panel, Powerful output, Android OS, PCM up to 32-Bit/768kHz, DSD up to DSD256, Three Gain Modes, Triple Output Ports.

Cons:-

A bit Pricey, Old Bluetooth Version.

The Shanling M6 Pro is the latest DAP from Shanling which is released just recently in April 2020. It has an open Android OS. The DAP has a rich and premium built quality with a 2.5D glass back panel. It features a dual AK4497EQ DAC setup. It has a custom amplification unit improved over its previous model the Shanling M6. The DAP has a monstrous power output of up to 600mW from its balanced ports paired with three gain modes this little beast can power-hungry headphones easily. It has a very clean and detailed sound output with a wide soundstage representation. The player is able to decode PCM up to 32-Bit/768kHz and DSD up to DSD256 natively. It has three output ports, 3.5mm single-ended, 2.5mm, and 4.4mm balanced ports. The DAP is equipped with a 4000mAh battery that can give a battery life of up to 13 hours. It also supports quick charge 3.0 to quickly charge your player. The Shanling M6 Pro is priced at 760$, you can check more details here.

Technical Specifications:-

> High-Performance Dual DAC Setup by AKM, AK4497EQ x 2.

>PCM Decoding up to 32-Bit/768kHz, DSD up to DSD256 Natively.

>Lightning Fast Snapdragon 430 Processor.

>4GB RAM+32GB ROM.

>Open Android Operating System.

>Three Output Ports: 2.5mm Balanced, 4.4mm balanced, and 3.5mm single-ended.

>Three Mode Gain: Low Gain/ High Gain/ Ultra High Gain Mode.

>Output Power:- Up to 600mW(32 ohms, 4.4mm)

>Crisp 720P Display

>Two-Way Bluetooth V4.2 support with Hi-res codes support(Two-way supports LDAC, SBC, only Transmission mode supports: AptX, AptX HD, HWA).

>Battery Life: Up to 13 hours(Single Ended Single DAC Mode).

                       Up to 9 hours(Single Ended  Dual DAC Mode).

                       Up to 8 hours(Balanced Mode Dual DAC).

>Dual Band Wi-Fi support:- 2.4GHz/5GHz.

>TF Memory Card supported up to 512gb capacity.

>4000mAh Battery which supports QC3.0 quick charging.

iBasso DX160 2020 Version(Best DAP Under 500$):-

Pros:-

Brilliant Sound Quality, 1080P Crisp Display, Price to Performance Ratio, 4.4mm Balanced Port, MQA Support, Latest Bluetooth V5.0 Connectivity.

Cons:-

No 2.5mm port.

iBasso has gained a lot of name with its brilliant product range in the market. They have released the latest model to their Android DAP the iBasso DX160. The DX160 is the first Android DAP from the brand, it was released late last year. While this year the brand has rebooted it with a new buffer improving the sound quality. It features a dual CS43198 DAC chips. It has a smooth user interface with an octa-core ARM CPU and 2GB of RAM. The player supports MQA decoding, features a 5.0” full HD 1080p display. The player houses two output ports, one 3.5mm single-ended and one 4.4mm balanced port. It features Bluetooth V5.0 functionality with Hi-res codecs support including LDAC. The iBasso DX160 is a pretty good Android DAP and one of the best DAP’s you can get under 500$. It is priced at 399.99$, you can check more details here.

Technical Specifications:-

>Dual high-performance Cirrus Logics DAC chips, 2xCS43198.

>PCM Decoding up to 32-Bit/384kHz, and DSD up to DSD256 natively.

>Octa-Core ARM CPU.

>2GB RAM with 32GB ROM.

>MQA Decoding.

>Bluetooth 5.0 with Hi-Res codecs support.

>Dual-Band Wi-Fi support, 2.4GHz/5GHz.

>Dual Output Ports, 3.5mm single-ended and 4.4mm balanced ports.

>5.0” Full-screen display with 1080P Full HD resolution.

Hidizs AP80 Pro(Best DAP Under 200$):-

Pros:-

Dual ES9218P DAC, Samsung IPS Display, CNC Aluminium Body, Up to 13 Hours Battery Life, Bi-directional Bluetooth.

Cons:-

No DSD256 Support, Old Bluetooth Version.

The Hidizs AP80 Pro is the latest budget DAP from Hidizs. Their previous AP80 was acclaimed heavily for its beautiful sound output with a small form factor. The Pro model takes things further with a complete balanced architecture with Dual ES9218P DAC chips. The player has two output ports, one 3.5mm single-ended and one 2.5mm balanced port. It is very easy to use and operate with a single hand due to the small size and snappy user interface. It also supports Bi-directional Bluetooth V4.2 connectivity with Hi-Res codecs support including LDAC, APTX, and more. It is a great entry point for beginner audiophiles as it is very easy to carry, provides multiple output ports, and has wireless Bluetooth support. The player is priced at 149$ and you can check more about it here.

Technical Specifications:-

>Dual High-performance DAC Chips, ES9218P.

>PCM Decoding up to 32-Bit/384kHz, DSD up to DSD128.

>Samsung 2.45” IPS Display(480x360 Display Resolution).

>Master Chip Ingenic X1000.

>CNC Aluminium Body with Stereoscopic glass on the back.

>Japanese ALPS Volume Knob.

>Smooth Hiby OS3.0.

>Bi-directional Bluetooth support with Bluetooth V4.2 connectivity.

>Hi-Res Bluetooth Codecs support including LDAC, AptX, and More.

>Dual Output Port, 3.5mm single-ended, and 2.5mm balanced.

>Output Power(single-ended): 70mW+70mW @ 32 ohms.

>Output Power(balanced): 190mW+190mW @ 32 ohms.

>SNR: Up to 120dB.

>Dynamic Range: up to 116dB.

>Dual Gain Modes:- High/Low.

>Battery: 800mAh.

>Battery life: Up to 13 hours on single-ended, up to 9 hours on balanced output.

>MicroSD card support up to 512GB.

>USB Type-C Charging Port.

Upcoming Portable Player's:-

Hiby R8(Flagship DAP with Cellular Network Support):-

Hiby showed the Hiby R8 at the Fujiya AVIC Headphone Festival. Not much is known as of now But what the brand has told us is really intriguing, the Hiby R8 features SIM card slot, and one can use 4G network to stream music. The DAP features a lightning-fast Snapdragon 625 Chipset and latest Android P(Android 9) OS. With support from the latest Android OS and as we are already familiar with the brilliant products that Hiby make we are really interested in the Hiby R8 to release.

iBasso DX220 Max(Flagship iBasso DAP):-

iBasso told us about the iBasso DX220 Max last year on head-fi. It is going to be a flagship device featuring Dual ES9028Pro chips with high-quality chipset configuration. The player will have multiple batteries one for DAC and CPU and rest to form a high voltage battery pack for the analog stage. It has analog volume control. It has three output ports, one 3.5mm single-ended, and 2.5mm and 4.4mm balanced ports. The device has a huge display and it will be released soon. The iBasso DX220 Max is going to be priced at around 2000$.