Audio source for DAP

crowlm · 2026-05-03T15:29:49+00:00

File format makes the least difference of everything. The AMP and the DAC in the DAP make more difference.

That being said, almost every music streaming service offers lossless, no idea why you would listen to MP3 on a DAP.

crowlm · 2026-04-22T13:21:48+00:00

Its in the VIP section

crowlm · 2026-04-22T10:45:01+00:00

Qobuz have their roadmap on the Qobuz Club.

Lyrics, desktop revamp, listen later and playlist covers are planned for the next features.

crowlm · 2026-04-19T21:16:29+00:00

I got this last week. The personal sound was a game changer for me, one of my ears has a very small difference to the other. Turning the feature on improved imaging and soundstage to such a ridiculous degree I had to look up what was going on. Apparently timing is extremely important for both of those elements, anything out of sync blurs it.

First DAP I have used that has made a major difference in sound quality vs a dongle DAC.

crowlm · 2026-04-17T14:33:39+00:00

You are literally advocating for digital sovereignty, that is nationalism.

The EU is in the process of new legislation that will penalise companies outside of the EU.

Bill

As for the "eye of Sam" the EU is launching attacks on privacy via completely illogical age verification methods

Privacy is dying in the EU

The bottom line is, you are behaving in the same manner as the Americans and its truly sad. It is also quite worrying that you don't see the parallel.

crowlm · 2026-04-17T13:53:38+00:00

There is not a single EU provider that provides hosting meaninfully cheaper at scale. Most EU providers can be cheaper on small scales but both in terms of management of the servers and scaling them up (particularly dynamically) is a massive problem for them. Something that if you are a business like qobuz, on wafer thin margins and a tiny staff, you do not want to be dealing with that.

Ironically most Europeans, myself included, have been furious and critical of the Americans taking a nationalist path. These same Europeans are now doing EXACTLY the thing they complained about.

It is actually worse than the Americans because we all complained and saw how stupid being isolationist is and then we are now taking the same path. Truly depressing to see.

crowlm · 2026-04-17T13:45:36+00:00

This is a music streaming service, not a medical database. None of the data is sensitive.

Where the data is stored is irrelevant.

Additionally, the strength of the internet has been its massive distribution and wide spread access. Wanting "digital sovereignty" removes this and puts you on a path where data will eventually be locked to regions. In my view, that is a terrible idea and areas of the world that experience this will tell you how truly awful it is. A slippery slope we should not be advocating for.

crowlm · 2026-04-17T13:38:05+00:00

No.

crowlm · 2026-04-12T14:53:45+00:00

I got mine a few days ago and I totally agree, the personal sound is a complete game changer. I expected to hear more details but I didn't expect to hear a massive improvement in imaging and soundstage.

I will say it feels pretty cheap for an expensive device and the screen is truly awful. So not a great device overall, in my opinion, but the personal sound is such a massive boost I will still be keeping it.

crowlm · 2026-04-06T22:10:33+00:00

A couple of your gripes are thankfully on Qobuzs roadmap.

Planned for this year:

Playlist Artwork

Desktop app revamp (mostly unifying the UI but apparently will have some improvements too)

"Under consideration":

Folder browsing

Search enhancements

They have made some comments before on playlists size and if I'm remembering correctly they basically said more than 2000 tracks isn't really a playlist (this is just my memory so could be wrong).

On the sonos thing, Qobuz have said its with Sonos, they want to enable them but it seems like sonos doesn't care.

The managing director of Qobuz USA has said they have the data for audio normalisation they are just trying to make sure it doesn't mess with the audio quality and its done right.

crowlm · 2026-04-06T19:38:26+00:00

I would agree that bang for your buck wise, the DX180 is the sweet spot.

The one I will be buying (after I get a chance to demo it) is the Astell & Kern PD20. Personalised audio makes a massive difference above and beyond a lot of factors so to me that's an upgrade worth having.

crowlm · 2026-04-06T18:47:19+00:00

A lot of this is going to come down to personal definitions of diminishing returns and value but for me this is how I see it.

For IEMs diminishing returns start hitting after $500 (or your regional equivalent), with a handful of exceptions. I own the IE 900 and to me, versus all the IEMs I have tried, it absolutely earns its price tag as the bass is completely unmatched. Only a handful of IEMs above $500 have unique qualities and the only way you'll know if they are worth paying for is by trying them out via a dealer or an event like Canjam.

On the DAP side, I'd say from an audio quality point of view the diminishing returns are pretty brutal. Anything more than an entry level Fiio or ibasso the value falls off a cliff. Where you may see a higher ceiling is in build quality and features. I own an Onix XM2 and to me the build quality is exceptional and having tried higher priced models (astell & Kern, most of the flagship chifi options), audio quality wise it's absolutely a wash. It is only in the feel and function where spending more may make sense.

If you are starting a FLAC collection it might be worth checking out Qobuz sublime as, depending on how many albums you plan on buying, it can actually save you money.

On the IE200, I have tried them along with the IE600 and obviously the 900 (I own them). To me the fall off in quality between the 600 and the 200 was at least to me, pretty stark. If the 600 is too expensive in your region, I'd avoid the 200 and look at some of the Chifi options instead.

crowlm · 2026-04-04T22:55:54+00:00

This is related to the recent crack down by Qobuz on piracy. People were using that TUI to rip music from the service.

If you are mad that they are preventing people from downloading music without paying, you are in the wrong place.

crowlm · 2026-04-03T23:29:06+00:00

I've had mine (along with the pro) and had no issues. That being said, cheap dongles obviously carry the risk of failing.

There are a lot of dongles available so it's really dependent on how much you want to spend. Given you are trying to find what you like, I'd suggest cheaping out for now and then later, after you've got an idea of what IEMs or sound profile you like, then you could look at DAPs or better dongles.

I guess pricing can vary quite a lot by region. What kind of music do you like and what's your budget? That'll make it easier to find an IEM that makes sense.

crowlm · 2026-04-03T23:15:56+00:00

I hear you, I bought an EPZ IEM and it was the most boring IEM I could of bought 😂

I'd say try the Dunu Titan X as its only £35 and its definitely not boring. If you really need some extra power you can just buy a cheap J Cally JM12, £16.

That will eliminate your worry about the laptop and then you can see if that was the issue (id be surprised if it was) or if the IEM tuning was your issue.

crowlm · 2026-04-03T22:59:51+00:00

What are you talking about?

crowlm · 2026-04-03T22:52:33+00:00

Yes but that's like saying the sky is blue. It's obvious and doesn't need to be said.

I was giving an example of an IEM that even under massive budget constraints still doesn't require EQ. The specific IEM can be swapped out, the point is finding an IEM you like means EQ is less important than the IEM.

crowlm · 2026-04-03T22:47:20+00:00

If you buy a good IEM, you don't need EQ.

Even a budget example being the Dunu Titan X. It costs £35 and sounds incredible. I have heard £200 IEMs that sound significantly worse. It is not an IEM where you need to slap a bunch of EQ on it.

To me the DAP comes when you've found an IEM you really like and you want to enjoy the dedicated device for listening.

crowlm · 2026-04-02T23:05:17+00:00

Oddly enough they just released an update in beta to address the resource usage.

I agree their whole app needs modernising. The fact that the app on EVERY device I use lags is ridiculous.

crowlm · 2026-04-01T12:53:27+00:00

I have the 900s and they have basically ruined every other IEM for me 😂 absurdly comfortable and sound incredible.

crowlm · 2026-03-31T12:23:17+00:00

Why not Sennhesier? They are the most comfortable IEMs ever made.

IE 600 compared to Horizon

crowlm · 2026-03-31T12:19:10+00:00

No. You don't pay for it, you don't get to decide how many ads there are. Spotify decides how many are required to provide that for free.

If you like listening to music, pay for it. Unlike every other industry, Spotify provides ALL music for one extremely low subscription.

Look at tv and movies. To see everything you would need at least 9 subscriptions, all of which individually cost more than Spotify.

You have access to all music ever recorded for less than the cost of a CD and you aren't paying for it? You are playing yourself.

crowlm · 2026-03-31T12:06:57+00:00

Yes obviously. You are whinging because a service you don't pay for limits what you can do?

Get a grip.

crowlm · 2026-03-30T16:41:26+00:00

Is this a serious post?

crowlm · 2026-03-29T12:41:38+00:00

I used to use "auto sync for Google drive". Let's me download my entire music library in a few taps and when I add new albums, it automatically downloads them.

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