[RIGATIO]

Get the dx320 or M7. Both on similar level- the M7 bit more musical and "bombastic"- Shanlings house sound, the dx320 more linear.
Kann Max has inferior dac and i could hear it- too piercing and less complex in hights. But the staging and layering were amazing on the Kann Max.
Sp2000t was nice but slightly boring and muddy with tubes ON. Also the software was clunky and slow.
Havent heard the Sony but it could be a good option because of the battery life. Sound wise they all sound somehow similar so everything comes down to other factors, like system speed, baterry life, etc.

Ps. dont believe in statements like "wow, this is the best dap ive heard!! The other one is crap!" A couple months ago i had the Shanling M9 and compared it to my old Pioneer xdp-300r. The M9 was more refined and slightly better. But the staging, imaging and bass were comparable. Was the M9 better? Definitely! Was it a significant jump in sq? Never!

 

[Anti]

Get the dx320 or M7. Both on similar level- the M7 bit more musical and "bombastic"- Shanlings house sound, the dx320 more linear.
Kann Max has inferior dac and i could hear it- too piercing and less complex in hights. But the staging and layering were amazing on the Kann Max.
Sp2000t was nice but slightly boring and muddy with tubes ON. Also the software was clunky and slow.
Havent heard the Sony but it could be a good option because of the battery life. Sound wise they all sound somehow similar so everything comes down to other factors, like system speed, baterry life, etc.

Ps. dont believe in statements like "wow, this is the best dap ive heard!! The other one is crap!" A couple months ago i had the Shanling M9 and compared it to my old Pioneer xdp-300r. The M9 was more refined and slightly better. But the staging, imaging and bass were comparable. Was the M9 better? Definitely! Was it a significant jump in sq? Never!

Thanks for the info. For the Monarch 2 would you rather recommend SP2000T or DX320?

 

[RIGATIO]

Thanks for the info. For the Monarch 2 would you rather recommend SP2000T or DX320?

The Monarchs 2 sound at least good from anything.
But to be more specific- i havent heard the 2000t with the Monarchs but had them with the dx320 and i liked the pairing. It sounded better in trebles than with the Kann Max.
I ended up with Shanling M8 and i like it even more.

 

[Anti]

The Monarchs 2 sound at least good from anything.
But to be more specific- i havent heard the 2000t with the Monarchs but had them with the dx320 and i liked the pairing. It sounded better in trebles than with the Kann Max.
I ended up with Shanling M8 and i like it even more.

Thanks for the info. I think I read that you had an SP1000. I have that too, and am considering replacing it with a more modern DAP with a 4.4 port. Maybe that's not such a good idea.

 

[RIGATIO]

Thanks for the info. I think I read that you had an SP1000. I have that too, and am considering replacing it with a more modern DAP with a 4.4 port. Maybe that's not such a good idea.

Yes ive had the sp1k and i think its a perfect sounding dap. I didnt have the Monarchs 2 back then so i dont know how they sound together but i bet the synergy is perfectly fine. The only thing i didnt like was the soundstage width on the sp1k- it was just bit too narrow for me but it had great imaging and natural timbre.
My advice is- if your sp1k works fine, you will not get much of an improvement by going with newer daps, at least in SQ. The software and power are the factors where you would gain a significant boost. SQ- no, at least for me.

 

[justsomesonyfan]

Yes ive had the sp1k and i think its a perfect sounding dap. I didnt have the Monarchs 2 back then so i dont know how they sound together but i bet the synergy is perfectly fine. The only thing i didnt like was the soundstage width on the sp1k- it was just bit too narrow for me but it had great imaging and natural timbre.
My advice is- if your sp1k works fine, you will not get much of an improvement by going with newer daps, at least in SQ. The software and power are the factors where you would gain a significant boost. SQ- no, at least for me.

I'll add to this, at a certain point it all boils down to synergy, since everything nowadays on a really high level anyways (my modded r2r2000 rivals a 1.1k pc soundcard [apollo twin usb] )

at this point you should probably experiment with different dacs and amps (a, ab, d) if you want a noticable change, and even then it's not big (altho the jump from ab to a is definitely something i'd recc, haven't tried d so can't say, and dacs are more about flavor it seems)

 

[RIGATIO]

I'll add to this, at a certain point it all boils down to synergy, since everything nowadays on a really high level anyways (my modded r2r2000 rivals a 1.1k pc soundcard [apollo twin usb] )

at this point you should probably experiment with different dacs and amps (a, ab, d) if you want a noticable change, and even then it's not big (altho the jump from ab to a is definitely something i'd recc, haven't tried d so can't say, and dacs are more about flavor it seems)

Dacs dont matter. Every modern DAC, especially from a top shelf plays on the same level. There are small differences in tonality but most of them are indistinguishable. I was pushed away by the Kann Max treble performance and was blaming its lower tier DAC for it but i bet its more in the amp/opamp section than the DAC itself.
Every DAP from 1000+ level is able to play the music on a very high level. What matters is the transducer. I will pick the well tuned iem + smartphone + 200 dol dongle combo over 3k dap paired with less well-tuned iems.

 

[Anti]

Thanks for the advice. I think SP1K stays, although I am very interested in DX320.

 

[justsomesonyfan]

Dacs dont matter. Every modern DAC, especially from a top shelf plays on the same level. There are small differences in tonality but most of them are indistinguishable. I was pushed away by the Kann Max treble performance and was blaming its lower tier DAC for it but i bet its more in the amp/opamp section than the DAC itself.
Every DAP from 1000+ level is able to play the music on a very high level. What matters is the transducer. I will pick the well tuned iem + smartphone + 200 dol dongle combo over 3k dap paired with less well-tuned iems.

that's fair, altho the differences are there when looking at NOS vs OS etc, d/s vs multibit etc

 

[samandhi]

Dacs dont matter. Every modern DAC, especially from a top shelf plays on the same level. There are small differences in tonality but most of them are indistinguishable. I was pushed away by the Kann Max treble performance and was blaming its lower tier DAC for it but i bet its more in the amp/opamp section than the DAC itself.
Every DAP from 1000+ level is able to play the music on a very high level. What matters is the transducer. I will pick the well tuned iem + smartphone + 200 dol dongle combo over 3k dap paired with less well-tuned iems.

Also, what matters are the numbers that a DAP is capable of. They are not all created equal in this arena. This will make a huge difference when plugging in said IEMs/headphones. And I am not just talking about power here (though that is important also). THD+N, DNR, SNR, etc... those help shape what the device can/cannot do also.

 

[RIGATIO]

Thanks for the advice. I think SP1K stays, although I am very interested in DX320.

The main reason for selling the sp1k would be its age. At some point it will stop supporting streaming services. So maybe its good time for letting it go if you can still get some good money for it. If you dont stream and use an efficient iems, the sp1k has fantastic sound quality.

 

[RIGATIO]

Also, what matters are the numbers that a DAP is capable of. They are not all created equal in this arena. This will make a huge difference when plugging in said IEMs/headphones. And I am not just talking about power here (though that is important also). THD+N, DNR, SNR, etc... those help shape what the device can/cannot do also.

Sorry but these numbers dont play any significant role to the human ears IMHO. They are just on paper. Whats more important is the power that can be delivered by the amp section. But as i was always mentioning before, daps are mainly for iems, not for power hungry headphones. The Zen Dac V2 (170e) powered my Sundaras better than the Kann Max, with better bas depth and controll and more authority.
What shocked me the most tho, the Pioneer xdp-300r sounded as good with them as the Kann Max. And the Pioneer has only a fraction of the Max's power.

 

[Anti]

The main reason for selling the sp1k would be its age. At some point it will stop supporting streaming services. So maybe its good time for letting it go if you can still get some good money for it. If you dont stream and use an efficient iems, the sp1k has fantastic sound quality.

I know. DX320 I could get almost 1:1 for the SP1k, but would have 4.4 connection more modern software thereby more possibilities. The question is: is the 320 sonically equal?

 

[samandhi]

The main reason for selling the sp1k would be its age. At some point it will stop supporting streaming services. So maybe its good time for letting it go if you can still get some good money for it. If you dont stream and use an efficient iems, the sp1k has fantastic sound quality.

I would have to agree with @RIGATIO here. If you are happy with it, there is no need to upgrade. And also like he said, unless you just want/need to upgrade the bells and whistles TOTL DAPs are all TOTL, even the older ones... I am still using the DX300, and I have no intention of "upgrading" until such time as mine no longer functions. It gives me everything I need, and I am totally happy with it (still)...

I still also have my DX160, and on some stuff, I have to be honest, I can't tell the difference between it and the DX300... Most stuff it is pretty obvious though. But we are talking about $800 difference though.

 

[RIGATIO]

I would have to agree with @RIGATIO here. If you are happy with it, there is no need to upgrade. And also like he said, unless you just want/need to upgrade the bells and whistles TOTL DAPs are all TOTL, even the older ones... I am still using the DX300, and I have no intention of "upgrading" until such time as mine no longer functions. It gives me everything I need, and I am totally happy with it (still)...

I still also have my DX160, and on some stuff, I have to be honest, I can't tell the difference between it and the DX300... Most stuff it is pretty obvious though. But we are talking about $800 difference though.

The dx160 is a lower tier dap, so obviously it will have its limitations. But in the case of the sp1k, there is no way that its SQ aged much. It was on a very very high level back then and it still is. As you wrote- a TOTL performance will be still great after a couple years.