[Kouzelna]

Hey all, thanks for reading. I'm looking for a quality player to hook to my tube amp & AKG K712.

I currently have an iBasso DX50 and an HTC One M7. After several summers (my time off) of serious research, effort and endless experimentation, I've been unable to find any way of easily getting playlists onto my DX50. The sound of the DX50 is awesome. But the difficulty of using it is simply beyond my ability, and I've tried everything including forums, YouTube, contacting iBasso directly, and handwriting M3U playlists myself.

My M7 is super easy of course: connect it to my PC and download playlists directly from iTunes. But connected to my amp, the sound isn't even close to the DX50 / Amp / Cans combo for quality, of course.

So I'm looking for a new player, and here's what I'm hoping to find:

1. Quality sound. (The DX50 is great; if something is at least that good, I'm happy)

2. Quality, dedicated line out to hook to my amp via RCA inputs

3. Android or other super easy to use software that allows me to EASILY load playlists from PC - not build them one by one or some such nonsense

4. Affordable price ($400 or under preferably)

5. Easy interface for playing. I use Poweramp (Android) exclusively on my phone and love it. I'm hoping for something equally simple to use and enjoy.


I'd super appreciate anyone's help. I looked into the latest stuff from Pioneer/Onkyo, and Astell & Kern, but all of them seem to have major flaws (and high prices). None meet the simple parameters I listed above.

Though I'd love to have better, my entire collection is MP3 / AAC period, because I travel constantly. My cans are the AKG K712, B&O H6, and Etymotic ER-4.

Much, much, much appreciated.

 

[gordolindsay]

Have you checked in to the Fiio X5 III  thread yet? I am not sure about its playlist handling, but it meets all your other requirements.

 

[Kouzelna]

Hey gordolinsay, thanks for the fast tip.  You're the second person to mention that to me, so I'll go check it out.
 
I remember looking up all the FiiO stuff when I was in the market for that DX50.  I really loved their stuff.  Indeed it may be worth a second look, at this time. Do you know when the "3rd Gen" is out?  (which I guess is what "III" means?)   Amazon lists only the "2nd Gen"?
 
To clarify a bit more:
 
I use all MP3 and AAC files.  So "high res" isn't really the need, for me.  I'm just looking for the highest quality sound.  I guess, (since I don't know how these things work), it means two basic things:  a high quality DAC to convert the files, and a high quality amp/line out to send the analog signal to my amp.  Or something.  Does that sound about right?
 
See, the DX50 has GREAT SOUND.  
 
Both direct to my headphones (especially my B&O H6, which seems made for them), and through my amp (to my AKG K712), the DX50 simply sounds amazing.  The sound is WAY superior to my HTC One M7 or my iPod Nano.  The issue is simply that it requires superior skills to use, which are far beyond my ability.
 
So, hope that clarifies to everyone what I'm looking for.  I'll go check out the FiiO thread now.  
 
My friend just bought the new Pioneer player, and so far so good.  However, it shares line out with the headphone jack, which is a little suspicious.  And the reviews tend to say it's full of quirks and problems, like hiccups during playback and Android crashes.  So, for $400, it's not entirely confidence inducing.
 
I'm totally hoping for more feedback here, so keep it coming, please.