Just recently got this Hifi Walker H2 and so far I like it. Stock UI was trash but Rockbox solved that issue. At first I was skeptical of needing a dap with how good phones are these days but I'm satisfied. This thing sounds so good and is powerful enough to make my 6XX sing. Plus the customization of rockbox really appeals to my tinkering side.
So what do you guys think about DAPs? Do you prefer one to other music solutions or do you not see the appeal?
Most DAPs are just so, so garbage.
Slow, crashy, dim screen, only support for outdated standards, no latest Bluetooth, no support for big SD cards, low output power, mediocre battery life, high noise floor, the list goes on.
Even the ones that cost hundreds are super slow and come with like Android 7. Maybe Android 10. I whish I was joking. And many don't have all the features any basic $150 phone would have. And they feel worse to use than a $150 phone.
A lot don't really have the power to drive beefier headphones. And a lot have a high noise floor. So basically, they only work with high impedance high sensitivity headphones. Just pure trash.
A DAP should be a useful replacement for my phone and not require a dongle. Sadly, that seems to be a very high bar to meet.
This is where the iPod was so good. Shame the big one never got released again with modern hardware.
I hate apple stuff usually but this is what I really want. No touch screen, no apps, no wifi, just a little brick with storage and a small useable screen with the clickwheel to navigate. With flash memory we can fill the space the hdd used for a bigger battery and a 2nd balanced connection or something. Maybe I'm just nostalgic for my old 5th gen ipod.