Thanks. I had a quick look and the recommended models I found seem to be way out of what I want to spend on this. The Hiby R5 @CrystalGipsy uses seems to be a suitable contender, though.
And halfway though typing this it became even more of a contender. It seems that the Hiby can be used as a USB DAC as well!
Have you used this in USB DAC mode? If I can send computer sounds through it AND it acts as a portable DAP this becomes pretty much a no brainer.
This is mightily interesting.
I don’t know the Hiby device itself but i do know that the CS43198 is a very well performing DAC chipset from Cirrus. It’s also nice to see they chose to use a dual mono implementation, which is often preferred with balanced headphone connections for optimal channel separation.
I was initially put off by de delivery times etc, but honestly before tonight I knew nothing about DAPs.
I saw some reports from users online saying that using the device in USB DAC mode resulted in some choppy sound issues. But it was a couple of years ago so perhaps it is no longer an issue.
So if someone here has actually used it in that mode (preferably on Windows 10) it would be nice to hear about the experience.
Cause the main reason I would choose to for a USB DAC rather than a DAP is cost and having to switch headphone connections.
This device sits perfectly in budget and if it can combine both worlds the delivery times etc become a non issue.
And then of course I see there is an R5 and and R5 Sabre and so far have not come up with a definitive summary of the difference between the two. Although it seems the R5 cannot be ordered from the Hiby store at this time.
Just out of curiosity why would you need a USB input from a computer? If it runs Android and has internal storage that should cover most music sources standalone.
It does but it has some issues as a DAC on its own, it gets micro stutter from time to to time which is annoying . I have raised it with their support via their rep on Headfi forum.
Yep I use it with its SD card and Roon, although Roon down samples due to the way they choose to support Android. Still sounds good though even with this. The UI isn’t as quick or smooth as a phone as it’s an old CPU but for just playing music it’s perfectly fine.
I’m a software dev. So lots online meetings, how to vids, etc. Even lots of testing with screen readers while I build websites. So during that time it would be better for me to just run Tidal or Qobuz on PC instead of having to plug the headphone cable out of the DAP, into the PC and then back again and repeat.
Ah yes that is what I read. Was hoping they’d have solved it by now. Sadly that erases that benefit till they fix it then. Dangit!
My nds is in the shop and temporarily i’m running an audioquest cobalt from an innuos zen mk3 into a 552/500/ sonus faber amatis. Sounds fantastic. Get the cobalt, you will not be disappointed.
Since you use an iPhone, have you tried AirPods Pro, I have a pair and find them to be very good for the price. Convenient to use, no wires, no fuss, and work up to about 100 feet from my IPad at work. I have a Tidal account, with the App on my IPad, also Radio paradise App sounds great through the AirPods.
If you are serious about music on the move I would say DAP all the way, I find attaching things to a phone vulnerable to damage and give me phone battery autonomy anxiety.
It seems to be low power unfortunately (2x30mw), so it will only be suitable for IEMs and very sensitive full size headphones. The other dongles like the Dragonfly Cobalt and the Hidizs S9 Pro are around 200mw each.
I love mine but they are far from beeing audiophile gear 
It says it can connect to pc, iPhone….etc
Not enough powerful ?
The dongle DACs have a small integrated amplifier (opamp) and it depends on the power it can provide which headphones you can drive.
If you have a low sensitivity headphone or a type that is more difficult to drive (e.g. planar magnetic), you would normally want 100mw (single-ended) at a minimum and 200mw (balanced) preferably. Or even more in case of really difficult headphones.
For most IEMs 2x30mw would be fine, but larger headphones usually ask for a little bit more.
The Audioquest Cobalt has an output of 2.1V and low drain on an iPhone battery…allegedly…
