Anyone have any suggestions or use a portable music player with headphones either in their house for a second system or to their office, etc.? I haven’t heard any but thought about trying out a sony one with a good pair of headphones, budget perhaps around $4,000 US all in? I don’t know, could replace my second system at some point. Thought of the Atom HE but it’s just not portable but wasn’t sure how much I’d take it out of the. house anyway. Thanks!
Have you tried ZMF headphones? I prefer over ears and the closed backs don’t leak sound or allow too much external noise to be heard. They are really for indoors only.
I use my Astell & Kern Kann Ultra high res audio player with Focal MG Clear when away or at home away from my Naim rig. A&K tend to keep releasing new models and don’t upgrade their software… But at the moment I can stream Qobuz and play ripped CDs. I use a pair of decent IEMs sometimes too.
Sony top of the range NW-WM1ZM2 is said to be amazing but wouldn’t leave you much cash for headphones. Sony’s NW-WM1AM2 would leave more headphone cash.
Headphones need to be comfortable as well as having a sound you like. You might have a look at the show us your headphones thread here as well as looking at the Headfi forum.
I’ve been through a number of DAPs and have kept the AK380 and one of my Ponoplayers. The latter is particularly fine sounding when paired with Sennheiser HD600s in balanced mode - not surprising as this is how Charlie Hansen of Ayre Acoustics developed the audio stages for the Ponoplayer. The only downside to a Ponoplayer is the user interface and looks, which are a bit Fisher Price. But there’s just something about how it sounds with those HD600s…
The AK380 is much more like a high end bit of kit, and sounds great too, but different, although it’s far more agnostic with headphone choice. I use it a lot for travelling, paired with either HD100s or B&W P9s.
n.b both will take a large micro SD card - I’m now using a 1TB card and no issues at all.
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I suggest you try the Sony NW-WM1ZM2 with the top end Sony in ears. You will feel in heaven. I have the mark 1 and I am already happy with it for many years. To my ears better than other mobile options.
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What’s the portable DAC made by Audioquest called?
Dragonfly ? I think
A&K and Focal headphones here for mobile hi quality. But what I’ve actually found is that I really only use that in the end in super quiet settings. I default to my Bose QC ultras and Bluetooth. Recently have been 60-70% audio books and it’s brilliant for those and for keeping extraneous noise out for music when in noisy environs. A lot of my use case ends up being planes and trains and the noise cancelling is invaluable.
That’s the things, apparently v good on a smartphone.
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I like the Dragonfly, and find it very good for the price as long as you have a phone with a compatible output.
The adapter required for an iPhone is OK if you are going to put it on a table or desk while listening, but it doesn’t sit well in your pocket, and I even find it a bit cumbersome when the phone is in your hand. That aside, well worth considering, although I’ve only tried it with IEMs.
Thanks everyone for the suggestions so far. @BertBird The Sony NW-WM1ZM2 seems certainly appealing but for that price tag perhaps I just get an Atom HE and use my headphones at the office just connected to my phone or computer with a dragonfly? I saw some posts of someone using their turntable with the Atom HE and thought of that too if i decided to part ways with the rest of my second system.
@Richard.Dane I also like the idea of the AK stuff, I haven’t heard of the Ponoplayer so had to look that up.
Was a devoted A&K user for years until I tried the Sony WM1AM player. I loved its sound signature and also found the UI more intuitive.
For my travels I now use the latest Sony ZX707 which is basically a repackaged WM1AM, at a slightly lower price, and slightly smaller footprint. If your budget can stretch to the highest end Sony players, you shouldn’t hesitate.
Headphone-wise I use the B&W P8s. I had the P9s but found them too bulky and also not great in noisy environments (planes, trains), which is where I use my player.
My ND5 XS2 is a great front end for my Ayre 5 series pre-amp and amp.
2 questions about the Ponoplayer Richard : why the choice of a triangular form? Not comfortable to grasp in a hand.
What link has Neil Young in it?
FR, according to the initial kickstarter Blurb;
…we found that it was not possible to put some of the large audio components – required for the best performance – into a thin package. This led us to design the accessory in the shape of a triangular “Toblerone” shaped chocolate bar. It allowed us to use larger audio components and to separate them far enough apart to prevent electrical interference between the various subsystems. It also allowed us to use a large cylindrical battery that’s much more efficient than a flat battery.
If you look at a picture of the innards of a Ponoplayer you’ll see there are two large capacitors and a large cylindrical battery that take advantage of the triangular form.
The Ponoplayer was the product of Neil Young’s Ponomusic company. IIRC, initially it was going to be developed by Meridian, but they dropped out and Ayre Acoustics stepped in. The design was based on the QB-9 DAC, balanced with zero feedback circuitry and minimal phase digital filter. Indeed, after developing the Ponoplayer Ayre put the audio circuitry into a bigger desktop box headphone amp called the Codex, and they sound remarkably similar. If you value sound quality only and can live with the odd form and the rather basic UI, it’s a remarkable device. However, one caveat; I’ve had five Ponoplayers and their performance was somewhat variable, sample to sample. The best sounding one I kept, and it shows what’s possible. The worst of them was OK but lacked the magic of the best one, especially when hooked up to the HD600s in balanced mode.
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I am a fan of AK DAPs. I have had a Kann, a Kann Alpha and now an SP2000 I bought s/h.
They seem to share a pleasing neutrality and transparency. All were good, but the SP2000 is fantastic, and capable of quite exceptional sound via great IEMs or headphones. All the AK models have distinctive sharp edged design you may not like, and the UI is not the sexiest, but in the end how they sound is more important to me. They are very well made and all have been reliable.
I have heard a couple of high end Fiio, and had an M11 on demo. I found them a bit ‘heavy’ and dark sounding, this seemed to be a brand sound characteristic. Not to my taste.
Headphones are very personal. You will find lots of options (wade through the headphone thread if you have time) but don’t ignore comfort and weight in choosing. Also think about whether sound leakage will be a problem. Open back designs leak sound, Grado the worst offender. I like their headphones though, the RS1 is a highlight I think, but I too have settled on ZMF as long term ‘keepers’. Didn’t like the Focal or Sennheiser models I have tried but others love them!
There tend to be a lot of s/h or open box headphones out there, no doubt partly because people don’t do a demo first. Try before you buy is the message!
Bruce
Thanks again everyone! So my thoughts after looking into some stuff last night are this. I think I would prefer a closed back headphone for a variety of reasons. One for sure, is just people being able to hear my music in a quiet setting like my office or my wife while in our camper on a trip. I’m also leaning towards the Atom HE which would ultimately replace my second system. Part of that is turning my home office into more of a digital studio for my photography hobby. This would get rid of a rack and speakers and allow me some more room for a desk. I do enjoy vinyl though and would keep my LP12 that I have in that room. So couple questions:
-I’m leaning towards the Stellia’s to try out for closed back, any others I should really consider?
-Can I connect my LP12 to the Atom HE and listen to vinyl?
-Am I silly to think that listening to headphones will provide me the same enjoyment as listening to my second system as it is today?
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Mojo 2 with poly is what i use when i am away.
Very good sound with in ear headphones. Very small and portable, with good battery life.
With the poly you can stream or use a memory card for music.
Think you will struggle to find anything better for the money
I had the Stellia for a test at home and found them very, very detailed and dynamic. This was great with excellent recordings but a bit unforgiving at times. In general I found them fatiguing and a bit too ‘much’. More impressive than enjoyable in my view. For headphone use I prefer a slightly smoother and more relaxing presentation.
Again, others on here love them. Let your ears decide!
See if you can test some ZMF Verite Closed as a quite different alternative.
The Atom HE headphone output is very good incidentally, and can definitely bring out the best of these quality headphones.
Bruce
At that amount of money obviously you might consider the Naim, while it’s obviously not portable so the use case is different. Soundwise they are both great options.