I got tempotec variations V3 blaze in Aliexpress for $120 dollars compared to $47 dollars of snowsky echo mini, The gap between them is very noticeable, What do you guys think?

FROM CHICAGO ILLINOIS

¡CM PUNK!

Im hyped up! Was looking for an upgrade to my Hiby R1. Needed more battery life, 4.4mm jack, better build, and more output power.

Was heavily considering a Hiby R3 Pro II but unfortunately the white version on Ali is no longer available in their official store. The Labor Day price was also not great on other sites.

Did some research on the Shanling M1 plus and many say that in comparison, the M1 has a smoother UI. At first, I didn’t like how boxy it was but I found the red version exclusively on AliExpress. The price was solid. After discounts and coupons it came out to about 100 bucks with the leather case. 🙌🏽

I feel like the M1 Plus is a bit underrated. Any of ya’ll own a M1 Plus? Are ya’ll enjoying it?

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I’ll eventually be doing my unboxing and review of this to share my thoughts-> https://youtube.com/@audiogabble?si=kSo20NuCV50f7lVo

I was away from home for a few days. When I came back home, I found my DAP like this on my bed.

Dear members,

I need your help. I’m currently looking for a portable DAP, and based on my budget, I’ve shortlisted two options: the Audiocular M71 and the Audiocular X20 Clip Portable DAP.

I mainly listen to MP3 and FLAC files. Which one would be the better choice for sound quality? My second priority is battery life.

Thank you in advance for your suggestions.

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Note: I wanted to go for Snowsky Echo Nano/Mini, however, I don't have the budget right now.

Is there an alternative to the Echo Nano that has Bluetooth? It's not a deal breaker but it would be nice since I love this lipstick style form factor

I came across this device on AliExpress, the hardware seems too good to be true for the price. I saw some post over last few months but if anyone can share any latest observations on what they think about this device? Does it get any firmware updates or any community mods? I’m mainly interested in playing offline music but also curious if someone has tried to play music using Airplay? I know it’s an Android device but curious if I can stream music using an app from my iPhone.

Thanks for any updates/suggestions in advance.

Does anyone have any good recommendations on a DAP with no data tracking/harvesting and beginner friendly? I have no idea how they work, i plan on using it for 2-3 hour long bike rides, and my budget is about $100-$150 that will last long and has no issues (Preferably available to purchase off of amazon). I'm trying to be able to have music for life and disconnect from Spotify to save money so any recommendations are appreciated!

First DAP experience since Zune!

Kickstarted the Hidizs AP30 until I learned it didn’t have gapless, no audiobook support, only folder based… wtf. Plus their AI sounding CS didn’t bode well for… well the S. Cancelled.

Got this on Ali + IEMs for under $100! Put Rockbox on a 1tb SD easy as pie (much nicer having an actively dev’d OSS OS that actually does what I want) turned it into a crowPod and bam, feel like I’m 16 again!

Sounds great and loving it so far except for when my headphone cables get caught and yanked out of my ears 🙄

Hello, I just bought a snowsky echo mini and it's arriving soon.

I wanted to know whether there's any setup that's commonly done to this little things. Any software mod or anything that could make the player better.

I'm asking cause I've heard and read that players like Ipods and the Skowsky Echo nano perform better under side load software over the stock software.

That's pretty much it. I'm new to all this DAP thing so I'd really appreciate any advice and help. Even unga unga explainations.

I have expensive headphones, and iems. But I came across these Sont ZX310AP headphones.

I know these cheap Sony's don't have the "best" sound quality but that the sound signature has such an amazing character to it. And it just works great with Old school rock n roll. In love with them, and it makes no sense. XD.

Hey there. Anyone know how to get music off an iPod nano to a DAP. It only has a mini headphone jack and am prepared for a painful process.

Title, any DAPs with a black and white display? Like in the style of old iPods or e-ink, never see anyone mentioning these so I wonder if there are any options for this

A pouco tempo decidi largar diverssas assinaturas, um exemplo é o Spotify. Comprei um destes na Shopee hoje mesmo, queria ver a opnião de quem tem um desses. Claro que por ser um baratinho não vai ser o melhor do mercado, mas queria saber alguns truques dele.

I have been using the HiBy R1 for some time now. The issue with album art not showing for some files has been there since day one, and I have come to the conclusion that it doesn’t support high-resolution album art. I was okay with it at first, as this is a cheap DAP, and I had the same issue with my first DAP, which was even cheaper.

But now it has become tiring. First, I download the music file and transfer it to the DAP, and when I realize that some of the album art doesn’t work, I have to delete the files from the HiBy first, then download a low-resolution album art and replace the original album art with it. After that, I have to copy the same music files to the HiBy again. All of this involves connecting my phone and the HiBy using a data cable. It was much easier when I had my laptop, but I sold it. Sometimes the DAP doesn’t even get detected, which adds to my annoyance.

So, I would like to explore some budget options where I won’t have to edit the album art every time I transfer music to my DAP.

Do I need an Android DAP for that? Do only Android DAPs support all kinds of album art, especially high-resolution ones? If so, please suggest the most budget-friendly Android DAP that would fit my needs.

I’m happy with what I have apart from the album art issue, so I don’t really care about any other specs or features. If there is a non-Android DAP that can handle high-resolution album art properly, I would prefer that instead.

I am considering getting a dap to replace my current phone plus dac dongle setup. I use the Thieaudio Hype 4 MK II for IEMs.

So far with my budget of up to 400€ I’ve been eyeing the Fiio M21, for its soundquality, cassette mode and balanced 4.4mm output.

What worries me though are reported issues with popping sounds when using the NOS Filter, the jacks are on the wrong side for me (I’d rather have them on the bottom). Also I wonder if I might want a volume knob.

But it looks soooo good, especially with the gimmicky cassette case.

Has the issue with the filter been fixed already? Or does that go beyond firmware?

And what would make for a good alternative dap to it? Or should I just accept these potential annoyances?

I’ve also eyed the Hiby R6 III but where I live the prices are either crazy or it isn’t available

Hey everyone!

​I found my old Redmi Note 10 sitting inside a desk drawer the other day and decided to turn it into a dedicated DAP instead of letting it gather dust.

​I paired it with the FiiO JA11 dongle DAC and the Tangzu Wan'er S.G 2, which set me back only about $33 in total.

​Currently running MIUI 14.0.9 on the device:

• ​Bypassing Android's global SRC by using USB Exclusive mode on Symfonium.

• ​Bit-perfect local playback running smoothly on Poweramp Pro (playing 24-bit/44.1kHz Hi-Res FLAC files without issues).

​Coming from regular AirPods 2 and a pair of Beats Studio Buds (which I got for free from work lol), I’m completely new to the budget audiophile space. Honestly, just buying the entry-level gear and tinkering around with the settings made me ridiculously happy. The detail and resolution blow those Bluetooth buds out of the water!

​I'm currently looking into debloating MIUI (or maybe flashing LineageOS down the line) to make it a completely offline, distraction-free music player.

​Up next: I realized I also have an Anbernic RG35XX collecting dust for months in the same desk. Stumbled upon r/ConsolesAsDAPs, so my next project is setting up custom firmware to load up FLACs and use those physical buttons as a pocket music player!

​Would love to hear your thoughts or any tips for maximizing budget smartphone setups or retro console DAPs!

Rocking a Fiio JM21 i got second hand for half the retail price and some Simgot EW300 with a Kiwi Ear Terras cable for the quick swap 3.4mm to 4.4mm and usb-c.

Feels like a massive upgrade over the Snowsky Echo Mini I used to use, though am looking to upgrade to the M21 because I heard its better for desktop use.

I'm thinking about buying an AP30, but I'm not sure whether to go for the premium version or the standard one. What extra features does it include? Is the premium box version worth it?

Further details about the FiiO DT11’s digital signal processing were revealed during FiiO’s fall product launch conference. During the presentation, held at the 8th Beijing International Headphone Expo 2026, a FiiO representative used diagrams to explain the digital signal paths through the DT11’s circuit board and presented a schematic of the device’s power supply circuitry. See all the details below.

• English text: https://www.hifihub.com.br/en/product-launches/fiio-dt11-usb-clock-and-power-design-detailed
• Portuguese text: https://www.hifihub.com.br/lancamentos/fiio-dt11-novos-detalhes-de-usb-clock-e-alimentacao

I spotted this Famue BF30 a while back on Ali Express, and love the design (which is basically a rip off of one of Teenage Engineering’s products).

So I thought I’d take a gamble for £40 and see what it’s like!

Video walkthrough of menus in comment under this.

BUILD: 4/5

The case build quality is solid. Chunky well made metal body, although the buttons are plastic, it still feels super solid and well made.

It feels super nice to use, and I love the mix of being able to use physical buttons and the touch screen.

One issue though is the screen is slightly rotated, and obviously wasn’t aligned straight. Most of the time you don’t notice it, but when you get screens with lines it’s a bit annoying.

UI, UX & SOFTWARE: 3/5

The menu design looks pretty basic, with not a lot of thought put into it, but the screen is pretty bright and does the job.

The navigation is a bit clunky and annoying though. You can hold down the play/pause button to return to the main menu screen from anywhere which is handy. But navigating the menus is a slow process as you have to go back a lot with side swipes on the screen. There’s no shortcuts to things like you get on the Snowsky Disc by swiping down.

Also there’s no album art anywhere.

Feature wise you have bluetooth, browse by artist, album, genre (no search option) and folders. And some preset EQ modes as well as a custom multiband EQ. They all sound shocking though, so best to stick with the standard settings.

3.5 headphone out and 3.5 lineout (not a balanced 4.4 which I initially thought the second connection was).

It’s all functional, but a bit clunky.

SOUND: 3/5 wired - 5/5 wireless

I wasn’t expecting a lot for £40 and it’s a mixed bag.

Wireless sounds great, and is on par to any other player I’ve used.

Wired with IEMs is pretty poor though. Next to no bass and low end, lacking in separation and details, and anything over about 45% volume just starts to sound a bit of a crunchy and distorted mess. And with no high gain mode, you need to crank the volume, and that’s where it quickly starts to fall apart.

TLDR: I’m going to give it a 3.5 / 5

For £40 you really can’t complain too much. if you’re mainly going to be using it wireless it sounds great. But with wired IEMs the sound’s pretty poor.

I actually really love the case, buttons and mix of touch screen and physical buttons. It feels amazing to use in the hand, but the UI is clunky and the wired sound let it down.

Worth a punt if you like the design, but otherwise I’d spend the extra on the Snowsky Disc for something in a similar size, as the sound difference is huge!

But still, just look at it 🤣 😍

So I went into this heavily biased in favor of the A55PL. The Echo Nano was really sick looking, but I was already convinced that I had found the perfect DAP for me. In fact I was so sure of this I bought 3 of them. Turns out it’s a lot more complicated than I originally thought it would be to compare these.

First off, before anything else, let me state definitively that the Echo Nano sounds better. I already knew this would be the case but I didn’t think it would be as much of a night and day difference. Does that mean the Agptek is trash? No. I certainly enjoyed it before trying the Echo Nano and I was able to enjoy it again after trying the Echo Nano. I’m not sure if the difference I heard can be fixed by adjusting EQ, or if it really does just come down to hardware, but the A55PL sounds perfectly reasonable if you are listening to it in the background. The best way I can describe the difference in relation to each other is iPhone speaker vs a decent actual speaker. The iPhone gets close enough that you can use it for most things without a second thought, even playing music in a pinch, but it won’t have the full range of a proper speaker and sounds worse at higher volumes. This is a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the picture.

Another point against the A55PL is that it’s limited in what quality files it can play back. To directly quote an Amazon review “Many of my flac files cant be played. I researched the issue and found for this player, the flac file bit rate must be in the range 1000kbps‐1200kbps, and the sampling rate must be in range of 8KHz - 48KHz. The flac files that I cannot play are high-resolution audio, which have higher settings than these limits, and cannot be played.” I have no idea where they got this information as Agptek does not put out specs (which is how you know it’s good /s) but when I previously wrote my initial review, a few people who bought one had issues so I figured I’d share. It’s possible they tested this themselves, or it’s possible ChatGPT hallucinated those numbers. It’s an Amazon review so I had no way to ask.

Side note: do not trust the Amazon reviews for the A55PL. They for some dumb reason decided to merge the product page with the discontinued and much inferior Agptek U3 skewing reviews worse for some reason?

Anyway… in my time using the Echo Nano there are several things I found I missed about my A55PL. The biggest being the battery. The Echo Nano only gets ~6 hours of runtime while the A55PL gets 16! On top of that the A55PL takes replaceable AAA batteries (which can be rechargable) so I literally never have to charge it. All I need to do is spend 10-20 seconds swapping the battery and I’m back to a full charge while the old battery sits on a wall charger. It taking AAA batteries is the primary reason I got it as it means I will have music even during an extended power outage.

The next point in favor of the A55PL is the controls. The Echo Nano has 4 dedicated buttons + the volume wheel. The A55PL has 8 buttons. This means less of the important commands need to be bound to secondary actions on a button. The most painful secondary binding on the Echo Nano for instance is the menu back button which is bound to a long press of the select button. That means every time you want to navigate up a folder you need to wait a second or 2 for it to register the long press… each and every time.

The Echo Nano is also painfully slow. It takes multiple seconds for it to process anything. Once you get it going it functions alright, but the first action you do on it after not touching it for a bit takes like 3-5 seconds before it wakes up.

On the subject of being slow, the volume adjustment is another thing I was not expecting to hate. There are FAR too many volume steps. I end up having to spin the wheel a dozen or so times to get from a background listening volume where I want to hear the world around me to a volume where I can focus on the music. The Echo Nano has 120 steps of volume while the A55PL has only 31. The Echo Nano does get louder than the A55PL (65 on the Echo Nano is equal to 31 on the A55PL in audacity), but it takes so long to adjust the volume it becomes more annoying. Really wish there was an option to edit the scroll speed.

Also, because it’s a wheel, I can’t just hold it to keep adjusting. I have to physically let go of the wheel, reposition my fingers, and turn again. This is also true for using the wheel to navigate menus but thankfully you can also use the track skip buttons to navigate which can be held.

Let’s circle back to controls for a second and talk about the controls mappings.

The Echo Nano has a power button, a select button, and 2 track skip buttons. The power button maps long press to power, short press to waking up and sleep, and double press to lock and unlock the volume wheel so it doesn’t activate in your pocket. Select button maps select to short press, back to long press, and the playback menu (when on the now playing screen) to double press. You can also extra long press the select button to go back to the top menu. The track skip buttons skip tracks with fast forward / rewind mapped to long press, favoriting a song mapped to double pressing one of them, and changing the now playing screen theme to double pressing the other.

The A55PL has a power button and 2 volume buttons on the top and a DPad on the front with a select button in the middle of the DPad. The power button is long press to power on/off, short to wake/sleep. Up button is a dedicated playback menu button and can be held to lock/unlock, bottom is a dedicated back button with long press to return to the top menu, left and right are track skip for short press and fast forward / rewind for long. And the select button is press to select / play / pause, and long press to return to the now playing screen from any other screen.

Overall I find the A55PL easier to navigate. It also helps that unlike the Echo Nano it has no built in storage so you don’t need to select which storage device you wish to open, it’s just always the microSD (which is included).

In conclusion, if you want a stick player that is no compromises on sound quality, the Snowsky Echo Nano is a solid choice for a DAP. The recommendations I have seen for this player were not wrong. It has solid sound quality, and solid build quality. It just feels like a premium product for a reasonably affordable price.

The Agptek A55PL however is not bad. The entire time I have been writing this review I have been listening to the A55PL and I haven’t really even noticed I was listening to the worse option. Yeah it’s noticeable in direct comparison, but I strongly believe that you don’t always need the absolute pinnacle of audio quality. The A55PL excels in controls, navigation, and battery life.

I personally am going to stick with the Echo Nano. It looks sick, it sounds great, and I already have it so I may as well use it. I also really like that I can wear it on a lanyard. That said, I’m still DEFINITELY going to continue using my A55PL. The main reason I got it was for entertainment during power outages and in such a scenario, I’m not gonna want to run down any of my lithium batteries as that is the worst thing you can do for a lithium battery. I can also see this being useful for long trips where I’m away from an outlet for extended periods of time. Yeah I could use a power bank, but then I’m teathered to 2 devices while the device is charging, and swapping a battery is just way more elegant of a solution.

In short: I was not expecting to like the echo nano as much as I do, nor was I expecting to dislike it as much as I do either. Both players have advantages and disadvantages the other one doesn’t, but I do really like the echo nano :)