[surfgeorge]

I am looking at buying a DAP to have better music on the go.
I already bought and compared the Sennheiser Momentum 2 and the Bang & Olufsen H6 Gen 2, and are about to send the Sennheiser back, since the B&O sounded better to me, with a dryer bass and more speed and clarity in the upper ranges.

Now I have been reading a lot about DAPs, and checked availability and deals.
My upper limit for the budget is 300 Euros, and within that I can get:
Shanling M2S: 150
Pioneer XDP-30R: 180
FIIO X3 Gen 3: 180
iBasso DX80: 180
Shanling M3S: 276
Cayin N5ii: 300

Streaming is not important to me, USB DAC function is, and the remote control from the iPhone also sounds attractive (Shanling, Pioneer)

Based on what I read, the Cayin N5ii beats the others by a clear margin, but I am wondering if the Bang & Olufsen H6 are "good enough" to clearly hear those differences.
The Pioneer is the best "deal" based on the MRSP of 360 Euros, but reviews were mixed, and S/N is not that good.
The Shanling M2S sounds like the good budget choice, but also here the reviews are a little mixed, and the impedance is high.

So my main question is:
What is a reasonable price to pay for a DAP to go with the B&Os?
Am I missing any other obvious choice? (Cayin N3 is not available locally)
Does it make sense to get a Cayin N5ii with those headphones?

Oh, and I almost forgot - source files are ALAC (Apple Lossless) ripped from my CD collection

Help please!

 

[kukkurovaca]

Based on what I read, the Cayin N5ii beats the others by a clear margin, but I am wondering if the Bang & Olufsen H6 are "good enough" to clearly hear those differences.

The H6 are very smooth and sound good with everything, which is to say, they aren't very revealing of sources. But by the same token, I'm sure they'll sound good with any of these sources.

 

[surfgeorge]

Thanks for the feedback!
I found the Cayin N3 on ebay, and went for it as th „reasonable“ choice.

What portable, over ear headphone would you consider to be a big step above the B&O H6?
My main goal is to have a solution for traveling, so portability and sound insulation (no noise cancelling) is important.

And I do have a really good stereo system (~10k) in my home which gives me a good reference for what I would like in a portable system, but don‘t have the budget for something fancy at the moment.

Thanks again!

 

[kukkurovaca]

What portable, over ear headphone would you consider to be a big step above the B&O H6?
My main goal is to have a solution for traveling, so portability and sound insulation (no noise cancelling) is important.

I think there aren't many closed-back headphones that are as portable as the H6 that would sound better. Some possibilities that leap to mind (but which I haven't heard):

• Oppo PM-3 ($400)
• Audeze Sine ($450)
• ALO Cascade ($800)

 

[surfgeorge]

Thanks again for this headphone list. This saves me money, since I don't want to spend that much to get better sound than the H6 Gen 2 which I got for under 150 Euros...

The Cayin N3 has arrived and the combination sounds very nice. A clear step above the iPhone or iPad Pro, very convenient size, great bluetooth remote control with the HiBy App on the phone.
I can only compare it from memory with the FIIO Q1 MKII and I am really glad I changed from the FIIO to the Cayin.

The biggest point is practicality:
I bought a 256GB micro SD card and can take my CD collection in high quality format with me - on iPhone and iPad that kind of memory is ridiculously expensive.
Pairing the FIIO Q1 with iPhone or iPad is physically challenging and the connecting cable is sticking out - not nice.
With the Cayin N3 I can conveniently control the Music playback from iPhone

Soundwise, from what I remember about the Q1 sound, the improvement of the Cayin N3 over the iPad is bigger than using the Q1 MKII, but I am using lossless files on the Cayin, they should also contribute.

Anyway - I very happy with the Cayin N3