Help me choose from these DAPs

Trying to decide between the following DAPs. Based on my impressions, I've narrowed, roughly in order, it to:
AK Jr.
Fiio X5
iBasso DX80
Lotoo Paw 5000

SQ and physical build quality/durability are the most critical areas for me. All these seem to have acceptable UIs. From what I've read, (mostly from this very informative thread: http://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/best-daps-2015.174/) it seems that the AK Jr. is the best in this range for sound quality. I think I'd love the Questyle QP1R, but the price is high at $899.

Two specific questions on the AK Jr: I've heard it lacks power; at what impedance will it struggle? Second, AK's page says the Jr. can only accommodate an 64Gb microSD. Is this correct, or can it take larger cards? Even with the onboard 64G, 128G seems a bit low for a $400+ player.

Thanks!

 

I would not bother with the AK Jr.

If build and SQ are priorities I would easily pick the DX80 from that list, with the Fiio X5ii a close second.

 

You can go to the all purpose advise thread.

Secondly it's not impedance that will cap the Jr. It's a combination of impedance and sensitivity. I would rate the Jr capping at something around 32 ohm impedance with ~105 sensitivity. Most portable cans and IEMs will be fine. Something like TH900 will also do fine.

If you can stretch your budget a bit, consider Onkyo DP-X1 from PriceJapan.

 

Should I repost there?

Haven't read as much about the Onkyo. What would you say are its strengths? More specifically, what makes it worth twice the cost of the AK? If I'm going to jump that high, I feel like it's worth going up to the QP1R...

Also, how would you say I ranked the other four, again with build being second only to sound quality?

@k4rstar what puts the DX80 over the AK for you?

 

Hmmm, I think an admin member will find this thread and merge it with the all purpose advice thread. Don't worry. Go there in the future for advices. Also note that people here fully admit their advices are full of personal bias and prejudice. At least I don't claim to be not so.

On the other note, I haven't heard the DX80 and Paw5k. IIRC @keanex had some positive impressions of it? Also I recall somebody said Paw5k ain't some awesome sauce. Fiio X5 has a house sound of plastic timbre that I could never get over and I hate the iPod wheel, so it's an immediate out. Jr has good build quality and decent SQ, but the UI is utterly jack shit. Haven't heard the QP1R, but Onkyo so far made me feel good (about 600 US from HK).

 

@Griffon Honestly all the extra Android stuff on the Onkyo is a turnoff for me; I don't want to deal with Google Play or any of that. And for that price I'd definitely go for the QP1R. Every review I've read on it says it has the best sound in class and it's very solid in terms of build quality. Really would prefer not to spend that if I can get similar sound out of something in the 300-400 range though. Right now I think I'm leaning toward the KA. I'm not *too* concerned with its UI; nothing <= in the price range has much better, and its radio knob makes up for some of it in physical UI. I've seen some reviews claiming that with firmware updates cards > than 64G work with it; can you confirm? Also do you know if its 3.5mm can be switch to a digital line out mode? Besides driving my headphones, whatever I get will definitely get used as a source for my full speakers, driven by their own amp obviously.

 

If you can stand the shitty UI of Jr, go for it, it's a decent DAP. Its 3.5mm out can double-function as a line out. I no longer have the Jr so I can't confirm any FW updates will do it any good, but I doubt it a significant improvement.

 

To clarify, is this causing it to switch to digital output, or is it just amping the power?

Edit:
So I've done some more research and both the paw and the DX80 are out. However I've noticed that the DX90 is still available and seems very well liked.

It boils down to SQ on the DX90, the X5, and the Jr. Thoughts?

 

I don't know if the Jr. willl take larger than 64GB cards but I have a AK120, an AK100ii and an AK120ii and they all work with 128 and 200GB cards.

Rob

 

There is a new AK model being released, ak70. Looks pretty promising, and has digital out. Priced at $599 IIRC.

 

The AK70 definitely looks nicer that the Onkyo DP-X1 for the price! A lot less than the QP1R, but still a lot more pricewise that the rest I'm looking at. I'd like to get some more impressions of the SQ of the other players I mentioned.

Scratching the DX90 at this point too; apparently no playlist support.

Other than the high end jumps to the AK70 or QP1R, it looks like it's down to the Jr. and the X5. I like the features of the X5 more (Dedicated line out, 256Gb of storage, and I like its interface more than the Jr.'s cheap touchscreen). Heck, it has a better screen UI than the QP1R. Reviews on its sound have been conflicting. Some hate it; others say it's in league with the Jr. People's experience with these two would be welcome.

Edit:
So I've made my decision! Going with the X5 second gen; with the difference in cost I can also upgrade to a pair of Grado 325es. If I want to boost my SQ in the future, I'll get a Chord Mojo. Pricewise the X5 and the Chord equal the QP1R, and since I like the X5's build and UI more (and I don't mind stacking), this is the best of all worlds.

Thanks to all for the advice!

 

A&K Jr has a nice build quality, it feels solid in your hands. SQ is good and it has a decent battery life; although I don't think it is worth its price if bought new.
If you could find one in a good condition with a good secondhand price for it ($400 or lower), I can definitely recommend the purchase.

The UI is okay and not confusing, it is tidy enough, no problem at that; *but* the touchscreen performance is lacking; it is not as accurate nor responsive as any of our today's smartphone for example, and you could find at times a bit hard to press (touch) the correct on-screen button due to its quirks.

It will power easy to drive IEMs and headphones, but don't use it as a standalone to drive the likes of HD6xx HD800 etc.

I have a Grado RS1i that I no longer use nowadays but when I paired it with the A&K Jr, I found that I have to dial the volume to about 75% of max to have an adequate listening volume.
Using a Brainwavz B2 IEM, 50% of max volume is decent enough personally for an adequate listening.

Umm, I don't think upgrading to a Grado is a wise choice. I've been there done that, and I wished I knew better back then.
Grado is okay-ish if you really dig that kind of sound signature but there are better choices of cans in that price range for you to spend your money on.

 

iphone 7

 

Problem is that it probably wont have a headphone jack.

 

Such as? Much of what I've read lead me believe the sr325e were the best at that price point. I used a pair of sr80's for a long time and was very happy with them.