Bluetooth DAP | FiiO M6 vs Refurb V20?

[Ariolander]

I am looking for a Bluetooth capable DAP to use for both local playback of my MP3/FLAC as well as streaming from Spotify to both my wired and wireless headphones BL-03, M40x, Fidelio X2, WH-1000XM3.

 

My two frontrunners are the FiiO M6 because USB-C, compact size, and AirPlay link capability, and balanced output options. Cons include its battery life and relatively CPU power. The V20 because it has official Lineage OS support, quad-DAC, replicable battery, and can act as a multifunction device, likely capable of ebook reading/retro gaming on top of DAP duties, though it is much larger/bulkier device.

[Bombastinator]

The problem is see here is that if you are trying to get DAP quality audio through Bluetooth you may be badly disappointed.  Bluetooth has only so much audio fidelity in its system which is less than a DAP generally.  One reason amongst many that complaints about no audio jacks on phones continues.

[8tg]

You might want to look into the 7th gen iPod touch for something multipurpose and fairly powerful like this, but the retro gaming emulation may be an issue, not sure how one goes about that on iOS.

[Ariolander]

34 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

The problem is see here is that if you are trying to get DAP quality audio through Bluetooth you may be badly disappointed.  Bluetooth has only so much audio fidelity in its system which is less than a DAP generally.  One reason amongst many that complaints about no audio jacks on phones continues.

3/4 headphones I listed are wired. Which is why I was looking for a DAP that has wired output. I am on an iPhone and even though the X2s and BL-03 are relatively low resistance and can be driven by most phones, the lack of headphone jack really kills this phone for me.

 

This is part of the reason AirPlay support on the M6 is a major selling point. AirPlay is wireless over WiFi which has much more bandwith than Bluetooth. Music pushed through airplay is very high quality and you can use wired cans, wirelessly with an M6, with marginal loss of audio quality.

Most of the reason I want Bluetooth support besides the XM3s is for support for my portable speakers, which I regularly use while hanging out in my back yard.

 

21 minutes ago, 8tg said:

You might want to look into the 7th gen iPod touch for something multipurpose and fairly powerful like this, but the retro gaming emulation may be an issue, not sure how one goes about that on iOS.

They don't have enough storage because besides streaming I also want to put my existing collection of MP3s & FLACs on my device. I really want something with a microSD expandable.

 

You can do emulation on iOS with AltStore but its a pain in the arse unless you buy yourself a developer license, you gotta refresh your sideloaded apps licenses every 2 weeks. Android APKs are just much more convenient.

 

Also the iOS versions of many manga reading apps are censored, so you always end up using the browser, which isn't as nice as Tachiyomi or another dedicated app. Overall I am not really a fan of Apple's app ecosystem, having used Android before getting an iPhone.

 

 

 

The compactness, pocketability, battery life, AirPlay support are a really good selling point for the M6 but just being former flagship with a decent DAC is the appeal for a V20. Honestly I am torn, they both have their good points, but am open to other suggestions.