victorpaparomeo2020 t1_j4n1u15 wrote on January 16, 2023 at 9:40 PM

Reply to comment by Blackstar1886 in The Sony Walkman returns as hi-res streaming player by CerebralTiger

Am a bit of a headphone / portable audio buff. I’ve got an Astell & Kern AK380 DAP and it’s pretty awesome. For the sake of convenience when travelling however I got a Dragonfly Cobalt DAC.

It’s for use with my iPhone and my wired headphones. I also use Qobuz as a streaming service and the results are phenomenal.

So yep - the need for another device has almost gone away.

That said, what Sony are doing with their latest generation of Walkmans/men(?) is to be commended.

Blackstar1886 t1_j4njiqr wrote on January 16, 2023 at 11:36 PM

Fair to say you spent $350 on the Cobalt DAC to bypass the iPhone’s audio output because you can tell a significant difference between the iPhone and something designed with audio quality as a priority?

victorpaparomeo2020 t1_j4pcofi wrote on January 17, 2023 at 9:01 AM

No, I spent €250 but for the same reason you describe. But I use it on my iPad and PC too so I get quite a bit of value for it. Compared to the price of a DAP it’s quite a bargain.