My first step into the DAP world! Mostly using it to blast Gojira, Mastodon, Tool and Lamb of God.

The setup sounds amazing, though I recently upgraded to a 4.4mm cable and didn't really feel any difference in sound quality. Still, absolutely loving the upgrade from my phone

Finally got this with the dunu titan x

My first dap

Pros: The aluminium variant has great build quality
Good neutral sound
USB dac is good with black background
Retro games are interesting
Volume wheel is tactile and nice to use
On board EQ is good
3.5 and 4.4 output

Cons: Software is often painful and glitchy
Books are a redundant feature since it's only TXT files
Games are slow in response and keys are hard to press at least when new
Interface is not intuitive
The port area can get crowded when using as a USB dac
No bidirectional bluetooth, and bluetooth is limited to SBC

From the house of Hidizs comes the AP30
Which to be fair, is the cutest thing I’ve seen in a while. But is cute reason enough to jump for this?
This wee beastie comes courtesy the most curious friend I have - Abhi via his kickstarter pledge, and I am of course grateful for his generosity and his friendship.
The first few reports of the AP30 from other friends I have, were not very complimentary to the build considering there is an all plastic version.
This is the premium CNC Aluminium version that comes in black and purple and I thankfully have the black one to test out. In the words of Henry Ford, “it can be any colour, as long it’s black”
The standard package comes with the player, a plastic case with provision for a magnetic ring to make it magsafe compatible, and the case also has a little ring that can be used to hang the player pretty much anywhere. The kickstarter package also came with a purple carry case that’s big enough for the player, a pair of IEMs and even a small power bank. It looks cooler on the desk than in a bag. There’s also some random knitted case and lanyard that are cute freebies.
Hidizs AP30 Musicboy’s design is inspired by retro gaming handhelds. The gameboy in particular. This is a chonk of a player just short of 2cm thick with the case on. The front houses a screen with gameboy style buttons. A 4 way key, A and B keys and 2 additional keys with specific functions.
The side has the volume wheel which acts as an on/off button as well. The buttons are raised and fairly easy to press and the volume wheel though thin has a nice tactile feel to it.

My starting off experience was quite frustrating. I was informed by the internet that a new firmware had been released that ironed out some of the early complaints so I decided to try and update it. This has to be done via SD card and after multiple failed attempts. I managed to get it done by formatting the SD card on-device (which ideally should be the rule for all devices henceforth, it is horrible to reload music every time you change players, but it’s the only way to ensure compatibility) and resetting the device. Then connecting to a computer and transferring the update and restarting. The update process from that point on was fairly straightforward. Post update, I decided to play it safe and transfer music by plugging the player to the computer. A quick scan of the card and we were golden.
Large libraries could take time for the initial scan and since I was only testing I didn’t push my rather extensive collection onto the card, because it turns out I have a life and I would rather watch someone do their taxes than watching a small player update its library.
But once it was all set it was time to put it through its paces.
The AP30 features 3.5mm SE (61mW + 61mW 32Ω) and 4.4mm BAL (137mW + 137mW 32Ω) outputs that can drive most IEMs but I wouldn't try the HD600 on it. It can also work as a USB dac plugged to either a phone or the laptop. And unidirectional 5.3 bluetooth (SBC).
The sound from the RKNANOD Master Chip + CS43198 DAC + RT6863 AMP is best described as clean and faithful to the track. The player doesn't add any additional colouring to the output. But this is more about the experience than the sound.

Interface
The interface is simple enough: a main menu with music, games, books, files, bluetooth, and settings. The navigation keys move through the options, the A key selects and the B goes back. The wheel works only for volume and on and off. The ability to scroll would have been nice. Once the library is scanned the music menu can be used to pick by artist/album/genre/directory and that makes the file tab redundant, since it is not possible to delete tracks via the file options. The AP30 can read books but that is only .txt files and not pdf and epub. I think I have all of PG Wodehouse in txt format that I got in the early 2000s. So that feature is also kind of moot.
The games, I’ll admit, are fun. Retro games, including versions of tetris, snake, minesweeper, sudoku and the like. They are a fun nostalgic twist on a player. I can imagine playing tetris on a long journey with no internet to doom scroll. While listening to music and saving my phone’s battery. But if you’ve played on a gameboy, the key to a fun gaming experience are the button and software responsiveness. Given that this is brand new, the buttons are still clicky and firm, they may ease up with time. The games themselves are not as responsive as I would like because I’m old enough to have beaten Snake on the nokia 3310. It is a nice addition but needs refinement.

Other features and sound
Bluetooth connectivity was painless. And pairing was instant. On low gain the BT volume was lacking, it got better with high gain. The AP30 only supports SBC so there is no LDAC or aptX. It’s fine for most day to day listening.
The AP30 can also function as a usb dac and as a dac it’s again neutral with a black background, which I have no complaints about. The included magsafe compatible case makes mounting on a phone easy. The thickness though makes me question the utility of it. Perhaps the idea is that the AP30 should be visible, in which case this is a win. The rounded corners also means that there is very little rear estate where the ports are. Which means it gets crowded with a usb cable and a balanced cable making it unwieldy to change earphones while using the device as a dac. Given this is an edge case. I’ll let it pass. But even from an ergonomics standpoint, while using the AP30 with a phone, a headphone port on the opposite side as the usb port just makes more sense.

Final thoughts
There’s a small segment that this player targets, the nostalgia factor and fun features are a plus but not enough to outweigh the issues, some of which are fixable with future firmware updates - epub support, bidirectional bluetooth, speed of response, and some sanity in the menu options, some are design issues which are not fixable in this iteration. It feels that Hidizs packed a bunch of unrelated, less than ideal features on a decent player that somehow made it less usable.
I’m gonna stick to my AP80 Pro Max for now. Time to go back to the drawing board, I feel.

Ain't she a pretty one?

Here's yet another review on this little DAP. I got it expecting it to live up to its $70 price tag (US price, delivered from Fosi)---I expected nothing more from it. I've owned some pretty high end DAP's over the years, some costing me over $500++, and all we're Android based. I sold off all of them. When Android phones matured over the years, any touch screen based DAP was in all honesty a waste of money to me, my phone easily supplanted them all.

Fast forward to now and I realized that I missed the simplicity of Apples iPods, they were basic, sounded good enough, and itunes was bloated but useable, I had an insanely huge collection of tunes back in those days. I've since gotten an equally massive flac collection numbering in the thousands and I wanted something to play them on that was simple to use and portable, but didn't go over $100, maybe closer to $50 if I could pull it off. My only real requirements were an interface that could be mostly operated in my pocket, no touch screen of any kind (again, my phone will always beat any DAP for that) and it's got to sound good which in my experience means it needs a decent DAC. It doesn't have to be perfect, there's no such thing at any price in the DAP world, be honest folks, you know that.

This leads me to the Fosi Neo. It checks all of my modest boxes, all of my flac files play back just fine. I'm using it as a strictly Folder based player, easy to navigate and as simple as it gets to set up. The 256GB limit is more than enough for any type of travel useage, no one really needs to carry their entire music collection around everywhere, and having too much of it will be a nightmare to navigate on the move anyway on a non touch screen player.

I like the simple interface and learning the button presses to get to all of my music took under 10 minutes. Super simple. Outside of an hour I had this in my pocket and it's working just fine, not a joke. The EQ settings aren't the best, but then I'm not looking for sonic perfection here, just "good enough", as in everything I'm playing sound great through my favorite portable headset the KOSS KPH 40's. Electronic, Classic Rock, Heavy Metal, Classical...all of it sounds fine. Could it sound better? Of course, an adjustable EQ would be nice. But as this isn't some Chinese throw away from some no name company, I'm sure custom firmware will be forthcoming. But you do not need it to have a perfectly functional, easy to use, low cost DAP. Add into all of this the quality feel and build of the Neo and you've got a winner here. If you want better, spend more and buy it. Easy peasey. For the cost, Fosi did a good job and you wont regret the purchase if your requirements are the same as mine.

Oh, and let me answer the inevitable questions already asked and answered so many times on here already.....Is the bass thin? NO. It's no bass heads delight, but it's not at all thin, period. Gapless? Nope. IS THE Q2 BETTER??? Duh, of course it is, for the amount of money they want for that thing it BETTER be, period. The Neo does not in any way shape or form compete against this DAP. Anyone who thinks it does needs help, seriously 😉 You want a Q2, buy one and move on.

For the love of music.
Why?
No why!
🤣🤌

UPDATE IN THE COMMENTS

Original Post:
When changing tracks, there is a slight gap between the songs. Definitely very short, but noticeable nevertheless. For referene:
-The gapless setting is turned on
-Turning the gapless setting off makes the pause waaay longer, so the setting definitely works.
-I've tried it with both the original firmware and q2pod, made no difference.
-So far I've just tried it with 320kbps mp3s, I dont have any flacs on hand for albums with smooth transitions from song to song. But as far as I'm aware the mp3s should be more easy for the device to process anyway, right?

So to anyone owning the Shanling Q2 and/or similar DAPs:
Is there something wrong with the device or am I just having unreasonable expectations? I kinda expected the gapless playback to be truly gapless the way it is on my phone, laptop, or when listening to music on cd for example. Are there other DAPs in this price range that achieve this?

Hey! I know the DX170 isn’t really the hot commodity on the market anymore (it was pretty popular a few years ago when I bought it lol), but I’m trying to cut down on my phone usage and almost exclusively use my DAP for my music listening and the only place I still use my phone for music is in the car. My car unfortunately doesn’t have an aux port, it has a USB-A port for the infotainment system. I’d like to avoid using Bluetooth as I find it’s dodgy in my car. What’s the best way to connect my DAP using cables, thanks!!

Would like to have as good or better sound quality.

Would like to rip much of my CD collection to place on this new device.

Headphones are Focal Clear MG and Focal Stellia.

Love the Focal sound and love my somewhat modest Rotel amp / CD and B&W DM602 S3 2 channel stereo sound.

Looking for simplicity (not trying to figure out what interchangeable motherboard I like in a DAP - that will trigger my ADD and OCD!).

Budget limit is $1500, if necessary, if it gets me what I'm looking for - perhaps a smidgen higher if it can be justified.

Right now without demo-ing from what I've learned I'm torn right down the middle between the iBasso DX260 MK2 and the iBasso DX270...but I'm open to something else if I can be convinced, especially if there is a consensus in this community.

Please recommend a DAP with a small explanation for why that DAP.

Thank you so much in advance.

Got a sweet deal on a Sony WM1AM2 on eBay, for $300 best offer. The listing was shady with potato quality pictures and poor description. I took a chance with offering $300. Lo and behold, the seller accepted! And then, no response to my messages, nothing for 3 days. I submitted a cancel request, and after 2 days they sent me a message with a box with tracking. It showed up today, with boxes and everything! Looks almost brand new. High gain option available as well.

So now I am wondering what IEM should I pair it with? I mostly listen to 80s rock, pop, italo disco. Favorites are like Modern Talking, MJ, and similar. What will you suggest? I can go maybe $300 max on a set of IEMs if its really great.

Also, what must have accessories you guys recommend for this walkman? Like case, screen protector, anything else? Or just roll it as it is?

Quick update on my setup: recently hooked up the Surfans F20 as an external USB DAC for my PC.

Thought I needed third-party drivers and reached out to CS, but they told me the F20 can work on Windows driver-freely. My PC just recognized it natively just like connecting with a mouse.

The next problem is Wnidows. Naturally, stock Windows audio is a burden for critical listening. The resolution keeps 48 kHz at beginning. Set up Foobar2000 (WASAPI Exclusive) to bypass the system's automatic resampling. Windows truly was never designed for audiophiles, but once bit-perfect output is locked in, the F20 sounds surprisingly clean.

I am satisfied with the result, and think, how I can make the game audio and sounds via this external DAC. And there is still a problem in this combination. I can't turn on or down the volume on Windows, but the buttons work. Maybe I need an professional DAC? Any suggestion?

hey y'all I'm still pretty new to this but would like to get my first DAP. I'm just tired of paying for spotify. Ive done some looking nothing too crazy but i see a lot of people talking about the Hiby R4 or the R1. but if you have any recommendations for DAP or IEMs let me know

Wanted to ask for any tips. Got the shanling q2 with the custom firmware. I tried bluetooth but I'd rather have my earphones connected. I have mostly mp3 files. Wanted to know what wired earphones to get? Currently using someone earphones but I want to use premium earphones for better audio. Any suggestions?

Hi everyone!

I own an Oilsky G88 running Android 12, and I'm interested in upgrading it to a newer version of Android or installing a custom ROM.

I've seen the Android 15 custom firmware project for the Zaqe P30, as well as discussions about the Blueshark R04 platform shared by the Zaqe P30, Famue BF32, and Oilsky G88.

Before trying anything, I'd like to find out whether anyone has successfully done any of the following on an Oilsky G88 specifically:

• Installed a custom ROM or a newer Android version.
• Ported firmware from the Zaqe P30 or Famue BF32.
• Unlocked the bootloader or obtained root access.
• Dumped or backed up the original G88 firmware.
• Found an official stock firmware package or scatter file for SP Flash Tool.

My device reports Android 12, MediaTek platform mt6765 / hardware mt6762, and eMMC storage. Its bootloader currently appears to be locked.

I have a Windows PC with ADB and MTKClient set up, but I haven't flashed or modified any partitions. I'm trying to find a safe, recoverable path before proceeding.

If you've experimented with the G88, I'd really appreciate any information, links, backups, or advice. In particular, I'd love to hear from the author of the Zaqe P30 Android 15 ROM about whether G88 compatibility has been tested.

I'm also experiencing a recurring "Quickstep keeps stopping" error on my Oilsky G88. Quickstep appears to be the default launcher or part of the launcher system, and the repeated crashes make me wonder whether this is a firmware bug or a compatibility issue with the stock Android 12 build. Has anyone with an Oilsky G88 experienced the same problem or found a reliable fix?

Thanks!

After having this for months, this R4 DAP completely replaced my Xperia 1 III as my music device, btw. The ESS DAC is still a little bit harsh as I know since I used to have a few LG phones which also have ESS DAC (V50, G6). An advantage for it as an android unit is I can use my exfat SD card without needing to convert to FAT32. I'm using Kefine Klanar / Dunu Talos as my main wired IEMS. The thing that I do not like the most is the filter options of Hiby music not working as the way I want like UAPP, and somehow the Chinese / Japanese and Korean song go to the top of the playlist / tracklist instead of the alphabet name. I still can install Messenger as an emergency case but Twitter on the other hand, didn't recognise this device and told me to install the official app, but it was ridiculous because I downloaded it from the GG Play store.

Overall, I quite like the device, btw.

Wondering if someone has had a similar experience - I went for the upgrade but was disappointed. The touch screen was clunky, I struggled setting up most settings (simple things not working like they should), and the battery life was poor. Although physically I loved the shape, style and weight of the device, it sadly turned out to be not the right DAP for me.

My F20 on the other hand… long battery life, fast navigation with rockbox, quick start up, straightforward setup. It feels more reliable!

Maybe I’m not an android person. Not sure what would be a real upgrade from the F20 that keeps all the things I like about it but improves the experience overall - open to suggestions. Yes, I’m happy with what I have but I like thinking about working towards the next level!

If anyone really loves the pro+, I’d love to hear how you made it work for you.

I also bought an aux for my car. Lady looked at me crazy in the store when I asked for aux earbuds and a aux cable.

My old player was on it's last legs and I was just about to set up an old iphone as my new player (which I may still do for fun) but really glad I decided to pull the trigger on this baby. Love the weight and form factor. UI wasn't the best so I just installed Rockbox and did a little mod to get my bluetooth back and now it's perfect. Yay for new devices and tinkering.

Also made a trip to the local book/music store to celebrate. Happy camper here.

Hi im fairly new to this community. Im looking for a dap budget around 1000 usd -1500. What DAP should i get pls help

Hey guys, like the title says I just got my Walkman a26 from Japan and I love it, I had previously gotten the Sansa fuze + for a very good price still in the box and I loved it but being new to DAPs I didn’t know the batteries go bad on untouched and just overall legacy mp3s.

The Sansa barely holds charge if any but I did some digging and found the Walkman A series and it was pretty similar to the fuze + with a few changes that I was okay with, I just got it today and it works wayyyy better than my fuze +.

Honestly for the price I got it for I could’ve gotten a newer DAP but I love the buttons, the classic MP3 look and the no WiFi, I got into DAPs cause I hate subscriptions and doing a million things on my phone so I figured just have something for music when I go camping or anything else where I can’t or don’t want to use my phone. Only thing that sucks is I can’t install rockbox.

The dodocool DA106 is still a nice player, and I was messing around with Claude to see if I could tweak the firmware a little. This is based on version 3.0.8.

Changes made are:

• Boot and goodbye screens changed to dodocool logo as it appears on the player itself
• Now Playing screen now displays track title from id3 tag in place of genre
• Now Playing screen is now pure black background
• Icons next to artist, album and (previously) genre removed and text shifted over
• Grey box around album art removed
• One typo fixed ('memery')

Note: I am not a coder. This is my first experiment with Claude. The firmware boots and works on my player, it may not work on yours. May work on IQQ C18, but not tested. Use at your own risk.

Usage: drop file into root of players internal storage and reboot.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eqbxUNldre_0RE3OTlQHkkubZhDhqpbE/view?usp=drive_link