Gear & technology
DAP
Also called digital audio player, portable player
A DAP, or digital audio player, is a portable music player with its own DAC and headphone amplifier, built to drive headphones better than a phone. Most run Android, store lossless files and offer balanced output.
The case for a DAP is power, outputs and storage: a 4.4mm balanced jack with enough voltage for demanding headphones, a microSD slot for a lossless library and a DAC section the maker can design around sound rather than battery life. Makers such as FiiO, Astell&Kern, iBasso and Sony dominate.
The case against is that a phone with a small USB dongle DAC does most of the same job for far less, now that streaming has replaced local files for many listeners. Whether a DAP sounds better than a good dongle is argued; it is certainly more convenient for a large offline library.
Where you’ll see this on tonistry.
- Browse every product in the DAPs category.