Best mobile for Tidal into headphones?

Depends if you mean a phone, or a portable player. I travel a lot, and prefer to use a separate device for music. Then it can be optimised for audio use, and doesn’t cane the phone battery and storage capacity. I use a Sony player (NW-ZX2) which has excellent sound quality, great battery life, and plays from internal storage, UPnP servers, Tidal and other web apps, etc. 

I use Shure in-ear phones which are easy to drive. Like phones, using a portable player to run more demanding on-ear headphones could be more difficult. 

If you want to use a phone, you could do worse than to run it with an AudioQuest Dragonfly DAC. 

I like the Dragonfly red... just one numpty question - by plugging the headphones into the enabled Red, that will give me the same access to my Tidal streaming as if I were plugging them into the mobile’s headphones socket, yes?

I haven’t used mine with a phone, and I’m not a Samsung user, so I wouldn’t like to say for sure, but I’m pretty certain it will play whatever you select on the phone through your headphones.

 I don’t know how demanding your B&Ws are but I think I’d want to be sure the Dragonfly could drive them well before committing, otherwise a more powerful portable headphone amp might be required.  

Mike1951 posted:

I like the Dragonfly red... just one numpty question -????by plugging the headphones into the enabled Red, that will give me the same access to my Tidal streaming as if I were plugging them into the mobile’s headphones socket, yes?

???? Mike1951,...Short answer,..Yes.

If you use Audioquest Dragonfly Red or Black USB-dac,think about this...

? Both Red and Black sound significantly better after having been connected 1 hour,but to sound optimally,they should have been connected at least 24 hours.
There is a big difference in soundquality after 24 hours.

Always have them connected to your desktop computer,or lap-top..and move them to your phone when listen to music.

? Adapter: Use an OTG-cable instead of an adapter into your phone to connect your Dragonfly.
An OTG-cable usually sounds better.

Then there is a difference in sound from different OTG-cables,but they are so cheap so try some different.

? DragonTail,..Audioquest has finally come up with its DragonTail usb A to usb C OTG-cable.
It is based on their Carbon cable.

I just got the first one sold in Sweden,but haven't had time to test it yet..It should first "burn-in" in 100-150 hours.

I myself use AQ Dragonfly Black and Red when I travel,they are very small and easy to carry with them.
 A DAP is much,much bigger..

? B&W PX,..don’t be sad now,but B&W P7 wired,sounds significantly better.
But both are Over Ear and have a sensitivity of 111 db and an impedance of 22 ohms,so there is no problem for AQ Dragonfly.

/Peder ????

Hmm. That ‘24 hour’ caveat needs thinking about... I’ll be using it for travel and staying away from home on tour. A sort of compensation for being away from the hifi. Fortunately, I’ve got a spare Note 4 I can use.

Thanks. I’ll look into it. 

Bit of a bummer about the P7 comparison, but the upside is that with a cable in using the PX’s, I can cancel the aircraft engine noise without losing sound quality... ????

???? Mike1951,...Sometimes you have to adapt to reality,a friend has also bought B&W PX to use when he flies.
At home he uses B&W P7,but is looking to buy B&W P9.

Looked in your profile,you seem to be a musician,if it's you in the picture.
Fun..It is because of you musicians that we invest so big money in HiFi equipment ????????.

/Peder ????

Well, I’m one of those guys who hangs around with musicians. Otherwise known as a drummer. ????

Checked out the Red’s capability re: driving the B&W’s. Looking good.

Ordered a Red plus a Dragontail.

Will report back just as soon as Amazon can deliver...

???? Mike1951,....Interesting,..please report your impressions.

Keep in mind that you can upgrade your AQ Red,..look at AQ's website so you have the latest firmware.
Some Samsung (and Iphone) phones had problems with the volume with AQ Red,but if you have the latest firmware it is no problem.

Will be fun to hear your listening impressions later ????????.

/Peder ????

So I plugged in the Dragontail, plugged in the Dragonfly, plugged in the B&W’s.

First disappointment... a very very faint ‘scratching’ noise - as you’d get from a loose or dirty connection in a static hifi system.

Second disappointment... poor volume output.

Back to the pamphlet.

A-ha! Certain makes of devices using Android will give the volume problem. In this case, a Samsung Note 4.

Downloading the recommended USB control app solved the problem. On the upside, it also provided a single control source for my Tidal streaming and downloaded library.

Back to the testing.

For comparison, I used The John McLaughlin Trio recorded live at the Royal Festival Hall (1989). First track - Miles Davis’ ‘Blue and Green’.

Oh yes. Oh yes yes yes. Whereas before, despite being enjoyable, the onboard DAC, by comparison, threw some background details distractingly forward in the mix, these were now subtly in the background (but still completely audible) where they belonged. Everything now felt more natural as well as detailed. The Dragonfly was now keeping a firm grip on pace, rhythm and timing. Bang-on dynamics and an absence of the previous distracting slightly ‘hard’ tone, making the track simply more engaging.

The faint, slight scratchy noise is still there when the music stops, but such is the excellence of the music reproduction that I can easily live with it. Now I can get my Hifi Fix when away from home.

An absolute recommendation for this remarkable bit of kit.  

Happy bunny.  ????

???? Mike1951,...Beautiful..Fun to hear!
You just get "burn-in" your Dragonfly and DragonTail,so it will only be better ????????.

?You wrote,...The faint,slight scratchy noise is still there when the music stops,but such is the excellence of the music reproduction that I can easily live with it.

Strangely,I hear no such thing.
Have you tried pulling in and out all the USB connectors 8-10 times to get rid of any oxides.

/Peder ????

Iphone with ipods. Best bang for the buck.

What’s that got to do with the Dragonfly DAC?

Mike1951 posted:

First disappointment... a very very faint ‘scratching’ noise - as you’d get from a loose or dirty connection in a static hifi system.

The faint, slight scratchy noise is still there when the music stops, but such is the excellence of the music reproduction that I can easily live with it. Now I can get my Hifi Fix when away from home.

 

There is a known issue with the Dragonfly when used with an iPhone, and you get an odd digital clicking noise. I wonder if you are experiencing something similar? Maybe worth contacting Audioquest about it. The workaround solution with the iPhone is to use a different Apple connection cable (in place of the DragonTail you are using). AQ admit that neither they nor Apple have yet been able to identify the cause of this.  

Having tried both dragonfly red and also black with B&W p7’s, settled on Audeze ISINE 20’s which sound great connected to the lightning jack on my iPhone or ipad. Tidal and cached Radio Paradise in flac all you need for mobile tunes. 

Dan.S posted:

Iphone with ipods. Best bang for the buck.

iPhone into valve headphone amp... not exactly portable, but can sound fantastic, mine does..

To reiterate, I’m using a Samsung Note 4, not an iThing. And I need it for it’s portability.

I’ve tried the ‘plug-and-unplug’ cleaning but the faint crackle is still there.

I have noticed though, by concentrating on the silences in between the notes and beats in my test music, that it is no longer present when the track is playing.

What I DO get in these passages however, is an almost inaudible hiss, equivalent to putting your ear next to a speaker treble unit...

This is not a problem and so I would recommend the device due to it’s outstanding musical and sonic performance.

Scratchy noise is the cheap cable! D’oh.

Audioquest ‘Golden Gate’ j2j on the way...

Installed the new cable. Just spent an hour testing with:

Bluetooth playback in NC and non-NC.

Cable playback in NC and non-NC.

After concentrated listening of all four against each other, I can honestly say that all I needed was a decent cable and the Dragonfly and Dragontail have been a complete waste of money.

Not only was the SQ superior without them but the irritating scratchy noise when dormant, and background hiss when playing, was absent.

Oh well. Yuh live and learn. 

I sported a Chord Mojo for a while and ran both my laptop and my phone through it. It had the guts to drive some higher impedance Sennheisters I had. But using an iPhone, the cable dongle mess got to be a bit much. I found I didn't use it often enough to justify owning it, so ended up selling it. But it was a great piece of kit with stellar sound.