u/BioRedditorxii

I am looking to potentially pick up a solid DAP in the future as a way forward from my dead end LG V60 since LG doesn't make phones anymore and there have not been any flagship smartphones sporting similar audiophile tech / features since its release back in like 2021.

Ive gathered some info on commonly shown brands and apps here and wanted direction on which to focus on and which to avoid etc. I at least want one that sports the same or better quality hardware / features to LG's Quad DAC setup and all that jazz.

( Sony, Shanling, Snowsky, HiBy, Surfans, Aune, Tempotec, Truthear, FiiO, Cayin, Aigo, Oilsky, iBasso, Hidizs, Shmci )

The most popular brands at first glance seem to be FiiO, Shanling, HiBy Surfans, Hidizs and Tempotec.

I would have preferred an all in one solution as I will have to replace my phone eventually, but the most recent LTE capable DAP isn't readily available to order from the US.

The 3 android player apps I've seen come up look to be Musicolet, Poweramp and Symfonium, with Poweramp seemingly the most common. I have inadvertently purchased all 3 over the past couple years, but I primarily use Musicolet at present.

I had noticed the Bit Perfect update for Poweramp, but I'm still tinkering with that. I'm not versed in manual EQing or Bit Perfect. I am probably a heretic for just using one Rock/Metal EQ I got from online for everything. I use a KZ ZS12 Pro 2 with a KBEAR ST16 cable at the moment, but I intend to upgrade from that eventually as well and have a list on the back burner.

I've had my trusty ZS10 Pro for many years now and I figured it's a good time to upgrade. I should preface that I have an LG V60 which sports a built in Quad DAC for the 3.5 jack. I've been royally stumped, scouring dozens of pages and sites trying to figure out what is going on with the PIN / Connector situation. Most KZs are C-Pin 0.75mm, yet a small few of these newest KZs are 0.78mm.. also C-Pin?

The vast majority of their upgrade cables and bluetooth connectors are seemingly 0.75mm only, but supposedly work on 0.78s? The only confirmation I could get was that their KZ T8 cable is 0.78mm rather than 0.75mm, but all of the bluetooth options so far are 0.75mm only. Additionally, C-Pin and QDC are not the same, or are they? Both are used by KZ and both practically look the same at a glance. Not to mention QDCs are in 0.78 and 0.75s, diluting things further.

I've determined, on my own so far, that the best bet was to buy the KZ ZS12 Pro 2 with the USB-C cable, assuming it'll be a 0.78 variant (since the standalone cable seems to only be sold in 0.75.) Then I would also pick up the KZ T8 Cable that is definitely 0.78, then a KBEAR ST12 8-Core when I don't need a mic and I am not at a PC. Planning on a bluetooth option, I was just going to have to try my luck and grab any LDAC or Qualcomm Bluetooth that has the 0.78 option available, even if it doesn't cover the protruding connection on the ZS12 Pro 2.

Any advice, clarifications and suggestions for alternatives on AliExpress are desired and welcome, ideally under $100.00 (since a few bluetooth options I've seen are well out of my budget.)