DAP vs CD Player

I've now had a few entry level CD players with clunky transports and I wonder if getting a nice DAP with a line out connection might be a better way to go. Should one expect the line level signal on a DAP to compare favorably with that of an equivalently priced CDPlayer? I travel some for work so taking the dap and headphones along seems like a nice benefit. Thanks.

 

I have a really nice DAP. It's replaced a disc spinner in my hobby shop.

It sounds pretty good, comparable but maybe not better than a cd player.

Of course it sounds the best with the digital out running into a nice dac.

It's a PITA when you want to listen to music and realize you need to charge your player. But that doesn't happen so much anymore. Now that I've had the player awhile it seems to keep a charge longer.

Then of course you have to buy memory cards and be moving music over to it. But then it's a nuisance keeping track of all your cd's and loading them into the player. Less of a nuisance than maintaining your dap's hard drive, though.

A dap is a fun thing to own. It's nice to go pick up your player and headphones and sit on the sofa, or your favorite chair. If you travel I'd say it's a no brainer to give it a try.

 

Dap definition: to fish by letting the bait fall lightly on the water.

 

Keep in mind that the sensitivities of 3.5 mm and RCA (line) are different. So, a DAP will seem quiet in comparison to a CD player unless your system has an input matched to 3.5 mm.

 

So "line level" is meaningless?

 

Well, 3.5 mm does not work at the standard 2 V RMS line level, it works at 850 mV. So, connect a DAP into a linelevel input via an adapter and it will sound quiet in comparison.

 

Strange. i can't imagine why a 3.5 mm jack can't handle 2 volts. Many portable devices claim to have 3.5 mm line level outputs.

 

I don't know why but Black Elk's post is not making sense to me.
Headphone jack on Portable CD and DAP(digital audio player) is mostly 3.5mm connector
Line out jack on Portable CD and DAP is mostly 3.5mm connector.
I won't claim they always are, but mostly, from my experience.
Checking around, I do see that different models LineOut jacks provide different voltages.
Model # D-EJ611 Sony LineOut is 0.7V rms https://docs.sony.com/release//DE660.PDF
FIIO X3 DAP LineOut is 1.7Vrms High-Res Audio | HiFi | FiiO Electronics

I suspect maybe BlackElk is considering the compatibility between the LineOut of one these players and the input side to whatever system you would Connect to? Where LineIn is RCA connectors?

 

That's exactly what I am saying. The 3.5 mm stereo output *should* be at a lower level than a standard RCA line connection. Why some DAPs are exceeding this level is anybody's guess. Provided the 3.5 mm output does not exceed standard line level, then nothing bad will happen. However, going the other way, you run the risk of clipping if the RCA-to-3.5 mm adapter does not have suitable attenuators because the higher RCA line level will overdrive the 3.5 mm input.