Add to all this the ability to access and play popular streaming sources, including Tidal, Spotify, and Pandora, and you have a player that does indeed challenge competitors with much higher pricetags. The DP-X1 also includes a true balanced headphone output (and dual DAC chips) with the capability to drive difficult headphones that usually require beefy external amps to sound their best. The Onkyo DP-X1 is the only portable player so far, besides its “cousin” the Pioneer XDP-100R ($699), to offer MQA capabilities. So, what has the Onkyo DP-X1 got that the others haven’t got? MQA. Given the highly competitive nature of this particular market, Onkyo needed something more than merely “we sound better” to elbow its way in. The first headline on the DP-X1’s web page leads with “Powerful, Portable, Pricey.” Onkyo’s intent is clear: Release a high-value, high-performance portable player whose features and performance rival “premium-priced” competition. Its DP-X1 ($899) offers a unique set of features and capabilities at a highly competitive price. One of the latest manufacturers to toss its portable player hat into the ring is Onkyo. And the plethora of choices continues to grow. Obviously, the portable player market has “blown up” into a massive business driven by an increasingly mobile customer base. Other manufacturers including Sony, Questyle, Calyx, Colorfly, iBasso, and Fiio have all come out with high-resolution, high-performance players whose prices range from less than $300 to $1300. Astell&Kern alone offers seven players, from the AK Jr ($499) to the AK380 ($3499). Flash forward three years-nowadays audiophiles have a plethora of options. When I reviewed Astell&Kern’s first offering in early 2013, the AK100 ($699), the concept of a high-performance portable music player was new and the AK100 was unique.

Onkyo music player app review