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SQ : can a good MP3 player compare with good soundcard ?
Maybe you say I got mad, but why not to compare the SQ of the best sounding MP3 players on the market with soundcards ?
How good are Sony A818 or Toshiba T400 Gigabeat when it comes to comparasion with sound cards like Creative Audigy 2ZS, or EMU 0202/0404 ? Or the even don't reach the quality of an integrated audio ?
I have the Sony NWZ-A818 and the old SB Live! (prolly 1998?), and the SQ is light years behind on the Sony Walkman.
I've done RMAA6 tests on the outputs, and the graphs came out pretty much the same for both. So those tests are irrelevant for what I'm searching.
As I said in the other thread the Walkman's sound is distant and not very detailed.
It's a shame that the Walkman has a 250Mhz processor, and that Sony had the nerve not to include FM radio and recording, leading people into believe that the player would focus more on the SQ alone. Bluff!
im having a hard time figuring out what you mean by a distant sound on the sony's. the sonys have the usual warm and involving sound, which i wouldnt describe as distant at all. unless you are talking the midrange when you turn mega bass right up, that makes the player far too bass-heavy.
also, not everybody cares for radio. i certainly dont.
/anyway. ive not found any portable device that can compare to my asus xonar d2 without modification.
My Cowon sounds way better than my X-Fi Extreme music. Guess it is kinda like comparing apples to oranges. It all depends on what sound card you got and what MP3 player.
__________________ Portable rig:
Cowon D2 --> Silver mini to mini by N_maher --> RSA Tomahawk --> LiveWires T1 / Sleek-Audio SA6 / Yuin OK1.
Home rig:
Foobar 2k, all FLAC, ASIO4ALL --> Toslink (fixed rate) --> Octavart "The One" Amp & DAC --> AKG K701 / Sennheiser HD580 without foam, with HD600 grills, Dowin cable.
Good mp3 players are: Rio Karma, iRiver E10, iRiver H100/300 series, iAudio X5, Teclast T39. And they beat budgetary soundcards easily. But when we call "good" soundcards from RME or Lynx, there is no comparison between them and portable players. They are competion for decent CD players. I guess, modded Audiotrak products will kick mp3 players' butts as well.
__________________ Cans: recabled Creative Aurvana Live! , Beyerdynamic DT880 Pro, Grado RS2 , Sennheiser PX100 Plugs: CrossRoads Mylarone X3 Portable sources: iRiver E10 , iRiver ifp-799 Home source: modded Technics SL-PS840 Headphone drive: DIY amp named Moonlight :) Gone 'phones: AKG K324P , Grado SR325i, Senneheiser HD25-1 II , Sennheiser HD595 , Sennheiser CX300 , Koss KSC35 , Sony MDR-40T , other tiny stuff mp3 players from the past: Teclast T39 , Cowon D2 , iRiver clix2 , Meizu M6 , RAmos RM850 , iRiver T10 2GB, many other tried
Thank you for your thoughts guys. The point was to compare the very best DAPs to sound cards in similar price category and also see, how big are the differences.
FrederikS|TPU - interesting... which Cowon you have ?
Good mp3 players are: Rio Karma, iRiver E10, iRiver H100/300 series, iAudio X5, Teclast T39. And they beat budgetary soundcards easily. But when we call "good" soundcards from RME or Lynx, there is no comparison between them and portable players. They are competion for decent CD players. I guess, modded Audiotrak products will kick mp3 players' butts as well.
Yep, my H320 easily beats some old SB Live Digital Entertainment SC I've got. Doesn't even remotely compare for warmness/bass.
SQ : can a good MP3 player compare with good soundcard ?
(I don't like posting pointless revival posts like this, but I had to, sorry 
Linear Mode
