SanDisk Sansa Clip+ 4 GB MP3 Player (Red)

I bought this DAP for $50, along with a 16-GB micro SD card that cost me $17. So I've got a total capacity of 18,4 GB in a DAP which is 5,5 cm long, 3,5 cm wide and 1,5 cm thick for a total of $67. Less than the third of the price of an iPod nano that has less than 16 GB of memory.

It does everything I expect a DAP to do : it can sort tracks by folder in addition of all other ways, it allows dynamic playlists, it can play FLAC files (even if I never use this feature), and many other. All you can wish, I guess. The only things I miss don't even come from the DAP itself, but from Rockbox : to me, it lacks a "stop after current" function, as in foobar2000, and a "clear playlist" function.

I rockboxed it immediately after having receiving it. Rockbox adds some useful and other funny features, like radio recording and some games like Sokoban and chess.

The writing speed in the Sansa's memory is around 2.70 MBps.

I can use it for between 12 and 13 hours before having to charge it.

I've never used it with the default interface, it has been Rockboxed the minute I opened the package. The interface is extremely intuitive, but the Rockbox manual is useful for "advanced" features.

It is very reliable : it fell on the ground several times, sometimes king of bugged, underwent countless formattings, firmware re-installations and Rockbox installations, and works as well as when I turned it up the first time.

And finally, as for the sound quality... well, I can't complain about it. I never spotted any lack of details or coloration compared to my GrubDAC. Even amped.

I truly think buying this DAP was the best thing I could do with 50 €.

Rockbox it and you've got great sound in a tiny package. Give it to an amp and it's better yet, but not so portable.

After looking around at some other reviews, here are a few more details.  First off, I should say that I'm a music lover, not an audiophile (yet).  Although I can detect some differences -  between amped and unamped sources, between the different headphones and IEMs I own for example - I don't yet have the depth of experience or language to give an extremely detailed review of this little player.

Did I say it was little? We're talking 2" x 1" here. It would be hard to get more portable. Unmodded, it's perfectly reasonable and extremely cheap.  However, if you get it, you should Rockbox it for the amount of control (database, EQ, and a lot more that I haven't fully explored) you get.

What makes this stand out for me is the fullness of the sound. I don't demand overwhelming bass and the Clip+ provides more than enough for me.   The midrange is forward and detailed, as are the highs.

For the price, I think it's hard to get a better small player.