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Portable source recommendation thread (or anoter "help me decide on a player please" thread)

post #1 of 18
1/17/10 at 8:26am
Thread Starter 
I'm a "beginning" audiophile, and have bought (3 years ago) an AT AD-700 + auzentech prelude for my home rig from a recommendation seen on this site - its was freaking awesome compared to my stock sound + headphones, so thanks alot guys .

Now I've decided to spend some cash on a portable rig (meaning source + earphones and maybe an amp), and I'd like yet another recommendation.

My needs are as follows:
-Good audio quality
-ability to play most sound files (my files (according to foobar) are assorted mp3, AAC, flac, mp2(?), WMA, random others)
-very long battery life
- price of headphones + source + amp under 300$.

anything else other than the above (video, apps, wifi, browser, etc) is nice, but not mandatory.

When posting a recommended player, please also add a recommended portable headphone and amp (if applicable).

Also, it seems that sony doesn't import the X to my country, and the cowon s9 costs around 350$ - meaning its a bit out of my budget for a player + headphones. Id also rather not deal with importing stuff, as its bitch to do here (lots of rules and regulations I dont really wanna deal with).

thanks for any suggestions upfront guys, and keep on the good work, I love the forums.
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post #2 of 18
1/17/10 at 8:29am
With your demands I think of the Cowon i9 or a Sony E or S series.
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post #3 of 18
1/17/10 at 8:59am
The Cowon players won't do AAC, but the Sony won't do FLAC. Pick your poison lol...
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post #4 of 18
1/17/10 at 9:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by a_recording View Post
The Cowon players won't do AAC, but the Sony won't do FLAC. Pick your poison lol...
Samsung P3 and M1 support AAC and FLAC ,and also WMA
your best choice for that criteria is Samsung P3

this thread is like another thread, searching a player with support many codec audio/video, and the answer will always samsung P3/M1 because it supports many codec than S9/X1000/zune hd/ipod do, but i feel like samsung fansboy... when samsung is not famous brand, an underdog brand
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post #5 of 18
1/17/10 at 10:40am
Thread Starter 
thanks for the suggestions - however, it seems that the p3 is not being imported into my country.

Also, about the sony and cowon suggestions - which headphones would you pair them with?
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post #6 of 18
1/17/10 at 10:48am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mashashige View Post
Also, about the sony and cowon suggestions - which headphones would you pair them with?
Headphones or earphones? What music do you like? What sound signature do you prefer?

It's not easy to help if we don't have some information.
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post #7 of 18
1/17/10 at 10:49am
and dont forget "what is your max budget?"
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post #8 of 18
1/17/10 at 10:50am
Where are you from? it seems you can buy any models player in through the internet. if there is no dealer of specify model in your local maket, at least you can get one from Ebay.
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post #9 of 18
1/17/10 at 11:15am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mashashige View Post
- price of headphones + source + amp under 300$.
As far as the sound signature, I listen to most generes of music, though mostly jazz, classical rock, classical music, and other random bits and ends - so I guess the most balanced ones would be good.

In regards to headphones vs earbuds - I would like to use the phones for music both in the train and when I jog, though Id rather just buy cheap earbuds for the jogging if I get better sound quality from earphones.

Anyhow, the reason I posted this in the porta sources subforum was that I was looking for a recommendations that takes into account both the phones and the sources (and amp if applicable)for the best sound Q possible at under 300-350$.

Finally, regarding the buying stuff online - it can be done, but the process of importing stuff into my country (israel) is a bitch, and the lack of tech support can be bothersome at best, if not outright ****ed up. So unless I really can't get what im looking for in Israel, Id rather not import.
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post #10 of 18
1/17/10 at 11:57am
i bought a Sony S544 today and it sounds very good. i can highly recommend it. ^__^
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post #11 of 18
1/17/10 at 1:45pm
Where'd you see the Cowon S9 @ $350? It's at $170 at jr(.)com. o_O
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post #12 of 18
1/17/10 at 2:24pm
mind the size, 170 bucks sounds like the 8gb, maybe the 16gb on offer,
while the $350 price seems to correspond to the US prices for the 32GB unit,

the best price/performance players right now are the sonys, here in europe you can pick up 16GB S or E series walkmans for around 150 dollars,
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post #13 of 18
1/17/10 at 2:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by a_tumiwa View Post
Samsung P3 and M1 support AAC and FLAC ,and also WMA
your best choice for that criteria is Samsung P3

this thread is like another thread, searching a player with support many codec audio/video, and the answer will always samsung P3/M1 because it supports many codec than S9/X1000/zune hd/ipod do, but i feel like samsung fansboy... when samsung is not famous brand, an underdog brand
Have they fixed tag support for aac on the p3 yet? The p2 had many firmware upgrades from release, but they never did add tag support. Having 1/3 of your library filed under 'unknown' is a pain.
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post #14 of 18
1/17/10 at 5:32pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kayzo View Post
Where'd you see the Cowon S9 @ $350? It's at $170 at jr(.)com. o_O
I was looking at the price of the S9 in israel, which is about 1200 NIS - corresponding to around 350$.

Anywho, after doing a bit more research, it seems like my country is ****ing horrible for buying any music related stuff in, and it seems Ill have to buy the stuff I want from an online site.
This basically means, that anything up to this post is null and void, so Ill start over again.

Budget: 350$
Items: Source, inear phones or buds, and amp if needed.
Main Goals: 1. Sound quality 2. ability to play most types of files. 3. long battery life.
Secondary goals: Anything else, though priority for wifi, apps (organizer, notepad, whatever), and ability to play movies.
Main music genres I listen to: 60-70s Rock, Jazz, classical, and most other genres - though I rarely listen to trance/heavy metal/etc.

sorry for all the trouble guys, and thanks for all the helpful comments.
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post #15 of 18
1/17/10 at 10:57pm
Quote:
Budget: 350$
Items: Source, inear phones or buds, and amp if needed.
Main Goals: 1. Sound quality 2. ability to play most types of files. 3. long battery life.
Secondary goals: Anything else, though priority for wifi, apps (organizer, notepad, whatever), and ability to play movies.
Main music genres I listen to: 60-70s Rock, Jazz, classical, and most other genres - though I rarely listen to trance/heavy metal/etc.
its hard to find a player with that criteria and you dont want Samsung P3 / Cowon S9
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