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Latest Scoop= Marantz 64GB flash Ipod beater

post #1 of 25
1/21/10 at 5:05pm
Thread Starter 
Yes!

That got your attention.

What I want to know is why not?

What has happened to all these great Audiophile brands, where are they.

Why isnt there a Yamaha mp3 player?Or Onkyo, Pioneer, Creek, etc etc.

no wonder everyone buys Ipods the competition is Dull.
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post #2 of 25
1/21/10 at 5:11pm
Yea someone needs to step up and make a high capacity audiophile grade portable player.

While the initial user base may be small a device like that could really get someone in the door.
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post #3 of 25
1/21/10 at 5:34pm
Portable players are sort of like disposable cameras. They're intended to last longer than a disposable camera, but not by much.

A portable's lifespan is barely 18-24 months. Usually in that period of time storage doubles, speed doubles, screens improve, and DACs improve.

Do you really want to drop $500 or $600 on a player to have it look like a joke in about three years? I sure as hell won't. But I would spend $500 on a Rega Planar 3 which will be pretty much the same in three years and I am reasonably certain that the format won't change, either.

Even if a portable is marginally useful two years on, it won't and likely will not be able to be updated with the latest. What if a $200 portable with better sound and some 5G wireless comes out? You'll have wasted your money if you get the new one.

I've resigned myself to buying a new portable every two years or so. They'll never touch the sound quality of home gear and the latest features are always nice.

Not only that, but I find the iPod to be thoroughly Good Enough. No, it ain't the best. Adequate? Oh hell yes. If I want to pick over finer musical points, I'll do it at home with the not-quite-so-portable tube amps, electrostatic speakers and a turntable.
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post #4 of 25
1/21/10 at 5:47pm
The problem is storage hasn't doubled, it's actually got cut to 1/4th of previous hard drive players because of the slow advances in flash storage.

Portable players don't have to be trash, they can be built well that will always sound good regardless of tech advances.

No portable player designed for high end audiophile output would be considered a joke if it got the fundamentals right, large capacity, ability to play all lossless codecs, decent battery life, high end opamps, high end dac's, optical output and highly configurable sound audio options.

It doesn't have to be a swiss army knife with constant updates if it correctly nails the needs for a high end portable audio device.
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post #5 of 25
1/21/10 at 6:50pm
Thread Starter 
Unkle Eric - I agree completely that the Ipod sound quality is "good enough" hence why I use one and find it almost imposible to seriously consider anything else. But it is sad that the worlds greatest audio makers play 2nd fiddle to a failing computer company. Even the financial might of Sony still looks "sort of good".
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post #6 of 25
1/21/10 at 7:00pm
But, Uncle Erik, what about $500 portable amps and $1000+ customs?
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post #7 of 25
1/21/10 at 7:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by LingLing1337 View Post
But, Uncle Erik, what about $500 portable amps and $1000+ customs?
Hee-hee - I suspect that you *know* he has some strong feelings on the VFM offered by both of those.

I own a iPod Classic and I own a 32GB Sony X - Uncle Erik is right in saying that a 600USD+ player just wouldnt make sense for the big boys to manufacture. Look at how cheap and nasty many iPod docks are - the manufacturers clearly see the market as cash-strapped and clueless. I dont know how many Zeppelins B&W have sold, but I did notice that it has been sharply discounted in the sole retail store that still sells the thing in my town.

I might add that, once again, the Head-Fi membership greatly over-estimates the demand for 'audiophile' portables. I can get a box full of RE0s tomorrow, but I cant order a box full of HiFiMan players and expect delivery anytime soon : same source, but he realised that this would be a niche product. In the grand scheme of things, audiophiles are a tiny subset of the people who listen to music.
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post #8 of 25
1/21/10 at 7:37pm
Actually, those B&W systems are relatively popular, and recently saw a price cut only because Bose put out a competing system. At least, this I get from someone who owns a hi-fi store and gets customers in ensnared by that odd design. Personally, I don't like it, and found the Zepplin to have a massive mid bass hump. (I was shopping for a nice set of desktop speakers, and ended up with an Aktimate Mini iPod dock system...)

And no, basically outside of head fi the market for high quality DAP's is almost zero. Most people stick with the earbuds included with their system nowadays, download terrible low bitrate files, and when something breaks replace it with the cheapest possible alternative. I had a friend whose iPod earbuds broke, and instead of buying new ones he went and got them replaced under warranty. I was left bewildered and disorientated by his actions - it's as if he performed CPR on someone who tried to murder him.

I work in the Australian equivalent of Best Buy (at least I think its equivalent) and I am filled with a dizzying horror every time a customer asks for headphone recommendations, I reluctantly point them to the Metro.fi 170 because its the best that we stock, and they look at the 100 dollar price and go for 20 dollar Sony earbuds.

For me, I love music, and I love technology. The equation works out pretty simply.
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post #9 of 25
1/21/10 at 7:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by a_recording View Post
they look at the 100 dollar price and go for 20 dollar Sony earbuds.
I guess its all relative - some in audio are aghast at the thought of anyone even bothering to connect two pieces of hi-fidelity equipment with an interconnect costing less than $200. Tell them that you are using stock speaker cable that came off a roll down at JB Hi-Fi and they would probably have a heart attack.

The thing that gets me about the folk who go for the 20 dollar earbuds is that they usually seem happy to spend $200 a week on alcohol and nicotine. I guess its all about priorities.
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post #10 of 25
1/21/10 at 8:29pm
Just chiming in, I heard the Zeppelin and it was absolutely awful. I couldn't even believe it was being sold for more than $30.

estreeter, that's a pretty broad generalization to make. Those who don't splurge on expensive headphones drink and are addicted to nicotine? I'll edit my post if you do the same.
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post #11 of 25
1/21/10 at 8:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by a_recording View Post
Most people stick with the earbuds included with their system nowadays, download terrible low bitrate files, and when something breaks replace it with the cheapest possible alternative. I had a friend whose iPod earbuds broke, and instead of buying new ones he went and got them replaced under warranty. I was left bewildered and disorientated by his actions - it's as if he performed CPR on someone who tried to murder him.
I know a guy who did that with his iBuds, but they that had the iPhone mic. They're about $6 on ebay, but this guy is an Apple freak and I guess he just likes dealing with Apple.

Apparently most people don't know and/or don't care about halfway decent SQ. Most of the non-iBuds I see are cheap Sonys. Honestly, how much would it cost Apple to include a set of earbuds or IEMs that sounded as good as ~$30-$40 IEMs? Maybe something like the ADDIEM with one driver.
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post #12 of 25
1/21/10 at 8:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by LingLing1337 View Post
But, Uncle Erik, what about $500 portable amps and $1000+ customs?


Alright, so you spend $600 on some stainless wünderDAP with 2010's best DACs, etc. etc.

Then in 2013 an iPod comes out with no storage. It streams your entire library plus several thousand radio stations over a wireless network. Battery life isn't an issue, either, since it'll charge off the same network. And it goes for $149.

It's possible.
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post #13 of 25
1/21/10 at 8:54pm
These companies, like HiSound would make a mostly decent player with horrible software problems; or they would source from China and get another company to do the interface. It would not be a Marantz.

And if it did come out, why would anyone expect it to be an iPod beater? It would not/could not be marketed at the same audience or in the same price range. Ridiculous.
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post #14 of 25
1/21/10 at 9:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bba1973 View Post
I know a guy who did that with his iBuds, but they that had the iPhone mic. They're about $6 on ebay, but this guy is an Apple freak and I guess he just likes dealing with Apple.

Apparently most people don't know and/or don't care about halfway decent SQ. Most of the non-iBuds I see are cheap Sonys. Honestly, how much would it cost Apple to include a set of earbuds or IEMs that sounded as good as ~$30-$40 IEMs? Maybe something like the ADDIEM with one driver.
Always bugs me that whenever I hear really leaking headphones, Yup. they are the iPod give aways. Thanks for inflicting that on us Apple.
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post #15 of 25
1/21/10 at 9:51pm
Isn't this thread name kinda deceptive? I looked in here thinking Marantz was releasing an mp3 player
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