I am lost....need new everything

Welcome to Head-Fi and sorry for your wallet!

I assume you want a portable setup, right?

For pure sound quality, I would suggest looking into the S:Flo 2.

For a decent UI (no offense to S:Flo 2, but it isn't that polished) and playing podcasts I would suggest looking into the Cowon J3.

How big can this setup be? Will you be using this naked (Headphone Out to Headphones) or with an amp?

And of course, how big is your wallet? Has it run away yet ?

Hello and welcome here!

Violinvirtuoso asks good questions. It depends on how big you want your setup to be size wise and how much you are willing to spend.

Do you prefer to use iem:s? I use earbuds (Yuin PK3) and smaller headphones (Sennheiser PX100 and AKG K420), so I cannot give advice on iem:s.

About the source, the Cowon J3 seems to be nice. I have the older version S9 which was released in 2008. It is a nice touchscreen DAP with a very nice sound signature and a beautiful 3.3 inch AMOLED screen. The J3 has got some updates compared to the S9 with the biggest one being a MicroSD card slot. So you are not confined to 32GB which is the maximum capacity of the internal memory.

If you want to go smaller, the Sansa Fuze is nice. It is about as small as a iPod Nano but shorter and wider and it has got a supposedly good sound and also a MicroSD slot. The biggest capacity is 8GB.

I do not know much about the S:flo except it being raved here. It is really a DAP called Teclast T51 which is a Chinese brand, and it has been rebranded by a shop which I do not remember the name of. It is supposed to sound very good, but as violinvirtuoso writes, the UI seems to not be liked by everyone. If you are coming from an iPod it might be difficult to get used to a not very intuitive UI.

If you are listening to music where the tracks flow into each other, the J3 will be a good choice since it can do gapless playback both of mp3 and lossless files.

If I were you, I would look into getting a Cowon J3 for your DAP. But the Cowon J3 lacks a line out, therefore it is not the best player if you ever decide to purchase an amp. Check into it, but there might be a DIY solution for Lineout on Cowon DAPs. The S:Flo 2 would be a great player, but it doesn't play podcasts. Honestly, the Apple's recent products aren't that bad SQ wise. The iPhone 3G's sound quality has been praised around here. If you don't want a phone, the iTouch 3G has the same circuitry (for the most part). The reason the iTouch 3G is a good idea is that it sounds good unamped, and has a multitude of Line Out options if you ever decide to get an amp.

For headphones, look into the Head-Direct RE-0. For a little more, I would recommend the Ultimate Ears Triple.Fi 10. Despite the fact that they remain a top-tier IEM, their street price has dropped significantly. They are also very durable headphones with a detachable cable. However, if you are looking into the UE TF10 I would try their products first. Their fit is awkward for some people. The Triple.Fis sound very nice unamped, but also scale well. The Etymotic ER-4P also sounds nice, although it's sound signature is not for everyone. There also some other great options including the Phonak PFE, Try using the search feature for best IEMs between 100-200 dollars.

I highly recommend reading through this thread. Though some are out of your price range, many of them are great IEMs within your price range:

http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/476315/top-tier-universal-iem-comparison-chart-frequency-response-charts-discussion-first-post-updated-often

You won't need an amp. It really depends on how demanding you are of SQ. How big do think portable can be defined as? Later down the road, an amp can help give you that last bit of portable nirvana. But it is not necessary. Don't get an amp unless you either want some part of your sound signature (ex. the mids are recessed) or you try it in person and love the sound quality. Don't buy it just because it is there!

Quote:

Originally Posted by poloman 

Those are my main questions. Do I need an amp? What are the best earbuds, or iems for no amp? When do you need an amp? Do I need an amp for the kind of music and podcasts I listen to? What would be a great set up for a DAP +  phones without an amp that I can later add to if I wanted. I am guessing I would probably spend 4-$450 without an amp at first. So if you had 400 bucks or so what would you guys get to start?? Thanks for being so kind

Do you need an amp? Depends on if your headphones need the extra current/voltage. 

Best earbuds/IEMs with no amp? I don't know much about buds but you should check out this thread for buds:

http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/371235/earbud-buyer-s-guide-feat-ok1-pk1-ok2-k319-pk2-ath-cm700

And this thread for IEMs:

http://www.head-fi.org/wiki/top-tier-universal-iem-comparison-chart-and-information

I'll come back to this when I get back from the store :)

EDIT: Back :)

Podcasts you dont' really have to worry about amplication; it's just people speaking so details and all of that don't really matter. IMO I think you're putting too much emphasis on the amp part. I'd say to get a good pair of IEMs and see if you like them (which you probably will) and read up more about...basically everything before you make a purchase. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by poloman 

I really appreciate all the great responses. So, for now I will skip the amp. So know I have to narrow down the DAP and phones. I have the BOSE in ear, so I kind of like that feel. Do the in ears plug your ears up? I hate that feeling!!!  I am a Veteran, so I can get ear molds done for free. Should I get customs done? Also, does the Cowon j3 have good enough power to push good phones? I don't want to get overkill, but would like a nice rig for out and about and at bedtime. So if you all had 1 DAP to pair with phones with no amp what would it be? Thanks, you are all to kind.

Whoa, whoa bro.  Did you say veterans can get free earmolds?  Do tell!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by poloman 

Call the Audiology department and ask about walk in hours for ear molds, here in SD it is 10:30 and 1:30. If you are able to go the VA hospital you should be able to get it done Hey, I am proud of myself....I helped someone else out!!

Thx man!! 

Quote:

Originally Posted by poloman 

I really appreciate all the great responses. So, for now I will skip the amp. So know I have to narrow down the DAP and phones. I have the BOSE in ear, so I kind of like that feel. Do the in ears plug your ears up? I hate that feeling!!!  I am a Veteran, so I can get ear molds done for free. Should I get customs done? Also, does the Cowon j3 have good enough power to push good phones? I don't want to get overkill, but would like a nice rig for out and about and at bedtime. So if you all had 1 DAP to pair with phones with no amp what would it be? Thanks, you are all too kind.

The Cowon J3 (and most other DAPs as well) have more than enough power to drive IEMs. Very few IEM require amps, though some do benefit.
This great thread lists all the top-notch IEM:

http://www.head-fi.org/wiki/top-tier-universal-iem-comparison-chart-and-information

Though I can't speak from personal experience, custom IEM are great, but expensive. It seems like the best options are out of your price range. However you could always get an IEM you like (ex. TF10) and get them remolded (ex. Fischer Audio).

So, the best IEM would most likely be the Earsonics SM3. However, this would come to a total of around $700. In your price range, I would have to go with the Triple.Fi 10.

The J3 has been my everyday player since I got it, and it has many pluses. For some reason that I'm not sure of, I much prefer it to the S9.

I don't use software at all to organise my music, I just arrange it in folders and drag and drop it onto the player (the J3 will just mount as an external drive on any computer). If you must use iTunes, I believe you can tell it that you want to use a different player (I think; someone else will need to confirm this).

It's perfectly happy with Podcasts too. If your music is mp3, then the same files will play on the J3. If they're Apple proprietary files, you'll need to convert them (I'd use Max on my Mac) but that's not difficult. Good luck!

So the J3 sounds better than the S9?