Portblale Mp3 player for SQ only

Well, I can be the first one, but I may not have the best advice.   Hopefully others will join in... 

I do not use IEM:s (I prefer portable headphones or ordinary earbuds such as Yuin PK3), so I cannot contribute much on that.

The D2+ is a perfectly good DAP. Like most Cowons it has got a bass roll off that is more noticeable with phones with lower impedance. I have got a Cowon S9 and for instance when I use my Sennheiser PX100 and tweak the EQ (add some extra bass), that bass roll off is not noticeable anymore. Your S4 seem to be at 18ohms and in comparison my PX100 are at 32ohms. I think that you still might get a nice sound with the D2+ with the bass not sounding too "flat", but then you will have to tweak the EQ.

There is also the Sansa Fuze or Clip+. They seem to be well liked and deliver a very good sound for their low price.

At your price range, I would recommend either a D2+ or a Fuze/Clip+. Are there any stores where you can try them out?

That was unfortunately all I could suggest at this moment. However, you might reconsider iRiver since apparently their current players do not sound as good as the older ones.

Though there are better players, the Cowon D2+ is an excellent player. If you truly want one of the best sounding players, look in to the S:Flo 2/Teclast T51. The 16 GB version is $170. However, my advice is to get an upgrade in your headphones. Assuming your source material is at a high bit-rate, an upgrade in headphones will probably make the biggest SQ upgrade for you. Just get an 8 GB Sansa Clip+ (and a microSD card if you want more memory) and sink the rest of your budget (as well as whatever money you can get for the S4) into getting better IEMs.

Maybe you could consider something like a Hippo Gumstick? With a Class A amp, which is usually reserved for higher end audio equipment, you can't really go wrong as it costs about $100 or so.

- 4gb with expandable memory slot 

- plays lossless like FLAC, Ogg etc.

- decent battery life

- highly portable

Might want to consider :)

You will probably be able to tell a difference between the Clip+ and the Cowon D2+, but it will be a very minor difference. If you upgrade your headphones, you will be greeted with a much greater difference.

Except the bass roll off with lower impedance earphones on the D2+ they are pretty much the same (this is without EQ turned on). The EQ of the D2+ is more complex than the EQ of the original firmware on the Clip+. On the Clip+ you can install Rockbox to replace the original firmware and among other things get a better EQ.

I am not that familiar with Rockbox, so you can perhaps ask around about it. Most people who have installed it seem happy with it.

EDIT: I second violinvirtuoso.

I have read very good reports on the SQ of the 4g Nano, if you're not afraid of being seen with an Apple

Nano4G is decent, but I will take Fuze (or clip) over it any day of the week. That being said, I will take Gumstick over Fuze if SQ is the only concern. In fact,.I have been using Gumstick much more than Fuze these days (and much much much more than Nano 4G).

Quote:

Originally Posted by aviram84 

now i have akg k321, buying the s4 was the upgrade for me... now you're saying it's not good enough?? why all the great reviews? good publicity?

The Klipsch S4 is a great IEM. That being said, there are better IEMs. Because headphones are more important than your source (in your audio chain), an upgrade in your IEM will yield better results than an upgrade in source. Here's an example of a diagram describing the importance of various items in your audio chain:

Headphones>Source Material>Source (including DAC, Amp, etc.)>Cables

If you upgrade something higher up on the list, you will get a better bang for your buck upgrade.

The guys at mp4nation mark the S:Flo2's value at $25 and shipping is free, so that may help with the taxes. The S:Flo2 is the first DAP that I've had that's allowed me to hear a discernible difference between 320 kbps and FLAC. For it's price, it's a pretty remarkable player IMO.

I'd stay away from Cowon, ripoff prices. Sansa Clip+ is a great deal, and will play flac after you install rockbox.

S:Flo's $100+, ripoff.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dalamar 

I'd stay away from Cowon, ripoff prices. Sansa Clip+ is a great deal, and will play flac after you install rockbox.

S:Flo's $100+, ripoff.

Just an FYI, the Clip+ plays FLAC without Rockbox. I agree the Clip+ is a great deal, and I loved using it. The Clip+ performs well above it's price range, but is NOT the end-all-be-all when it comes to SQ.  Just like the Clip+, the S:Flo 2 performs well above it's price range. Have you used the S:Flo 2? I would not say the S:Flo 2 is a rip-off. Just the opposite.

Cowon players are in general, expensive. But they do sound great, come with loads of EQ options, class-leading battery life, support for all sorts of file types, play gapless, have great screens, etc. They are the closest thing to an audiophile mass-produced player I have seen. Stuff like the HifiMan HM-801 and S:Flo 2 sound great, but are not geared towards even the SQ-loving masses. For example, their UI is not sophisticated enough. Though usable for those who want SQ, they are not user-friendly enough for everyone.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the OP has already purchased the 16GB Cowon D2+.