$3000 budget on a portable rig !!!

I want to, and I will call you crazy.  You crazy son of a bitch.

Do you really want to be carrying around $3k worth of equipment?  I don't have a portable rig, but when you go for portability, isn't sound quality sacrificed?  I mean, good luck listening comfortably while riding on a bus or walking around in a mall.

I say spend a few hundred and then spend the rest on a really nice home setup.

Are you planning on wearing a backpack full of audio equipment wherever you go?

I would rather have a 3k portable set up than a TV any day.. I am looking forward to hearing what you end up with!

My life is such that a home set up is not possible and I do not watch TV so all the spare i have is gladly spent on a portable system that serves as my home system as well!

well the JH3A is a fair bet for the best portable sound out there, but of course we dont really know for sure yet.

from there, and again this is all theory...  it would seem getting a player that allowed a digital out would be your best bet.  which would mean either an ipad with a camera kit, or an ipod with an algorhythm solo. obviously the latter is more portable but more expensive.

im not sure if going the digital out route automatically trumps other players of higher standard like the 801.. someone else will have to help you out there. 

but heck, jh3a/ipod/solo would give you one HELLUVA rig, and relatively portable to boot.  it would come in right around $3000 depending on your choice of music player.

I dont know if youre limited to an ipod  with the solo.. probably not.

i also have no idea how big a difference going jh3a/ipod/solo vs. jh3a/ipod/LOD  would make... nor does anyone else.. but heck if youve got the dough, try both and tell us!  Youd have lots of interested people to give your results to.

by the way, in case youre not in the loop.. the jh3a release date has been pushed to around late fall, if that helps you decide.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wazzupi 

hmm I'm sold on the jh3a but any other recommendations on a source *something along the lines of hifman 802 or ipod/solo or ipod 5.5 gen imod etc XD. or another dap even the qls qa 350 ?

FYI - i asked a similar question on another thread and this is the paraphrased answer i got:

if you use the ipod/solo or any other combination that gives you a digital out, the quality of the player no longer matters.  in other words, lets pretend you had a ipod w/ a digital out, and a hifiman with a digital out, there would be no difference whatsoever.  if a digital out is in the mix, you are guarenteed the best sound no matter the player b/c the internals of the player are being bypassed completely.   you are getting the pure raw 1's and 0's digital signal with no coloration at all. 

i can only assume this is true, and so far no one has argued with this person on the other thread, which is usually a good indication, otherwise people would be shooting his reasoning down in flames in no time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wazzupi 

thanks for that response jeez I guess I better get that Ipod early so I can hate my life and start converting flac to alac *GRR*  during the waiting period for the JH3a/solo to come out >_<.  I've never owned an Ipod but any recommendations ? should i get a itouch 64 4th gen or ipod classic any news on the 2010 possible version of the classic >_<.

use db poweramp to convert flac to alac.. it has a batch converter, you can do you whole collection in one go and its actually really quick.

research the solo and find out which ipod models its compatable with - it may be fine with any, but who knows.

classic, touch, nano.. really a personal preference.  they all have their obvious appeals and unnapeals.

you may want to see if classics are less durable due to having hard drives.. dont know if they are or not, and dont know if this would be an issue anyway..

Quote:

Originally Posted by Br777 

use db poweramp to convert flac to alac.. it has a batch converter, you can do you whole collection in one go and its actually really quick.

 

research the solo and find out which ipod models its compatable with - it may be fine with any, but who knows.

 

classic, touch, nano.. really a personal preference.  they all have their obvious appeals and unnapeals.

you may want to see if classics are less durable due to having hard drives.. dont know if they are or not, and dont know if this would be an issue anyway..

 

memory capacity wise,  the classic is the way to go, durability isn't really much of a issue, get a silicone case, and minimize dropping it and you should be fine, and yes, the classic is about to be dragged to the back of the barn and shot, no new updates, hardly even a mention by jobs in the famous september event. if you need capacity, get the classic

James

Quote:

Originally Posted by Br777 

FYI - i asked a similar question on another thread and this is the paraphrased answer i got:

 

if you use the ipod/solo or any other combination that gives you a digital out, the quality of the player no longer matters.  in other words, lets pretend you had a ipod w/ a digital out, and a hifiman with a digital out, there would be no difference whatsoever.  if a digital out is in the mix, you are guarenteed the best sound no matter the player b/c the internals of the player are being bypassed completely.   you are getting the pure raw 1's and 0's digital signal with no coloration at all. 

 

i can only assume this is true, and so far no one has argued with this person on the other thread, which is usually a good indication, otherwise people would be shooting his reasoning down in flames in no time.

 

 

 

It's nonsense. Players still sound different. Not every dig out from a computer sounds the same so why would it here? I would use the dig out from a touch as it's really good so even though I don't agree about the differences I do agree about the unit. I can assure you that the dig out from the touch is better than the classic in a top home rig for instance. The HIFIman I heard was pretty etched sounding but it wasn't my files so I can't really say it wouldn't be to my liking under better circumstances. Totally agree about the JH audio. I think their JH-13 is their most accurate starting point.

Back to the touch, Max native res is 16/48 so no true HiDef but it's surprisingly good with downconverted files. I still only use wav as I find lossless dulls things a bit. I know both are bit perfect and the bits are bits folks get bent out of shape over it but it shouldn't be too difficult to understand that 1 less layer of processing and buffers could be better in use. I suppose AIFF would be the same and better for tags but I find wav more universal so I go with that. Also find Wavelab the best program for downconverting with selectable dither etc.

X2 but with a micro SD slot.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by wazzupi 

I wish they had a 128gb itouch damn...