Order by sound quality - Page 2

I ordered Sansa Fuse, I hope I'll be satisfied. If not, I'll go in hunt for new. :)

Nothing wrong with the Sansa Fuze. The SQ is great IMO using the LO of course with a good LOD ( film caps for sure). That's my current source and at this time really see no need to upgrade.

I'm also inclined to agree that both the 5.5G iPod and 3GS especially have far better clarity. The Fuze is quite neutral, but the sound reproduction is relatively mushy. Rockbox only really fixes the sound signature if you don't like flat. You can't fix the lack of clarity though.

I'll list the players I own (From worst to best).

 

Ipod Touch > Ipod Classic > Clip+ (Rockboxed) > HM-601 (Puts all previous to shame).

 

I can't help but disagree with GeorgeGoodman regarding the Clip+.

Bang for buck is incredible, its ultra portable, and sounds great.

There are better sounding DAP's out there but the amazing cost to SQ ratio gets it over the line every time.

A clip+ + 8gb costs less than a magical interconnect. It doesn't do anything wrong so there's very little reason to upgrade. If the fuze suits your lifestyle, get one and don't think about it any more. Portable rigs are always going to be the worst bang/buck, so you need the best phones because they will be the ones making the difference. If you have a ton of money to blow on a portable rig then you probably don't care about value anyway.

This is definitely true.

 

The Clip+ does have great value. I have the Fuze, and I am sure the line out sounds very good. There are players that sound better, but the Fuze and the Clip remain good values. The HM-601 supposedly sounds a lot better, but it is $259.  There is a definite lack of return on investment in a lot of portable players.

 

Cowon J3

Cowon S9

Iphone 3gs

Clip+/Sansa Fuze

Cowon D2

Iphone 4

Ipod Touch 3g

Ipod Nano 5g

Ipod Classic

 

Haven't heard cowon 9, 7.

 

 

 

Is there that big a difference between the iPhone 3g and the iPod Touch 3g?  Are the audio components any different?

Sony A828 (with service menu dac mod) >>> Sansa Clip+ (rockboxed) >>> iPod Touch 2G

Edited by paulypaul - 12/11/10 at 5:47pm

I haven't owned all of the players listed, but based on reputation I'm pretty certain that the J3 and S9 are the best there.

 

For what it's worth, here's my list from best to worst: Cowon J3->Zune HD->iPod Touch 3rd Gen->iPod Nano (older, not sure of the gen)->Creative Zen

Being guilty of it myself, far be it from me to discourage the rampant consumerism that is widespread on this board , but did you know you can rockbox your Nano and it will play FLAC quite well?  I was quite suprised learning this myself last week, but I rockbox'ed my own Nano gen 2 (took 30 minutes!), and it works like a charm with FLAC, ogg or whatever now.

 

Pretty easy to do, too--download the rockbox utility, tell it what kind of player you have, and just follow the prompts.

 

http://www.rockbox.org

 

You'd probably get to know this site quite well if you decide to get a sansa.

I have recently gone from using a Sansa Clip with FLACs to using a Sony PCM-M10 Linear PCM Recorder (a.k.a. a flash deck) as my source. Adorama (via the Amazon Marketplace) is currently selling them for $199.00 and it comes with an AC adapter, Sound Forge LE software, a wired remote control - useful only when recording, and two AA alkalines.

Michael Hedges Aerial Boundries has been unleashed in the PCM-M10 - with detail, punch, and sounstage that's lacking in the Clip. I'm using Shure SE530s - these are very efficient, so its not as if the Clip was trying to drive some 600-Ohm Beyers.

As a DAP, the PCM-M10 is sweet looking, but aside from being bulky (about four times as thick and heavy as an iPod Touch), its UI is dismal - having none of the features we take for granted with most DAPs - and it only supports WAV and MP3 formats, with a maximum capacity of 20 GB (4 GB internal + 16 GB microSDHC or Sony M2 cards) - but the SQ is undeniably and immediately obvious to someone who has been using a Sansa Clip with Shure SE530s.

And that's just with 44.1 Khz / 24-bit WAV files (having decompressed some of the FLACs formerly supplied to my clip) played straight to the same cans, using the PCM-100's internal amp. But this critter can both record and play high rez WAV files as dense as 96 Khz / 24-bit. I have downloaded several 96/24 FLACs from www.hdtracks.com, including their latest offering, Steely Dan - Guacho. I decompressed these 96/24 FLACS to both 96/24 WAVs and to lower rez 44.1/16 WAVs using dbPoweramp, then transferred them to the PCM-M10.

Wow! A portable solution for playing 96/24 content - its awesome. I can't say I can appreciate any difference in dynamic range when comparing 24-bit to 16-bit, but I am definitely hearing the higher resolution of 96 Khz vs. 44.1. It's wonderfully crisp in my SE530s.

I have to mention that the PCM-M10's headphone jack can be reprogrammed, via the Detail Menu - Audio Out setting, to supply Line Out to that jack. As much as I'm reluctant to diminish in any way my praise of this recorder's internal amp, using its lineout to a Meier Audio Corda Stepdance is a wonderful experience. Both amps are neutral and uncolored, but the Stepdance has more power (headroom) and sounds all the more analytical. Both amps are unforgiving of poor recordings. That is perhaps the greatest strength of the Clip - its so easy going, albeit lackluster.

Amazon is currently selling the Sony PCM-M10 for $199.00 - I see this as a great value, considering what it can do.

Mike
Mike

for what it's worth, in order of preference:

 

- Sony X1050 with LOD (sold it after a few months because of it's battery life though)

- Cowon Iaudio X5L Rockboxed

- Sansa Clip/ Sansa Fuze Rockboxed

- Ipod photo Rockboxed

- Ipod Nano 4g

- Creative Zen Micro

- Ipod Shuffle 1g

My ranking based on what I have owned and heard (best to worst)

 

 

Cowon J3

 

 

ipod Touch 3G

 

iPhone 3GS

iPhone 4

Ipod Classic

Ipod Nano 5

 

I'll be honest for the ipod line they were more or less indistinguishable with the newer ones being slightly better, but the J3 is far and away better in terms of sound quality (for me). I didn't hear them rockboxed or with an amp

The problem with that is those players are $200+ players. If your paitient or dont mind a refurb or used you can get a clip+ for 30 dollars.
 

So you say the Fuze had a different amp than the Clip? I was under the impression that they were the same.

 

 

I guess the real question, even though this may be getting a but OT, is there a player in the same price range that can compare to the Clip?

 

I mean really when someone bring up players that sound better than the clip/fuze theyre always the expensive ones. Theres gotta be something to be said about that.

 

I havent heard a clip, but I did get one for my GF for X-mas and Ill take a listen to it before I give it to her, because im gonna rockbox it too. Im interested to see how it sounds.