Greetings from the UK!
First off, as this is my first post, a little introduction. I've recently entered the world of head-fi having realised my current apartment is just too small for the conventional hi-fi I'd like. I've acquired a pair of Sennheiser HD598s and a Fiio E10 which I am incredibly impressed with, especially with flac & 24/96 recordings. Next on the wish-list for my desktop set up is a Little Dot I+ but before that I'd like to compliment the current set up with a portable rig.
The last DAP I purchased was a Creative Zen Touch about 7 or 8 years ago. This has been collecting dusk for several years but it is still in working condition. Sadly it doesn't support flac or RockBox so it's little more than a chunky 20GB portable hard-drive now. I know it supports wav playback but I suspect the sound quality is not that great compared to the newer DAPs.
After lots of research (mostly on this very board) I've decided I have two options -
1 - Mod my girlfriend's old iPod mini second gen 6GB (RockBox'd for flac) with a 32GB CF card + a new battery, then add a Fiio L9 LOD + a portable amp - either the Fiio E11 or a JDS Labs cMoyBB
2 - Buy a new Sansa Clip Zip 8GB + a 32GB micro SDHC card
I quite like the idea of the DIY upgrade of the iPod mini, LOD + portable amp but, would it perform any better (in terms of sound quality) than a stock Clip Zip? I'm wary of the "newer is always better" argument, on paper the iPod mini 2G looks like quite a capable player via line out, but then again, from the reviews I've read here, the Clip Zip sounds like a giant killer...
I plan to use the DAP with either SoundMagic E30 (12 ohm) or Ultimate Ears Triple fi 10 (32 ohm) IEMs. Possibly the E30s at first to see if I enjoy the IEM experience as much as the HD598s and then the UE Triple fi 10s later if I do find I like it. Alternatively I might just go for the Triple fi 10s straight away! (I'm also fantasising about ACS custom sleeves for the tf10s, but that won't be for a while...)
iPod mini CF mod + LOD & portable amp OR Sansa Clip Zip? That is the question...
