[cowpat]

my iPod just died and i'm looking for something to replace it. I can't really afford a high capacity player at the moment, so i was thinking about maybe getting one with a 2 or 4 gig capacity. Obviously my primary concern is sound quality, and since all my CDs have been encoded in AAC i'd prefer to get a player which is compatible. Good battery life would be a plus

So, what are my options? iPods are the obvious choice, but i'd quite like a change (and i've heard bad things about the most recent generation, as well as not being too impressed with their general reliability). The Sansa Clip seems to be perfect for me in almost every concern, but as far as i can work out isn't AAC compatible. Any other suggestions?

 

[RoadHazard]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cowpat /img/forum/go_quote.gif my iPod just died and i'm looking for something to replace it. I can't really afford a high capacity player at the moment, so i was thinking about maybe getting one with a 2 or 4 gig capacity. Obviously my primary concern is sound quality, and since all my CDs have been encoded in AAC i'd prefer to get a player which is compatible. Good battery life would be a plus So, what are my options? iPods are the obvious choice, but i'd quite like a change (and i've heard bad things about the most recent generation, as well as not being too impressed with their general reliability). The Sansa Clip seems to be perfect for me in almost every concern, but as far as i can work out isn't AAC compatible. Any other suggestions?

Sony NWZ-A816/818 (816=4GB, 818=8GB). Awesome players with sweet sound quality (the best there is, some would say). You should be able to find them for a very good price now that the new Sony line (A820/720) is out.

 

[grawk]

There are some fairly cheap ipods to be had. They show up on woot with some regularity, for example.

 

[cowpat]

thanks RoadHazard, those Sony players seem to be just what i'm looking for. I think we've got a new frontrunner..

 

[cowpat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cowpat /img/forum/go_quote.gif thanks RoadHazard, those Sony players seem to be just what i'm looking for. I think we've got a new frontrunner..

update: the NWZs have slipped way back in my estimation since i found out they aren't gapless, and i can't overstate how important that is for me. I'm very particular about listening to things "the way the artist intended", and having any sort of artificial gap between tracks would drive me crazy (especially since i listen to a lot of very album orientated music which relies on the flow between songs)

So, where does this leave me? I know iPods have it coming as standard, but what about things like the Sansa Clip? Any which have an easily applied unofficial firmware update to get gapless? I'd be willing to abandon the AAC constraint but money is still a concern. And if i go for iPods, which are the best generation in terms of SQ?

As a point of reference, i'd be listening to it unamped on either MS-1s, KSC75s, or perhaps iGrados (which i'm considering buying - any opinions on these would be welcome as well)

Thanks for your help

 

[dr dougie]

Zen does AAC just fine, only Apple though - no Nero.

 

[cowpat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dr dougie /img/forum/go_quote.gif Zen does AAC just fine, only Apple though - no Nero.

and are they have gapless? If so, it's definitely an option, although in the past i've found Creatives to be even less reliable than iPods

 

[Oya?]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cowpat /img/forum/go_quote.gif and are they have gapless? If so, it's definitely an option, although in the past i've found Creatives to be even less reliable than iPods

I don't think Zens are gapless.

 

[cowpat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oya? /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't think Zens are gapless.

bah! Why is it so difficult to find gapless players in the modern technological world? It's not much to ask, is it?

No wonder the album is dying

 

[Oya?]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cowpat /img/forum/go_quote.gif bah! Why is it so difficult to find gapless players in the modern technological world? It's not much to ask, is it? No wonder the album is dying

You could count the number of options available for natively gapless DAPs on one hand really. More if you don't mind dealing with Rockbox-supported players.

- (Various) iPod models
- Rio Trekstor Vibez
- Rio Karma
- Rockbox-supported DAPs

(Have I missed any?)

 

[shigzeo]

sony do gapless if you get the atrac enabled players - they will convert from aac to atrac. the sound from transcoding isn't as bad as it could be at all and if you only convert those which you want to listen to... then it is possible but, it is quite a shame.

some new rockbox supported models will be the wonderful meizu m6 and probably this year the cowon d2

 

[dr dougie]

Yeah Zen not gapless. I guess it's a pain to code which is why so few players have it. I didn't think all Rockbox options had gapless?

My 8GB Zen looks and sounds good and has been reliable other than it freezes occasionally and I have to go through the 20 sec routine of doing the directory "cleaning". For the price it's still good if you want a 2.5" LCD. There's still not a player that has everything I want but Rockbox D2 could be it!