[DannyBai]

Quote:

The E300 is half good half bad kind of thing. A beautiful player physically but takes getting used to(i.e. up and down buttons are FF and RW in its UI). It uses an older Action chipset which is why it sounds really good but it is a slower deliberate player(Not great to go through long lists with). Strangely Cowon inspired player(30+ presets and a bit more balanced than older irivers). Excellent pedometer that I get use out of and an excellent FM radio with perfect reception. They brought the line-in recording back as well. Sound, radio and looks are great(all better than my S639 and Rocco P) but operating the device is tedious at best. If you can set it up and just play your music it is okay. Huge issue is internal and external don't combine(though I don't mind as I bought 4gb model for podcasts and use my 32gb card for music). It has a knack of finding a preset that makes every phone sound good and it is still tactile and not touch controls.

That's impressive.  I've owned the 3rd Anniv and P before and absolutely loved the sound so that's saying a lot.  I couldn't stand the UI of the Hisound players but managed so not too worried.  I just plug and play anyway.  This thing seems like a good buy since SQ is my main concern.  Thanks for sharing the info.  

 

[jant71]

Just slightly better than my 639 which was the same as the Rocco P but the iriver always got a little more out of most phones unless they had good synergy match with the P. Very, very close all three.
 
Easier/faster to bring the navigator up and choose songs on the P though as far as speed. Extremely annoying in that the iriver almost always asks about internal external memory choice. And double checking, external memory is under MUSIC -> Dir List or Browser only. Sorting by artist, album, genre, etc. is only for internal. External is folder structure only.
 
So, the E300 has some big oversights in the FW that will be deal breakers for people and I suggest finding the manual Download to read up. http://www.iriverinc.com/download/downloadView.asp?selectPart=cateCode&findWord=03&sno=1043&page=1&cateCode=03
 
And check youtube videos for seeing it in action to get an idea of the layout.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjBT6812oiM (Russian but shows the UI well)
 
Like I said , if you set up you folder structure the way you like and stay in the external memory and listen to your tunes you can avoid being annoyed for the most part.

 

[mikaveli06]

I actually just sold my cowon. I forgot how good my clip+ rockboxed sounded and got a ck4 cheap as it has some dead pixels on screen, but doesnt effect anything. And my j3, i loved, but i found myself playing with the bbe and options way too much. I never took time to enjoy the signature of the phones and basically used bbe to make them all sound the same. It was never ending process. I may pick up a ipod vodeo used for gym use bit will probably wait for x5 as im pretty happy with what i have

 

[waynes world]

Do you know how is the SQ of the E300 relative to the rockboxed Clip ZIp? 

 

[jant71]

Personally, I bought a pitch correct Clip+ and Rockboxed it but(I think ClieOS agrees with this) that the Clips + is a bit grainy on the treble and the bass lacks a little push and power down low(i.e. not the tightest). So, when I had my Clip+, Sony minidisc, Sony S639, E300, and Rocco P the Clip+ was last in SQ. A little grain on the top and the Bass was less effortless and a bit smaller sounding or compressed vs. the rest. Again, close and I am a bit of a golden ears that hears more difference than some others. Couldn't tell you if the Clip zip is any better or worse than the +.
 
Still probably think my older IFP iriver and Rockboxed Toshiba Gigabeat where a little better sounding than newer consumer stuff is.

 

[Grayson73]

Quote:

So you guys think basso > ckn70?
Love cowon players. Better sound then Sony imo but Sony is warner. Good thing with cowon is vast eq means you can tailor to different songs.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 4 Beta

I don't know about Basso, but for me, Tenore > CKN70

 

[Grayson73]

Random question.  If I want the best sound for rock/pop at a certain price point (e.g. $50), would that come from an IEM, on-ear, over-ear, closed, or open?
 
For home use, I'm not really concerned about portability or sound leakage; I just want the best sound for $50.
 
So far, Zero Audio Carbo Tenore > JVC S500 > CKN70 (couldn't stand unnatural highs) > Monoprice 8323.  I suppose I've tried everything except for open-backed?
 
EDIT:  I've been reading that open headphones sound the best.  Agree?  If so, any recommendations for open headphones for $75 or less?

 

[doctorjazz]

The iRiver sounds interesting...have a Hidound Studio Anniv 3, which I love the sound of, tolerate/got used to the ui, but has been a reliability problem. Haven't been able to get it to work, just suddenly gave up the ghost, likely have to send to China (again) for repair. Using iPoud touch for now. At least, at the price of the iriver, it becomes like the Clip, not such a loss if it goes on you.

 

[d marc0]

Quote:

So you guys think basso > ckn70?
Love cowon players. Better sound then Sony imo but Sony is warner. Good thing with cowon is vast eq means you can tailor to different songs.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 
Quote:

I don't know about Basso, but for me, Tenore > CKN70

 
Basso > CKN70 if you prefer warm sounding IEMs. Personally I preferred the Bassos and so I gave away my CKN70.

 

[7S Cameron]

I haven't heard the bassos, but the CKN70s are amazing. They require INTENSE burn-in though.
 
What full-sized headphones would have the closest soundstage and instrument seperation to a car?

 

[nekromantik]

People still love Basso's!
Think I will go for em.
Although part of me wants to get M Duo as I like the Meelec sound signature,
What about new Phillips S1?

 

[BenF]

Quote:

Random question.  If I want the best sound for rock/pop at a certain price point (e.g. $50), would that come from an IEM, on-ear, over-ear, closed, or open?
 
For home use, I'm not really concerned about portability or sound leakage; I just want the best sound for $50.
 
So far, Zero Audio Carbo Tenore > JVC S500 > CKN70 (couldn't stand unnatural highs) > Monoprice 8323.  I suppose I've tried everything except for open-backed?
 
EDIT:  I've been reading that open headphones sound the best.  Agree?  If so, any recommendations for open headphones for $75 or less?

 

JVC HA-RX900 with the felt mod:

http://www.head-fi.org/t/381303/jvc-ha-rx900-modifications-a-picture-tutorial-56k-forget-about-it

 

[Iken]

Well I am going with XWF600 in the end after banging my head over vsd1 and zero audio b/t, like Lifted Andreas said its good deal. Waiting on your impressions against your other iems (mostly tenores) and keeping my fingers crossed.

 

[Lifted Andreas]

Quote:

Well I am going with XWF600 in the end after banging my head over vsd1 and zero audio b/t, like Lifted Andreas said its good deal. Waiting on your impressions against your other iems (mostly tenores) and keeping my fingers crossed.

 
Haha, sorry mate I had to cancel my order of the XWF600 and get an iPod video 5G. My 6G wont run Rockbox on the SD card so I've decided to see what all the fuss is about with the 5th gen iPods.
 
Everyone seems to be ecstatic about the Wolfson chip in there lol, plus pretty sure it will run Rockbox just fine.

 

[nihontoman]

I was sipping on some tea when I got an idea - we could make headphone filters from the tea pyramids like these ones:
 

 
 
t's a really fine nylon mesh and should do the job quite nicely. I'm going to try it out on my XB90EX, but first I need to finish my tea