Honestly I'd get a Sansa Clip Plus and spend some money on a couple micro SD cards. Great no-frills players!

I'm buying a CD, and I figure why not put 100% of it into my music collection? Why would I settle for 85% of it, even if I can't tell a difference? Just getting what I paid for! I would hate to be a person that upgrades something in their playback chain only to discover it exposes a lossy...

EVERY source has a signature! A PC is probably the perfect source for many reasons. ENJOY!!!

Well I received my Essence ST in the mail on Thursday and I was a bit surprised to see it is made in China... I believe the Essence STX at least was originally made in Taiwan.   I hope it sounds good though.

I could have just about anything I want and I've settled into CZ-75 handguns and Remington long guns for the most part.  I may have to try the new Savage in 338 Lapua however!  I currently own 34 firearms, my goal is to have one for each year of my life so I'm a few behind...

For folders the Benchmade RSK Mk1 (Ritter Survival Knife) is my No.1 choice.  You'd have a tough time convincing me that a better folder could be had for less than $200.   For fixed blades I like the Ek knives - 100% pure business IMO.   For a really cheap folder I like the Gerber LST.

I have come to the realization that computer audio IS the future of audio.  When was your first realization that computer based audio was "where it's at"?   Was it the singular interface, a new sound card, or something else?

As plonter stated, make sure you get your FLAC files from a valid source.  FLAC files can be made from an MP3 or other lower quality source.  Buy the CD, own the CD, love the CD, and rip them all to FLAC, then MP3 or whatever for your enjoyment!

I've finally got an ST on order - I can't wait!   I had a terrible time trying to decide as there are so many great options for the consumer.  I had narrowed it down to the Asus Xonar Essence ST or STX, Audiotrak Prodigy HD2 Advance Deluxe Edition, or the Onkyo SE-200.  I may still get...

I have Media Monkey and just noticed something I had not noticed before. I have three versions of Queensryche's Empire album ripped on my PC, one in FLAC, one MP3 in 320 BPS, and one in WMA. The WMA files all show a slightly higher bitrate than the FLAC files. Why is this? Is it because of...

I ripped my CD collection to FLAC, but any lossless format will do. If you are unhappy with FLAC or ALAC you can convert to another lossless or back to the original .WAV file at any time. 6a5b is stored smaller than aaaaaabbbbb - as far as I know lossless compressions give about a 50% file...

Asus is supposed to release a daughterboard to the ST that will allow 7.1 channel audio, the STX is two channel stereo only. The ST supposedly has an improved clock circuit, slightly better specs, and a slightly different sound signature. I don't own either card, but that's what I know!

Fortunately I was a bit of a latecomer to the scene and I was able to research before I did anything. I ripped all of my CD's to FLAC, a lossless format (Free Lossless Audio Codec). Only with lossless formats can you do what you're trying to do with your MP3 collection - that is to restore to...

I'm still excited about the Studio. The Clip+ will not be the sound leader forever. Someone will make a better sounding player and good for HiSound for wanting to do that. I just hope at some point they are successful. I really like the Cowon D2 as well, but it does have a different sound...

Guidostrunk, Yes two different things are being "argued" here 1) fidelity that I personally believe can be measured and quantified objectively 2) "What sounds good to me." that is entirely subjective and can change from day to day

Well said Tyll & islewind I do not understand why I have been unable to communicate this effectively - Fidelity. It has nothing to do with whether or not you like the sound it is whether or not it is true to the original source. Loving the sound or hating the sound has nothing to do with...

Awesome! THANK YOU dfkt! So the ONLY area where the HiSound AMP3 can compete with the Sansa Clip+ is that it has less crosstalk in the mid and upper frequencies under load. That's it. Nothing else even approaches the Clip+. I and many others appreciate you taking the time to do this as...

Quote: Originally Posted by Guidostrunk Putting the red paint chip into the same context, the red paint chip, to some it might be to red to others it might not be red enough ,even though the color is red. If you are blindfolded and put into a room where someone plays a violin and...

Guidostrunk, I see what you are saying as well, but does a person's individual taste alone determine quality? I can see somone not liking something that perfectly reproduces sound, they may have personal taste for something that is not like the original sound and that's fine, but does that...

Koyaan, I do see what you are saying, but I disagree. Sure SOUND is what someone (or something) can hear - great that gets us a nice definition you got out of your unabridged dictonary. The question HOWEVER, is not what is "sound" the question is what is "sound quality". It is my opinion...

Koyaan, You're talking about the subjective part. I'm talking about the objective part.

"Neutral" "Transparent" "Uncolored" Sound quality is measurable - Total Harmonic Distortion (THD), Frequency Response (FR), good channel separation, etc. If a source can provide good measurable results on all fronts, then it has "good sound quality" you may not like the way it...

dfkt - I also can't wait to hear what you think of it!

No problem Craig! I may just have to pick up a Studio 1 for myself and give it a try. I'm sure there will be quite a few people providing reviews if it's as good as it looks. I'm looking for something significantly better and think the HiSound Studio 1 may be my best choice.

Could you compare the Studio 1 to the Cowon D2 or Sansa Clip? These are the two players I currently own, but I'm looking for my next upgrade. Thanks!