Here are the high end earbuds from the British company RMXdirect Limited (there is a cheaper model called TFTA 1200-V1). TFTA is short for Thin Film Technology Accoustics.
 
The earbuds are advertised in the following way: "Thin Film Technology is a passive dynamic-balancing system, combining acoustic know-how and material knowledge achieved by placing a thin film inside the housing. This creates and combines a deeper, wider sound quality with sub bass capability and enhances frequency range with higher fidelity."
 
So how does it perform in reality?
Well, I have to say that bass response is quite strong for an earbud. I always EQ my MP3 players when using earbuds, and with the TFTA 1101, I had to lower or turn off any bass EQ.
 
When first listening to the earbuds out of the box, I could hardly stand it for more than 10 seconds. Bass was too loud, overpowering the mids and highs, and the soundstage felt really caved in and claustrophobic.
 
I have been on the fence when it comes to headphone burn in. Of the over 15 headphones that I have bought new, only 2 have seemingly changed with "burn in". Both of them (AKG K420 and Sennheiser HD25 1:II) uses steel cables, well really steel/copper cables, and since steel is not very conductive compared to copper, I figured that there was something with the steel in the cable that led to both headphones having very harsh highs in the beginning. Something that started to tone down after about 20 hours of use.
 
With the TFTA 1101, there was bass all over the place, combined with a narrow soundstage. Not my cup of tea, so I decided to try burning in. I do not care about using pink or any other color noise, so I have had them plugged in to my computer and cycled though playlists. I am closing in on 20 hours and the mids have come forward a lot compared to when the eabuds were fresh out of the box.
 
Compared to other earbuds, such as Yuin PK2, ATH CM700TI and AKG K319, the TFTA 1101 sound somewhat boxed in. By now they are at least starting to sound fairly balanced. I'm using donut foams to bring out the highs a bit more. The TFTA 1101 are pretty detailed, but the soundstage is not very wide, so I do not feel that instrument separation is as good as on my ATH CM700TI. However, there's a pretty good depth to the soundstage.
 
If TFTA could have added some more width and toning down the bass just a notch, these earbuds might have replaced ATH CM700TI as my favorite earbuds (TFTA are using the same design on the housing as the ATH CM700 earbuds). Now the TFTA 1101 are "just" pretty darn good. If you think that earbuds lack bass, and do not mind sacrificing some soundstage width, you should try these out.
 
Remember that they do not sound very good out of the box, but will start sounding better after 10 hours and then keep improving.
 
EDIT. I have revised the ratings a bit. Compard to my other earbuds which have a wider soundstage, the TFTA feels too limited and it doesn't get as much listening time as before. It gets better after you have used them for a while, but it's still too boxy sounding compared to other earbuds...

I bought a 16GB Sansa View when the HDD on my Creative Zen Touch broke. I had to go from 40GB to 16GB, but the MicroSD card slot would let me add 16GB to reach a total of 32GB. At least that is what I thought. The original firmware on the View was lacking, so MicroSD card integration did not work very well. Instead I used a 4GB card and put movies on it and the 16GB of internal memory for music.
 
Besides the UI not being very good, the View is an okay MP3 player. Sound quality is overall pretty good. I found bass lacking a bit so I bought a Fiio E5 headphone amp and using that for some extra bass together with a LOD, it sounds quite good. Not as detailed as my Cowon S9, Kenwood HD20GA7 or JVC XA-HD500, but still perfectly good. For portable use in a noisy environment, the difference becomes very small.
 
While I would not recommend the View for someone looking for a new MP3 player today (it is still sold while the firmware has not been updated for 2 years), it might be a good back up or something for a collector.

This MP3 player was released by JVC (Japan Victor Company) in 2005. It was available outside of Japan, but the supply seems to have been very limited. I managed to find mine in Japan in 2010. I got the silver version. I would have preferred the black version, but it seems to be even more rare and expensive.
Listening to the XA-HD500 and comparing it to my Kenwood HD20GA7 and my Cowon S9, I feel that the XA-HD500 wins. This is however by very little, as the Kenwood and the Cowon both are great. They are all very detailed, but it is when it comes to the lower end that I feel that the JVC wins. The Cowon S9 has got a bass roll off as most other Cowon DAP:s. EQing will help, but I cannot get away from the bass sounding slightly flat, i.e. without any real depth. The Kenwood has got a much deeper bass sound than the S9 and overall sounds very musical. Compared to the JVC, the Kenwood's bass sound ever so slightly more "muddy". It is not in a bad way, though, as this gives the Kenwood a very musical and engaging sound. The bass on the JVC has got the same depth as the Kenwood, but it is crystal clear. Overall, the JVC feels less bassy than the Kenwood on the same tracks, but the bass is very easy to separate from the other instruments.
 
Anyway, if you are curious about older and obscure MP3 players and do not mind monochrome displays and average UI, give the XA-HD500 a try! It might not be the best sounding one released, but quite good sounding to my ears. Also, you will probably be the only one in your area owning one.

I bought this one in late 2005 and used it for about 1,5 year until the hard drive broke in 2007. I kept it in a drawer for almost 2 years until I read about a CF card mod and tried it out. Now I have a working Creative Zen Touch again!
As most older HDD based DAP:s, the Zen Touch is a bit bulky. The UI is simple but gets the work done. The only thing that really bothers me is the touchpad. Even at the lowest sensitivity setting it can be too sensitive.
It sounds nice, at least on par with the Vision: M and better than the newer Creative MP3 players when using EQ.
This might not be the choice for someone who wants a good MP3 player in the year 2010. It is probably more something for those of us who are collectors or want to try out older models.
 
If you have heard newer Creative mp3 players and think they do not sound good, and you find a used Zen Touch cheap - try it out!

I bought this one used. I was curious about these rare Japanese MP3 players, other than the more well known Sony and to a lesser extent Toshiba.
 
I managed to win a black Kenwood HD20GA7 on Japanese Yahoo auction. When I first listened to it and compared it to my other MP3 players (Cowon S9, Sansa View, Creative Zen Vision: M & Creative Zen Touch), it seemed to have a much more smooth and less "strained" sound. Overall the sound this device produces is detailed but still smooth. It might not beat the Chinese current flavor of the month MP3 players for audiophiles, but this old Kenwood (released in 2005), still can stand toe to toe with any current MP3 player. The Kenwood HDD MP3 players were limited since they were expensive and only could play music despite having a color LCD screen. So they did not have a very good overall value.
 
I would recommend this for someone who wants something that sounds good and is rare, and who doesn't mind limited functionality (only music) and problems with hiss/white noise when using IEM:s (no problems for me since I only use over the ear headphones or earbuds).

I've got nothing bad to say about the Vision: M. It is seen as the best MP3 player made by Creative, and while I only have experience with four Creative DAP:s, I have to agree. It might not be the best sounding MP3 player out there, but it's got a nice and smooth sound and an okay custom EQ.
I got mine used from Ebay in 2009. The hard drive was dead and the player was pretty beat up. I put a CF card in place of the hard drive and it works great. I have not changed the battery yet, so this is why I gave "battery life" such a low rating. Once I have changed battery (easy to do), it will easily last over 20 hours compared to about 6 or 7 now...
 
In all, this is probably the last great MP3 player made by Creative. If you can find one cheap and do not mind it being big compared to the current flash based MP3 players - get it!