[UnorthodoxJames]

OK, so my Cowon S9 power button has broken.  Again.  This time, the only company in the UK with an agreement with Cowon say they can't supply the button on it's own (like they did last year) and I'm not paying £50 for them to do a 2 minute job with a £10 button, so it's NEW RIG TIME.

Really not sure what to go for.  I see a lot of you guys use a DAP and amp.  Is this the best option for me?
 
Also looked at the Sandisk, Cowon, Sony, iBasso models... really not sure where to go from here.  Any help is most appreciated!
 
I'll be happy to spend £150 (250 dollars) but not all the same gear is available where I am, in the UK.

Heeeeeeeelp!

Thanks guys.

 

[mark2410]

http://www.head-fi.org/t/690705/fiio-x3-review
 
for your budget your prob better not going separate dap and amp.  though an old ipod 5G with an amp is a good combo that might scrape into budget.  still you haven't really said what it is you want, warmer sound, crisper sound, im kinda guessing your not sure yourself.

 

[UnorthodoxJames]

  http://www.head-fi.org/t/690705/fiio-x3-review
 
for your budget your prob better not going separate dap and amp.  though an old ipod 5G with an amp is a good combo that might scrape into budget.  still you haven't really said what it is you want, warmer sound, crisper sound, im kinda guessing your not sure yourself.

 
Exactly - not really sure what I want.  I'd like some long battery life though, if I can get it & that's what put me off the Fiio X3 which is rated at around 10 hours.
 
I listen to mainly podcasts & hiphop music (which, I suppose, is bass heavy).
 
So my options look like..
 
Fiio X3 - http://www.amazon.co.uk/FiiO-X3-Portable-MP3-Player/dp/B00DQBWY04/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384707345&sr=8-1&keywords=fiio+x3
 
Sony NWZE585 - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-NWZE585-Walkman-Video-Player/dp/B00E3PUD1E/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1384707371&sr=8-7&keywords=sony+mp3+player
 
Cowon X9 - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cowon-Portable-MP3-Player-Black/dp/B00963DPUY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384707420&sr=8-1&keywords=cowon+j3
 
 
 
I'm still rocking these IEM's - http://www.amazon.co.uk/JVC-HAFX1X-Xtreme-Xplosives-Headphones/dp/B004S7Q8CA/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1384707536&sr=1-2&keywords=mp3+player which seem to be working out fine.
 
Any ideas anyone?

 

[AlexP]

Not sure how helpful this is as an answer but I really think you should spend part of your budget to get new IEMs, are you considering this?
Also, what is your phone? Maybe you can use that as a source and get a dac and / or amp for it.

 

[UnorthodoxJames]

  Not sure how helpful this is as an answer but I really think you should spend part of your budget to get new IEMs, are you considering this?
Also, what is your phone? Maybe you can use that as a source and get a dac and / or amp for it.

I could do.  To be honest, these are by far THE best IEM's I've ever owned (and by the standards of this board, they're probably TERRIBLE)

What would you suggest?  If you can point me to something relatively inexpensive on the amazon.co.uk site so far as Player & IEM, I'd be eternally grateful guys
 
Thanks all.

 

[suicidal_orange]

Depending if you're looking purely for sound or other things the Colorfly C3 might be worth looking at (sounds great, interface and features are .... probably best you have a read...)
 
With a tight budget and not really knowing what you want I wonder why you're looking at new stuff when there's a "for sale" section on here.  If you buy something popular and don't like it you can sell it on for minimal loss, compared to taking a ~25% hit if you buy new.  That said there don't seem to be any DAPs in UK/EU at the moment

 
Maybe start with a Sansa Clip and a sizable micro SD which should leave you with around £100 to spend on IEMs?  The SD would be usable with most DAPs if you decide to move on.

 

[lin0003]

You should consider the C3 and spend the rest on a nice IEM like the RHA MA750. 

 

[drofeel71]

If you can stretch to it, the iBasso DX50 paired with the RHA MA750 iems sound very sweet to my ears. That's over a range of genres, from Classical through Folk, Jazz and Rock to Opera and beyond. Should set you back around £250 - £280 dependant on reseller.

Update: just loaded the newest firmware revision. Sound has changed dramatically, all for the better, more spacious, tighter bass, more refined treble, made me love my DX50 and MA750s even more.