Advice for inexpensive, small portable with decent sound and EQ (can be used)

[catscratch]

Ok, I know I'm going to get all that "search" stuff spammed at me, but I just don't have the bloody time starting with today, so please bear with me.

I've got a Stax SR-001 Mk II lying around, and now I'll be trying to mod Koss the Plug into using, well, an earplug as a sleeve. I've got a Porta Corda Mk II for driving the plug and my Senn HD590's. So, I've got a few things that need a decent portable device as a source.

I don't care how it looks. I don't care whether it's new or used. I don't care for it's functionality, and I don't care that it has 100 gigabytes of storage capacity - 1 gig is enough, really.

Here's what I do need:

1) It has to be small, the smaller the better. Smaller than a CD, and for sure smaller than a CD player.
2) Line-out in addition to a headphone jack. Not completely necessary, but nice, as I'll be using it amped in most cases, and unamped only when/if I can mod my Koss right.
3) Good sound quality. I mean, I'm not expecting Linn Sondek CD12 here, but good enough. The Stax is up there with Sensaphoncs in terms of quality. It's very, very revealing, and a player that sounds bad will sound terrible with it. Now, once again I'm not looking for anyting extreme, just good, clean signal that can handle both the transparent stuff and the hard stuff with decent ease.
4) Digital EQ. I'd like there to be an actual EQ, not presets. The Stax doesn't need EQ for most applications, but the Plug might, and I would like to increase bass or treble for specific applications. The Stax has a very solid, clean, and resolved bass, but it's not "wow holy ****" bass - however, it can get that way with EQ. Hence, the need, or at least something that can improve bass and/or treble without sacrificing quality.
5) Ability to play lossless file formats (WAV or whatever). This is crucial - I can't make do with 128 bit, or even 192 bit mp3's. The Stax will never forgive me.

Suggestions guys? I'd rather get used, and it doesn't have to be pretty, as long as it's small and meets as many of the above criteria as it can. I think <$150 used isn't too bad a budget, though <$100 would be even better. Please tell me where I might get it, if you can, since a model with no suggestions where to find it won't do me much good.

Remember: small!

Thanks in advance guys. I'm asking a lot, and I know, I can do a ton of homework and probably come up with something myself, but a) I'm not as keen as you on portables, never having used anything portable other than my old Fisher PCD-5400, which I really like, but it's gotten to bulky to be practical, and b) I just don't have the god damn time. Hence, my rabid pleas for advice.

Help = Appreciated (and if you've got what I need, and you've got good feedback, then I'll take it off your hands, assuming the price is right).

 

[aeriyn]

Rio Karma, but it's not that small. None of the microdrive or flash players come even close to what you want, though. iPod Mini might, but you'd have to deal with having no parametric EQ, only presets (that distort anyhow). Might be able to pick up a Karma used in your price range, maybe.

 

[Cyclone]

zen micro, its one small ass player with great sound, a customizable EQ, able to play wav. but the only thing it cant to is the line out. it only has the headphone jack but other than that its a fantastic device.

edit- hmm saw your price range and thats not going to do. if you cant go above that then your possibility for micro or regular HD players is non existant. i dont know fash players but try the iaudio g3 i think it has most if not all of your features that you need. im not sure about the price though.

 

[catscratch]

The price can go up, I'm just not really willing to pay more on what is, for now, a convenience rather than a necessity. I'm looking for used specifically, so I guess I'll have to hound ebay for a while and see what my luck is. The problem is, I don't have a lot of time to sit there and hunt for it. The opportunity costs alone of the time spent searching for it will be a lot more than the difference in price.

Oh well. Let's say that the price can go up, what's my best pick? Sounds like the Zen Micro, but I don't have any faith in Creative products. The Rio Karma has a bad reliability record, and I won't get it on the risk of recurring HD problems.

 

[fr4c]

Quote:

Originally Posted by catscratch The Rio Karma has a bad reliability record, and I won't get it on the risk of recurring HD problems.

there is a less than 1% chance that the HD will fail. the ones that died were the earlier ones.

 

[Cyclone]

and so far the micros have been doing, selling, and holding up great. this thing is built alot better than that flash based 200 series.

even if you think creative isnt reliable theres like a 1% chance that it'll happen to you.

 

[Embio]

have you considered Hi-MD? The next generation will have native MP3 playback, and the current range will be software upgradeable. 7-band EQ and HD digital amp