[Psykosis]

I'd like to ask you guys and girls for some advice on buying a new portable audio player, preferably with extendable memory. These are the main requirements:

1. Sound quality: A no-brainer, and the most important aspect to consider to me.
2. Capacity: I have quite a large collection and taste, and I like to have a bit of a selection for on the road, so storage space is also an issue. 32gb will suffice, but the best option would be to have a SD(HC) slot (in which case the built-in memory is of far less importance). Flashbased memory is a must.
3. Portability and build quality: My previous iPod Classic 160GB, apart from delivering crappy sound, was a bit too large and heavy for my taste. I like to be able to just rest my DAP in my pocket and not be so discomforted by it. Of course, this also means the device has to be sturdy. If a decent protection cover is available, that's fine too.
4. Ease of use and possibilties: A UI that allows for simple scrolling, meaning I can browse my library easily. The iPod was great in this aspect, but I'm well aware I'll have to settle for less

Tactile controls do the trick for me, I'm not too fond of touchscreen-only...
5. Battery life : Not asking for too much here, 12+hrs (music) would be fine, if it's less, oh well.

I do not care much about video playback, wifi, chatting, making coffee with my DAP or whatever. My music player is for... well, playing music.

I've been looking at Creative's Zen X-Fi (horrific control interface, I've heard), Sony's Walkman series (the S639F, A829 and even the X-1060), the Cowon D2+ (of which portability without damaging the screen seems like an issue to me), iAudio 5 & 7 (small capacities), a few SanDisk models and so on.

I've heard good things about the SanDisk players, and they feature SD expandability, so I'm very curious about their sound quality. The Cowon D2 sounds like an attractable option, as well. As I said, I'm just unsure of how big it actually is and if keeping it in my pocket could easily damage the screen. Lastly, I wouldn't even have started this thread if the Walkman series had SDHC support but alas

I'm planning to spend about 250€.

Any and all suggestions, thoughts and input are welcome. I realise I may have to make some compromises between my 'requirements'.

Enlighten me!

 

[PrinceOfEgypt]

Well you cannot go wrong with the Sony sound signature.
I recently purchased the X1060. Nice player but IMHO seriously overpriced for what it is.

The web browser is useless. It really is. The screen is nice. BUT...Not worth the money.
I would be inclined to go for the Sony A series. Im certain it will not dissapoint!

 

[penartur]

Hmm, it looks like another thread with NW-HD5 upgraded to a 80GB being an ideal advice (expect for it being hdd-based; but it is durable as hell, i've dropped mine several times on the road; couple of times it was from ~5ft height - and, although the aluminium body is all scratched and bended now, it works without any flaws).
Also, i've heard that sansa fuze are good, but i haven't tested it.

 

[juleha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PrinceOfEgypt /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well you cannot go wrong with the Sony sound signature. I recently purchased the X1060. Nice player but IMHO seriously overpriced for what it is. The web browser is useless. It really is. The screen is nice. BUT...Not worth the money. I would be inclined to go for the Sony A series. Im certain it will not dissapoint!

yes... X1000 series price about US$400

i will go for Sony S630 series ..

 

[R3SET]

Sony S639 is a great player but maybe too little capacity for you (16gb)?

 

[bba1973]

Zunes are good. I've had a 30 GB and I've got a 120 GB right now, and they've both been great besides gapless playback issues (that can be fixed with a firmware update that will probably never happen) and a little bit of feedback from the hard drive. Aside from those two slight issues, they've been great for me.

What format of audio files do you use (and bitrate)? Anything with DRM?

 

[Psykosis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bba1973 /img/forum/go_quote.gif What format of audio files do you use

Most of my collection is mp3 at the moment, some wav, and some AAC

Quote:

(and bitrate)

don't ask

Most of my musical taste is not readily available on CD or any high-bitrate/lossless format, and I have to get them from direct downloads. I do always try to get the best quality, and am constantly working on improving my collection in that way. I think having a better SQ player will actually be a good incentive to keep working on that

Good news is, no DRM.

Quote:

Originally Posted by R3SET Sony S639 is a great player but maybe too little capacity for you (16gb)?

Kind of, yeah. Probably the only reason I haven't bought a Sony yet.

Quote:

Originally Posted by penartur Hmm, it looks like another thread with NW-HD5 upgraded to a 80GB being an ideal advice (expect for it being hdd-based; but it is durable as hell, i've dropped mine several times on the road; couple of times it was from ~5ft height - and, although the aluminium body is all scratched and bended now, it works without any flaws)

How does the sound quality compare to, say, the A829 and/or the D2? And how much disassembling does the modding require?

Thank you for the responses!

 

[Ricardo Dawkins]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bba1973 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Zunes are good. I've had a 30 GB and I've got a 120 GB right now, and they've both been great besides gapless playback issues (that can be fixed with a firmware update that will probably never happen) and a little bit of feedback from the hard drive. Aside from those two slight issues, they've been great for me. What format of audio files do you use (and bitrate)? Anything with DRM?

But, Zune are gapless already.

 

[bba1973]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ricardo Dawkins /img/forum/go_quote.gif But, Zune are gapless already.

Yes, but the gapless playback still has bugs, especially with WMA lossless (the only supported lossless format for the Zune). Using lossless with the latest firmware (3.1) made it so incredibly slow and made gapless playback not work at all, so I had to downgrade to 2.5. With 192 WMA, it worked much, much better, but I have to have lossless now. Gapless playback works perfect for most albums, but it's still screwed up for some stuff (mainly Dark Side Of The Moon for some reason). When it doesn't work right, there's a millisecond gap or it just won't line up right and it sounds weird.

Quote:

Most of my collection is mp3 at the moment, some wav, and some AAC

The Zune will play MP3, WMA, WMA Pro, and AAC, but it won't play WAV or any other lossless format that's not WMA lossless. No DRM is a good thing, so it should be Zune compatible. If you need format conversion software, dB Poweramp is a great option. So simple and easy to use, you should consider it if needed.

 

[a_tumiwa]

Kenwood hd20ga7 , the new one is price around $300 , and we already know that kenwood has digital amp, and the capacity is 20gb.

 

[Psykosis]

I haven't heard a Kenwood portable player actually. And tbh, for that price I'd rather go the extra mile and get the Sony X-1060 which costs a bit more but has 32gb, flash-based memory. But I'll wait for some more suggestions

 

[Rip N' Burn]

I have the S639 and D2. I just recently got the X1060 and it terms of SQ, it's better than my other 2 mentioned players. Better bass, soundstage, and instrument separation. I did put rockbox firmware on the D2 and the SQ increased significantly especially using the crossfeed effect, but it's not a final version. With rockbox, the X1060 and D2 are comparable in terms of SQ. No expansion slot support with rockbox for the D2 as of yet. Navigating with rockbox on the D2 is painful to deal with. You might want to try out a 30GB Cowon X5 with rockbox firmware which is fully functional.

 

[beeman]

well if you're willing to compromise on the storage space then i advise you to get the sony mindisc rh1. unlike a few others on this forum i'm not one describing that the epicness of the sound quality which emenates from my latest toy - but i have to say that the rh1 is by far the best sounding dap i've owned (D2, kenwood hd30ga9, rio karma and ipod mini). just my opinion

 

[Psykosis]

I think I'll try out the Sansa next. Is there any noticeable difference in SQ between the Fuze and the Clip? As I would probably be more inclined to buy a Fuze (wider support for audio formats).