[judgmentday]

My budget is $200 ~ $250 I'm looking for a good DAP that supports the popular audio formats like MP3, WAV, WMA but must importantly FLAC. I like the Zune HD but does not support FLAC.
Do not care about looking good.  My priority is accurate, detailed, natural, silky, transparent, discernible and enjoyable sound. What do you guys think about the ZEN X-Fi2?

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Read up on the S:Flo2. If looks aren't important, as well as size, get HM601.

 

[tds101]

Get a Sansa clip+, and if you like you can Rockbox it. It's inexpensive, and comes in up to 8gb - and takes microSD cards up to 32gb. Most importantly it plays FLAC. It's quite good for the price,...
 
Or, wait for the Cowon C2. 16gb, microSD expansion, and amazing battery life, SQ to die for, and FLAC is on the menu as well. The Cowon i9 also plays FLAC - as all Cowon DAP's do.
 
As for Creative, stay clear - they're horrid nowadays. And the s:flo2 is too bug-prone, and the battery life is horrid as well.

 

[bik2101]

Cowon J3. I've ordered one and waiting for it to come tomorrow. But from everything I've read about it - it's gonna be pretty awesome. 

 

[tds101]

Quote:

Cowon J3. I've ordered one and waiting for it to come tomorrow. But from everything I've read about it - it's gonna be pretty awesome. 

 
Yes, the Cowon J3 is excellent!!! 

 

[judgmentday]

The Cowon D3 looks good but who knows if it sounds good.  It looks like the HTC EVO cell phone.
How much can one get this D3?

 

[tds101]

The Cowon D3 sounds like the Cowon S9, i9, J3, and X7 - all excellent. The issue with it is the Android OS is too buggy for the processor it has - it just doesn't work as it should.

 

[judgmentday]

Quote:

The Cowon D3 sounds like the Cowon S9, i9, J3, and X7 - all excellent. The issue with it is the Android OS is too buggy for the processor it has - it just doesn't work as it should.

Any alternative to this? also it's very expensive! 

 
 

 

[JamesMcProgger]

read about FiiOs X3, is gonna be released next month or so, and some of us have high hopes on it.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/528916/the-fiio-x3-thread-upcoming-fiio-dap

 

[tds101]

Quote:

Any alternative to this? also it's very expensive! 

 
 

 
If you can locate a Cowon D2/D2+ it'd be a viable alternative. I have the 8gb model, paired w/a 32gb SDHC card - I still love it, and it's in excellent condition.

 

[bik2101]

will speed of the microSD (4 vs 6) make much of a difference? i have a 16GB class 6 for my J3 (which should be waiting for me when I get home 

) but I'm consdering getting a 32GB, which would be cheaper if i got class 4 I imagine. 

 

[HeadCred]

Go for the J3! Almost no downsides, they are an amazing all-around player.

 

[tds101]

Quote:

will speed of the microSD (4 vs 6) make much of a difference? i have a 16GB class 6 for my J3 (which should be waiting for me when I get home 

) but I'm consdering getting a 32GB, which would be cheaper if i got class 4 I imagine. 

 
Any class of microSD card is good - I have a class 4, and class 2 works just fine as well. I use the card in my clip+, and it was originally for my Cowon J3.

 

[g5tar]

HM601/602- sounds great