ANY PLAYER - LOOKING FOR BEST SOUND QUALITY

[nnay07]

I am quite of a newby with portable audio players.
I ve read a lot this forum before making my question.

I am not specially looking for video screen nor video/pictures playback.
I am not specially looking for ultra high storage capacity (HDD) player (2Gb or more is ok).
I do not want a 2 boxes solution with separate amp.
I do not want anything too big.

Sound quality (and then compactness) is my only concern. This mean as well player should support lossless audio codecs (flac,...).

It seems that Cowon D2 is highly appreciated around here. But it seems rather big to me. I'd rather get the same sound quality in a smaller box without having to pay for a nice screen I won't use.
Are the other Cowon players as good as D2?
Any alternative "beat them all" player already, just, or about to be released (still focusing on sound quality and size)?

Thank you in advance for your help.

 

[loonysteps]

Meizu miniplayer m6
meizu music card m3 -> haven't heard these... they're too new

 

[Killercrush]

You gotta have to look for the Kenwood HD30GB9.

 

[Icarium]

Yeah the kenwood player unless you want a flash player... if a flash player then probably the Ipod Shuffle generation 1... or maybe that teclast player if its any good.

Neither of these players support flac though I think. If you really want #1 bling bling sound quality with flac support get a 4g Imod'd Ipod and rockbox it. This will require an amp.

If you want something based on pure sound quality... smaller than a D2 with a 1 box solution... probably the recommended Meizu (Which i think is the same size as the D2 but maybe a bit thinner?) or maybe the smallest Samsung player. Really flash players aren't going to have the best sound quality no matter what out of all DAPs.

 

[3X0]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Killercrush /img/forum/go_quote.gif You gotta have to look for the Kenwood HD30GB9.

For his requirements the HD10 is a better choice.

 

[Killercrush]

Yeah, but the SQ will not be on par with it's bigger brother.

 

[Icarium]

My impression was that they were the same...? No?

 

[Killercrush]

Not exactly, but close, the HD30 has an improved digital pre-amp/amp.

 

[Assorted]

I have to say the HD30GB9 out of all the other players I've tried. Very simple interface, and doesn't do anything besides play music, with the exception of alarm and beautiful album art feature.

 

[rockin_amigo14]

other Cowon products have good sound quality too.

 

[Assorted]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rockin_amigo14 /img/forum/go_quote.gif other Cowon products have good sound quality too.

Agreed.

 

[Aidanael]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rockin_amigo14 /img/forum/go_quote.gif other Cowon products have good sound quality too.

Yep. Go for a Cowon F2 or a U3.

 

[TenaciousO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aidanael /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yep. Go for a Cowon F2 or a U3.

I always laugh to myself whenever I see these kinds of comments about the U3. I had the U3 and the 5g iPod at the same time for about 2-3 weeks. People always rave about the U3's supposed excellent sound quality, but the 5g iPod sounded noticeably better with a fuller sound, more detail, and better clarity. Yet the 5g iPod's sound quality is always described as merely good or very good but not excellent. I haven't heard the F2, but I'm guessing that it sounds very similar to the U3. The older Cowon flash players (haven't heard the D2) sound good, but they are not class leading like some would lead you to believe.

My own suggestion is the Samsung T9. I just picked up this player a few days ago, and the sound quality is amazing. I've actually thought about returning it for the upcoming Clix 2 for better video playback, which it seems you don't care about anyway, but the sound quality is so intoxicating that all I need is a minute of listening to fall in love with it again. It's also tiny (but sturdy) and can be converted into a UMS device with a firmware upgrade. Not sure if it does lossless, but it's worth considering.

 

[3X0]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TenaciousO /img/forum/go_quote.gif People always rave about the U3's supposed excellent sound quality, but the 5g iPod sounded noticeably better with a fuller sound, more detail, and better clarity.

The comparison was the other way around for me.. the iPod was more neutral though.

The Samsung YP-Z5 has always been a legendary favorite of mine.

 

[StevenBrouwer]

3xo,
I was looking into the yp-z5.
This is my problem: I have a Cowon D2 but I'm not happy with it. The thing is that I think that voices on cowon players are sibilant or @ least bad sounding to me.
Now I see you have x5. Could you say that the yp-z5 does better vocals than the cowon player?

And do you use a amp with it? (I am going to use it with a hd555)