[majkel]

@ dissembled - 799 and 895 use the same SoC - PNX0101. If you got used to Creative's sound it might be harsh which actually is not. I've used ifp-799 for over a year and listening to Creative Zen V, I find it dull, dark and muddy. We might have different preferences.
@ neoufo51 - Meizu M6 is very good, second in my classification. 10-band equalizer is also a big advantage. More comments on Trekstor Vibez: third class alone, first class when properly amped.
@ katsmiles - many manufacturers write bulls*it about output power. ifp-799 plays louder on 32 ohms headphones than Cowon D2 which I mean sound without distortion. 37mW per channel at 16 ohms is unfeasible for Cowon D2 because it starts clipping at highest volume levels. ifp does not. Clear sound on Senns PX100 till 40/40. Cowon's superiority comes out on higher impedance headphones - 50 ohms and so.

 

[jant71]

Sony measures differently. They have more power than that. I could drive an ER4S with 100ohm impendance with 5mw per Sony at around 23 out of 30.

109 is not high sensitivity, It is in the middle. That is still low enough to tame hiss. High sensitivity is 115 and above while 95-105 is low and of course 105-114 is in the middle.

If you want to say they have a hard time driving non-portable stuff then your right.

I did a volume comparo between players once. The Kingston at 9mw was exactly half of the Irivers 18mw. The Sony 5mw was in between the two, clearly topping out higher louder than the Kingston but wouldn't go as loud as the the 899. I would say it is about 12mw per in Korean standards.

Of course the Euro-crippled units should be avoided. They are weak!

 

[brooce]

jant71, what phones did you use for your quality testing of the various devices you've tried?

 

[tbonner1]

I notice many of the low power amps in DAP's lack punch and round off dynamics.

They can drive the high efficient earphones (like the E500 and UE SF5 Pro's) but the dynamic range seems compressed.

 

[michaelJ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by katsmiles /img/forum/go_quote.gif I still can't work out why the Sony's weak output seems so powerful - it should be rubbish shouldn't it??

yeah it's weird. I have two daps, sony nw-a808 and a cowon u3. The u3 is immensly more powerful on the paper whereas in real life I think the sony seems more powerful. (tested with ath-ck7 and akg k81-dj)

 

[katsmiles]

Quote:

Originally Posted by michaelJ /img/forum/go_quote.gif yeah it's weird. I have two daps, sony nw-a808 and a cowon u3. The u3 is immensly more powerful on the paper whereas in real life I think the sony seems more powerful. (tested with ath-ck7 and akg k81-dj)

And I didn't notice any distortion at louder levels which is what I was expecting with the crappy Sony output. At 20/30 there's still a third left in reserve, if the ZVM is 16mw into 32ohms (I think) shouldn't it play a lot louder?

 

[epaludo]

Definitely not the best flash DAP player, but my 8GB 2nd gen. Nano connected through a line out to a RSA "M" Hornet for driving K701 and RS-1 are REALLY making me smile a LOT ...

 

[lutwey]

i skim through the thread and some people placed the nano over the the d2.
wow
i don't have a nano but my sister does........after owning a cowon i dont think any apple product has a stronger hp jack.

you may want to consider the d2:
-52 hours of battery life
-slot expansion
-ums device (no more itunes)
- great sq

 

[MWALK]

What is the difference in SQ of Clix vs Clix 2? Worth trading up?

 

[MiG(TM)]

Quote:

Originally Posted by katsmiles /img/forum/go_quote.gif And I didn't notice any distortion at louder levels which is what I was expecting with the crappy Sony output. At 20/30 there's still a third left in reserve, if the ZVM is 16mw into 32ohms (I think) shouldn't it play a lot louder?

my NW-A3000 only has very slight distortion on FULL volume, volume unlocked.
One of the best headphone outs, but the NW-A808 is 10x better, if your a Bass Head, Clear Bass has gotta be one of the best bass enhancement technologies i've heard, its like what mega bass used to be but as the name say's, very clear, undistorted.

And if people are saying the M6 is brighter than an iPod, JESUS, That must hurt your ears, because i think the iPod is overly bright to start with.

 

[dissembled]

Quote:

Originally Posted by majkel /img/forum/go_quote.gif @ dissembled - 799 and 895 use the same SoC - PNX0101. If you got used to Creative's sound it might be harsh which actually is not. I've used ifp-799 for over a year and listening to Creative Zen V, I find it dull, dark and muddy.

More time with it is actually making me appreciate it more. It makes my headphones sound A LOT less dry because it's more aggressive and clear.

It is pretty pathetic that my gum sized portable would sound better than a freakin $200+ hard drive player.

Though in the end, it does boil down to personal preference. And there are some people who appreciate slightly veiled players. Would mate well with Grados for sure.

 

[majkel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MWALK /img/forum/go_quote.gif What is the difference in SQ of Clix vs Clix 2? Worth trading up?

If you care about clear ogg Vorbis playback - do not swap clix for clix2. Otherwise, I prefer clix2 sound signature. It's darker, more detailed, with better bass and lower noise.

 

[tbonner1]

I find Clix and Clix 2 to both have a similar Iriver house sound:clean with good dynamics.

 

[brooce]

so to conclude...
The answer to the topic's question:
What is the best flash-based Mp3 player available?

It will never be answered.

Between the limited experience with other devices, vested interests, crappy headphones, crappy encodings, taste, different headphone characteristics and a million other variables, not to mention the fading of memory and/or drugs and alcohol, we can conclude that ....

All of them are great and/or all of them suck depending on these billions of variables... so just go try them all for yourself to find the truth. (or is it "your truth")

Go in peace and may you find satisfaction, grasshoppa...

 

[StevenBrouwer]

You mean the time I spend on head-fi was a waste?