[sygyzy]

Is the Colorfly C3 still a relevant player in high-end DAP's considering the C4 is out? I am hoping the answer is yes because the C3 is significantly cheaper ...

 

[kenman345]

C4 has been out for a while....C3 is just released. Numbers are deceiving, i know.
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Is the Colorfly C3 still a relevant player in high-end DAP's considering the C4 is out? I am hoping the answer is yes because the C3 is significantly cheaper ...

 

[Danneq]

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@ Danneq
 
iRiver H120 is ~$340 (on amazon), doesn't seem to be too great if you're listing $50 Sansa Clip+ just below it in your ranking. By the way, I have not yet heard any one else saying that Sony's DSEE is bad. People find it better than X-fi (and you also said that Zen Touch is similar sounding to Sony HD5 so that means Sansa Clip+ is better than Zen Touch, assuming Zen X-fi3 sounds almost same as Zen Touch, so it'll be better to drop the idea of Zen X-fi3).
Since you have ranked Sansa Clip+ above than (costlier) Sony HD5 and Cowon S9, it'll better to drop these two as well.
I am not planning to buy any new headphones/earphones, as I already own Klipsch S4i, so I would like to stick with them for a while, may be look for a high-end later.
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So now it looks like I have to choose between Sansa Clip+, Colorfly C3 and Teclast T51. So I'll focus on these and make a choice soon. Do you have any suggestions among these? Should I reconsider Zen X-fi3 or iAudio 10, or are these choices good?
Sansa Clip+ seems the best choice now unless Colorfly C3 or Teclast T51 really offer reasonable difference. Any suggestions on that will be very helpful.

 
Well, I only ranked the four players that you mentioned. I'd have to think longer and compare them back to back instead of from memory to rank 'em all. It's not really the iRiver that's bad, but the Sansa Clip+ that is good. I'd say that it's the best DAP if you consider what you get for your money. Perhaps not the best sounding one, but not too far behind. The iRiver H120 has got deeper bass and is much more dynamic. It makes music feel more 3D than the Clip+ does. You should be able to find a H120 a lot cheaper on Ebay. I think I paid something like €80 or €90 from Germany.
 
About the Zen Touch and Sony HD5, it was before they started using those audio enhancers. They only use regular EQ. In the case of the Zen Touch it's only a 4 band EQ, but it works well as long as you have the correct firmware version (I had to look a long time for it after reading about the screwed up frequencies in all the other firmwares). Since I don't use ATRAC, I don't know how the regular EQ looks like on the Sony. I just know the simple function of adding some dB to either bass or treble or to both.
If I am to go by how the Creative Zen Vision M sounds slightly worse than the Zen Touch and the Creative Zen sound noticeably worse than the Vision M, I doubt that Creative has recovered from their slump.
 
Cowon S9 is a good DAP (together with other Cowon DAP's), but I'm not too happy with the BBE+ enhancements. Perhaps I am in the minority here since a lot of people love BBE+... The iAudio 10 uses the same audio enhancers as the other Cowon DAP's (iAudio is a line of Cowon MP3 players). You might have a better experience with Cowon audio enhancers than I have had.
 
I think that Sansa clip might be a good start. With Rockbox installed you get a lot of options for customization of sound. After that the Coloryfly C3 might be a step up. I think that the Colorfly has got a more powerful amp in it, so it might be able to drive headphones better, and you might get a more 3D feel of the music.

 

[sygyzy]

Quote:

C4 has been out for a while....C3 is just released. Numbers are deceiving, i know.

Oops lol. That was embarrassing for me. 

 

[kenman345]

We all make mistakes. They are two different players for two different goals. One is the budget audiophile the other is the no restraints audiophile. I dont think either one will obsolete the other.
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Oops lol. That was embarrassing for me. 

 

[shn11]

Clip+ is only slightly better than iPod, according to a tech review I read somewhere.
T51 looks more of a show-off, and seems to have some problems also (don't know if they are resolved now)
 
After reading some reviews of C3, it feels like this is the best choice, seems very dedicated to sq, have a powerful amp (probably lacking in Clip+).
So now I have decided to go for C3.
Though interface sucks and "no-playlist" feature also doesn't sound good. Doesn't have any eq either, but that's fine. Hope the sq makes up for all of them.
The only remaining problem is that paypal sucks and ebay is the only place where I can buy it, I will have to wait for a few days for paypal problems to get resolved, unless there is another place where I can buy that.
 
Anyway, thanks a lot kenman345 and Danneq for helping me making this decision, I owe you folks and Head-fi forums a lot.
As there is nothing like listening to quality music, it really makes your day.

 

[sygyzy]

I'm very tempted by the C3 too. The price point is very attractive. I actually like how minimalist it is.

 

[mark2410]

right now im loving the Studio V anniversary edition, not cheap but damn good

 

[shn11]

so i ordered clip+
 
that seems to be better choice than c3 now because as per many people the bass is somewhat lacking in c3, also see the rmaa tests:
 
http://www.markuskraus.com/RMAA/ColorflyC3/data.htm
 
compared to:
 
http://www.markuskraus.com/RMAA/clipplus/data.htm
 
and since my klipsch s4i itself has some bass lacking, it'll not be a good combo with c3.
i also noticed that c3 is appreciated by very few people, whose opinions now rather sound forceful, as if they just want to sell it.. be very careful people, look at technical specifications yourself and don't go on the flowery words of people around. though technically also c3 looks good, my only drop point is bass issue
 
so as suggested by other people also on this thread, clip+ is a good choice for starting into the world of daps.. later may be i can buy a much expensive one like dx100 or hm801
 
thanks to head-fi and everyone on this thread for their suggestions