[Carmantom]

My musical preferences are classic rock, vocals, jazz and some classical. I am currently trying the new Sleek wireless system out.

I own and use a 3G iPhone. I have mostly ripped albums to lossless through iTunes. I have recently tried a new iTunes Classic 120. i hated it. The first thing I thought of was my iPhone overall sounded much better.

I then tried the highly touted Cowon D2 32 GB with some of my flac lossless library. To my ears everything sounded so homogenized and forward. Bass was too bloated. I tried the recommended settings some have here in another forum and still did not do it for me. I kept thinking my iPhone sounds better than this too. Both of the above players spent less than 1 1/2 hours before I boxed up and returned one and sold the other.

I am not afraid to spend a little and would prefer a one box (player) solution. I'm trying to not have to go for an amp as well. Maybe I have to in order to get the SQ I'm looking for.

 

[Carmantom]

Anybody?

 

[YtseJamer]

I suggest a CD player like the Marantz CD5001 ($200 on audiogon) & an amp like the RSA Mustang P-51 ($375).

It's my home setup right now and for $575 it's really hard to beat.

 

[MikeJ138]

I agree with pfillion. If you want best sound quality, play CD's in a CD player. If you dont have any CDs and all your stuff is digital, then I would stay away from portables all together. A few good components for your home PC will do just fine. What headphones are you using?

 

[robm321]

Opto or NAD would both be good choices

 

[Uncle Erik]

In the great Head-Fi tradition of telling people to spend more than their budget, look at a Marantz SA8001 on closeout. I think they're going for $600 right now since the SA8003 is out.

I've had one for two years and still love it. Zero problems and it sounds great. Check the Stereophile review - they gave it a Class A rating.

It has a discrete headphone amp built in. Not as good as pricey tube amps, but still pretty good. Good enough to enjoy the music and not be distracted by its faults. Second, it plays SACD. If you like vocals, jazz and classical, there are roughly 6,000 SACD titles you might enjoy.

Pair a SA8001 with a K-501, HD-600 and/or DT48, and you can bliss out with your music.

 

[chadbang]

Erik da man.

 

[Carmantom]

Senn 600s and Grado 80 (rarely). I'm using wireless (Kleer) Sleek earphones.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeJ138 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I agree with pfillion. If you want best sound quality, play CD's in a CD player. If you dont have any CDs and all your stuff is digital, then I would stay away from portables all together. A few good components for your home PC will do just fine. What headphones are you using?

 

[Carmantom]

Sorry for not being clear enough. I was looking for portable source (player).

Thanks all for the input anyway.