[Raikoh]

I've read many good things about the Sansa Clip+ portable players, and an 8 gig one runs for $53.00 shipped at Amazon currently.

Is this a good deal? I don't particularly need a video player or image viewer, I'm mostly wondering if it will produce respectable sound quality in comparison to other players or if perhaps there are better players for under $100 or so.

I would also be using the player with Ultimate Ears triplefi earphones.

Thanks in advance for the input!

Link for anyone interested: http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Sansa-...pr_product_top

 

[anadin]

Its the cheapest and most portable player on the market, it plays FLAC and sounds great what more do you want!

 

[the search never ends]

At that price.. can't go wrong, don't own a clip, but everyone that owns them seems to love them, never heard anything negative on them.

 

[bba1973]

Got my 4GB Clip+ not too long after they came out for $50 + tax, so yeah, that's a good deal for an 8GB Clip+. I also bought a 16GB Sandisk micro SD card for around $50 or so from Newegg. They're a few $ cheaper now. As long as you format the Clip+ and the micro SD card before you use it, they should work fine. I had to deal with some corrupt songs, but after formatting and reloading, it works fine. The FM radio doesn't pick up 95.9 and 96.1 (96.1 is my favorite station around here), but switching it to world mode lets it pick up 96.15, which is just as good as 96.1. Gapless playback isn't perfect yet, but other than that and the radio, it's a great player. Sounds better than my iPod Photo. Can't wait for a Rockbox port, then it might be almost perfect.

As for the best affordable portable FLAC players, I'd say it's down to the Clip+, Fuze (although I haven't heard it, I've read alot of good things about it), or a used Rockbox compatible player. The Clip+ and Fuze don't have alot of capacity (though you can get 24GB with an 8GB player + 16GB micro SD card for a little over $100), but they're probably your best new affordable options. I really like my iPod Photo (the hard drive is acting up again, but hitting when it acts up makes it work fine for now), but the Clip+ sounds a little bit better (even with the iPod amped with an LOD and EQ'ed the way I like it). The only real downside with 4th and 5th gen iPods is having to buy used or a refurb. You could strike gold, or you could end up replacing everything and it will still act up (like my failed attempt at reviving an iPod Mini...). Parts are pretty cheap (except for logic boards...), and they're really not that hard to work on. Rockbox lets you tweak the EQ and such very well. My 60GB Photo cost me $36, and a little elbow grease so far.

So, if you want to just go out and buy a new, reliable DAP for FLAC, the Clip+ (or Fuze) with a micro SD card would be a very good option. If you really want Rockbox and don't mind being an iPod mechanic, a used 4th or 5th gen with Rockbox would be a good option too. You'll just have to juggle with flash, hard drive, storage space, battery life, and slightly better sound. I bought my Clip+ on impulse, and it ended up being my primary DAP for a couple months.

 

[1138]

One of the things you'll have to remember when using a microSD card is the refresh time. I have a 2GB regular Clip and the media refresh times are annoying with only 200 something mp3's at LAME V3 175 vbr. Load times have got to be killer with full FLAC files.

Just how long would the wait be for a fully loaded 8GB Clip+ and a 16GB card?

 

[Aevum]

another question is how does decoding flac affect the battery,
mp3 play life is around 12-15 hours depending on bitrate, i suspect that flac will lower that,

 

[LingLing1337]

Clip+ for sure, or the Fuze. My sister has the Clip, I have the Fuze. I could easily live with either, but I like my Fuze for the aesthetics and ergonomics, ability to do line out, and the big color display. However losing the proprietary cable for the Fuze really sucks, whereas I have a million usb-mini-B cables laying around to use with the Clip.

 

[d_headshot]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1138 /img/forum/go_quote.gif One of the things you'll have to remember when using a microSD card is the refresh time. I have a 2GB regular Clip and the media refresh times are annoying with only 200 something mp3's at LAME V3 175 vbr. Load times have got to be killer with full FLAC files. Just how long would the wait be for a fully loaded 8GB Clip+ and a 16GB card?

Refresh times are not a problem if you aren't constantly loading music on to your player.

 

[faichiu]

Rio Karma / Toshiba F + Rockbox.

I like both of them more than Sansa clip/ Fuse.

 

[swmtnbiker]

The Karma? Seriously? Not only has it been out of production for years, comparatively speaking it's about as portable as a brick and has a history of reliability issues.

Another vote for the Clip+. Inexpensive, expandable storage, sounds great, EXTREMELY portable, plays FLAC, and you get an FM radio thrown in for good measure.

 

[phangtonpower]

I own the Fuze and the Clip. The only downside of the Clip is if you expand the memory, it may be a pain when searching through files since you have to click through everything. The Fuze has a scroll wheel and a bigger screen that makes it a little easier when trying to find something.

 

[kshelton]

I am sure you could find a Cowon iAUDIO 9 8GB if you look around for about 100. I am a huge Cowon fan, I have an S9 and the sound is amazing IMO.

I have also seen used D2's go for 100 in great condition on ebay.

 

[edpoz]

YGPM

 

[Young Spade]

I'd vote for the clip at that price. Very small, portable player and I agree with mostly everything that was said before me. It has great sound and is even better if you Rockbox it. I mostly use mine in the car or randomly at school with the 3Xs when I don't feel like lugging my other rig around. 

 

[chinesekiwi]

Yes, the Clip+ but really, no point loading lossless on portables. Battery life + discernible audible difference + storage space = issues.