[GustavMahler]

Hi, What is  the Best portable music player like an ipod? It'll be used for classical music. Capacity should be large. I am planning to use it with high quality headphones so it should produce the best sound

 

[harry015]

Sorry, I can't give any opinions... but I'm also looking for a player that will handle large volumes of music, both opera and orchestral. And, I do want decent sound, also. Good luck, I'll be watching as well.
 
Harry 

 

[blse59]

Sansa Clip+ with Rockbox firmware. I'm using it with a 64 GB SDXC card. If you plan on using a high capacity card (>32 GB) you will need to format it in FAT32 using an external program. I used one called miniaide fat32 formatter.
 
This whole setup cost me $68. Can you imagine a 64GB iPod for under $70? According to a website I visited that did objective measurements, the Clip+ measures outstanding. It's as good as an iPod in terms of sound quality.
 
Currently listening to a Glenn Gould album in .flac format. I can hear him humming, as well as coughs in the background and everything.

 

[flatmap]

If you are at all interested in high resolution files, then the soon to arrive Astell & Kern  AK 240 will have 256GB of internal memory, and takes 128GB microSD card to get you up to 384GB!   Price is $2500, however, so it's way out of my league.  But it's got everything and will probably be truly great.  For lesser money (less features, formats, memory, etc.) check out their AK120 II at $1700 or AK100 II at $1000.
 
I've ordered a Pono player at $400 which has 64GB of internal memory and an SD slot.  Unclear if its SD is limited to 64 GB or if it can handle 128.  
 
Have you looked at iBasso?  The DX90 comes in around $480 including 128GB via SD card. There's no internal memory -- everything gets stored on the SD cards, but of course you could have many cards for different subcollections of your music library.  There have been some criticisms of the software but because of its affordability this is what I'd been looking prior to Pono.
 
All of these handle high resolution files, but if you have DSD files then so far as I know the iBasso and AK are the only portable players that support DSD.

 

[Bmullock]

Cowon produce very good players at more affordable prices. Their sound quality is superb through B&W P3 and NAD HP 50 headphones.

 

[h1f1add1cted]

If you want a DAP with a tons of storage please refer the iPod Classic mod thread, which you can put a 1 TB mSATA SSD drive. You can combinate the iPod classic with a good portable dac/amp and you are done. Which sould be more than enogh, if no need for HiRes music.
 
Or consider FiiO X5 with two 128 micro SD cards with finally 256 GB of storage with good dac/amp with abilitiy for HiRes playback.

 

[RingingEars]

  Hi, What is  the Best portable music player like an ipod? It'll be used for classical music. Capacity should be large. I am planning to use it with high quality headphones so it should produce the best sound

..."music player like an ipod"? Does that mean you are not interested in an ipod? Sansa clip like other have pointed out is a great alternative, but if you not dead-set against an ipod the 160g classic is great if you Rockbox it. I've had a handful of daps in the past, but stopped at my rockboxed classic.
The Sansa clip is great on the cheap though...

 

[DMinor]

When it comes to storage and hrs of battery, you can't beat ipod 5g/5.5g and the latest classic if you mod it yourself.
 
If you want the absolutely the most storage, throw a 1TB msata into 5g/5.5g or classic.
 
If you want the maximum hrs of battery, throw a 2000 mAh battery into a 7g classic to go with a 256GB CF card.
 
If you want the best ipod sounding with the largest storage and maximum hrs of battery, diymod a capless 5g/5.5g to go with a 1TB mSATA and a 2000mAh battery for a capless amp.

 

[GustavMahler]

  If you want a DAP with a tons of storage please refer the iPod Classic mod thread, which you can put a 1 TB mSATA SSD drive. You can combinate the iPod classic with a good portable dac/amp and you are done. Which sould be more than enogh, if no need for HiRes music.
 
Or consider FiiO X5 with two 128 micro SD cards with finally 256 GB of storage with good dac/amp with abilitiy for HiRes playback.

 What do you mean by abilitiy for HiRes playback? Will every format sound better on the fiio?
I am relatively new to this forum and i dont know how many things work. I want a player that will produce most accurate sound and have a big capacity at a reasonable price. Don;t all the DAP sound around the same? Can a really good one sound much better with the same headphones and a different DAP?
Thanks everyone for the help, You are very kind
Edit: I read that theay all sound the same-is it true? If so, i want the biggest capacity within a reasonable price range (around 250 bucks, Maybe more if it really worths it), And of course it must play high quality audio files like FLAC

 

[maeschba]

Hi, What is  the Best portable music player like an ipod? It'll be used for classical music. Capacity should be large. I am planning to use it with high quality headphones so it should produce the best sound

You could check out the Cowon Plenue P1. It comes with 128gb built-in memory, is expandable, has Cowons famous equalizer if you want a specific sound for your music, and plays all kinds of formats from mp3s to DSD. The battery life for all these player is in the +- 10 hours range tough. My favourite is the Calyx M. I listen to Jazz and Classical and play both styles myself (oboe/tenor saxophone). While the P1 has more features, the M sounds better to my ears.

 

[maeschba]

... and if you don't want to spend that much for a DAP, check out the Sony NWZ-A10.

 

[flatmap]

   What do you mean by abilitiy for HiRes playback? 

The standard encoding for CD 16 bit sampled at 44.1 kHz.  But you can also buy music files at 24 bit and sampled at 88.2 kHz, 96 kHz and so forth.  So these higher rates are called "high resolution."
 
Probably, just getting to lossless format at 16/44.1 is the  most important... and that's exactly the resolution you'd be ripping from CD.

 

[GustavMahler]

I would like something that has large capacity, large screen (And still fitting in the pocket) And WiFi.
Maybe iPod touch is my best option? I had one just a week ago and it has been stolen. What do you say about the sound quality? Will i be able to tell the difference in sound between a professional DAP and an iPod? And if i really should buy a DAP for getting large capacity and quality, I still may buy an iPod touch for apps.

 

[GustavMahler]

Would you say that fiio X5 is the best DAP for the price? I need neutrallity and accuracy for classical music

 

[JK1]

Head-fi is often very amusing. Someone suggests a $35 player, and someone else suggests one that is 70x the price!
 
A question for the OP. How much battery life do you want? If you want long battery life, the Cowon M2 gets 90 hours and is $180.