[Mith]

I listen mainly to classic rock and classical music. I am looking for something that will play .wav files as this is the format all my music is ripped to. iPod is right out. Now, I have a HeadRoom Airhead on the way and my current set of portable cans are the PortaPros. I may get some ER4Ps with a home made 75ohm adapter as well. To tell the truth I am absolutely clueless as to what player I want but I do know I don't want the iPod or anything from Archos as those were returned so often when I worked at Costco. Well, thanks much all for the replies!

 

[Spadge]

How about the iRiver H320/H340? It plays WAV files (with the latest firmware installed).

I use the H340 and love it. Haven't used the WAV playback feature though.

Good Luck
Paul

 

[Edvard_Grieg]

I'd say the Karma, it has the best EQ (parametric), and a very strong headphone amp. Also, it does play WAV, but more importantly it plays FLAC, which is lossless compression, ie you can transcode your wav files to flac, lose absolutely no quality, and save about half the space. Finally, the Karma supports gapless, which is a major and crucial requirement for any critical classical listener. Since it is an 'older' player you should be able to find it for dirt cheap. Check out www.riovolution.com for more information.
It has many other good features, such as RCA lineouts on the included dock, and is incredibly usable.

 

[ameyer17]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edvard_Grieg I'd say the Karma, it has the best EQ (parametric), and a very strong headphone amp. Also, it does play WAV, but more importantly it plays FLAC, which is lossless compression, ie you can transcode your wav files to flac, lose absolutely no quality, and save about half the space. Finally, the Karma supports gapless, which is a major and crucial requirement for any critical classical listener. Since it is an 'older' player you should be able to find it for dirt cheap. Check out www.riovolution.com for more information. It has many other good features, such as RCA lineouts on the included dock, and is incredibly usable.

What he said. The karma is awesome.

 

[JWFokker]

Just about all players support WAV format these days. Personally, I'd go with the Creative Touch for it's huge battery life, but the Karma is also a good player. I'd just stay away from any iRiver or Apple players.

 

[Mith]

Thanks for the info all.

 

[jnev]

how much space do you need on the drive?

 

[blessingx]

Why go with uncompressed (WAV) when lossless (ALAC [iPod], FLAC [Rio/iAudio], etc.) is an option?

 

[Cyclone]

I'd just simply like to thank you for posting "Best Portable Player for me" its very refreshing to see that after seeing several "Best Portable Player Ever" threads...

That is all, carry on.

 

[Beach123456]

This forum needs a sticky that says in big capital letters
THERE IS NO BEST PORTABLE PLAYER.
I think there is a thread posted every day asking what the best portable player is. No specifications or anything. Just "What is the best portable player?"

 

[Edvard_Grieg]

^^While yes there are always many threads debating what the overall best player is, the OP was very clear (even in his title) that he was asking what the best player for him was. Not the best player overall. If he had asked what the best player for playing back music he bought on iTunes was we'd tell him the iPod. If he asked what the best player for playing back PlaysForSure MS DRM content it would probably be a Creative variant.

 

[Beach123456]

I know he wanted the best portable player for him, but I was just adding on to what cyclone said about someone finally asking what the best player for them was, not what the best player was, because it doesnt exist.