[dnewhous]

By best I mean unprocessed, no EQ sound.

The only other requirements are that it have a direct USB connector, so iPod and Zune are right out even if they do sound superior.

I will be using Ultimate Ears so output power doesn't matter.

Speed of the flash memory is relevant. If the sound is close and one player offers faster read/write operations I'll take the speed.

A screen would be nice, so I can play flv files I download from Youtube. But I don't care how good the picture is. Not essential, though.

I am curious about iRiver. They made the best sounding portable CD players back when those were relevant. It looked like they were dying out but they have a range of new products now.

 

[dr13zehn]

Right off the top of my head I'd suggest the Sandisk Sansa Clip or Fuze. The Fuze has a screen for you youtube vids and a microSD expansion slot.
They both sound very nice and should fill your needs quite nicely.
I'm not sure about read/write speeds of the players, but I have the Clip and never had a problem with the speed at which it accessed my files.

Which UEs will you be using with the player?

 

[hmpf]

I like very much Stormblue A9 has magic sound flat with quality iEM like triple fi.10 and with my Grado work really fine too. Cowon, Clip, JVC Alneo are safety...the Clip is very good without ampfilier, I dont like Clip with amp becose it is very similar.

 

[lewislink]

Meizu miniPlayer SL (Slim). Outstanding sound quality. COWON D2 - Probably as good as the Meizu.
Samsung T10 - Using OGG/Vorbis really shines.

 

[neoufo51]

Amazon.com: Sony 8 GB Walkman Video MP3 Player (Black): Electronics

 

[geekchic]

Off topic - but apart from IPod classic, has any company released any hard drive DAP currently? I assume that they are all getting phased out. Creative at least has announced that all future models will be flash.

 

[Mr_Junesequa]

IMHO THESE THREADS SPARK PEOPLE TO PROP THEIR OWN PLAYER...

but anyway.

so far ive tried ... teclast t39
sony nwz s616
cowon iaudio7
sony nwz a818
sansa fuze

Both the sony's are clear winners. The sound is great right out of the box

The fuze is on par with the sony but the sound is flatter & cleaner

 

[Styrbjorn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lewislink /img/forum/go_quote.gif Meizu miniPlayer SL (Slim). Outstanding sound quality.

And very good write/read speed.
Meizu excel Cowon both in SQ (unamped) and the speed of flash memory.

 

[dr13zehn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr_Junesequa /img/forum/go_quote.gif IMHO THESE THREADS SPARK PEOPLE TO PROP THEIR OWN PLAYER...

I aggree, this does happen a lot.

It sounds to me that the OP wants a player that sounds great right out of the box, unamped. With that in mind, I would not recommend the Cowon D2 or even the I7. I really love both of those, but they really only start to truly shine when amped. Though they are nothing to sneeze at unamped either, me thinks!
The Sonys are a great choice as well. They are well built and have very nice Sound quality overall. I would suggest staying away from the noise-canceling models though, as you will be using your UEs anyways and spending money on that feature when you won't be using it is silly.
I still think that the Fuze is probably the best choice for what you want. Not only does it have great sound, but it has fully integrated SD expansion capabilities and the price is quite nice too, as with any Sandisk player.
Other players that have nice SQ are the iRiver Clix2 and the Samsung P2 from what I hear. Though I don't know much about the sound of those two as I have never heard them myself. They are both probably some of the best looking players out there too IMO.

One way or another, I think that you would be happy with pretty much any player that has been mentioned in this thread sofar. Just pick the one that fancies you the most, plug your UEs in that sucker and enjoy.

 

[dnewhous]

I am interested in the read/write speed because I want it to double as a flash drive.

I will be using the UE11. They will be used primarily with my PC.

 

[majkel]

Teclast T39, Sony NWZ-A72x/82x series, RAmos RM850
In the meanwhile, I'll stay with my microHDD iRiver E10.

 

[dr13zehn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dnewhous /img/forum/go_quote.gif I am interested in the read/write speed because I want it to double as a flash drive. I will be using the UE11. They will be used primarily with my PC.

UE11s, very nice. I hate you...

I think you will have a hard time finding a real speed comparison with those players.
In all honesty, if speed is that important you should probably get a dedicated flash drive like one of those high speed corsairs for example.
I know you were probably wanting to avoid having an extra device to carry around, but they are quite small and easily pocketable.
While most of the players won't be slouches when it comes to read/write speeds, I doubt they can match a high speed USB flash drive.

 

[3X0]

iRiver H132 or Cowon iAudio X532L, both Rockboxed. Of course, you can replace the 32GB with an 8GB or 16GB CF card as you desire. Read/write speeds (on the Cowon, at least) are very decent.

 

[Ozric]

Quote:

Originally Posted by geekchic /img/forum/go_quote.gif Off topic - but apart from IPod classic, has any company released any hard drive DAP currently? I assume that they are all getting phased out. Creative at least has announced that all future models will be flash.

Microsoft's second generation Zune. And a 120 GB Zune is on its way as well. Microsoft hasn't given any indication that HD-based players are obsolete. As reliable and fast as flash based players are, there's still no beating having access to a huge selection of tunes from your library anytime, anywhere.

 

[dnewhous]

Reviewing the video desirement - is there a portable player that will play flv files?