Best SQ player with large hdd??

[Ramblingman]

Im looking for the best sounding player with a hard drive of at least 60gig preferably 80gig and over...


Im not interested in video, wifi or any of that other stuff... what i want is a player with very high quality sound output... would be great if it had digital out but there doesnt seem to be many that i know of.

Im looking at getting a high quality portable amp and some good IEM's. My home set up is really good so im basically just looking at getting the best possible portable system.

Ive had a look at the imod's... but to me they are still an ipod... is the sound better than any other player out there (with a large HDD)? Unfortunately i wont be able to audition to many players over here in Australia so im helping you guys can help?

Another thing is the amp ive been considering is the headamp AE2...

Ill consider any player... its only criteria is a large hdd and the best sound quality, im used to really clean audio through high quality transport amps and speakers so im trying to come as close as possible with my portable rig.


Any suggestions would be great,

Thanks,

Richard

PS YAY finally made my first post! been lurking for years!

 

[humanafterall]

Do a quick search, this topic has been discussed before.

I'll make it quick for you.
Cowon X5
Older iRiver models now discontinued (ebay)
Kenwood kegs (audiocubes.com)
but don't come in 60GB

 

[Aevum]

theres a 60gb kenwood keg, but it will burn a hole in your pocket, the cowon A2 sounds great, and will probobly drop in price once the A3 goes on sale, but its a bit chunky,

 

[RubenNYC]

If you're feeling really adventurous, you could hack a 60 GB Rio Karma.

 

[antonyfirst]

Kenwood.

 

[Lil' Knight]

Kenwood will absolutely fit u

Superior SQ and Superior price

 

[Milk and Coffee]

Why dont think about ipod classic 160GB!? Very decent soundquality and good to amp.

 

[Tem]

Zune 2 80GB.

 

[Assorted]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Milk and Coffee /img/forum/go_quote.gif Why dont think about ipod classic 160GB!? Very decent soundquality and good to amp.

Because "decent" and "best" (or amongst the best) are not the same.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tem /img/forum/go_quote.gif Zune 2 80GB.

????? Is this a joke or have I been living under a rock?



I am looking forward to the new GD9 with 60GB. Much better interface than iPods and the proprietary software is much more resource friendly and easier to use.

 

[Kees]

iAudio X5.

 

[luckypictures]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Assorted /img/forum/go_quote.gif Because "decent" and "best" (or amongst the best) are not the same. ????? Is this a joke or have I been living under a rock?

Why is that funny? The Zune 80GB hasn't even been released, and we don't know what chips are in it.

The Zune is widely regarded as having very good sound straight from the headphone out, which gets even better with an amp, which gets even better with the dock and amp.

AND is known to have a better sound than any STOCK ipod. (Although apparently there's something about the 1st gen Shuffles that I'm missing.)

 

[Assorted]

Nvm, I withdraw

 

[luckypictures]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Assorted /img/forum/go_quote.gif Nvm, I withdraw

You avatar makes me think of "E Flat Salieri!"

 

[Assorted]

Hmm I wonder why :O


But to the OP, if you really find the iMod underwhelming, the only possible suggestion I can make is the 30GD9 (if it sounds better than the GB9, and it should) @ 60 GB. It has its merits in achieving some things better than the iMod, just as much as it's inferior in some aspects.

 

[Ramblingman]

Thanks so much for the posts guys, i didnt know about the GD9 and from the little research ive done on it it seems like its going to be the go! I think i might wait to see what happens with the new zune 2 with its sound but it looks like the kenwood was designed primarily for sound and not with wifi, ect. which im not even going to use at all... especially the way zune has implemented it.

Ill do my own searching and see if i can find some comparisons between the GD9 and an imod but if anyone knows of any off hand that would be great

Thanks again guys... i really like the look of the GD9 60gb!