[wijnands]

Is it just me or is there a big gap between the Sandisk players and the next best thing, the X3 and the Dx50? My Clip zip just took an unfortunate fall so I was looking into replacements. At the bottom end of the market Sandisk is still there but most other options seem to have died out.
 
Then you get a lot of nothing before at 200 euros official retail the X3 appears... and then prices skyrocket from there. (1200 euros for an iriver with a fancy name?!)
 
I'm wondering what the best option is now. Get another clip and a silicon guard for it? Or splurge on an X3 and take the risk it's bass heavy? Or possibly hunt for a cowon x5 for a decent price and rebuild it.

 

[Roboturner913]

I am saving for an X3 myself; in the meantime I am very happy with my array of Sansa players. They may not be true "audiophile" sound, but they're real close.
 
I guess the Samsung Galaxy players and some of the hgher-end Walkmans fill in that price gap, but to me they don't sound better than the Sansas, nor do they have the functionality or ease of customization through Rockbox.
 
PS I see the Clip+ on Amazon for like $18.99, hard to beat that.

 

[wijnands]

European prizes are generally that you take the number in $, add 30% and that's the prize in euros.
 
I was wondering if there was anything better than the sandisk but not as expensive as the X3. As it stands now you'd get a Clip+ and a Fiio E7 or e11 and still spend less than a X3.