[Wsh]

Need some direction on a good portable mp3 player that uses buttons and not touch screens.
 
Yes audio quality is important, budget is 150-230'ish'.
 
I listen to rock, pop, hip hop, smooth jazz, techno and classic jazz, so a very wide range.
 
 
My IEMs are TF10s and so a flat EQ is preferred, but I wouldn't mind a nice set of controls to play with.
 
 
Yes my Rockboxed Clip + works great at the gym but I want something that I don't have to squint at to see what's playing.
 
 
I prefer physical controls because I don't like swiping... my boss has an iPad, my bros all have touch screen phones.  After tseting them out for a while it's just not my preference.
 
I had an old Zune 30GB way back which the controls I actually loved, but the proprietary software can go to hell.
 
 
 
So anyway with all that said, what would be some recommendations?

 

[mootookang]

How much memory do you need for your DAP?

 

[Wsh]

16 GB preferably with an SDHC expansion slot.  I know these are a hit or miss thing, some have em some don't so at least 16 gigs to get a decent amount of space

 

[shigzeo]

Players that include SDHC AND buttons are pretty slim unless you are willing to pay for the big boys: HiFiman. Buttons have been going the way of the dodo for a long time unfortunately. Some player have only one: T51 for instance.

 

[mootookang]

Yeah, a lot of old vintage DAPs have amazing SQ, but very little memory.
 
With the given price limit, I would suggest creative zen vision, iriver H series, ipod 5 or 5.5 gen.

 

[rawrster]

Would you mind something that has both? I know Cowon players have both touch screen as well as buttons for volume and the next, previous and play/pause. That's the reasons I bought the J3 to go along with a long battery life.
 
You won't find much that has buttons and micro sdhc slot unless you look at the sansa fuze.

 

[Wsh]

Hey guys, thanks for the recommendations.  Yeah I really like the SDHC features of most modern players, but tactile buttons are just so much easier to use I guess.  Touch screens you always have to have it fully out to see them you can't just press the next button unless there's a toggle switch.
 
This is for my casual listening so I guess it may not be that big of a deal.

 

[4DThinker]

The Cowon J3 has buttons for Volume +/-, Track fwd/back, and Pause/Play.  Where the touchscreen comes in handy is when searching for music from a large collection.  Any race in searching for a specific song or two is easily won using a good touchscreen UI.
 
Then add gapless play, microSD-HC slot, EQ or not, Bluetooth, speaker, No specific Software required, etc., and the J3 is simply the best choice out there in my opinion. And that speaks only to it's music capabilities. In your budget as well:  Amazon 16gb version.

 

[shigzeo]

Still not SDHC, but otherwise the J3 is pretty good (if large).

 

[Wsh]

Oh wow, my mistake, I completely didn't even catch it as I was typing it all this time.. micro-sd not sdhc!  I think I was working on my digi cam at the time and got it totally backwards, haha.
 
Yes micro-sd is fine.

 

[mootookang]

If you don't mind the touch interface, and is okay with micro sd, then I would also recommend cowon J3.
Cowon is known for amazing battery life and good SQ.
The only thing is that the interface takes some time to get used to, but you should pick up everything after several hours of use.

 

[Wsh]

Hmm Cowon J3 seems pretty nice, I like the fact that you guys mentioned buttons on there that can be used without having to look at the screen.