[stozzer123]

Opinions guys, take cost out and imagine they are all the same price point.
 
Also comparisons to a ipod w/ fiio e11 and cube c30 is appreciated.

 

[ClieOS]

Almost pull the trigger a while ago on Colorfly C3, till I looked closely into its hardware and learned the DAC (PCM1770, also double as headphone amp chip) is only capable of 13mW in 16ohm and won't be enough for some of my more demanding IEM.

 

[stozzer123]

hmmm thats interesting, and it  was also the C3 i was looking at pulling for.  This is a question on which i may not have a clue about what im on about but you may know.  In the studio V the battery lasts 60-80 hours, and they say its through some manipulation of the amp and dac to work efficiently.  Is it possible that something like this is at play here?  Anybody have any comments on sq?
 
Ideally im looking for sq around the c30/s:flo2 level which i know you used to use.  
 
Hm-601 was looking the choice although the darker sound sig may be too much when paired with my eph-100 and conversly go well with my pfe/er4s.  
 
Rocoo D is the other option as its at a good price, but is it really better sq than a ipod video with one of my amps.
 
Ck4 im not so sure about the for factor but sound quality is meant to be excellent, (on a par with the s:flo?)
 
 
Whats your current clieos?  i saw on your blog you were using the teclast 19hd a while back.

 

[ClieOS]

I reviewed X19HD a while ago, but it has been collecting dust even since. Original bought it as C30 replacement but the SQ is disappointing. I don't know how Teclast can market it as C30 killer. For now, I still sticking to my Fuze + LOD + amp as my main and sometime RoCoo-P or iPod Nano 4G + amp. Like you, I am looking for a DAP as well, but I am more interested in something smaller as C30 replacement (the battery is dying). Unfortunately the Chinese has swifted all their attention to Android tablet so I don't think we will see any good player anytime soon. Even Teclast has somewhat abandoned their T59 project, though they don't want to admit it.

Beside those you have mentioned, there are also DP_I from Little Dot. Also they released the DP_II recently, which is slimmed down DP_I with only COAX and TosLink SPDIF out, intended as a pure digital source. It can be paired to their DAC_M (which is a portable amp/DAC) or something like FiiO E17. Of course there is also the new HM901 coming from HifiMan, which will be quite expensive but looking very promising.