[Whalesha]

I may just give my Fuze and Clips to some family members and pick up a clip+ at some point anyway.  I love the form factor, and I too have heard similar things about the EQ on them.
 
Now, back to my PortaPros and 545...

 

[1audioz]

Quote:

Well in that case then you should have no problem passing an ABX test. Again, they do sound different UNTIL you ABX them. The crackling sound you are referring to goes away (completely). I heard all the difference in the world until I ABXed them and got my balls handed to me.
Don't believe me? The try ABXing them (224kb lame or better vs. lossless).

Funny. I did this the other day. Ogg Q5 (160kbps) vs. FLAC (~1200kbps). I got 5/10 with a 0.634 probability I was guessing. Used f2k --> ASIO --> AD700.
 
I now only use lossless on desktop/laptop and use Ogg Q5/MP3 on my portable devices.

 

[h1a8]

Quote:

Funny. I did this the other day. Ogg Q5 (160kbps) vs. FLAC (~1200kbps). I got 5/10 with a 0.634 probability I was guessing. Used f2k --> ASIO --> AD700.
 
I now only use lossless on desktop/laptop and use Ogg Q5/MP3 on my portable devices.

NO! Anything lower than 224kbps is ABXable. That is where I failed at and assume all others will fail at too. 160kbps is easy to ABX. Try lame v0 and see.
Also with 63% chance of guessing means you were either wrong half of the time or you guest most of the time. Thus you can't tell the difference between 160kbps Ogg and Flac. Because if you could you would get at least 8/10.
 

 

[eucariote]

Thank you 1audioz for answering the OP's question.  The rest of you need to get a room if you just want to discuss bitrates.  

  If anyone else owns both a Sony and a Cowon (or Sansa) player I'd love to hear more impressions on the relative performance of the players.  If you've heard them with SE530 iems, does one seem to handle them any better?   Cheers.
 

 

[Whalesha]

Thanks, eurcariote
 
I was the OP of the topic and now that I own a Sony NWZS545, I feel I can provide some basic, though audio newbie, comments.  Keep in mind that I consider myself an amateur at describing sound, though I like to think that I can pick out sound details at an average level (or maybe a bit more ).
 
Sansas (I own an original Clip and a Sansa Fuze)

1. Sound: The normal EQ is indeed neutral and great for people who want an unflavored but fairly clear sound.  The preset EQ settings for the Sansa Clip and Fuze seemed to me to alter the music rather than liven it up with song/genre appropriate EQ'd levels.  The Fuze has a few more EQ presets than the Clip (not sure about the Clip+), but I found that I didn't use them at all.  The Custom EQ (5 levels) seemed to my amateur ears to work okay, but it seemed to me that tweaking any one level was straightforward aurally.  I wish I could explain it better, sorry.
2. IEM/Headphone use: Because the Normal EQ was the one I used the most, I found that using Koss PortaPros and JVC FX-66's worked well with them.  These provided a nice lively punch for my ears.  MEElectronics M6's and M9's also worked pretty well.
3. Hardware: Wonderful, simple physical design, and both quite sturdy overall.  I found that I liked the click style selection on my Clip than the loose scroll wheel and circular menu system of the Fuze.  I owned a couple of Sansa e2xx players before and felt the same way.  I think it's mainly just how loose the wheels on the Sansas are in general.  Feature-wise these are quite basic, but that's part of the simplicity and charm of the modern Sansa line.

 
Sony Walkman NWZS545

1. Sound: Immediately I could tell that the sound of this player was much more warm and forward than the Sansas, even on Normal EQ.  People are right when they comment that the EQ settings in this series (as well as the cheaper, though less full-featured E series) are quite wonderful.  I came to realize that I enjoy forwardness and warmth in my music after using the Sansas for so many years.  That's not to say that I like overly tweaked EQ'ing, but I personally feel that the EQ presets in this player series are quite reasonably adjusted and each one has a genuine use depending on the genre you want to apply it to.  I particularly love how you get TWO custom preset saves, not to mention actually seeing what the preset settings actually are if you hover over them in the menu.  Oh, and the Clear Bass setting is great, even if you use just one or two levels (out of three I think).  I've read that all it does is recess the highs and mids to get this effect, but to my ears it's not quite as drastic a recess as that may sound.  Overall, the S and E series have really brought most of my music a wonderful liveliness and fullness.
2. IEM/Headphone use: The best thing I can say is that these made the Jlabs J3 IEMs I bought earlier this year (and burned-in and listened to for a combined 80-90 hours) to life.  These earbuds, to me, were really cold and analytical, and I found song elements recessed that made listening to them not enjoyable.  However, when I used these with the EQ set to Unique - woah.  That was the first time in my life I actually said to myself "are these really the IEMs I bought?"  Granted, that setting pushed the highs and mids more forward I believe, but that allowed them to give more dimension that the J3's didn't offer before.  I also used my MEElectronics M6 and M9's to good effect (though the M9's seem to have some sibilance with highs in some songs - or is that me?).  Koss Portapros and my new Koss KSC75's sound terrific, too.
3. Hardware:  The flat, flush nature of the buttons on the front of this player make it hard to pocket control the player the first time you use it.  Even with several hours of use and knowing that the center button has a little dot nub on it has helped only slightly.  I also feel that where the buttons are placed makes controlling the NWZS545 a little imbalanced.  I held an E series recently and though it's similar in layout, it is a bit smaller and seemingly easier to manipulate.  Keep in mind that the physical interface is a very, very minor thing, so maybe it's just me.  I got over it pretty much already  I like the alarm function, the overall UI (though EQ should be the first menu option when you click Option during a song, not Play Mode ).  Navigating is also pretty snappy, too, so backing up one level with one button press to see the song list is nice.  The NWZS545 is also fully compatible with my Rhapsody To Go subscription as well as Amazon Unbox videos.

 
Overall: I love using the S series tremendously.  Its inherent warm, full sound signature is wonderful and using it is simple and snappy.  It drives my meager IEM/headphone collection just fine, too.  If I were to recommend a player at the ~$100 or below range (that I've used), the NWZS545 would be my first choice.  I still dig my Sansas, but I realize that I respond better to theinherent warm, lively sound signature of the Sony much more.  Either way, they're both a great way of enjoying your music, as well as having a starting baseline for determining how you want to listen to your music.
 
Thanks for reading my impressions, and I hope I made some sense.  Be kind