[Tassie Devil]

I'm retired and spend most time indoors (winter here) but do find I am using a portable setup far more than the hi-end rig these days.  Working at the PC or doing other things it is much more convenient having the music in the pocket so one can get up and move around without having to mess around removing headphones etc.  The AQ might not be quite so good but most times it is background music (mix of pop and classical with the player set to random track selection) so listening is not so critical.  I must be getting old and less patient in my old age because even at the hi-end listening post it is not common to listen to a complete CD.
 
Here are the current set ups here:
 
Portable - Sony A17 with 200-GB micro card (giving a total of around 900 CDs in FLAC format) -> Fiio A12a Mont Blanc amp -> HiFiMan 400s headphones
 
Fixed: Meridian server with over 15,000 CDs on board -> balanced digital out -> M2Tech Vaughan DAC -> balanced analog -> Headroom Blockhead amp -> Sennheiser HD800 headphones
 
I've been playing around with audio for over 60 years now but the irony is that at aged 80 my hearing is far from pristine so most of hi-rez is not heard.

 I foolishly recently purchased a A&K Jnr player.  I say foolishly because I could not really appreciate its capability so sold it and am making do with the very very good Sony A series players.  They are very nice functionally and do the job and I like the option of FM to listen to the latest misery on the news.
 
So impressed with SONY I purchased an A25 for my wife and I notice she often moves around with headphones (AKG 702) still on her head. I also have two other Sennheiser HD 650s and a Sennheiser 598, some of which are attached to other listening posts around the house which are fed digital into modded Benchmark DAC1s from the Meridian system &* into various amps and speakers (yes I've been at this A/V madness for some time now) but often just feed the SONY A17 in rather than control the Meridian system via an iPad.
 
It is fun playing with these toys!!!

 

 

[ProtegeManiac]

I use my smartphone on the go...

 
...while my IEM case joins my laptop in any of the bags I decide to take to work or wherever...

 

 
 
...and also as a source for my set-up at home.

 

[Music Alchemist]

My current system consists of using my laptop computer as a source, which connects to a DAC/amp, which connects to the headphones. It's been that way for me for awhile with all sorts of headphone systems. I used to use portable DAPs, but since I only listen to music at home nowadays, I figured I didn't really need them. However, my laptop overheats and instantly shuts off from time to time. These occasions make me want to get a cheap DAP just for backup.

 

[wuwhere]

All of my digital music is in a portable LaCie 1TB 2.5" USB2.0 HDD. I connect it to my Dell E6530 laptop and listen through my Senn HD600 (unmodified) with Foobar2000.  I don't have time to listen for hours anymore. I find myself just listening to a few songs at a time for 30 minutes to over an hour. I haven't listened to my main rig in weeks.

 

[Tassie Devil]

  My current system consists of using my laptop computer as a source, which connects to a DAC/amp, which connects to the headphones. It's been that way for me for awhile with all sorts of headphone systems. I used to use portable DAPs, but since I only listen to music at home nowadays, I figured I didn't really need them. However, my laptop overheats and instantly shuts off from time to time. These occasions make me want to get a cheap DAP just for backup.

Cheap, but NOT nasty - SONY A25.  Not much internal memory (12GB available -> 45 CDs)  but will take up to a 200GB external card (183GB available -> 685 CDs) giving a total capacity of over 700 CDs.  A quick reacting and user friendly operating system with navigator and a couple of other buttons - no touch screen.  Highly recommended.

 

[Music Alchemist]

  Cheap, but NOT nasty - SONY A25.  Not much internal memory (12GB available -> 45 CDs)  but will take up to a 200GB external card (183GB available -> 685 CDs) giving a total capacity of over 700 CDs.  A quick reacting and user friendly operating system with navigator and a couple of other buttons - no touch screen.  Highly recommended.

 
Thanks for the info. But since it would only be for backup when my desktop rig(s) temporarily malfunction, I would just want the cheapest DAP available for that purpose...so something like a SanDisk Clip under $40. I might not end up getting one after all anyway, as I'd rarely need it.

 

[Philimon]

I listen to mostly portable players: iPhone and MacBook Pro.

 

[Music Alchemist]

  I listen to mostly portable players: iPhone and MacBook Pro.

 
Laptops count as portable players now?!

 

[ProtegeManiac]

 
Laptops count as portable players now?!

 
Transportable - you can listen in a cafe with it using ripped files or Spotify, unlike hauling a CDP like the Wadia 581 or a music server like an Olive One.

 

[Music Alchemist]

  Transportable - you can listen in a cafe with it using ripped files or Spotify, unlike hauling a CDP like the Wadia 581 or a music server like an Olive One.

 
I guess...but then again, practically everything is technically transportable. Portability is in the eye...or pocket...or moving crew...of the beholder.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

  I guess...but then again, practically everything is technically transportable. Portability is in the eye...or pocket...or moving crew...of the beholder.

 
In the bag design also.