[Steely]

Hi all...
I just recently started following this forum, and i must admit, I'm hooked.
As a kid i was an audiophile wannabe, but never had the $ to buy anything decent, so I lost interest.
The idea of having a great (although not audiophile by any standards) sound system in a portable setup, alot cheaper than a fullblown stereo-system, has become too tempting for me to resist.
So I've been browsing through the forums, listening to your great advice, and decided on buying Etymotics Er6i's, hopefully they'll arrive monday or tuesday.

For now I'll have to use them with a cheap Flash-MP3 player,(a 128meg player that i bought for 25$, imagine my surprise when the earbuds it came with was Sennheiser Mx300's! It doesn't say Sennheiser on them, but i studied closeup's of them, and they are EXACTLY the same).
I've decided i need something better, soundquality-wise, that can also hold most of my music collection.

I've narrowed down my choices to either an Apple iPod Photo 30Gb, or a Creative Zen Touch 40 Gb.
I can get the Zen Touch 40 Gb for alot less than the 30 Gb iPod Photo.

The Zen Touch is said to have superior sound quality(?), almost twice the battery life of the iPod, plus it's cheaper.
But i really like the iPod's dock, it's easier to sync and recharge, plus I can use the docks line-out to connect it to my stereo.
If im not mistaken there's no way you can hook the Zen Touch up to anything else, apart from through the headphone jack, which would be awkward.
And the Er6i's are supposed to be designed to match the iPod's SQ.

So, help me decide...Am I missing something? Any other players i should consider? (The Rio Karma doesn't appeal to me, design-wise).

 

[blessingx]

Well there's the iAudio X5 that has many people excited. May want to take a look. Also has the dock (included I believe) you're looking for.

I really don't think it's universally thought the Zen has 'superior sound quality' over the iPod. It's not different leagues, so it's a preference thing. Keep in mind the 30GB Photo doesn't come with a dock, so if you want it (or Sik/Sendstation equivalent) you're going to have to spend more. Basically if you can't test both to see which you like, it's which features you want (much better battery life versus greater third party support [see buyers guide in my sig], extra 10 GB versus line out, cheaper price versus color screen, WMA and WAV versus AAC and ALAC*, better EQ implementation versus iTunes integration, etc.). Take a look at the specs and see which you'd most miss.

Also it's not the end of the world if you use the headphone out of either player to a stereo, etc. You may be able to approximate a line out signal. I did that with my first gen iPod (prior to dock connector) as did many others.

[size=xx-small]* Uncompessed WAV (and AIFF) is possible on the iPod, but would likely be rarely used with a lossless option. [/size]

 

[Kardon]

you should take a look at a Dell DJ. comes in 3 flavours 5, 20, and 30gb models. quite affordable and uses creatives OS or w/e(menus).

 

[Edvard_Grieg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steely So, help me decide...Am I missing something? Any other players i should consider? (The Rio Karma doesn't appeal to me, design-wise).

First lesson for being an audiophile, form follows function, not the other way around

 

[scorpian007]

I bought a 40Gb iPod and returned it 5 days later because I was horrified at the sound. If youre concerned about sound quality, get the Touch.

 

[Steely]

Thx for the input.
Now I'm even more confused after seeing all the great accessories for the iPod, great link btw BlessingX...
Yeah I guess the Zen could be hooked up through the headphone jack, buying the dock for the the iPod would put it's total price up to 1,5 x the price of the Zen.
Searching the internets, it seems there's a religious war going on among iPod and Zen owners. The sound quality of either player seems to be a matter of personal preference, although the 4-band equalizer of the Zen is a big plus.

Still can't decide though, guess I'll let my wallet decide

Got the Ety's today btw. Wow...They really do reveal alot of details my previous equipment didn't, love them.
The microphonic effect isn't really that bad either, especially using the clip that allows you to secure the cable to your shirt so it doesn't move around alot. Only negative i can find is the earwax factor, but i guess i need to clean my ears more...

The iAudio looks great, prolly sounds great too. Hate paying for a feature i won't use though, who watces movies on a tiny screen like that?

 

[PFJ]

Another vote for the Dell DJ 30. Cheap (especially if you catch one of Dell's frequent sales), 30GB, dock with line out included. Intuitive controls, simple to load with music. Stock headphones are not very good though.

 

[LFC_SL]

Quote:

Originally Posted by blessingx Well there's the iAudio X5 that has many people excited. May want to take a look. Also has the dock (included I believe) you're looking for[/SIZE]

as far as you can tell, would it work if I imported it to UK from wherever?

 

[Mano]

Scorpian007, since you have both a zen micro and a muvo tx fm, how do the sound quality compare on both with your E2cs? thanks in advance

 

[seeberg]

Ah, HDD player hunting eh? I've seen a player I'm getting along with some SA1000's soon, an Entempo Spirit. At present, it is generating a slight amount of buzz, but has potential, IMO. It's 20GB for $100, and of course, I'll be reviewing it when I get mine. I even emailed the company that makes it because the player can't hook up to regular headphones normally(it has a 4-pole jack for a stereo+mic headset) and they said with new firmware upgrades, I can run any 3-pole headphone. It's also said to be plug-and-play, meaning it's not software cradle reliant, which I personally prefer, but we'll see when I get mine. I don't know of anyone reviewing it's sound qualities though.

,
Abe

 

[scorpian007]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mano Scorpian007, since you have both a zen micro and a muvo tx fm, how do the sound quality compare on both with your E2cs? thanks in advance

The sound quality is great through the Muvo TX FM. I was quite surprised at how well it powered the earphones. Comparing the two using the same EQ settings, the Zen Micro is a better. Not by a huge amount but the difference is noticable. Still, for a player the size of the Muvo TX FM, the sound quality is bloody amazing for a flash based player.

 

[aeowap]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steely ...The iAudio looks great, prolly sounds great too. Hate paying for a feature i won't use though, who watces movies on a tiny screen like that?

You could always go for the M3. To my ears it sounds great, but I haven't heard any other daps before either. Shrugs.