[gpalmer]

Hi, I'm hoping to cut through the red tape and get a quick idea of what portable players to consider along with a quick recomendation for ripping software.

It looks like I might be out of the country for a couple months. I will not be able to transport my CDs along with me so I would like to take my music along in some sort of a digital player. I assume this means a hard disc player with a capacity of around 60 GB though if I've missed a better alterntaive please feel free to point it out. I will probably be using this player in a mostly stationary role, carry to work, carry back to hotel, rinse, lather, repeat so size and weight are not really major factors. i will probably be using the player with either an HR-2 or a Gilmore V2 (although this might finally be the justification for getting the XP-7 I've been waiting for) and a PS-1 or Etymotic so I'm looking for the best source I can get my hands on. I think I have about 350 CDs to fit on the player. Here are my questions:

1) What is the best source player to get? Am I looking for a portable or is there something else that would be small enough to use and have higher quality sound? I'm not too concerned about the size and weight so much as the quality of the output, ideally it would be worthy of the Gilmore V2/HR-2/XP-7.

2) What would you recommend as the best way to rip the CD audio so as to get the audio on the player with the highest quality?

 

[lindrone]

The player with the highest tested line-out quality is the iPod... it has been reviewed by Stereophile... In several side-by-side test, using lossless files.. it's been hard to distinguish it with my desktop source using the same amp.

Pedigree and I just talked about it, and he tested a Zen Xtra and iPod side-by-side with his UE-10 Pro, and the iPod's headphone output is much more neutral and balanced. Some people complain about the lack of bass with iPod's headphone output, but even there it matches up beautifully with high-end headphones..

I personally think that other players color the output in anticipation of matching up with low-quality headphones... thus the bass sounds more boosted with lower end equipments. iPod, on the other hand, is amazing neutral and flat for a portable player.

Of course, if you're using iPod, just go with iTunes and Apple Lossless compression.

 

[gpalmer]

Would that imply that I would also need to get the dock for the iPod or does it come bundled with the iPod? I'm just not sure if your comments are with or without the dock being used. I seem to remmember that it does not have a true line out without it.

 

[lindrone]

Ah, you are correct, the line-out comes from the dock connector.. so you need to use either the dock.. or one of these:

http://www.sik.com/din.php
http://www.sik.com/imp.php

I think the only difference is that the "Imp" comes with the car adaptor as well.. otherwise they're the same. That's what I used to run my test with the iPod.

 

[gpalmer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lindrone Ah, you are correct, the line-out comes from the dock connector.. so you need to use either the dock.. or one of these: http://www.sik.com/din.php http://www.sik.com/imp.php I think the only difference is that the "Imp" comes with the car adaptor as well.. otherwise they're the same. That's what I used to run my test with the iPod.

Those are really cool. I thought I was going to have to get a second dock for the office but that portable adapeter is way cool and easy to carry. Is there a better case for the iPod (including room for accessories like the imp adapter) than the ones offered on Apple's site? They don't look like the hot setup...

 

[lindrone]

Currently, iSkin Evo is my favorite...

http://www.iskin.com

Most of the time I go without a case though... they just.. all add some extra bulk I don't want. Apple's own case is a piece of crap, stay away from it. The texture of the fabric is actually known to cause really tiny surface scratches if you use it too often.

 

[Edvard_Grieg]

Eh...in all fairness take a look at the Karma as well. It is by far the most customizable from a sound perspective. With most players you are 'stuck' with whatever the base sound is and whatever 'crappy' presets are bundled. The Karma has a full 5-band parametric eq with custom presets so you can tweak the sound to be exactly as you want it. Further, it is the only portable in its class to offer gapless (huge bonus if you listen to classical, jazz, techno etc where you don't want a break in between songs.) It also supports FLAC which is an open-source lossless compression scheme, and finally it too has a true line-out which is located on the included dock. On that note, the Karma's MSRP is $299, but it can be easily found for $250 online.

If you are strictly looking for a good 'line-out' etc, look at the creative njb3 but it is a bit larger (physically).

I would look at Austonia's opinions of the Karma, he is one of the most vocal members here, and has become a recent convert. If you have any further questions, feel free to come by to riovolution.com and ask away.

 

[pank2002]

If you're only looking from an audiophile point of view the Cretive Jukebox 3 would be best. It has lineout on the unit. They're pretty big though, and not nearly as slick as the iPod. Futhermore the 40gig version is 'only' a $100 cheaper than the 40gig iPod.
I would go for an iPod, if I were to choose.

The coolest cases are the iPodArt ones at lajo.biz. I like the cow one

 

[ipodstudio]

Gotta be an ipod to go with that new amp you're building, GP...

 

[bangraman]

Cut through the red tape? on Head-Fi? Surely you jest

You will get your 10,000 different opinions whether you like it or not!

I use the NJB3 when I'm travelling for various reasons.
+ battery life (enough for the longest flights)
+ expandable (currently at 80gb)
+ good playlisting
+ delete on the fly
+ everything built in
+ radio (with remote)


I would suggest an upgraded (80Gb) NJB3 if you have to fit 350 albums in. That'll still give you 210MB per album which would allow you to rip at a high bitrate.

 

[Watchdog]

In your application a portable with a good line out is essential and previous posters have listed good options. No one has mentioned the IHP-120 yet, so I'll throw that one into the ring.

At our Vancouver meet, someone brought one and hooked it up to one of the AOS Piccolo DACs and it was mighty impressive. If you're willing to spring for an external DAC to use with your portable, then the IHP-120 or 140 merits serious consideration.

I just can't see the DACs inside any portable DAP on the market today, being able to stack up to external DACs you can use and AOS's Piccolo is pretty nice, though it will significantly add to the cost of your "transportable set-up".

 

[Luke]

I second Bangraman's post above.

Also, the Creative JB3 has the highest percentage of satisfied users (88%), according to users on cnet -- higher than the iPod or any other player on the planet.

 

[PedigreeE]

I compaired a Zen xtra and an Ipod with my ue10 pros and the ipod was 20x better. I kept it and have quickly fallen in love. The extra was cheap and hard to use in compairison. Also, a fellow headfier with more equipment than I have ever seen tested the NJB3 vs the Zen xtra both with amps. He, using his grado ps1's could not tell a difference between the line out on the NJB3 and the headphone out on the zen when running them through an amp. I would stick to the iPod, pluss the resale is quite good if you want to get a 4g later this year.

 

[bangraman]

This is the test rig.

There's not much in it I have to admit, between the iPod and the NJB3. The iPod is just as detailed but lacks a little overall sparkle. The iPod does have the higher sale value... outfit it with a battery pack though and it's nearly as big as the NJB3. It's not upgradable, etc etc. I suggest you think hard

Regarding the Zen, I don't believe I tried amping it when I had it last year. However, I've tried the Headphone Out of the NJB3 and the maximum volume Headphone Out is the same as the Line Out. I would imagine that with the NJB3, it's simply a matter of signal routing for the Line Out output as the headphone output is off when the Line Output is active and vice versa. For the Zen? I don't know.

 

[gerG]

For highly portable I like the ipod, but you mentioned that size and weight are not an issue, so I would go with a laptop and a total bithead. The advantage of the laptop is more storage space, much better display, and it can access head-fi! You can also rip CDs that you buy on your trip. Oh yeah, and you can watch movies on it.


gerG