[sugarinthegourd]

I'm going to get away from HD-based iPods and I am ready to get a new flash-based player.

Here are my criteria:
- Size: 8 - 16GB
- SQ: want great SQ. What I've heard from nanos hasn't blown me away. I will most likely be using with an amp (Penguin caffeine -- could go to fancier amp if I feel the need). Using Ety Er4p w/ s-adapter and Yuin PK3, also Grado SR-60 at home.
- File types: I have a lot of mp3s but also a lot of 320k AACs so non-support of AAC would be a big hassle.
- Gapless: this would be great, but it seems like nano is almost the only game in town and I'm leaning towards moving away from Apple over issues w/ SQ and long-term reliability
- User interface: here I really like my iPods. A bit reluctant to try a new interface and would hate something clunky
- File management/transfer: Again, I really like iTunes for this. Used creative SW years ago and it really sucked. Windows-based drag & drop would be OK, but how about playlist management, etc?
- Video: couldn't care less
- Radio: couldn't care less
- Rockbox: not really interested in messing w/ Rockbox to get possible gapless or AAC support...

Players under consideration:

Sony NWZ-A728BLK 8GB
Price: $170
Pros: sound quality supposed to be excellent
Cons: no gapless playback?

iPod nano 8GB
Price: $190
Pros: gapless playback, like interface, like iTunes, just bought silver dock so this wouldn't go to waste!
Cons: SQ, longevity?

Sansa Fuze 8GB
Price: $130
Pros: sound quality supposed to be excellent, price, expandable drive
Cons: clunky interface? no gapless playback? no AAC?

Sansa View 16GB
Price: $170
Pros: sound quality? (is this as good as clip/fuze?), price, 16GB size, expandable drive
Cons: clunky interface? no gapless playback? no AAC?

Samsung YP-P2JCB 8GB
Price: $230
Pros: sound quality supposed to be excellent
Cons: high price, don't need bluetooth, no gapless playback?, AAC??

Samsung T10 4GB
Price: $120
Pros: sound quality supposed to be excellent, price
Cons: 4GB too small, don't need bluetooth, no gapless playback?, AAC??

Could use some help:

Any other suggestions? Am I missing any good candidates?

Any thoughts on which one sounds *best*?

Will amping remove the differences in SQ or will an amped Sony still sound better than amped nano?

How is the interface & file transfer mechanism on the Sony?

Do these support AAC? I think the Sony does, Samsungs will w/ firmware update, and Sansas do not -- is that correct?

Am I right that the nano is the only one of these w/ native support for gapless playback? (this is a fairly big deal for me)

Any other questions I should be asking?

At this point probably looking mostly at the Sony and nano, and leaning towards Sony. If only it did gapless!

Thanks in advance!

John

 

[MrSlim]

I was going to recommend the Meizu M6 but it looks like it doesn't support AAC. It supports just about every other format though, including Flac and OGG, near and dear to my OSS heart..

I thought I would plug it anyway, in case someone else is interested in checking it out.

I have one and I love it. It has great sound and a very nice screen. One of the Amazon sellers has it for $109 right now which is a great deal for an 8 Gb player. Check out the reviews on the 4Gb models which are the same unit.

Amazon.com: Dane-Elec DAM408ML2 8GB Meizu Portable MP3 Player - Black: Electronics