[Shlonglor]

Which died after quite a rough fall yesterday. I will attempt surgery tomorrow, but the odds are unfavorable.

I used it on the go and mostly at the gym. I have the Ultimate Ears Super.Fi 5 Pros.
I listen to many genres, from high quality source files, but most important to me is sound resolution and accuracy so that the more complex technical fusion/metal I listen to sounds good.

I have a Porta Corda II portable amp, but I didn't often feel the need to use it with the Zen.

What I'm looking for, from most important to least:
Sound quality
.
.
.
At least 16gb of storage (preferably more. if only 16, then expandability)
Reasonable price
Good battery life
Support for FLAC/MPC/APE
USB interface/No proprietary programs/connectors


I don't care about:
A color/video screen (in fact, I'd rather NOT have one, since it'd be cheaper)
FM radio
Bells and whistles

I bought my Zen only a year ago for a very low price on eBay, since it's an old model. I really didn't care since it did what I needed it to do - play music. I'd just get another one if this wasn't a good opportunity to buy a player with better SQ and support for FLAC/MPC.

Please help. I don't know what I'll do to myself without a new portable player soon...

 

[tds101]

Get a D2, i7. Both sound great and the D2 has expandability ta' boot.

 

[BloodSugar00]

For what you're looking for I'd say the cowon line is where to look also.

 

[Shlonglor]

I'm really clueless when it comes to portable players - I'd appreciate it if you could specify WHY you're recommending something. Also which brands or a full name so I could look it up. Thanks!

Please feel free to namedrop older models too - there might be huge stocks of them somewhere, just waiting for someone like me to pick'em up...

 

[Shlonglor]

How do these puny flash players compare to larger HD-based players when it comes to sound quality? I see the i7 only has a 95dB SnR...

 

[BloodSugar00]

Apologies, I didn't read the extent of your ignornace from your apparent awareness and experience of audio formats like FLAC and such/it appeared you were alot more integrated in the scene than you are.

My experience with DAP's is relatively infantile and shallow, considering I've only been an audiophile since april this year/have only been buying and using audiophile high-end gear since april this year. However, I own a sony NWZ-A829 and highly endorse that DAP, yet, that is against my tastes, what I want etc. I did- before I chose the sony- sample two other DAP's on a 7 day opened box returns policy via advancedmp3players.com, the samsung yp-p2 and the Cowon D2, along with the 829. I pretty much took everything, spec wise, into account and digested it when making my descision, and though the sony scrimped on additional features amoungst other things (such as a company with a poor history of upporting their products via firmware updates), it did provide the best/most suited to my taste SQ. So it fulfilling that core priority meant I rejected the other 2. However, for the properties you've listed as requirements in a DAP, the D2 meets those criteria ie will support FLAC (not sure about other file format you stipulate), has best battery life of DAP on market at 52 hours, facilitates drag and drop with windows explorer/can be used without any propietry programs or mediators, comes at a resonable price in maximum core memory of 16 GB variety and has memory expansion facility (so can have up to 32 GB memory with a memory card in tandem). Its a great player. The only reason I rejected it is its sonic signature was not suited to my tastes as its bass response is considerably muted and rolled-off and I couldn't accept this.

 

[tds101]

Cowon iAudio D2 and i7 both support the formats your looking to use and the SQ is excellent. If you'd like more info on them feel free to search the forum and do a google search. Besides, I think BloodSugar00 gave you a decent rundown on the info you need. You'll also get more feedback when the resident audiophiles swarm the thread (and drop some knowledge on ya').

 

[Shlonglor]

Thanks for the great response, BloodSugar.

I feel like the D2 is bloated. I don't need all those insane video features, and 56 hours of playback is WAY more than I need. The Zen's 20 hours were ok, and anything beyond 30 hours is overkill for me. I prefer to have more power coming out of it!
It looks like I'm paying too much for stuff I don't need.

I thought advances were made in SQ since the Zen days, but it seems to still be superior with its 97dB SnR.

 

[chinesekiwi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shlonglor /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for the great response, BloodSugar. I feel like the D2 is bloated. I don't need all those insane video features, and 56 hours of playback is WAY more than I need. The Zen's 20 hours were ok, and anything beyond 30 hours is overkill for me. I prefer to have more power coming out of it! It looks like I'm paying too much for stuff I don't need. I thought advances were made in SQ since the Zen days, but it seems to still be superior with its 97dB SnR.

SnR is really not a good way to judge sound quality really.
A much better (more technical) way is to see what chip and codec it uses.
Also a really important feature affecting the SQ of a DAP is the firmware. I can't stress this enough. eg. an iPod with Rockbox custom firmware will sound better than a iTunes-ed default iPod even though they have the same components.

My old Creative MicroPhoto had better SnR than my current Cowon D2 (96 vs. 95) but the sound quality is non-comparable really. It's a no contest than the Cowon D2 is better. Also the Cowon D2 has one of better internal amps in DAPs, so there shouldn't be any problem at all about power. Add to that that most modern (usually better) DAP's with the features you want out of it come with colour screens anyway.....

You could always Rockbox an old supported player of course if you want.
A popular choice is to get an old iPod and put custom firmware like Rockbox on it to support FLAC.

 

[BloodSugar00]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shlonglor /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for the great response, BloodSugar. I feel like the D2 is bloated. I don't need all those insane video features, and 56 hours of playback is WAY more than I need. The Zen's 20 hours were ok, and anything beyond 30 hours is overkill for me. I prefer to have more power coming out of it! It looks like I'm paying too much for stuff I don't need. I thought advances were made in SQ since the Zen days, but it seems to still be superior with its 97dB SnR.

Glad I could help. However, the D2 is highly credited for its output power also. Don't quote me but I believe its the best on offer in this department.

Also, to anwser a previous question of yours, flash based players only differ to HD based memory players in that they have no mechanical noise as a result of their format and also therefore evade the annoynance of jumping or skipping as a result of being subjected to jolts, bumps etc (eg when exercising) that HD based players can be prone to. I have no first hand exp with this though so I don't know how much of an issue this is with HD based players in acuality.

 

[Shlonglor]

My Zen's HD never skipped a beat!

What's the point of getting a 8gb D2 if you could get a 2gb version for MUCH less and just get a 8gb SD?
8GB Flash Memory Card SD Card+usb 4GB 8GB Reader - eBay (item 220272425129 end time Aug-24-08 00:00:19 PDT)

 

[BigTony]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shlonglor /img/forum/go_quote.gif My Zen's HD never skipped a beat! What's the point of getting a 8gb D2 if you could get a 2gb version for MUCH less and just get a 8gb SD? 8GB Flash Memory Card SD Card+usb 4GB 8GB Reader - eBay (item 220272425129 end time Aug-24-08 00:00:19 PDT)

because your maxed at a 32GB expansion card, so 16GB internal +32 GB SDHC gives a useful 48GB of storage. Given that you'll be using FLAC you'll need more space, unless you add/remove tracks very frequently.

BT

 

[Shlonglor]

Wait, let me ask that again.
Suppose I want a 16gb D2.
Why get a 16gb version instead of a much cheaper 2gb version and a 16gb SD card? Will there be any difference? What's the catch?

Which type of memory comes with the D2 itself?

Why is there a 32gb limit? Current technology or the maximum the D2 can read?

 

[tds101]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shlonglor /img/forum/go_quote.gif Wait, let me ask that again. Suppose I want a 16gb D2. Why get a 16gb version instead of a much cheaper 2gb version and a 16gb SD card? Will there be any difference? What's the catch? Which type of memory comes with the D2 itself? Why is there a 32gb limit? Current technology or the maximum the D2 can read?

16gb cause it allows you more space.
Flash memory in the D2.
32gb limit cause that's the current limit on the sd cards.

Besides, you stated that you need at least 16gb INTERNAL storage +expandability and then you try to haggle about getting the lesser capacity model. Point is to just get the capacity YOU NEED. As for the player being bloated - your coming from a monochrome screen and no real features. Thats what a player was like a few yrs ago and the tech has changed. Your simply used to bare-bones players. Time to move on my friend.

 

[Shlonglor]

Ahh, I didn't realize the D2 has its own internal storage. Thought it just comes with an SD.
Still, why would you pay more for a 16gb model if you could get a 2gb one and use an external 16gb SD? You can just keep it in permanently and upgrade to more space when new, cheaper ones become available.

I'm not really sure there's a reason to move on unless the SQ actually improved and not just the extra features. :/