[The_X]

I have Shure E500's but no decent source right now. I have $200 to spend because I saved a ton of money on books this semester and all I have is the stylish, but very mediocre-sounding Sony NW-S705. $200 is my MAX but I'd like to go as far beneath that as possible. Here are my options!

-Creative Zen Micro 6GB from the refurb store--$50 <--I don't like the looks of the Zen but the price is definitely right, and 98db SNR!

-iAudio I7 8GB--$160

-Sony A816--$133 <--a bit wary of this one because it supposedly has a warm sound, which wouldn't go well with my warm E500's

-Refurb iPod Nano 4gb + TurboDock + GoVibe--$200-ish

-Trekstor Vibez--$190

Any options I'm missing? I'm just looking for the absolute best sound, everything else is a distant second. I have the Sony S705 for walking around, so this rig would be for situations where I would have a decent listening environment.

 

[QQQ]

Quote:

and 98db SNR

that's mean nothing.

 

[The_X]

It doesn't mean much, but at least you know Creative worked hard on the sonics and if the value is accurate, there should be relatively little hiss.

 

[TheMarchingMule]

Bad reply timing...

 

[QQQ]

Quote:

Creative worked hard on the sonics and if the value is accurate, there should be relatively little hiss.

Hiss was never a problem for most DAPs...

 

[DKaz]

On this forum your battle is going to be between the Cowon iAudio 7 and the Sony NWZ series. I have owned Cowon and Sony products, as well as other DAPs. To ME the Sony is by far the most enjoyable portable listening experience. Pay the extra mony and get the 8gb version. You may not think you need it now, but you will later. I found Amazon to have the best prices (I got mine on sale for $163)

Sony NWZ-A818

Or you couls save a few more bucks and get the 6XX series which aparently uses the same internals.

Sony NWZ-A618

 

[RubenNYC]

I'll add in a vote for the vibez.

 

[santiclaws]

Are you set on a flash player? Because you can get a Zune 30 for around $150

 

[The_X]

I used to have a Zune 30 and while I liked it a lot, getting E500's meant I had to move on to a different source because it sounds too dark and there is no custom EQ.

 

[DKaz]

The Sony is not as warm as you think. It also has a custom EQ, so you can tune it to your liking.

 

[chowk]

Price drop on iAudio players:
Cowon price drops abound - Engadget