[macmalk]

Hi everyone. I am new to this forum so apologize if this subject was already somewhere mentioned. I wanted to buy new mp3 player which will have the best sound quality available now but at the same time I do not want to spend too much. I found a lot of very good reviews of cowon s9 and I was almost convinced I want it. Problem is it is no longer available (some used ones are listed for sale here and there, but as battery is not replaceable I do not want to invest in something which may have a battery at the end of it working cycle). What other options would you recommend? Sony? SanDisk? Creative? I would love it to have radio as well and of course support FLACs.

 

[Sefelt103]

Welcome to the forum macmalk. I used to have an S9 but didn't like the sound quality people love finding it slightly artificial through colour and lacking in bass when set to a flat equalisation. However I like listening to over the ear headphones which the S9 is not really made for. You could try the X7. It is big with a large HDD and can still be bought new. There is the upcoming Fiio X3 that may be good value and superb sound quality. This is a real Hi-Fi player giving 10 hour battery life from a huge 3000mah battery. In contrast the X7 will give over 100 hours playback from a smaller power unit. The Sandisk Sansa Clip+ is a cheap player (microsd expandable) as is the Colorfly C3. You could do worse than pick up a used iPod Video 5th gen. These have pretty good sound quality/durability and are widely available. It is also easy to replace the battery if it is defective. These should also be fairly low cost.

 

[Afterparty]

A lot of folks swear by the colorfly c3+ c&c bh amp combo
http://www.head-fi.org/t/637417/colorfly-c3-appreciation-and-discussion-thread
http://www.head-fi.org/t/644363/c-c-bh-portable-headphone-amp-80-hours-from-a-single-charge-buyer-review
 
each is about a 100$ (+free shipment) ... so 200$ for the rig
 
as for the cowon, there's a new d20 out, and c2 which has been around a while (which I hear has a horrible ui, but so do most cowons, and eventually you get used to it... I did at least ^_^)
 
I've yet to read a review on the d20, but if they've upgraded the d2+ properly, it can't be too bad