[Bull Moose]

Hey friends, so I'll make this as short as I can because I know it's the weekend and you don't want to have to work to hard...
So...I'm fed up with my Zune 30. Even though it sounds fantastic, the battery life just plain sucks, it's BIG, and as of last night the storage isn't enough. I was looking at the obvious upgrade (Zune 80) but I really hate how featureless it seems to be, even though $250 for 80gb is a good price IMO. I have a Meizu m5 and I LOVE how many features it's packed with, especially in the realm of EQ and sleep timer, plus a pretty solid 20hr battery life. I thought I was going to be getting an 8gb Samsung P2, but it's just hard for me to justify the price given that for the same price I could have 80gb of storage. BUT, last night I discovered the Sony NWZ-A829.

Let me say first that I really despise Sony due to their plain foolishness for holding on to a terrible proprietary format and software for so long, but I admit that I can't ignore how many people seem to be saying that the SQ out of sony's new players is stunning. I realize that there is only 16gb of flash storage available, but I don't often listen to music on my Zune when I'm in my room because I have a sound card and klipsch speakers hooked up to my laptop. The way I see it is that even though it's 16gb of storage, I'll just put all my favorite stuff on the player instead of EVERYTHING I have. I'm a features and battery life kind of guy and I must say that I'm not excited about the EQ-less Zune 80 when compared to other players. What do you guys think I should do?

 

[GreatDane]

Get the DAP that sounds best to you. You can always re-sync when you get tired of listening to what's on it. I do this with my collection(of DAPS) all the time.

 

[neoufo51]

Get the Sony. The Zune is a decent upgrade, but the SQ in the Sony goes a step above.

 

[KUNFUCHOPSTICKS]

You don't like ipods?

 

[Bull Moose]

sorry, but no I absolutely do not like iPods. No offense, I just don't get all the hype for such a mediocre device. To me it seems that it does everything right...just not great.

 

[KUNFUCHOPSTICKS]

I know what you mean. I want to go for something else for my next player-like a Zen or a zune80, but i'm hooked on itunes....

 

[Bull Moose]

Yeah, I hear ya. I think I'm slowly learning that aesthetics aren't everything. For example, the first thing that came to mind when I saw the sony player was "what an ugly looking UI!" (this is after using the v2 'twist' UI that the Zune has). Also, I love how the Zune software looks, but in reality it's not all that great of a program, just very pretty to look at. Hell, there's not even any EQ settings on the program. I'm really liking the Sony, it just breaks my heart to pay MORE money for less storage...

I remember how happy and content I was as a freshman in college (I'm now getting near the end of my junior year) when I had an iAudio X5 and Westone UM2s. The setup was not by any means pretty, but man did it sound sweet!

I've still got my eye on the Samsung P2 because of how feature packed it is (I mean, if you're gonna shell out over $250 for 8gb of flash then shouldn't you get some cool stuff on the side?) but I can see how the touchscreen novelty would wear off after a little while. Plus I'm "oldschool" and I don't particularly enjoy watching movies on a 3 inch screen when I have a sweet 17" HP laptop to watch HD movies on...

Here's to hoping I make the right choice....

 

[rockin_amigo14]

how about the Cowon D2? it's got quite a few features itself. expandable. great sound (IMO). killer battery life.

 

[Rob E.]

2X on the Cowon D2. Great features and battery life. As much as I hate to admit this, having loved my Meizu M6SL, the D2 does sound better... at least to my ear. But that's the wrong way to put it... They're both highly configurable with savable presets and both capable of excellence. I don't know if you (or anyone else) can relate to this analogy but... through revealing enough earphones, the Meizu reminds me of the old Quad ESL 63, but with good bass. The D2 is like the Martin Logan CLS, also with good bass. One (the Meizu) is a bit on the warm side. The other (the D2) is more neutral, with greater inner detail, and it's the additional resolution of inner detail that has me say that (I think) the D2 is "better". Of course the resolution's lost if the earphones aren't revealing enough but that's something else. I've heard the Cowon described as sounding "cold" and "analytical". That's ridiculous! I think these descriptions are thrown around by people who either don't know what they're talking about, or don't have enough comparative listening experience. IMO, the D2's sound is neutral & clean and can be configured to sound warm or cold or anywhere in between. Analytical? One of its strengths is excellent resolution of inner detail. Funny but, if audiophiles weren't analytical they wouldn't be audiophiles (think about it!). I think the D2's a musical player. The detail isn't at the expense of musicality. It's not fatiguing. - Sorry, I'll get off my soapbox now.

I hope you enjoy whatever you get!

 

[dgbiker1]

I'm a big fan of Sony's new players. They've given up on all the proprietary junk and come out with solid, focused players. Sony will be my next player.