[Darksyde]

To prefice this I have spent the past three months reading every single comment and review related to the S:Flo2 and I find myself encountering a reoccuring nightmare- a lack of a consensus.  Now I know that this is the internet and that everyone's physiology is unique and your milage may very, but generally speaking sheer audio quality is just that- unquestionable and absolute. 
 
It seems as if there are a handful of people who constantly praise its audio-quality and say that it is only second to the unchallenged overlord of audio: the Hifiman HM801.  The other half claims that it is superior to the Sansa Fuze or a 4G Nano, but that is the only thing that they compare it to.  I am a long time Cowon fan and I am currently in possession of the O2 and Grado HF2's paired with an iBasso D10.  My largest qualm with this setup is the maddening EQ on Cowon players- I am unable to find a setting combination that satisfies me.  I also find the stock settings on most players to be bland and woolied into the definition of "unclear". 
 
My fourteenth birthday has very recently come into passing and I am considering an S:Flo2 as my gift.  This however, is under the assumption that it presents the best damned sound quality of any portable player... barring the mystical Hifiman.  I don't care about the battery life, I don't care about the UI, and I don't care about all of the other little things that don't regard the audio.  I am an audio-purist and so I want my audiophile-grade sound.  I want to know if that's what I can expect from this player.
 
I will be listening to FLAC files. 
 
Oh, and please don't just vote.  I would very much appreciate elaboration in the form of a comment.

 

[hairuko]

I am yet to receive my S:Flo2 16GB...but I CAN tell you that you have good grammar for a 14 y/o.

 

[Darksyde]

Quote:

I am yet to receive my S:Flo2 16GB...but I CAN tell you that you have good grammar for a 14 y/o.

 
I hope your S:Flo2 arrives soon, and I look forward to your impressions!
 
Thank you for the compliment, but all credit goes to my parents who are incidently both teachers.  They have nurtured my mind since I was first able to use it and my fondness of English literature has really been the growth-horomone for my vocabulary. 
 

 

[swanlee]

I have owned every model of Zune and a Sansa Fuse and without question the SFLO:2 sounds better then them all. I used a zune for almost 4 years so I have no bias against it, the Fuse was ok but never met my needs and  sounded a lot thinner and sterile compared to the SFLO:2.

 

[Darksyde]

Quote:

I have owned every model of Zune and a Sansa Fuse and without question the SFLO:2 sounds better then them all. I used a zune for almost 4 years so I have no bias against it, the Fuse was ok but never met my needs and  sounded a lot thinner and sterile compared to the SFLO:2.

So I have read
 
My only concern is that Zunes and Sansas aren't audiophile players.  The Sansa is very good for the money, but I want to know if the S:Flo2 is the be-all end-all audio player (as far as sound quality goes).
 

 

[swanlee]

 
Quote:

So I have read
 
My only concern is that Zunes and Sansas aren't audiophile players.  The Sansa is very good for the money, but I want to know if the S:Flo2 is the be-all end-all audio player (as far as sound quality goes).
 

 
 
The Zune's are considered pretty good for a mass market player as are the Sansa's. But let's put it this way the SFLO:2 sounds much better than my Zune even with using my 300$ XM5 portable amp on it which has been opamp rolled and buffers installed so it is sound much better than the stock XM5.
 
The SFLO:2 sounds so good by itself I do not even use an amp with it.
 

 

[Darksyde]

Anyone else want to chime in?

 

[poliact]

Hmmm.........i guess s:flo2 is the hype now. 14 years old and an audiophile already? wow, thats heavy. I was wasting time at school during that age......if you get what i mean. Personally i wouldnt get it, because they say it has bad interface? of the many sources  have, i would say the NANO3g  is the best. Since it is simple.

 

[Danneq]

Quote:

Hmmm.........i guess s:flo2 is the hype now. 14 years old and an audiophile already? wow, thats heavy. I was wasting time at school during that age......if you get what i mean. Personally i wouldnt get it, because they say it has bad interface? of the many sources  have, i would say the NANO3g  is the best. Since it is simple.

 
Tell me about it. When I was 14 about 19 years ago, mp3 players did not exist. I had my trusty Sony Walkman cassette player when I wanted to listen to my Anthrax and Metallica on the go.
 
How times have changed! (or in other words, I just realized that I am growing older by the minute)
 
Well, I have not heard the S:flo2 nor do I have much interest in it. But it seems to be all the rage here at Head-fi, so just go for it!

 

[kazakore]

Quote:

I CAN tell you that you have good grammar for a 14 y/o.

Are you extracting the urine? Commas all over the place, very often before the words "and" and "but" neither of which should be preceded by a comma in the cast majority of cases.
 
Although I admit the writing is pretty clear, better than a lot of people in their 20s I see posting on forums and at least you aren't using horrible txt spk many people your age seem to. But you are using at least twice as many commas as really needed!
 
Sorry for the off-topic post but I just found that a weird comment when it's quite arguable (although for 14 it's still far from poor I guess.) Afraid I know nothing about the S:Flo2 so can't help you with the main subject of the thread.

 

[smdeep]

Hi
Are you not considering the AMP3? Just curiosity. I am in the same position as you in the sense that I want the best SQ possible for music. My problem is my funds are limited, I cannot afford two three players. I have to settle for one. The other problem is in India we do not have access to everything. Readily available is Cowon and Sansa Clip, Fuze on ebay.in. I think I will have to settle for a Sansa Clip+.

 

[Questa]

to my ear the s:flo2 has better clarity, imaging, and soundstage ( width and depth ) than any ipod I've heard, but I like ipod better in bass area. And I'm no bass head.

 

[swanlee]

To bad it's not a public poll as I'd like to see if the people that voted no have actually HEARD the SFLO:2. You want to talk about all the rage of head-fi the freakin Sansa clip and fuse are talked about on nearly every thread and pushed to the moon even though they are just very average players that sound decent for their cheap price.

 

[Big Kev]

I'm very interested in reading more from people, giving more details as to their preference, especially over the X1060 which I have, as I want to get the best out of my SM3's and if the sflo:2 sounds better than the Sony, then I'll order one myself. 

 

[Darksyde]

Fixed.
 
So,rry, I h,av,e a, co,mm,a ,fe,ti,sh.
 

Are you extracting the urine? Commas all over the place, very often before the words "and" and "but" neither of which should be preceded by a comma in the cast majority of cases.
 
Although I admit the writing is pretty clear, better than a lot of people in their 20s I see posting on forums and at least you aren't using horrible txt spk many people your age seem to. But you are using at least twice as many commas as really needed!
 
Sorry for the off-topic post but I just found that a weird comment when it's quite arguable (although for 14 it's still far from poor I guess.) Afraid I know nothing about the S:Flo2 so can't help you with the main subject of the thread.