[Coke42]

I need help deciding, which mp3 player to buy. Just received my IE8´s yesterday and I’m unsure which one to go with. Important for me are at least 16GB of memory, a good SQ, many sound settings to play with and a long battery life. It should be pretty cheap (~100-150€/Pounds/~150-200$, maybe used stuff?). I already read tons of reviews and opinions but I´m still unsure deciding between the Samsung P3, Cowon S9, Meizu M6 or Sony E400. (Is it true that the Sony S- and E-series sound like the X-series? Does any one of the players hiss?) My favorite so far is the Cowon, since it has basically all the main points which are important to me. The problem is, i live in Germany and can´t find a store to try them out. Further I’m not ready to pay 200€ for the S9, since it sells for 200$ in the States and Amazon and a lot of dealers only ship to Usa.

Please recommend me one of these or tell me which ones to take into consideration. What do you guys think?

 

[Rip N' Burn]

I have the Sony S639 and the X1060. They both sound great with the IE8 and I don't hear any hiss.

 

[herrbbiiee]

I was in a similar position - I have some decent headphones and decent(ish) IEMS, I ended up goin for the s9 as can play flac and long batter life

I think the most important thing is that after you have made your choice, don't look back. Other players will always have the edge in at least 1 aspect over the one you choose

 

[HONEYBOY]

Within that price Range the Cowon S9 or Sony S730 may be the best match and with a low noisefloor/hissing. Oh and I don't think the S series sounds like the X. I find the X to be a noticeable upgrade.

 

[righteousball]

In theory: a lot of people like to do a Cowon/IE8 combination because their signatures complement each other.

However: I have auditioned the Sony X with my IE8, and it sounds fantastic to the n-th degree, like many have already mentioned here on Head-Fi. Highly recommended if you've got the budget for it.

 

[Coke42]

Thanks everyone for your replies, although I´m still unsure about a better Sony (maybe i can find the X on Ebay) i think i will go with the Cowon because of the better battery life and the support of a lossless codec, as herrbbiiee said. Nonetheless, it would be interesting to know whether a notebook with the SRS Sandbox would be as great as the BBE settings (or vice versa).