[fiascogarcia]

 
iPod/Clas rig is way more expensive to be considered a low end I believe. iPC + 2 Cypher labs products (or Theorem 720) costs around 1k or even more I think.

 
Yeah, I was kind of  mocking my own reluctance to venture out of the Apple world.  I am lazy!  I'm too comfortable navigating my songs and playlists without thinking.

 

[Makiah S]

for what it's worth I had a iPod back in the day, and first
 
I found the ZUNE HD to be a better interface, and then I got my HM601 and it sounded so good I stopped having time to fiddle around with UI :3

 

[Currawong]

  If anything, this thread has taught me three things:
 

1. I'm not the only one who hears only small differences between DAPs.
2. There'll probably never be a broad agreement on the significance of these differences.
3. <$500 DAPs are considered "lower end" nowadays.

 

 

 
The impression I get is that people focus so much on "how it sounds" and forget about everything else. Like @eke2k6 said, we're pretty much all in agreement. What I'm trying to consider (as I write reviews or make videos) is how other people in different situations would see these products, such as people who don't have an iDevice, or students, or people who want to use certain headphones with a DAP etc.
 
Yes, now we have the AK240, <$500 (entirely off the top of my head) I guess is the "lower end". Nicely though, that "lower end" in the case of the X5 here is very nicely made and sonically great all things considered, if very functionally challenged until they can get playlist support happening.

 

[nakedtoes]

Thanks TS... i was What when u said the IP4 is SLIGHTLY better then the HM901...LOL then i realised u stated u listen to MP3... and yes i owned the IP4 too and i dun know why mp3 simply sound great in it.. ALAC apple loose-less sound plain liveless and boring and worse then mp3... I agreed with r findings.. however try the same ALAC or apple loose less track with HM901 and IP4 and get back to me again... the HM901 will simply blow the ip4 mp3 sound  

 

[eke2k6]

  Thanks TS... i was What when u said the IP4 is SLIGHTLY better then the HM901...LOL then i realised u stated u listen to MP3... and yes i owned the IP4 too and i dun know why mp3 simply sound great in it.. ALAC apple loose-less sound plain liveless and boring and worse then mp3... I agreed with r findings.. however try the same ALAC or apple loose less track with HM901 and IP4 and get back to me again... the HM901 will simply blow the ip4 mp3 sound  

 
Except the statistics show that choosing between the two is no more than guesswork.

 

[soundbear]

  Thanks TS... i was What when u said the IP4 is SLIGHTLY better then the HM901...LOL then i realised u stated u listen to MP3... and yes i owned the IP4 too and i dun know why mp3 simply sound great in it.. ALAC apple loose-less sound plain liveless and boring and worse then mp3... I agreed with r findings.. however try the same ALAC or apple loose less track with HM901 and IP4 and get back to me again... the HM901 will simply blow the ip4 mp3 sound  

I recorded apple lossless for my 4s and compared the same tracks recorded flac on my Studio V.   All I could tell from my A/B was like Eke said, a slightly brighter sound coming from the V.   But adding my T1 to my Studio V the brighter sound difference disappeared and then the only difference I could hear was a slightly richer, warmer sound from the iphone 4.  The warm sound really appealed to me.    If the 5th gen ipod touch is the same as the 4s, I might get a refurbished touch 64G for $300 and not get the x5.
  
"for what it's worth I had a iPod back in the day, and first
I found the ZUNE HD to be a better interface, and then I got my HM601 and it sounded so good I stopped having time to fiddle around with UI :3"
 
I went from the touch 2, to the T51, to the 601 then the Studio V and never looked back.(though the T51 had a nice warm SQ to my ears which I liked.  my T51 died but I got refunded completely from my SqTradeWarrantee!!!)   

 

[fzman]

   
The impression I get is that people focus so much on "how it sounds" and forget about everything else. Like @eke2k6 said, we're pretty much all in agreement. What I'm trying to consider (as I write reviews or make videos) is how other people in different situations would see these products, such as people who don't have an iDevice, or students, or people who want to use certain headphones with a DAP etc.
 
Yes, now we have the AK240, <$500 (entirely off the top of my head) I guess is the "lower end". Nicely though, that "lower end" in the case of the X5 here is very nicely made and sonically great all things considered, if very functionally challenged until they can get playlist support happening.

 
True enough - a review should cover all of the relevant criteria/factors. Sonics, ergonomics, economics, availabilty, features, etc....  Many of these can be described objectively - e.g., it takes 3 seconds to boot up, it is incompatible with cue files....
 
How these facts will sway any specific person's purchase decision is entirely up to that person, not the reviewer (objectivist saviors notwithstanding)...
 
Having people share their hands-on with a product is a nice resource to have available.... I am thankful people take the time to do it

 

[Tympan]

  I do hope so... still dual wolfsons vs NOS/PCM based chips >.> I hope I hope
 
speaking of which... I wonder if I'll even own one of Kingwa's PCM and/or NOS based balanced dacs *drools* 

My first intro to NOS dac was the Rega Jupiter CD player (dual Wolfson chips). Half an hour later, I was hooked to NOS organic sound signatures and have never looked back. 
I wasn't familiar with Kingwa's DACs until you mentioned. "4xPCM1704UK..." Yum! ... I refuse to read the rest of the article (my stereo budget is currently non existent, no need for that sort of temptation ; )

 

[njo2288]

Woah,thx a lot for this multi review

 

[Makiah S]

  Thanks TS... i was What when u said the IP4 is SLIGHTLY better then the HM901...LOL then i realised u stated u listen to MP3... and yes i owned the IP4 too and i dun know why mp3 simply sound great in it.. ALAC apple loose-less sound plain liveless and boring and worse then mp3... I agreed with r findings.. however try the same ALAC or apple loose less track with HM901 and IP4 and get back to me again... the HM901 will simply blow the ip4 mp3 sound  

wait wait wait... EKE is listening with mp3's on his hm901

 

[eke2k6]

  wait wait wait... EKE is listening with mp3's on his hm901

 
lol. Yeah, because MP3 encoding/decoding changes the frequency response and impulse response characteristics of your headphones. 
 

 

[Makiah S]

   
lol. Yeah, because MP3 encoding/decoding changes the frequency response and impulse response characteristics of your headphones. 
 

silly we all know it doesn't. But mp3's lack sound stage and the nuansaced details you get with Red book and 24/92 flacs
 
and honestly, when you start getting into the $1000 headphones, it's the sound stage you start paying for. I know the sound signiture that I enjoy, the differeance between my old DT 880 and HE 4 is mostly in sound stage and the generall texture of the music. Lossless to my ears sounds closed in, seeing as it has a 20k hrz shelf and lacks the "air" or white decay noise in the treble. Not only is this audible, but it's visuable in a spectrum analysis.  
 
but again... buys a $1000 DAP...and uses it to listen to lossy... not a smart move ino, but as long as your enjoying it that's all that really matters.

 

[eke2k6]

What exactly do you think sound stage and detail are derived from?

 

[eke2k6]

Let me answer that for you. 
 
A large part of soundstage is built on tuning. For instance, a dip in the upper mids can result in a seemingly more open vocal stage. More bass bloom and quantity can reduce the perceived ss size. The same goes for detail. Emphasized upper mids will bring certain harmonics to the fore, making it seem more detailed.
 
There's an incredible amount of misinformation floating around here. Some claim to hear differences in micro SD cards, and others claim to hear "more sound stage" from the exact same mastered files, as if the microphone placement is adjusted when transcoding to MP3.
 
As for my HP history:
 
Current:

Aurisonics ASG-2
Sony MH1c


Gone:

Mad Dogs
Sennheiser HD600
Beyerdynamic DT 880 250 ohm

Noble Audio 6
Etymotic HF5
JVC FX40
Aurisonics ASG-1.0 &1.2
Vsonic GR07 MKII
JVC FXZ-100
Logitech UE 700
Etymotic HF3
Sony XBA-3
JVC FXT90
Audio Technica CKM500
Vsonic GR07
Vsonic GR06
Meelec M9
Meelec M6
Shure SE215
Motorola S805
Beats Tour
Ultimate Ears Triple.Fi 10 Pro
Thermaltake Isurus
Yamaha EPH-100
Hisound Popo
Audio-Technica CKM50

Auditioned at length:

Mr. Speakers Alpha Dog
HiFiMAN HE-500

AKG K3003i
Sony EX1000
Sony XBA-H3
Ultimate Ears Reference Monitor
Etymotic ER4S
FitEar F111
Cardas EM5813
Fisher FA-4E XB
Final Audio Design Heaven V Aging.
Westone UM3X
Translucent 1Plus2
Flat-4 SUI
Widing ME-10EX
Novodio IEM...can't remember the model
Sennheiser IE800
FitEar TG334
Final Audio Design DC-1601SB
Final Audio Design Piano Forte VIII
Heir Audio 4.Ai
Shure SE530
Future Sonics Atrio M5 MG7
Sony MDR-EX600
Audio Technica CKM77
Sennheiser IE8
JVC FX-700
Final Audio Design FI-BA-SS
Hifiman RE-272
JVC HA-FXD80

 

[truckdriver]

What exactly do you think sound stage and detail are derived from?

 

  Let me answer that for you. 
 

 
I know how you meant this, but it did make me laugh.