kaushama
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2004
- Posts
- 1,981
- Likes
- 199
I have been using an iRiver H140 Dap for my critical listening on the go with FLAC files. It was rock-boxxed. I was very fond of the player as it had an optical out which I have never used as I never bought a portable DAC.
H140 had a big limitation though. Size!!!!! It was transportable but not portable. Anyway I had to give it away reluctantly. I was experiancing a credit crunch ..........! So I sold all the gear I use little.
So in real terms I was not using the H140 and it was virtually a new player.
As I paid all my bills I needed another practical solution for my FLAC type listening. I have got another A639F but it doesn’t have the FLAC capability.
I went for FUZE 8GB as it is the most cost-effective expandable player. I have been a person who always wanted to listen to music as it is recorded without any colour added to it by equipment. A flat player!! Cowon D2 was the other player which caught my eye. But bass-roll-off??? No thanks!
Although it is not as flat as my A639F, it is tiny compared to H140. Well built too. I would prefer to have a recessed screen for safety and for ability to install a screen protector. I like the rubbery material of the back-plate. I can keep the player down on the seat-tray, when I am commuting in the train. I really like the way the power button is placed. On the side and it is sliding type. Need some pressure to move it as it is spring loaded. No accidental pressing.
I bought a beautiful case for it (i-nique)!!
UI: Well! It is exclusively tag based! No option for folder search. All the files needed to be tagged or one needs to create playlists. I am so used to folder navigation and all my music files are not tagged. Tagging all the files is not very easy and playlists should be the answer. But I hope Sandisk would address this in future firmware upgrades. Or I have to get used to the nuisance of tagging my rips or creating playlists.
I love the expandability. The Micro SDHC cards are cheap now. £14 for Sandisk 8GB card! I do not need a Player to carry all my music files in it. I can live with carrying the stuff I want to listen that particular day when I am on the move. My card reader is very fast. I need only two cards, so I have two 8GB CDs!!!! Player integrates the files very smoothly into database.
Screen is decent but I am not interested in video. I don’t think video capability is all that great too.
Sound quality: This is the most important part. As many have indicated if you want to tweak the sound with EQ this is not the player for you. Pretty basic EQ and it sound horrible when EQed. Without the EQ, well this player is one of the best, I have heard for its size and price. A portable audiophile CD player in your pocket??? It is neutral and has very fast tonal decay and speed. Mids are very accurately represented. Not forward or on the face. Bass goes low and hits fast. No sibilance or harsh trebles. It has very impressive sound-stage. Singers and instruments are placed very realistically in the space and I feel like sitting in the first or second raw of the performance. There is no hiss at all. I loved my Jazz, classical and Ambient listening with this player. I used my Supermini with OK1 with. it. The live performances are very well played.
I don’t think it can beat Sony A639F as an MP3 player. Though I do not like colouration DSEE and clear stereo can restore some of the lossy qualities back into MP3 listening. It has better UI and screen. Build quality is better. So if you look for exclusive MP3 player, Sony is better IMHO. Sony is my MP3 player. Sansa is for FLAC listening.
A note about the battery life. As an exclusive FLAC player it has about 8 hours of life. That is with my first few charges. Things may improve a little. It can be charged with my SONY mains USB charger. But I bought a battery extender to have additional protection when I go for hiking. It uses 4AA batteries and with alkalines gives you 3-4 charges. Not bad. I am using mine with NIMH batteries.
H140 had a big limitation though. Size!!!!! It was transportable but not portable. Anyway I had to give it away reluctantly. I was experiancing a credit crunch ..........! So I sold all the gear I use little.
So in real terms I was not using the H140 and it was virtually a new player.
As I paid all my bills I needed another practical solution for my FLAC type listening. I have got another A639F but it doesn’t have the FLAC capability.
I went for FUZE 8GB as it is the most cost-effective expandable player. I have been a person who always wanted to listen to music as it is recorded without any colour added to it by equipment. A flat player!! Cowon D2 was the other player which caught my eye. But bass-roll-off??? No thanks!
Although it is not as flat as my A639F, it is tiny compared to H140. Well built too. I would prefer to have a recessed screen for safety and for ability to install a screen protector. I like the rubbery material of the back-plate. I can keep the player down on the seat-tray, when I am commuting in the train. I really like the way the power button is placed. On the side and it is sliding type. Need some pressure to move it as it is spring loaded. No accidental pressing.
I bought a beautiful case for it (i-nique)!!
UI: Well! It is exclusively tag based! No option for folder search. All the files needed to be tagged or one needs to create playlists. I am so used to folder navigation and all my music files are not tagged. Tagging all the files is not very easy and playlists should be the answer. But I hope Sandisk would address this in future firmware upgrades. Or I have to get used to the nuisance of tagging my rips or creating playlists.
I love the expandability. The Micro SDHC cards are cheap now. £14 for Sandisk 8GB card! I do not need a Player to carry all my music files in it. I can live with carrying the stuff I want to listen that particular day when I am on the move. My card reader is very fast. I need only two cards, so I have two 8GB CDs!!!! Player integrates the files very smoothly into database.
Screen is decent but I am not interested in video. I don’t think video capability is all that great too.
Sound quality: This is the most important part. As many have indicated if you want to tweak the sound with EQ this is not the player for you. Pretty basic EQ and it sound horrible when EQed. Without the EQ, well this player is one of the best, I have heard for its size and price. A portable audiophile CD player in your pocket??? It is neutral and has very fast tonal decay and speed. Mids are very accurately represented. Not forward or on the face. Bass goes low and hits fast. No sibilance or harsh trebles. It has very impressive sound-stage. Singers and instruments are placed very realistically in the space and I feel like sitting in the first or second raw of the performance. There is no hiss at all. I loved my Jazz, classical and Ambient listening with this player. I used my Supermini with OK1 with. it. The live performances are very well played.
I don’t think it can beat Sony A639F as an MP3 player. Though I do not like colouration DSEE and clear stereo can restore some of the lossy qualities back into MP3 listening. It has better UI and screen. Build quality is better. So if you look for exclusive MP3 player, Sony is better IMHO. Sony is my MP3 player. Sansa is for FLAC listening.
A note about the battery life. As an exclusive FLAC player it has about 8 hours of life. That is with my first few charges. Things may improve a little. It can be charged with my SONY mains USB charger. But I bought a battery extender to have additional protection when I go for hiking. It uses 4AA batteries and with alkalines gives you 3-4 charges. Not bad. I am using mine with NIMH batteries.
