[member1982]

i would still be interested in a very good DAP with proper DAC and Amp with harddrive capacities / digital out, lineout. I dont use video functions at all... But then again that would be a niche product.

 

[nirvanaxp]

apple would not do one. they could of course and it would get a dedicated following, but i doubt it would sell well.

 

[qusp]

whoops

 

[daglesj]

I hate these ******** feature filled devices. I just want the core features that play great music. I dont want the budget spent on bits of crap I'll never use. I'll have a cheaper simpler screen if it means I can have a superior opamp. I'll skip the wifi if it means the case can be made a little stronger or the battery last longer etc. etc.

Its all down to looking good in the obligatory comparison charts and pleasing the 'kids'/tech junkies with ADD.

As I said in another post I never ever looked at my Walkman back in the 80's and thought "I wish this had a spirit level!"

 

[Drag0n]

Soon there will be no CDs or any removeable media. All music will be subscription based on your iphone or similar player, will have propriatory earbuds, and 128 quality and flasg based.

When you dont pay your phone bill or subscription, youll lose your ability to play your music.
That will make up for the lost CD sales and torrent downloaders, and also allow them to make money residually for all the music you wish to "own"[?] , as if you really owned it.
Audiophiles will be a thing of the past.

Welcome to the New World!

 

[KONAKONA]

Quote:

Originally Posted by daglesj /img/forum/go_quote.gif Its all down to looking good in the obligatory comparison charts and pleasing the 'kids'/tech junkies with ADD.

Hey, that hurts!

One of the reasons I love(d) my u2, i7 and u5 is that you could actually chuck them across a parking lot and they would still work afterwards. I also had a cowon Q5W, which is the embodiment of a heug screen video player with a hard disk. That thing is like a glass brick; its big, its fragile, and it just gets on your nerves when you are not admiring how well videos look on it (Which, by the way, is what I got it for). It did have its strong points, but in the end it's just not portable enough.

I am also a fan of the tactile controls, which is what kind of ticked me off about the 7 and it's fancy and uber sensitive touch buttons (Yes I had sensitivity on low). When I had my U2 I had memorized all of the controls and could comfortably, and quite easily, operate it from my pocket. As soon as I start memorizing the U5s menus I will probably be able to do it with that as well.

Now people want to be able to text, make calls, listen to music, watch videos, and play games all on the same little piece of hardware. Guess that makes me weird for wanting to have separate things for separate actions then.

 

[nsx_23]

Thats why you buy up old decent players now.

I've repeated the idea several times, but maybe iRiver should release a number of H100s and H300s onto the market again. Don't do anything to them, just build them as though they were 'new designs'.

 

[thornygravy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drag0n /img/forum/go_quote.gif Soon there will be no CDs or any removeable media. All music will be subscription based on your iphone or similar player, will have propriatory earbuds, and 128 quality and flasg based. When you dont pay your phone bill or subscription, youll lose your ability to play your music. That will make up for the lost CD sales and torrent downloaders, and also allow them to make money residually for all the music you wish to "own"[?] , as if you really owned it. Audiophiles will be a thing of the past. Welcome to the New World!

I see that happening, to some people at least.

 

[yslee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zida /img/forum/go_quote.gif These days, what does someone with a dying Creative Zen Vision: M even buy?

Buy refurbished Zen Vision: Ms!

 

[aragornmustdie]

iriver H120 is the closest thing to a complete DAP, IMO. it has that nice optical out, tactile controls, etc. back in the old days when they still care about it. nowadays i dont even think my lil bro knows what is line out and optical out. the newer generation are getting less familiar with holes.
chances of iriver re-releasing their old player are very very low, I guess. them taking the plunge to the mainstream audio market was fueled by harsh competition with apple. i think at some point there must be a change in every structure of their R&D or marketing that they decided to scrap "complete" DAPs off their list, in order to cope with the competition.
hence, those working at iriver now may not be even aware about this change of direction, not that they even care about the superiority of H120s at the first place. we can say that, or at least that how i see it, the iriver now is almost thoroughly different from the H120-era iriver.
iriver may not be as big as sony or samsung but they are still a company; for them this is just moving on and adapting, not everyone in the company aware that they are producing such a nice product for the audiophile guys. they are not in that cult.
its a different case to, say, RSA, if we found ray's product in the recent years lacking what the previous generation had. it is easier for us to communicate this with him, because he is aware of what he's selling. this is just an example, lol
just like chances of sony re-releasing R10. nowadays within the whole company i think almost no one knows the true value of that headphone.

 

[nsx_23]

I wouldn't call the H120's joystick tactile if I'm honest. I prefer the H320's layout more.

But, optical out is nice, and the H120/40 is so moddable as well. Great collector's piece.

 

[GlendaleViper]

My personal prediction is that we're going to see the DAP/PMP market shrink considerably over the next few years. As Wi-Fi hotspots start to fill in and high bandwidth cell networks get better, the phone market will continue to offer all-in-one "smart devices", allowing for music and video subscriptions on a streaming/download basis. For the vast majority of the population, these will be the "it" items for portable media.

In terms of DAPs and PMPs, I can see them branching apart. Standalone media players will focus on either music or video, maybe both. With my prediction above, that leaves both, the videophiles AND audiophiles looking for a product that suits their more demanding tastes. Bigger screens, resolutions, capacity and codec support will be the name of the game for portable video, but more likely than not, the Netbooks will fill this gap.

As for pure audio, I think we're either going to be left in the dust, or you'll see more niche products start to surface. I would LOVE to see, just as an example, a high-profile audio company come up with a "DAP-Transport". A tiny device, solidly constructed with minimal, high quality parts intended specifically to be connected to a DAC and amplifier. Can you imagine a purpose-built, high-end, truly portable "component system"? Sadly, that's not likely to happen and more realistic a prediction would have the DAP market relegated to bargain-basement, single line OLED displayed, low capacity tossarounds.

 

[spideyman409]

=_(

 

[Punnisher]

I concur with NSX. Get old players while you still can. I just got an iriver h120 and love it.

 

[Mors]

As people have all stated above - The players we want are a dieing breed.

The majority want a gadget that does everything, so therefore manufacturers are going to design devices around these needs in order to generate more business/profit.

Can you imagine apple thinking 'should we make a device that would sell 5000 or 5 million units - which should we chose'.

We soon be picking out the best audio devices out of the multi player gadgets.

On the plus side - The ones that offer Line out's that can be cabled and not power docked - We're laughing with

I'm hoping the new iPhone is going to be pretty good, I'm holding off for it as I'm overdue for a new phone and a new mp3 player