I'm searching a portable music player for a friend:
- He has about €200 (250$) to spend on both (closed) headphones (also for notebook and other use) and the music player. Might be a bit more if it is much better.
- Only for music listening, at least 20GB+ on storage.
- Something portable, but doesn't have to be tiny.
- Flac support would be very nice.
- He doesn't have a smartphone to pair with a DAC/amp.
Headphones I can find, it's the portable music player I need help with. I went seaching for one, but basically found almost nothing:
- Cowon stuff, like the D2, costs more then $100, which seems a bit much to me given the budget.
- Sandisk Sansa Clip +/zip or fuse+. These seem to be a good value, but I'm worried about battery life and especially their ability to drive a decent pair of headphones. Currently I seem to prefer this option though. Clip+ and a 32GB µSD-card would be about €60, so enough left to spend for a decent pait of headphones.
So basically my questions are:
- Is this a good fit to drive a decent pair of headphones? Is the Clip the best option, or is the Zip / Fuse+ a better option? (From what I read they don't have any real advantage, Fuse+ seems to have a kind of Line-out option?)
- Is it possible/usefull to add an amp to this cheap source if sound quality is lacking? (Or do I need a player with Line-out capabilities?)
- Do you have a better recommendation/should he spend a little bit more money on something better?
(I intend to buy him a pair of headphones like a Krk Kns-8400, Brainwavz HM5, ...)
- He has about €200 (250$) to spend on both (closed) headphones (also for notebook and other use) and the music player. Might be a bit more if it is much better.
- Only for music listening, at least 20GB+ on storage.
- Something portable, but doesn't have to be tiny.
- Flac support would be very nice.
- He doesn't have a smartphone to pair with a DAC/amp.
Headphones I can find, it's the portable music player I need help with. I went seaching for one, but basically found almost nothing:
- Cowon stuff, like the D2, costs more then $100, which seems a bit much to me given the budget.
- Sandisk Sansa Clip +/zip or fuse+. These seem to be a good value, but I'm worried about battery life and especially their ability to drive a decent pair of headphones. Currently I seem to prefer this option though. Clip+ and a 32GB µSD-card would be about €60, so enough left to spend for a decent pait of headphones.
So basically my questions are:
- Is this a good fit to drive a decent pair of headphones? Is the Clip the best option, or is the Zip / Fuse+ a better option? (From what I read they don't have any real advantage, Fuse+ seems to have a kind of Line-out option?)
- Is it possible/usefull to add an amp to this cheap source if sound quality is lacking? (Or do I need a player with Line-out capabilities?)
- Do you have a better recommendation/should he spend a little bit more money on something better?
(I intend to buy him a pair of headphones like a Krk Kns-8400, Brainwavz HM5, ...)
