[jackal2513]

the PJB is the first ever hard disk based mp3 player
it was developed as a research project at Compaq then produced by Hango/remote solutions. You cant buy them anymore and whats more they are huge !

it had some very very clever solutions to some of the design problems (gapless ripping/playing for example) and the simplicity of the interface is still one of the best there's ever been IMO. The sound quality was also very good, a non-harsh almost analogue-like sound but also very exciting and dynamic with lots of separation and soundstage. With my PJB I could happily listen to it for hours on end but the Archos is fatiguing after a while.

IMO, X5 sounds even better than the PJB but i'd like to spend more time with the X5 to articulate that better.

 

[Morte]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jackal2513 "In non-simultaneous and completely unscientific testing, they all sound about the same" Nonsense They can sound VERY different with the actual quality, the tonal balance and detail level differing hugely

Hey, slow down there, jackal.

What I said was "In non-simultaneous and completely unscientific testing, they all sound about the same i.e. really crap compared to my main CD player (Naim CDS2) and fairly crap compared to the bedroom CD player (Roksan Caspian). You have to put them up against each other to notice the differences."

I.e. on an arbitrary audiophile scale of all equipment I put the decent portables between 2.5 and 3 out of 10 (with my main system about 8). My point to jojosdad being: be prepared to find that none of these portables will sound like what you're used to at home.

If you zoom in on the 2-3 area of the graph, then yes as you say "They can sound VERY different with the actual quality, the tonal balance and detail level differing hugely". Or as I said "You have to put them up against each other to notice the differences." It's a difference of scope and context. Our views are actually consistent, I'm just standing further back than you.

 

[setmenu]

Unless compactness and pocket-ability are an absolute must I would not
rule out the pcdp+ amp+IEM route.
Most of the time I have no need of carrying a gargantuan music
library around with me and the above solution provides me with good
quality sounds without undue inconvenience when using trains and walking.
Separate amps also offer the bonus of things like bass boost on top the
ability to drive more difficult loads.
I use a Sony 2000 pcdp to drive a diy amp ,tweaked ER4 combo.
Sounds sweet, far nicer than my partners Iriver 340.

 

[Morte]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jackal2513 the PJB is the first ever hard disk based mp3 player

I like my PJB a lot. With a current MP3 encoder, it holds up very well for fundamental musical quality against modern players. It beat out a Sony HD5 on general musical structure/flow. It got beat for sonic fine detail, but you can't hear that on the train anyhow. At five years old and the first player on the market, I thought it would be a snip to find hardware which sounds substantially better, but no. The encoders have come a long way in that time, but not the electronics.

It's tempting to just upgrade the hard drive, but the player is so big.

[I originally bought it as more of a transportable than a portable, to lend to my mother for a long hospital stay. She has Parkinson's Disease and she couldn't work the buttons on anything else, let alone insert discs in a PCDP. Then it became mine again, and five years later I'm finally getting around to choosing something smaller. I find the Shuffle very tempting.]

 

[bangraman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jackal2513 "In non-simultaneous and completely unscientific testing, they all sound about the same"

I could honestly say the same about your 'test'. I've done the same test minus the PJB. The difference is that I matched the levels before hand and used an audio switch to alternate between the sources. The 5G and X5 are neck and neck in terms of the way they present music and also in their general quality. The iPod is somewhat more open in the way it presents the soundstage. Apart from that there is remarkably little difference, even to me.

 

[jackal2513]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bangraman The 5G and X5 are neck and neck in terms of the way they present music and also in their general quality. The iPod is somewhat more open in the way it presents the soundstage.

lol !

 

[neoone]

But in my opinion unloses audio format (like FLAC) don't cause better sound quality if frequency range potable player is not enought wide

PS Do you known any potable players whose have frequency range widest than usual 20 Hz~20 kHz ??

 

[brianknewbie]

In response to the original question of this thread -- see sig

 

[gloco]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jojosdad I want to listen to my CD collection with a portable player outside my home with good quality audio. What would you suggest to give the best possible sound quality? Constraints: 1. One portable player (no amps etc). 2. Small size headphone (I have Grado SR125, too big) 3. Some vibration protection (I won't be jogging but will be on the subway). 4. Money not a concern within reason (I doubt companies are crazy enough to make expensive portable players anyways). My dilemmas are as follows: 1. I looked at the reviews on PCDP and found that the best quality players are from the 1990's and are generally unavailable. I prefer not go to ebay (don't really trust that system). 2. Going to ipod and others I believe there is no way for lossless transfer (copyright reason?). 3. I prefer non analogue ways to transfer as it would take 100 hours to transfer 100 hours of music? 4. I am not sure which format is the best for audio quality if I do go the harddrive player route. What would you do in my situation to achieve best audio quality? Ben

Ben,

I have great sympathy for you since I read this entire thread and people have been recommending things they own and therefore are biased. I would recommend purchasing a dap that is still widely available and has a lot of support and hell, rockbox is on its way: a 5th generation iPod. Rockbox is a piece of firmware that is being designed by a group of third party folks for free just for the hell of it, it has a lot of features that are normally absent from the company designed firmware, so things are looking for up the iPod. You can download this firmware and install it and your iPod will have an entirely different interface that can be totally managed by you (changing font sizes and so on). It's not a mandatory thing, but when it proves stable it should be a blast to use.

From there, look into the IEM (in ear monitor) earphones from shure, etytomics and some other companies I'm less familiar with, I'm sure you'll find a model# that's up your alley.

Third, install a cd to mp3 program such as Exact Audio Copy which can rip your cds and convert them to mp3, you should also download an executable named "Lame" which is a great mp3 compressor. EAC and Lame work together to rip and convert cds to mp3's for you. How long would it take to rip a cd? Typically it takes me 5 minutes to rip a cd and convert it to mp3 on my pc. It sounds like a lot of work, but I imagine you would spend a day or two doing all the conversions before your done (again, it really depends on your pc). Hope that helps.

ps. I personally don't own an iPod.

 

[panda]

you're asking for too much, it's not going to happen, technology isn't 'that' good yet... only way you're going to get a big improvement from portable cd players is by getting that professional portable sony cassette deck, i heard one with grado sr225 and it was pretty awesome.

i don't look for reference quality when i'm listening on the go because i'm exposed to lots of ambient noise, so that little extra wouldn't even be fully utilized anyway...

that said, for a while i was using a portable harddrive based mp3 player called the rio karma with a set of canalphones (etymotic er-4s). the format i was using was lame vbr mp3 around 224kbps. sounds pretty good for what it is. i think a portable amp defeats the purpose but if you're willing to lug one around, it does clean up the sound a little as well as changing the sound signature. i like the cha-47 myself.

recently i got to compare a 4th generation ipod to a 5th gen. the 5g sounded more refined but the 4g sounded a lot livelier which i prefer. so much that i ended up buying one to replace my karma. i am in the process of reripping my albums to itunes aac vbr 192kbps, sounds better than mp3 to me.

 

[max-9]

pssssst....let me tell you a secret.
I got about 10 daps a bunch of earbuds and a couple pair of headphones.
If you chose a player with a user adjustable graphic eq and full features like bass boost , balance control , mp3 enhance , 3d surround ect. You can adjust the sound to suit any bud or portable headphone you buy or upgrade to.
I recommend the cowon x5.....make it the x5L and get 35 hr battery runtime. No need for software , drag your entire music collection and drop it on the x5.....on any all or several computers in out no limits.
Now I aint just recommending it cause I own it...in fact its getting kinda old , but it still tops my other players that includes
ipod 5g
nano
mobiblu 1500
archos av420
archos av 320
archos 150mm
rio carbon
creative mgII
ect.
Get a Cowon X5L

 

[jnev]

you guys DO realize that this thread is from november right?

 

[Phoebus]

You really should have a try of the next:
Ue10pro/ES3/2X or Er4b as Earphone
H120+micro DAC+Larocco
A9
EH1(PCM)
iPod 5g+Hornet
ect.