[Scottyj11]

Hi,
 
I've sourced this forum a number of times in the past and am becoming more interested in higher quality listening. I have owned a pair of Shure (can't remember exactly which model), UE 700 and now have a pair of Sennheiser IE 8s.
 
I am looking for reasonable Portable Audio Player and am a bit lost as to where to start. I have read a little about Cowon, Fiio and Astell & Kern players. I'm confused about the age and quality of all the different Cowon products. The Fiio X3 looks like a reasonable unit, but I'm not sure about the UI, and the A&K units are probably a little over my price range at this point.
 
I would be grateful for advice/suggestions for something good to start out around the $400 price point. I'd like something with a slick UI and preferably more that 32Gb storage (64Gb+ would be ideal).
 
Thanks for your suggestions!

 

[kryten123]

Quote:

...am becoming more interested in higher quality listening. I'd like something with a slick UI...

 
Good luck with that

 
In the pursuit of perfection, you will need to make compromises.
 
In all fairness, the UIs of most of these players do the job but can be a bit clunky, especially if you are used to crapple products....but I'm sure you can adapt.

 

[Scottyj11]

Yeah - I got that impression about UIs. I'm NOT an Apple supporter. Listen to my music through my Galaxy S2 phone atm. With that in mind, can you suggest a few units for a newbie?

 

[kryten123]

I can only comment from my own experiences.
I've heard ipods and have owned some Cowons, of which I found the pairing with my IEMs hit and miss - the S9 sounded brilliant which I think was down to the BBE software installed on it, rather than any onboard chip.
However I sold it as it couldn't be upgraded and made the mistake that the new Cowon J3 would be "better".
I did not get on with the sound from the J3 at all - it was very bright and sibilant with my IEMs. I found I was constantly playing with the EQ trying to get the sound right...so I tried the Hifiman HM601. I generally liked the sound of this unit, even if the UI was atrocious and I ended up Rockbox'ing it. However at times I found it a bit too warm sounding. It did me for a while.
 
On release of the iBasso DX100, I bought that unit. It was expensive, big and bulky. The battery life is rubbish, the UI is adequate and the early adopters acted as firmware guinea pigs while the functionality and bugs were ironed out!
 
...but....WOW... I've never heard anything like it!
 
Paired with my CIEMs, the sound is crystal clear and neutral...and it will drive practically anything.
 
If my DX100 broke tomorrow, I wouldn't hesitate to spend $800 on another one!
 
As you have an S2 with the Wolfson DAC have you thought about rooting it and using a good music app such as Poweramp
 
Failing that you could consider the Fiio x3....I havent heard it, but I believe it gets good reviews - check out the forum thread on here
The other option is to wait for the new iBasso DX50 (due any time soon)
Or save up a bit and wait for the Fiio x5 due towards the end of the year and see how that rates.
Or...see if you can pick up a 2nd hand DX100
 
The thing to remember is that, every component in the chain affects the overall sound and you may need to make changes along the way to find the best sound for YOU.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Yeah - I got that impression about UIs. I'm NOT an Apple supporter. Listen to my music through my Galaxy S2 phone atm. With that in mind, can you suggest a few units for a newbie?

Also try posting your questions on the website anythingbutipod.

 

[Scottyj11]

I can only comment from my own experiences.
I've heard ipods and have owned some Cowons, of which I found the pairing with my IEMs hit and miss - the S9 sounded brilliant which I think was down to the BBE software installed on it, rather than any onboard chip.
However I sold it as it couldn't be upgraded and made the mistake that the new Cowon J3 would be "better".
I did not get on with the sound from the J3 at all - it was very bright and sibilant with my IEMs. I found I was constantly playing with the EQ trying to get the sound right...so I tried the Hifiman HM601. I generally liked the sound of this unit, even if the UI was atrocious and I ended up Rockbox'ing it. However at times I found it a bit too warm sounding. It did me for a while.

On release of the iBasso DX100, I bought that unit. It was expensive, big and bulky. The battery life is rubbish, the UI is adequate and the early adopters acted as firmware guinea pigs while the functionality and bugs were ironed out!

...but....WOW... I've never heard anything like it!

Paired with my CIEMs, the sound is crystal clear and neutral...and it will drive practically anything.

If my DX100 broke tomorrow, I wouldn't hesitate to spend $800 on another one!

As you have an S2 with the Wolfson DAC have you thought about rooting it and using a good music app such as Poweramp

Failing that you could consider the Fiio x3....I havent heard it, but I believe it gets good reviews - check out the forum thread on here
The other option is to wait for the new iBasso DX50 (due any time soon)
Or save up a bit and wait for the Fiio x5 due towards the end of the year and see how that rates.
Or...see if you can pick up a 2nd hand DX100

The thing to remember is that, every component in the chain affects the overall sound and you may need to make changes along the way to find the best sound for YOU.

thank you for your timely comments. I do use poweramp on my galaxy s2. What will rooting do to benefit? I may try to get my hands on a fiio x3

 

[JK1]

Get a Sandisk Clip Zip 4GB for $35 and Rockbox it. Rockbox gives a great UI and many great features, including crossfeed and crossfade, a great equalizer, around 60 themes(different ways of choosing what is displayed and how it is displayed). The sound quality is great. it has a micro card slot. Some people use a Rockboxed Clip Zip with a 64GB microSDXC card(formatted as FAT32).
 
The only real drawback is only around 14 hours of battery life. It is tiny and has a built in clip. Some people even use this $35 player with $1,000 IEMs.

 

[Scottyj11]

So I've looked at the Sandisk Clip Zip and Fiio x3. The Clip Zip is only a fraction of the cost, but the Fiio is still within my price range. How does the quality of the DAC in each unit compare? I'd rather spend a little more for the Fiio if it is a superior product.

 

[cel4145]

So I've looked at the Sandisk Clip Zip and Fiio x3. The Clip Zip is only a fraction of the cost, but the Fiio is still within my price range. How does the quality of the DAC in each unit compare? I'd rather spend a little more for the Fiio if it is a superior product.

The FiiO X3 has not been fully released yet. Only a limited few people have one. You'll need to use this thread to learn more about it: http://www.head-fi.org/t/651769/fiio-x3-thread-full-review-http-www-head-fi-org-t-663600-impression-fiio-x3-high-fi-low-price

 

[oslovian]

Hi
 
A suggestion from an other sourcer at the forum who also have the same search going.
The X3 sounds very nice, but as it is not available in Europe yet, I have gone with the Sony F806 in the meantime.
It's not perfect, and only has 32 GB of storage with no memory card option (shame on you Sony) but I think the sound is pretty good, and it also matches rather good with the Fiio E17
As it is a "stock" Android player, you also have the option to add different players of your choice (poweramp and others)

 

[JK1]

The Fiio X3 has only around 10 hours of battery life. The X3 has a built in high powered headphone amp, so that is useful if you want  to use inefficient or high impedance headphones. The X3 is much larger and heavier. There are other choices such as the Cowon C2 The cowon C2 is listed as having 55 hour battery life. The one thing I really miss with the Sandisk Clip zip and Clip+ is more battery life. I would love to have at least 30 hours of battery life, but still want a lightweight, small, inexpensive clip on player with a card slot and great sound quality  that is Rockboxable. Nothing like this exists though. The closest thing is two or more Clip Zip players.