[sardar17]

remember don't use courier servibe and rely on general post to avoid customs.

its not 100 pc secure but chances are less

 

[kothganesh]

Well, in that case I'll have to look to import, preferably with zero to minimum shipping

, hopefully from Singapore or wherever else it'll be available!

I'm curious. Do you have mostly mp3 files that you use the Walkman for?

 

[ShreyasMax]

I'm curious. Do you have mostly mp3 files that you use the Walkman for?

I understand your curiosity Mr Ganesh, but I use 16/44.1 FLAC mostly, and otherwise iTunes downloaded or else good quality mp3's. But my main preference for a portable (apart from the obvious convenience of portability) is due to my limited good quality desktop setup experience (the only DAC I own currently is an E07k).

And IMO, the iPod classic & E07k combo comes pretty close to the E07k DAC through USB. This, plus the fact that the new Walkman is a Hi Res supporting player, plus comes with a memory card slot and very good battery life, as well as connect through LO is what is tilting yours truly towards it. I know this must sound like child's talk to you, but please note that I have very limited exposure to 'audiophile grade' sound, and hence my inclination towards more budget portable devices.

 

[sardar17]

My e6 just arrived and pairing it with clip+ is doing wonders for the low end of my brainwavz m3.
After this experience i think buying a17 is probably not a wise decision as it will be without any dedicated hardware amp unlike the fiio x1 or other hind end models.
 
But i will still wait for comparisons though.
 
Will test e6 with my havi b3 pro,gr07 and monster turbine too in next few weeks

 

[vaibhavp]

I understand your curiosity Mr Ganesh, but I use 16/44.1 FLAC mostly, and otherwise iTunes downloaded or else good quality mp3's. But my main preference for a portable (apart from the obvious convenience of portability) is due to my limited good quality desktop setup experience (the only DAC I own currently is an E07k).

And IMO, the iPod classic & E07k combo comes pretty close to the E07k DAC through USB. This, plus the fact that the new Walkman is a Hi Res supporting player, plus comes with a memory card slot and very good battery life, as well as connect through LO is what is tilting yours truly towards it. I know this must sound like child's talk to you, but please note that I have very limited exposure to 'audiophile grade' sound, and hence my inclination towards more budget portable devices.

it will not be budget if you import it.

 

[sardar17]

lol,true that

Thank the stupid mofo customs for that,i just lost rs 882 on a bill of 3800

 

[ShreyasMax]

it will not be budget if you import it.

Agreed. Now that's the problem. Waiting for some relative to come visit, a.k.a free shipping, no customs. Might have to wait a while, probably till March next year. Looks like I'll have to survive on Cowon C2 and iPod classic till then.

 

[sardar17]

get fiio x1,should best a17 imho

 

[kothganesh]

I understand your curiosity Mr Ganesh, but I use 16/44.1 FLAC mostly, and otherwise iTunes downloaded or else good quality mp3's. But my main preference for a portable (apart from the obvious convenience of portability) is due to my limited good quality desktop setup experience (the only DAC I own currently is an E07k).

And IMO, the iPod classic & E07k combo comes pretty close to the E07k DAC through USB. This, plus the fact that the new Walkman is a Hi Res supporting player, plus comes with a memory card slot and very good battery life, as well as connect through LO is what is tilting yours truly towards it. I know this must sound like child's talk to you, but please note that I have very limited exposure to 'audiophile grade' sound, and hence my inclination towards more budget portable devices.

In this hobby, one never looks down on another's preference. I am never comfortable with IEMs so the portable route was never an option I wanted. However, I use my iPhone for some music when I'm at the gym so I use it with the Beyerdynamic t51p that I bought today. Very good pair of HPs, IMO and a tad under 20K. I am a desktop guy for the most part though.

 

[kothganesh]

lol,true that

Thank the stupid mofo customs for that,i just lost rs 882 on a bill of 3800

Man, that's steep. I regularly pay customs 30% of invoice+shipping. I am lucky from time to time when I don't have to pay anything. But I thought anything under 10K was not subject to tax. Is my understanding right?

 

[ShreyasMax]

 
In this hobby, one never looks down on another's preference. I am never comfortable with IEMs so the portable route was never an option I wanted. However, I use my iPhone for some music when I'm at the gym so I use it with the Beyerdynamic t51p that I bought today. Very good pair of HPs, IMO and a tad under 20K. I am a desktop guy for the most part though.

 
Neither do I prefer IEM's, I mostly prefer full sized cans to anything else for any considerable listening period. 
And by the way I did check out the Geek Out, sounds pretty good. The Geek Out 450 for 199 USD which is the cheapest of the lot sounds good enough for me. But this will probably have to wait, and I'll meanwhile hope that you'll 'donate' your 'unused' second Geek Out to this poor soul in search of some budget-friendly audiophile sound.

 

[ShreyasMax]

 
Man, that's steep. I regularly pay customs 30% of invoice+shipping. I am lucky from time to time when I don't have to pay anything. But I thought anything under 10K was not subject to tax. Is my understanding right?

 
Around two years back I had to pay around 1200 INR as customs fee for my Philips Uptowns which were ordered on ebay for around 100 USD.

 

[sardar17]

I haven't paid anything yet,just got the mail from dhl that I need to.

Funny thing being that lmue(vender) marked them as sgd 30 or approx 22-23$ so at 33 pc it should have been 8$,got to grill dhl regarding this

 

[ShreyasMax]

get fiio x1,should best a17 imho

 
I do doubt that, my friend. The X1 from what I've read sounds slightly inferior in all aspects of the sound compared to the X3, although overall a great value for the money. Secondly, in the past year or so, Sony (just like Philips IMO) have begun releasing true audio-focused products like the PHAs 2 & 3, the MDR-1 series HP's, and the ZX1 , F886-7 and now the new A series and MDR Z7 hps.
 
I do believe that unless they see a customer who is bothered first and foremost about SQ alone, they wouldn't have come out with the A15/17 models, especially in this age of the Android One with under-6000 INR smartphones having a direct DAC connectivity option natively built in to many devices. Although I do admire the FiiO products for being great bang for the buck, given a choice I would go for a Sony device with similar SQ but better specs, including battery life (and UI friendliness, to a lesser extent) being a major factor.
 
Now I'm sincerely hoping that FiiO releases an X3 upgrade with better battery life and better UI, and I would be probably booked. Wouldn't mind a DX50 upgrade as well!

 

[sardar17]

have u had an experience with a walkman before?

or a sony iem?