Surgical
Head-Fier
- Joined
- May 12, 2007
- Posts
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Hey guys!
I have been working on my portable setup. Looking for something other than the wifes pink nano that she never uses
I wont go into too much detail here, just a few notes but I was able to compare these over the past couple days. Some very interesting results. If you have any specific questions please feel free to ask here or PM me.
My setup is as follows
Alessandro MS-1
iBasso T1
ibasso 6" stock IC
All devices were wiped and loaded with 320k MP3, to be consistent... Personal favorite demo music....lots
Minimum of 3-4 hours listening to each.(not much I know) The shuffle and Nano I have a LOT of listening time on, as my kids/wife have them....so I am very familiar. ....but I was working on a limited time frame with the other two.
IMO, the initial "wow" factor means a lot, espically when you are able to directly compare with the same songs at the same bitrate, at the same time.
iPod Shuffle (2g)
bass was lacking
mids/highs broke loose at higher volumes
vocals OK
iPod Nano (2g)
good bass response
"colored" sound (see below) < did not sound bad...just not as flat as it could be, IMO
drives the MS-1's with or without an amp better than any listed here
vocals, good, warm, rich.
Insignia NS-DV4G
FM Tuner, voce recorder, video player, picture viewer
2.2" screen that is of good quality
I really wanted to like this thing. $129 gets you 4GB, and the features I listed above, with a WONDERFUL interface/navigation menu. Far surpasses the iPod in that sense. The scroll wheel felt cheap, but I coudl have dealt with that.
The SQ was not good at all. Everythign seemed to mush together. bass, mid, high...all OK. Better bass than the shuffle but mid/high were equal to if not less than that of the shuffle....very dissappointed, but ONLY WHEN directly compared to the other models lised here. If it was all I ever heard, I'd probably be happy with it. I am being critical here....but isint that why we are here?
Samsung K3
OK
wow
just wow
Best SQ I have heard out of a DMP/MP3 player. Period.
seperation, wonderful
bass, very tight, very accurate
midrange/tone...on par..equal to or slightly greater than the other players... but nothing spectacular. I can deal with that
Its slimmer than the nano, it has an FM tuner, and a pic viewer for those that care. The OLED screen is just OK for looking at pictures, but thats fine with me, thats not why I bought it.
The controls are touch-type. if you press below the screen they all light up and you can then control the player. The menu navigation is OK, took me all of 5 minutes to get used to, and I was off and running.
The volume, is somewhat lacking. I found it to not get as loud as any of the other 3 players. I had to go back to the nano, because at first I thought the nano sounded better.....but after careful review, it seems that the nano is actually EQ'd right out of the box.
The K3 is nearly perfectly flat IMO. Great sounding player for a very reasonable price.
The preset soundfields are actually useful at times...
The FM tuner is a plus since I can tune into ESPN at the gym or check out the news via the local FM transmit.
The BIG FAT negative for me is that my iMac does not see it as a flash drive when plugged in, so I had to move all my music ofer the network to a PC. This is a real pain for me, but worth it for now. I am in search of a fix. It is also a fingerprint magnet.
So, here are a couple shots of my portable rig.
In the first picture, you can actually see where the LED's on the touch-controls light up, but in person you dont really see them, the flash picked them up....it basically just looks all red.
Before you say anything, I didnt realize I bought the red one until I got home. I like it now. Sexy in person!!
reflections at the bottom, not scratches
Enjoy
This picture is what it looks like in the dark, AFTER you tap the screen. Sorry I could not get a good, focused picture. Its a lot sharper than that. You can set the screen itself to shut off after X seconds, or keep it on with a screen saver.
I just need to make an epoxy cable, and secure the amp to the Samsung, and I'll be set for a long while!
I have been working on my portable setup. Looking for something other than the wifes pink nano that she never uses
I wont go into too much detail here, just a few notes but I was able to compare these over the past couple days. Some very interesting results. If you have any specific questions please feel free to ask here or PM me.
My setup is as follows
Alessandro MS-1
iBasso T1
ibasso 6" stock IC
All devices were wiped and loaded with 320k MP3, to be consistent... Personal favorite demo music....lots
Minimum of 3-4 hours listening to each.(not much I know) The shuffle and Nano I have a LOT of listening time on, as my kids/wife have them....so I am very familiar. ....but I was working on a limited time frame with the other two.
IMO, the initial "wow" factor means a lot, espically when you are able to directly compare with the same songs at the same bitrate, at the same time.
iPod Shuffle (2g)
bass was lacking
mids/highs broke loose at higher volumes
vocals OK
iPod Nano (2g)
good bass response
"colored" sound (see below) < did not sound bad...just not as flat as it could be, IMO
drives the MS-1's with or without an amp better than any listed here
vocals, good, warm, rich.
Insignia NS-DV4G
FM Tuner, voce recorder, video player, picture viewer
2.2" screen that is of good quality
I really wanted to like this thing. $129 gets you 4GB, and the features I listed above, with a WONDERFUL interface/navigation menu. Far surpasses the iPod in that sense. The scroll wheel felt cheap, but I coudl have dealt with that.
The SQ was not good at all. Everythign seemed to mush together. bass, mid, high...all OK. Better bass than the shuffle but mid/high were equal to if not less than that of the shuffle....very dissappointed, but ONLY WHEN directly compared to the other models lised here. If it was all I ever heard, I'd probably be happy with it. I am being critical here....but isint that why we are here?
Samsung K3
OK
wow
just wow
Best SQ I have heard out of a DMP/MP3 player. Period.
seperation, wonderful
bass, very tight, very accurate
midrange/tone...on par..equal to or slightly greater than the other players... but nothing spectacular. I can deal with that
Its slimmer than the nano, it has an FM tuner, and a pic viewer for those that care. The OLED screen is just OK for looking at pictures, but thats fine with me, thats not why I bought it.
The controls are touch-type. if you press below the screen they all light up and you can then control the player. The menu navigation is OK, took me all of 5 minutes to get used to, and I was off and running.
The volume, is somewhat lacking. I found it to not get as loud as any of the other 3 players. I had to go back to the nano, because at first I thought the nano sounded better.....but after careful review, it seems that the nano is actually EQ'd right out of the box.
The K3 is nearly perfectly flat IMO. Great sounding player for a very reasonable price.
The preset soundfields are actually useful at times...
The FM tuner is a plus since I can tune into ESPN at the gym or check out the news via the local FM transmit.
The BIG FAT negative for me is that my iMac does not see it as a flash drive when plugged in, so I had to move all my music ofer the network to a PC. This is a real pain for me, but worth it for now. I am in search of a fix. It is also a fingerprint magnet.
So, here are a couple shots of my portable rig.
In the first picture, you can actually see where the LED's on the touch-controls light up, but in person you dont really see them, the flash picked them up....it basically just looks all red.
Before you say anything, I didnt realize I bought the red one until I got home. I like it now. Sexy in person!!
reflections at the bottom, not scratches
Enjoy
This picture is what it looks like in the dark, AFTER you tap the screen. Sorry I could not get a good, focused picture. Its a lot sharper than that. You can set the screen itself to shut off after X seconds, or keep it on with a screen saver.
I just need to make an epoxy cable, and secure the amp to the Samsung, and I'll be set for a long while!
