Sansa Clip vs. 1st Gen Ipod Shuffle vs ??
Jul 23, 2010 at 1:18 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 5

mark88888

500+ Head-Fier
Joined
Jul 23, 2010
Posts
621
Likes
639
Hi everyone,
 
First, thanks for checking out this post.  So, here's my situation.  I happily have and use Etymotics ER-4P headphones, with a first generation ipod shuffle (the long white one)  for portable audio.  I've been really happy with that combo for a long time.  HOWEVER, as 1st gen shuffle owners know, the USB connector part completely dies after about a year of heavy use, and it becomes unusable.  I've been through like 4 or 5 of them over the years.  So, my latest one, which I bought on ebay about a year ago, went down yesterday.  Today I used my 2nd gen shuffle as a replacement, but my God, the sound is just so bad.  Intolerable.  And the 3rd gen shuffle isn't even worth discussing at all, right?  So I was about to bid for another new 1st gen shuffle, when I thought I'd do a little research and see if there are any alternatives.  Of course there are the bigger ipods, and as I've learned from reading through posts on this forum, there are some highly regarded "Cowon"'s.  However, I really want something pretty small, and without a video screen - yet with great sound of course.  So, I've noticed that another frequently discussed portable player is called the "sansa clip".  It seems small, and yeah theres a tiny little screen but I can deal with it.  So I suppose my questions are
 
How's the sound from the Sansa Clip, and might it compare favorably to a 1st gen ipod shuffle?  (which I've always thought has very good but not excellent sound.)
 
Is it able to get very loud?  (the 1st gen ipod shuffle gets very loud, much louder than the 2nd gen. shuffle... which I like.)
 
Besides the sansa clip, is there another great, small, screenless/essentially screenless competitor which I should be considering?
 
When I the "S+" mentioned in these forums, is that a nickname for the sansa clip, or some other player?
 
Out of curiousity, how does the sound from the sansa clip compare to the big ipods (including the nano, which I guess I should consider...), and the cowon players?
 
Thanks, any advice at all appreciated.  Really.  Sorry if my questions sound like I'm writing from Neptune, but essentially, I am (Japan), and I haven't really heard of any of these players before. 
 
 
 
 
Jul 23, 2010 at 1:26 PM Post #2 of 5
Ooo, I'll just add to my questions above... is there a specific Sansa Clip model that has the best sound quality?  I just checked and it seems like there are a lot of models........
 
Jul 23, 2010 at 1:52 PM Post #3 of 5
Sigh... now I see that there's a "hippo gumstick", and a couple of people say the sound is better than that of the Sansa Clip.  Is this a hotly debated thing, or is it generally accepted that the gumstick has better sound?  It seems that it's a bit more expensive... which I don't mind.   ?? 
 
Dec 5, 2010 at 3:35 AM Post #5 of 5
Hmm just picked up a sansa clip 2gb myself to replace one of my two first gen shuffles and I can say that there is a noticable decrease in hiss using shure e2s.

Not sure if I like it yet.

The first gen shuffle paired with the e2s are perfect together imo, but with the clip it feels like the music is kind of distanced away where with the shuffle its more in your head.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top