[129207]

 
About half a year ago I bought a Sony X1050, a LOD and a Headstage Arrow 12HE. They sounded brilliant together and kept me relatively happy. Lately though the X1050 lost a bit of it's appeal because of battery life, lack of firmware updates/community and it's lack of FLAC support. So, after receiving a good offer on my Sony X1050 16gb and it's Taobao.com LOD I decided to sell it. I kept the Headstage Arrow 12HE though. 
 
So, now what? I still have a Clip+ I use on a regular basis but the X1050 was a much better match for my Arrow than the Clip+ is. They even shared the same dimensions.
 
So I figured I basically have three choices now:
1. buy a new luxery DAP that suits the Arrow like the Cowon J3, Ipod Touch, Teclast T51 
2. keep using the Clip+, forget about upgrading my portable SQ and invest the cash I got from the X1050's sale in a desktop setup. 
3. combine portable SQ and a desktop DAC and buy a Hifiman HM-602
 
These three choices all come with their specific questions though:
1. I don't think either the J3 or iPod Touch is an upgrade from the X1050. Is the iPod Touch's line-out any good? How's the J3's SQ compared to the X1050? Will the Teclast T51's UI be a problem? Will it die on me after a few months?

 
2. If I decide to keep the Clip+, should I get rid of the Arrow as well? Since it would be silly to carry around a portable amp the size of the Arrow in combination with the Clip. Also, how much would a good desktop setup cost? DACs are the strangest things. For example, is the Yulong D100 ($500) the mid-fi end-all? 
3. Is the HM-602 worth the $450? Is the DAC any good compared to desktop DACs? I know I'm getting some "free" Hifiman RE-262's but do I really need those if I already own a RE0, a HD25-1 II and a SR225i? 
 
I know these are a lot of questions but I'd love to hear your opinion on this.

Help me out! 

 

[SoulSyde]

To answer your first set of questions, I would invest the money in a full-size/desktop rig; Unless you are out on the town and listening more than you would be at home and listening.
 
Answering your second set of questions:
1.  The Teclast looks like a piece of junk, a hodgepodge of UI and form factor mixed with questionable durability; doesn't sound like a winner to me.  If you value FLAC support then you are going Rockbox or Cowon.  Apple would be out for you in that case, so I would choose the J3 if you still want a portable rig.
2.  I like my Clip and I don't think it would be odd having it amped.  In fact you would have a very pocketable amped setup with that combination.  Not to mention that your RE0s & SR225is really should be amped.  Your HD25-1 IIs don't need to be amped (from my own experience having owned the higher Ohm HD25-SPs) but the low end would be tighter and punchier amped.
3.  No help here on the HM-602, sorry.  However I still think a nice tube or solid state desktop amp of your choice would be money well spent with your SR225is and HD25s.
 
Just my $0.02

 

[129207]

Thanks for your comments! Much appreciated. I will keep my Arrow 12HE since that one will come in handy whatever I end up with. 
 
I forgot to mention I'd love to have a player that's easy to tinker with. The whole jailbreaking aspect of the iPod Touch and the Cowon S9's custom user interface really interest me. Would the iPod Touch's line-out sound as good as the Sony's? 

 

[SoulSyde]

I couldn't tell you anything about the current generation of the iPod Touch, but I owned the 2G and I don't personally think that the Touch sounds anywhere near as good as any of the Sony Walkmen (if that is in fact the plural of Walkman).
 
You might want to consider a Sansa Fuze or a 5th Gen iPod if you want to tinker with Rockbox - as long as you don't want a touch screen.
 
If you want a touch screen I would recommend an S9 or J3 - which I believe both will accept the aftermarket custom UIs.  I don't think your limited just to the S9 for custom UIs.

 

[129207]

Actually, I already own a Sansa Fuze. I gave it to my girlfriend though because it was a bit too plasticky for me. The Clip+ gave me the same SQ but in a much more attractive package. I have Rockboxed my Clip+. I have also Rockboxed my Cowon X5L and Ipod Photo.

 
I think the S9, J3 and Touch offer no improvement over the X1050, other than the Cowon's UI and the Touch's apps. The only step up in SQ is probably a Teclast T51 or Hifiman HM-602 (I'm currently not considering the HM-801). I probably won't like the T51 because of it's build and UI and the HM-602 is so expensive I might be better off just buying a good DAC for the same dough and keep using my Clip+ for portable use. 
 
I really thought the X1050 + LOD + Arrow 12HE would be my end-all portable rig, but now that I've sold the X because of it's shortcomings I feel I should either replace it with something better or forget about portable SQ alltogether and go for some serious desktop-fi.
 
The hunt continues! 

 

[SoulSyde]

What about the Sony NWZ-A840?

 

[dizzyraider]

I think the S9 or J3 would be a pretty good replacement. The sound quality is quite nice, not to mention the quality of its EQ, screen, and battery life. Those were the main factors when I decided to pick up the S9. You would also be able to get these players at a very reasonable price

 

[grokit]

Just get the latest iPod like everybody else. They're way cool and it will show the world what an individual you are.
 

 

[SoulSyde]

Quote:

Just get the latest iPod like everybody else. They're way cool and it will show the world what an individual you are.
 

I would chalk that up as sarcasm, but I don't really get the relevance to this thread. 

 

[grokit]

 
Quote:

I would chalk that up as sarcasm, but I don't really get the relevance to this thread. 

It's a direct answer to the OP; what's not to get?
 
Oh FLAC, whoops

 

[SoulSyde]

So you consider the #1 selling media player in America "individual?"

 

[129207]

Grokit is being sarcastic. And useless. 
 
Dizzyraider & Soulsyde, thanks for your replies! The Cowon J3 looks pretty tempting now that I'm looking into it. I read some negatives about the screen coming loose though.
 
If only I could audition a HM-602 and see if it's worth the premium over the X1050! Would be interesting to find out if I'd still gain SQ by using the Arrow 12HE with the 602's line-out. 

 

[dizzyraider]

One of the main thing that I really like my S9 is the EQ. The S9 and J3 has around 30 different settings plus 4 user custom settings. I particularly like the bbe viva and viva2, they really liven up the sound without muddying the quality. Cowon is also very good with updating their firmware for bugs and features, and like you mentioned, the ease of changing the interface is also a plus. (Oh! watching video on the S9 is just fantastic, something I'm sure you didn't get to enjoy much with the X series due to the limited format support) What ultimately separates the Cowon players to the clip + (which I also have) is the quality EQ options and the visual factors (amoled and better looking interface). While the Clip and Cowon sounds similar when both are flat, BBE ViVa just makes it the better sounding player for me.
 
S9 and J3 are not without their faults though. The S9 amoled screen is nice, but the responsiveness and accuracy is not as good as the ipods touch screen, the S9 also lacks the ability to use memory cards. J3 is essentially a S9 with a more responsive screen and has a slot for microSD, but like you have researched, it has the screen lifting slightly on the lower right hand corner.
 
In the end, it's up to you to weigh the pros and cons of each player. I never tried the Hifiman but I'm very content with the sq and the flexibility of my S9 while not burning a hole in my wallet

 

[Bennyboy71]

Not had a problem with my J3 screen lifting up at all.
 
I'll echo what you say about the custom EQ settings on the J3.  Totally rocks.  And aside from my own custom band and EQ settings, the preset Viva or Headphone 2 also place it ahead of other players in the SQ stakes.

 
Quote:

One of the main thing that I really like my S9 is the EQ. The S9 and J3 has around 30 different settings plus 4 user custom settings. I particularly like the bbe viva and viva2, they really liven up the sound without muddying the quality. Cowon is also very good with updating their firmware for bugs and features, and like you mentioned, the ease of changing the interface is also a plus. (Oh! watching video on the S9 is just fantastic, something I'm sure you didn't get to enjoy much with the X series due to the limited format support) What ultimately separates the Cowon players to the clip + (which I also have) is the quality EQ options and the visual factors (amoled and better looking interface). While the Clip and Cowon sounds similar when both are flat, BBE ViVa just makes it the better sounding player for me.
 
S9 and J3 are not without their faults though. The S9 amoled screen is nice, but the responsiveness and accuracy is not as good as the ipods touch screen, the S9 also lacks the ability to use memory cards. J3 is essentially a S9 with a more responsive screen and has a slot for microSD, but like you have researched, it has the screen lifting slightly on the lower right hand corner.
 
In the end, it's up to you to weigh the pros and cons of each player. I never tried the Hifiman but I'm very content with the sq and the flexibility of my S9 while not burning a hole in my wallet

 

[gebbss]

Seeing as we're talking about an Arrow 12HE here, how much would each player 'muck up' the signal with their own amp before it reaches the Arrow? As far as I know, none of the players ('cept the Hifiman) have a proper line out that skips the built-in amp completely, except for the iPods if you go through the dock using something like PocketDock.
Of course, I'm still quite new to all this, so do I actually have a point or am I just spouting insanities?
 
This sort of concerns me as well, since I've been thinking about purchasing an Arrow 12HE and I was thinking, what kind of player would suit it best.