[MeltedWelly]

Hi There

It's about that time again where a new MP3 player is just around the corner and after doing a lot of research I've narrowed down the choices to the Sony A818 and the Creative Vision M but I'm having a hard time makin a final desicion.

Drag & Drop and Sound quality and power are the main points I'm concerned with.

To complement my new player I think I'm also going to invest in a set of Denon AH700's or the newer AH751's (good choice for my music tastes ?)


At the minute I'm still using my old Creative Zen Micro 5GB with average Sony in ear bass boost fontopia's with the EQ set to Classical (to me without the EQ sounds are a bit flat and uninspiring & the Rock setting results in messy distortion at high volumes) and the volume set to maximum brain melting 25

(yeah i know the dangers but hell we're all going to die one day anyway)

I listen to hard house / trance music so thumping low's and sparkling high's are a must for me.

The extra storage space on the Creative machines would come in handy but I'm prepared to give this up if the sound quality from the sony machine is better.

Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated...

p.s this seems like a fantastic forum so please don't shatter my illusions by suggesting I buy an IPlop

 

[dura]

Hi, I got the C700. A very nice IEM (bought it at bluetin, paid ~€106 inc P&P) with good bass, clear mids and treble. Not the most smoothest though, no rolled off treble, so its a matter of taste.
The Sony A818 is excellent I got the A808, the Atrac-version) however, it is rumoured that Sony will come with a 16 Gb soon: dapreview.net: Comments

If I were you I would order the Denon's and have some patience to see what sony will come up with.

 

[MeltedWelly]

k thanks.

How often are Sony releasing a new DAP, every 6 months ?

The A818 has been out for around 4 months right... ?

 

[tstarn06]

I own both the Sony A816 and a ZVM, and it's apples and oranges. The Sony is a nice, little DAP with great sound, features. If I were you, I would wait for 16GB, but that's gonna cost you. As for the Creative, why the ZVM? It's an older model. Why not the Zen, which now comes in a 32MB flash model with the option for a SD card to add memory, and also has a larger screen for video?

If I were going to buy Creative, that's what I would buy. The 16GB model is only $199 on Amazon.

As for the Denons phones, the C700s and 751s are identical except for cord length and price. Why pay the extra $60 for that? Get the C700s and save some cash. Also, the Denons are technically not IEMs, they are canal phones. There is a difference with sound isolation, but it is minimal (canal phones do not go as deep).

SQ-wise, I'd say the Sony has an edge, but the ZVM sounds pretty good (and has a true line out option included with it). I'm sure the Zen also sounds good. Based on SQ alone, I'd choose the Sony (if it's between the Sony and the ZVM). But I would take a good look at the Zen.

 

[MeltedWelly]

32GB Flash Zen how did I miss that ???

Sweet Jesus...

ty

 

[DominicKarma]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MeltedWelly /img/forum/go_quote.gif k thanks. How often are Sony releasing a new DAP, every 6 months ? The A818 has been out for around 4 months right... ?

About that.... they've a new model due soon: the A820

As to the OP's question unless you need the space I'd go with the Sony.

 

[Lil' Knight]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MeltedWelly /img/forum/go_quote.gif k thanks. How often are Sony releasing a new DAP, every 6 months ? The A818 has been out for around 4 months right... ?

The NWZ-A916 has been released month ago

with noise cancelling but still Japanese interface.

 

[DominicKarma]

that's a japan only device though and does not replace the A810....

 

[Lil' Knight]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DominicKarma /img/forum/go_quote.gif that's a japan only device though and does not replace the A810....

yep

but I can't help looking at it

 

[ILikeMusic]

Any small difference in SQ between these two will be dwarfed by your selection of IEM/headphones and a number of other factors. I would think that the Zen's inclusion of video support and custom EQ would move one towards that unit pretty quickly, if you care about either of these features.

 

[MeltedWelly]

thanks for all your advice guy's

A new Zen it is me thinks looks like the 32gb versions are still quite hard to come by here in the UK but the are listed on Creatives site for £284.99 Ouch !

The 16gb version can be had for around £140 (still £240 by the time I get a set of AH700's) which seems like much better value for money considering the player accepts 4gb SDHC cards rumour has it that upto 16gb SDHC cards will be availble later this year.

The tech specs / features of this unit are fantastic combined with potentially unlimited storage, this makes so much sense !!!

Seems like Sony has just missed the boat.

 

[MeltedWelly]

(sorry for double post)

Hmmm I've just noticed the downside to this - no FLAC support aaaargh

Still tempting though...

 

[chongy5]

Get the A818.

You won't regret it.

There have been a few build quality issues with the Zen, if the amazon UK reviews on the zen are to be believed.

The A818 is rock solid.

 

[minimelody]

chongy5, what "build issues" are you referring to?

 

[chongy5]

According to the reviews on the Amazon UK site there have been a few defective units.

I'm talking about the Zen, not the A818.

As I implied with the earlier post take it with a grain of salt.