[3602]

Overkill, yes. If you read Chinese and spider their forums a bit, you will find that they highly praise its sound quality as "the best sound with MP3" "not going to listen to any other DAP" and such. Even better, some of them even say "save your money and buy a PCM-D1".
Of course, this thing costs a good portable amp + nice headphones...
Could someone here please weigh-in on this.

 

[headfever]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3602 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Overkill, yes. If you read Chinese and spider their forums a bit, you will find that they highly praise its sound quality as "the best sound with MP3" "not going to listen to any other DAP" and such. Even better, some of them even say "save your money and buy a PCM-D1". Of course, this thing costs a good portable amp + nice headphones... Could someone here please weigh-in on this.

" not going to listen to any other DAP“ is too exaggerating. I suppose these who said this sentence are because they have less chance to compare other decent DAPs, PLuse they prefer Japanese goods. By the way, the high price also give them the implying of "good sound quality"

In fact D50 is one of good "mp3 player" (recorder), I think it is similiar to SONY x in term of sound quality.

 

[Thermionic]

I have had my D50 for a while now and have found it to be a very fine portable recorder, quite capable of producing real sounding recordings of acoustic instruments and chamber jazz concerts.

I does work as an mp3 player if you want it to but the B&W lcd screen and the playback user interface perform well below what one expects in a ’normal’ DAP.

It does indeed have a good headphone output, which I would rate as similar though perhaps slightly below a Graham Slee 2008 Solo or on par say with a MiniBox E+ (= good) into my usual Senn. 650 / Equinox cans. No noise, plenty of level and a very nice volume control. Of course the D50 has a proper line output which can drive better amps, and I use mine sometimes as a simple mp3 source for a speaker hi-fi system.

Ignoring its cost, It’s a great little object with very nice cosmetics and tactile qualities but IMHO it is a bit too big, a bit too heavy and a bit troublesome to navigate with, just for use as a player.

Interesting though that some people rate it highly as an mp3 player, because it first an foremost a fairly serious PCM recorder with just an mp3 playback ability ’tacked on’.

 

[david1978jp]

You got to hear it and believe it. Music sounds like music from D50. However, it is expensive, the size is big, the battery life is bad (carry more batteries wherever you go?), the capacity is small (buy a SDHC ?). A big trade-off when portability is in discussion.
What's next best thing? I don't have Sony X series, some said it is a closed second, but not too closed; I have AMP3 (it sounds good with some faults), but I'd say spend extra $300 for D50 if one really calls himself an "Audiophile". Wait, wait a bit long - S:flo2/T51 will be reviewed by members here, we'll see how good it really is.

 

[3602]

It's funny, you know, how most Chinese "audiophiles" praise the following (from their order of 'godness'): Sony PCM-D1, Sony PCM-D50, iMod 5.5G, Kenwood D9, B&O Beosound 2.
I've only touched the D50. It is very well made, metal parts, feels tough in your hand and like a brick in your pocket. Thing does have both analog and optical line-out, though, and they say that if you hook up a high-end DAC with a TOSLINK, you get the sound quality of "all the Muses singing in harmony around you", loosely translated.

 

[prone2phone]

there are millions of audiophiles in China, they can't be all wrong. really strange that it is not popular on head-fi, even ebay has plenty of them, that means there is strong demand

 

[a_tumiwa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3602 /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's funny, you know, how most Chinese "audiophiles" praise the following (from their order of 'godness'): Sony PCM-D1, Sony PCM-D50, iMod 5.5G, Kenwood D9, B&O Beosound 2. I've only touched the D50. It is very well made, metal parts, feels tough in your hand and like a brick in your pocket. Thing does have both analog and optical line-out, though, and they say that if you hook up a high-end DAC with a TOSLINK, you get the sound quality of "all the Muses singing in harmony around you", loosely translated.

why not B&O Besound 6?? i think it is upgarde of beosound 2?

 

[david1978jp]

A friend told me about "the B&O Beosound 2 story", Chinese version.
Someone had a few for sales, so he/she shamelessly hyped it way up in many Chinese forums; I am sure some might fell for that tactics. You can probably find it in China ebay. (I just found it, which asking for USD $400.)
If you have good memory, some members hyped one of new Chinese mp3 player in head-fi for about 6 months. A few members tried the player and gave their opinions, but they were verbally 'atttacked" badly. I think those people will eventually ruin head-fi's reputation. I am bracing myself to their next best-ever-sounding player --- hype, hype, hype again.

 

[faichiu]

D50 is highly rated in HK / TW / China forum. I think there's no doubt about the PO or LO.

The problem is the size and the firmwire is not design as DAP.

 

[qusp]

so this will play 24 bit 96khz via optical yes? I had wondered about these a while ago but for some reason forgot about them till recently. those who know me will know that the size does not bother me

 

[a_tumiwa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by qusp /img/forum/go_quote.gif so this will play 24 bit 96khz via optical yes? I had wondered about these a while ago but for some reason forgot about them till recently. those who know me will know that the size does not bother me

please buy one and give your impression

 

[qusp]

I may just do that, not immediately, but the expandable memory with digital output is very appealing. I dont need all the extra features of the D1, I am only looking for an upgraded portable transport for my existing rig

 

[HONEYBOY]

Quote:

Originally Posted by faichiu /img/forum/go_quote.gif D50 is highly rated in HK / TW / China forum. I think there's no doubt about the PO or LO. The problem is the size and the firmwire is not design as DAP.

Agreed, I only heard it briefly but it was enough to say that it is amongst the best mp3 players available. It was a bit more neutral with better articulation in the highs and slightly bigger soundstage than my X1060. I still found the X to add a notch more involvement and immersion in the music though. The D50 was far more powerful though.

 

[faichiu]

In most case, bigger size player means bigger output power to the PO.

this forum tends to over rated some small players like sansa clip/ fuze and ipod shuffle which has poor PO power.

 

[Aryolkary]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3602 /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's funny, you know, how most Chinese "audiophiles" praise the following (from their order of 'godness'): Sony PCM-D1, Sony PCM-D50, iMod 5.5G, Kenwood D9, B&O Beosound 2. I've only touched the D50. It is very well made, metal parts, feels tough in your hand and like a brick in your pocket. Thing does have both analog and optical line-out, though, and they say that if you hook up a high-end DAC with a TOSLINK, you get the sound quality of "all the Muses singing in harmony around you", loosely translated.

Hi 3602, it would be very nice if you could search in the chinese forums if they mention the new Sony PCM-M10? I have it and it is better than Iriver E10 (which is considered a very good DAP), but have no experience with the D50. The M10 has double the battery life of D50 aprox. and can play more formats, but I don't know if the 5mw output less and internal components make a difference.
Regards,
Ary