[captainobvious]

Hello all, Im a new member to the forum. I'm actively searching out an mp3/portable media player to fit my needs. Im going to give you guys the requirements, then the preferred options, and hopefully you can guide me in the right direction.
To give a little background, I've been a big car audio guy for years and recently completed the best sounding installation in my car that I've ever done. I believe I have a pretty good ear for music reproduction and I can certainly appreciate the difference that quality components and installation can have on the end result. That may actually be a bad thing now that my wallet thinks about it...

Onto the specifics...

Keep in mind I will likely be using either Livewires or other IEM's so I wont need gobs of power.

Requirements:
Must have a very clean output signal and good flat, extended frequency response.
Small enough and light enough to wear on an armband for working out.

Bonuses:
I prefer button controls but I suppose I can live with touch controls if I must.
Larger the capacity the better of course.


Some of the models I've looked into have been:
3g "fatty" Ipod Nano
Sony NWZ-A829
Zune 2g 8gig (would be sweet if it came in a larger capacity)
Samsung YP-T9 (A little older but I love the interface)
Creative Zen


What so you guys/gals think ?

 

[berniebennybernard]

I currently have the Sony NWZ-A728 8GB (A8XX series w/o Bluetooth) and I love it. The sound is crisp and clear, and there are quite a bit of settings to tweak around with. Only thing that sucks is that the transfer rate is pretty slow.

I'm looking to sell it to make way for my new FLAC collection, so if you are interested, please PM me.

 

[divideby0]

Quote:

Originally Posted by captainobvious /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hello all, Im a new member to the forum. I'm actively searching out an mp3/portable media player to fit my needs. Requirements: Must have a very clean output signal and good flat, extended frequency response. Small enough and light enough to wear on an armband for working out. Bonuses: I prefer button controls but I suppose I can live with touch controls if I must. Larger the capacity the better of course. ...Zune 2g 8gig (would be sweet if it came in a larger capacity)

From what you've described, sounds like the Sandisk Sansa Fuze would be ideal. It has a very flat output with excellent sound quality, uses real buttons instead of a touch interface, is very small, and comes in capacities up to 8GB, with a MicroSDHC expansion slot for more storage.

Amazon has a promo right now for an 8GB Fuze with an 8GB card for about $130ish (16GB total storage)

Amazon.com: SanDisk Sansa Fuze 8 GB MP3 Player (Silver): Electronics

 

[captainobvious]

sounds pretty good actually. What does it support? (AAC/WMA/MP3/etc...)
How is the quality, and what do you think of the interface?

 

[davidr2287]

X2 on the fuze having very flat output. Very good sounding player.

 

[davidr2287]

Supports mp3,wav,wma. UI is pretty boring though but easy to use.

 

[Tomikans]

x2 of Fuze.. Flat city.

But the Clip is where it's at such a tiny size that has sq to boot.

 

[divideby0]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tomikans /img/forum/go_quote.gif x2 of Fuze.. Flat city. But the Clip is where it's at such a tiny size that has sq to boot.

Yes, the Clip is a great little player (Fuze w/o expansion slot) and I enjoy mine thoroughly. You may find the storage (rather, lack thereof) to be an issue though. The Clip is currently available up to 4GB, the 8GB Clip should be available around November/December.

 

[divideby0]

Quote:

Originally Posted by captainobvious /img/forum/go_quote.gif sounds pretty good actually. What does it support? (AAC/WMA/MP3/etc...) How is the quality, and what do you think of the interface?

Support options have already been covered. The quality is quite good, reported to be the best of the Sandisk stable. The interface, though boring, is very functional. There's a pretty good review here:

SanDisk Sansa Fuze Review

 

[lewislink]

If you don't care about additional equipment, like amps and such, the Zune would be the best one there for sound quality straight from the headphone port.

But for a better alternative and for around the same cost, an iAudio i7 16GB from ZZF will fit the bill quite well. It will be among a handful of DAPs with the best sound quality on the market. It is small and has both button control and a touch interface.

With the hold switch enabled you have the option of using the side mounted buttons as forward/reverse or volume control and other things. I find it works very well for quick and easy skipping of songs. Easily moving the hold switch provides volume adjustment.

However, the only DAPs on the market that provide the means for efficient and clean use of an amp through a line out adapter are the iPods. If you ever want to get into increasing the quality of your rig with an amp and LOD (line out dock/adapter) your best choice is the Nano which you have listed.

It really isn't necessary to use an amp and LOD for the best sound, the i7 will give as good of sound quality right out of the HP jack as it is.

 

[Cal3257]

sansa fuze or 4G nano

 

[Waveblade]

I'd say Creative Zen/Sandisk Fuze.


both are solid players, 8GB versions are hovering @ 99 bucks on Amazon

 

[ZarakiSan]

The Zune 16G is now out and is my recommendation.

But fuze is awesome as well and is my second recommendation.

 

[shigzeo]

the sony too is nice as i have it along with the s615, but it hisses so much that i can hear the wind even with very insensitive phones. the nano 'fatty' has remained for various reasons

gapless
batterlife
size
format (aac and mp3)
just works

 

[uraflit]

sansa clip lol