Surprise: Searching for a mp3-player with good sound quality

[Bastet]

I know that this is being discussed here basically every hour but still...I tried to do some research myself but kinda got lost in all the new models on the market I have never heard of before.

When I stopped reading up on mp3-players some time ago, the IAudio X5 was THE big kid on the block with reportedly the best sound quality ever. But it seems like this has changed quite a bit.

Anyways, first things first. This is what I want: Simply put, good sound quality w/o an amp and a hard disk around 20GB. Considering that I paid around $230 for my H10 once, I would like to stay in the same price range or lower. Would be nice if it supported Rockbox but it's not a must.

Is it still worth it to shell out the cash for a used Rio Karma or the IRiver H340 or should I go for a new model?
If so, which one? The ones that get mentioned here quite often are the Zune, Trekstor Vibez, some weird Samsung players I have never heard of and occasionally still the X5.
How do these compare to each other in terms of sound quality if I do not plan on using a line out?

Many questions, no answers (yet)! Thanks for reading!

 

[3X0]

The X5 is still among the best in sound quality.. it took a while for the contenders to catch up, and they did with some more conveniences (i.e. Zune's bigger and better screen/GUI) which slights the influence of the X5 a bit.

The X5 and the Zune sound about the same from my experience. I haven't heard the Vibez. The Samsung YP-Z5 is the best digital audio player I have ever heard.

 

[MiG(TM)]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3X0 /img/forum/go_quote.gif The X5 is still among the best in sound quality.. it took a while for the contenders to catch up, and they did with some more conveniences (i.e. Zune's bigger and better screen/GUI) which slights the influence of the X5 a bit. The X5 and the Zune sound about the same from my experience. I haven't heard the Vibez. The Samsung YP-Z5 is the best digital audio player I have ever heard.

I still believe anything made by sony will have the best sound quality available. The hardware sony puts in there MP3 Players is amazing.. software is a bit mad, but heh.. you listen to the player u don't listen to the software

 

[3X0]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MiG™ /img/forum/go_quote.gif I still believe anything made by sony will have the best sound quality available. The hardware sony puts in there MP3 Players is amazing.. software is a bit mad, but heh.. you listen to the player u don't listen to the software

I thought (and still do think) that the HD5 by Sony was really, really good in sound quality.. but the Samsung YP-Z5 quite frankly blew it away.

 

[MiG(TM)]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3X0 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I thought (and still do think) that the HD5 by Sony was really, really good in sound quality.. but the Samsung YP-Z5 quite frankly blew it away.

i don't see how it can blow it away personally..

My idea of blowing it away would be X-Fi Soundcard style. if it sounds like that, well, i might just go and buy one

 

[Ricardo Dawkins]

Add a vote to the MS player

 

[ZARIM]

Samsung Z5 sound quality are way better than nano(it's true). If you want to experience true high quality sound then try these DAPs(Z5,YP-T9,YP-K5,K3). BTW gigbeat S30 are very good too.

 

[wgr73]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ricardo Dawkins /img/forum/go_quote.gif Add a vote to the MS player

Yes sir! I have all kinds of DAPs(see my sig) and the Zune sounds the best.

 

[haibane]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MiG™ /img/forum/go_quote.gif I still believe anything made by sony will have the best sound quality available. The hardware sony puts in there MP3 Players is amazing.. software is a bit mad, but heh.. you listen to the player u don't listen to the software

I beg to differ. You do listen to the software. If any program has built in cuts or boosts in their default eq you hear it. When I used my ipod with rockbox, there was a significant change in sound from a-b, but it was just software.

 

[3X0]

Quote:

Originally Posted by haibane /img/forum/go_quote.gif I beg to differ. You do listen to the software. If any program has built in cuts or boosts in their default eq you hear it. When I used my ipod with rockbox, there was a significant change in sound from a-b, but it was just software.

I believe MiG was referring to the infamous SonicStage application Sony pushes for file transfers and media management.

Sony firmware has always been fine IMO.