[plonter]

Hi all! i don't want to make a storm here or anything, and also this must had been discussed in the past already. but i wanted to know,what is the best portable player regarding sound only.
until now i had the ipod classic and the cowon d2. they both sound good to me and i thought that they should considered as a very good sounding players, until i read some people opinions about the d2,saying that it is not the best in anything, but very good overall...but that's it.

so let's cut the chase here....what is/are the best players sound wise only?
maybe class a operation..?(if there is such a thing in portable players)

 

[Punnisher]

The headphone out of the iriver h120 and the iaudio x5 sound great to me. They are noticeably warmer and more musical than the D2.

 

[robojack]

I know who you are referring to when you said that someone said that the D2 isn't good at anything. I can also tell you, that he is very much in the minority when it comes to this opinion. It may some weaknesses, but overall, it is quite a superior player, especially with its incredibly clean and powerful headphone-out, which makes it an excellent candidate for amping (after which, most of its acoustic weaknesses are all but eliminated).

Bottom line: If you think the D2 sounds great, then don't let anyone else tell you otherwise.

 

[plonter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by robojack /img/forum/go_quote.gif I know who you are referring to when you said that someone said that the D2 isn't good at anything. I can also tell you, that he is very much in the minority when it comes to this opinion. It may some weaknesses, but overall, it is quite a superior player, especially with its incredibly clean and powerful headphone-out, which makes it an excellent candidate for amping (after which, most of its acoustic weaknesses are all but eliminated). Bottom line: If you think the D2 sounds great, then don't let anyone else tell you otherwise.

thanks! btw, even though i made this thread, i still think that the d2 is great.
sound pretty good and have awsome battery life. i just want to make a little market check with you guys, see if there are any better in the sound field.

 

[plonter]

btw, i usually prefer "normal" players and not pmps, but you can put them too on the list if they sound that good, because my very little knowledge about mp3's and pmps i would like you to mention that to me, thanks!

 

[robojack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by plonter /img/forum/go_quote.gif thanks! btw, even though i made this thread, i still think that the d2 is great. sound pretty good and have awsome battery life. i just want to make a little market check with you guys, see if there are any better in the sound field.

I can tell you that my next DAP upgrade will be to the Cowon S9. It touts improved SQ over the D2, while maintaining similar battery life, FLAC/Ape playback functionality, a very clean headphone-out (great for amping), and a AMOLED capacitive touch screen that has even Cowon-haters gawking. The only downside is that it doesn't have the SDHC slot that the D2 has, but with the 32GB S9 coming out, I don't see the need for it.

 

[plonter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by robojack /img/forum/go_quote.gif I can tell you that my next DAP upgrade will be to the Cowon S9. It touts improved SQ over the D2, while maintaining similar battery life, FLAC/Ape playback functionality, a very clean headphone-out (great for amping), and a AMOLED capacitive touch screen that has even Cowon-haters gawking. The only downside is that it doesn't have the SDHC slot that the D2 has, but with the 32GB S9 coming out, I don't see the need for it.

32 gb would be great. i now have 32 gb with my 16 gb d2+16 gb sd card and this is enough for me. i prefer to rotate a little once in a while instead of keeping all my library at once,that way i got the chance to walk through my cds every once in a while.

so the s9 supposed to be a succesor to the d2? i would like to mention that i dont use eq, so i wonder if the s9 flat response in better than the d2.

the d2 known as not good in the flat response issue,it has a pretty "rollercoaster" like graph from what i saw(..and also heard!)

 

[ZARIM]

I think Kenwood HD60GB is one of the best DAP available because it has internal "digital AMPs". All others are behind and they need external AMPs to shows their best.

 

[sputnik13]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZARIM /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think Kenwood HD60GB is one of the best DAP available because it has internal "digital AMPs". All others are behind and they need external AMPs to shows their best.

I'm sorry, what? Don't all players have an amplifier circuit? If nothing else, the DAC can have a builtin opamp that provides sufficient amplification for use with headphones. I think that's just a marketing ploy on Kenwood's part. I could be wrong, I suppose some players could just have output from the DAC that gets attenuated for headphone use but there's some sort of amplification done on the signal already.

 

[zeroibis]

I am loving the imod with rockbox. Sounds a lot better than my PDA phone but other than that and my computer I do not have much to compare it to. It sounds way better than my current pc b/c my sound card is in the one I have back at home. I will like to compare it to my X-FI but I am very sure that it will sound way way better. I have hooked it up to my speaker system of Marantz HD880s and Technics SB-2665s, it sounded great and you could also easily make out the quality difference between mp3s and flac files. I also listen to it every night on my Klipsch Pro Media 4.1 setup.

When I am back home for the summer I will do some shootouts between it and my friends sources with hopefully simular to the same files to compare them.

 

[Nagasaki_Kid]

cassette walkman perhaps? unless we are staying purely digital then either minidisc or discman. most Hi MD have digital amps too and less hiss than the kenwood. I would still like to see someone compare the rh1 to a kenwood. Or how the mysterious Beosound 2 and 6 fits in. And also how the older sony "mp3" players fit in. I think I heard that the a3000 sony used a burr brown dac.

 

[ZARIM]

P

Quote:

Originally Posted by sputnik13 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm sorry, what? Don't all players have an amplifier circuit? If nothing else, the DAC can have a builtin opamp that provides sufficient amplification for use with headphones. I think that's just a marketing ploy on Kenwood's part. I could be wrong, I suppose some players could just have output from the DAC that gets attenuated for headphone use but there's some sort of amplification done on the signal already.

It's confirmed by many head-fiers here n recomand as top notch HP out sound quality DAPs without external AMPs help( better resulotion than compt). Also iMod is great sounding too but it's need external AMPs n line out dock cable.

 

[shigzeo]

i believe that you may be referencing me. i did not say it was not good at anything. i said it was the best all-around player but not the best in any one sound quality related area. it has expandability, decent battery life, good screen, decent GUI, very low noise and low THD headphone out which is excellent for amping. other than that though, its sound performance is quite average. i never said it was not good at anything, but that it is good as a jack of all trades, but not an ace at anything.

if you are not referencing me, then sorry!

 

[plonter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shigzeo /img/forum/go_quote.gif i believe that you may be referencing me. i did not say it was not good at anything. i said it was the best all-around player but not the best in any one sound quality related area. it has expandability, decent battery life, good screen, decent GUI, very low noise and low THD headphone out which is excellent for amping. other than that though, its sound performance is quite average. i never said it was not good at anything, but that it is good as a jack of all trades, but not an ace at anything. if you are not referencing me, then sorry!

Shigzeo, you just told your honest opinion. and i understood what you said. i didn't think you said the d2 is not good at nothing.
now...based on your opinion,and i kind of agreed with it, i am trying to find out what ARE the players (player ) that give the most high end sound, have the best amp/dac inside. the players which considered here in head fi to be the best regarding sound only. i am willing to compromise on other things and pay more in order to get the best sound.

have you got some recommendations maybe?

 

[shigzeo]

well, it is not so easy. regarding sq alone, you have to realise that sq is not easy to define. most people have differing views on what sq means. to some, all it means is bass quality; to some it is a sterile but clean treble; still to others it means a brand and others something else. so, first you have to define what it is. if we can have a standard by which to judge, it becomes easy to weed out the good from bad.

i prefer to judge a player's quality on it meeting hardware criteria and after that for the player to be liked based on preferences. my criteria is good left to right separation, a low noise floor and decent to good bass performance. after that, a sound signature is less a concern other than personal.

i like the sony 800 series but it hisses heaps and if you don't have the japanese version, lacks gapless playback. i like the zune though i wish it had fuller bass, i like the ipod touch 2g but wish it had a worthwhile eq and the iphone 3g but wish the same and for better bass response. i like the d2 but find its combo of weak separation and bass is prone to headache - however its clean thd is great for amping.