[Bombo]

Hi there! As far as I can tell from reading the forums, these DAPs are currently the top of the crop for SQ:

iMod
Trekstor Vibez
iAudio 7
Kenwood HD30gb9
Zune

I haven't listened to any, but from posts here it appears that the iMod is undisputed at the top of this list. Other than that I have no idea what order the other DAPs come in, how close they are together in terms of SQ quality, or if there are others I have missed.

So for those who have tried some of these top quality DAPs out, what would you say the top 3-5 are, in order? How would you rate each out of ten?

 

[EFN]

Please be reminded that iMod will always need an external amp to work properly. While the rest in your list runs independently with internal onboard amp.

If you ask me. iMod will not be listed there at all because IMHO they belong to a different species altogether.

NVM, here's my rating personally for HDD based DAPs:

iMod 5/5.5G = 10/10
iMod 4G = 9.7/10
Kenwood HD30GB = 8/10
zune = 7.5/10
Rio Karma/Trekstor Vibez = 7/10
iRiver H120/H140 (Headphone Out) = 7/10
iPod Video (Headphone Out) = 6.5/10

 

[MasiveMunkey]

Where do you rank an iPod using line out with an amp?

 

[EFN]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MasiveMunkey /img/forum/go_quote.gif Where do you rank an iPod using line out with an amp?

I have vague memory of this. My iPods didn't have chance to run "normal" from day one.

But 7 months ago I did have a 5.5G iPod which I kept for 1 week only and I would say that the Lineout was clean enuff to justify 8/10 rating

 

[Aevum]

the question being amped or unamped, ipods unampled... no good, and the imod kind of requires an amping, if you´re going to go amped, and SQ is the only issue, IMOD is the way to go,

if you dont plan to amp, check out the kenwood HD30GB, the trekstore vibez, the iAudio 7, the Sony A800 series and the iriver clix, the zune is a bit too bulky for me, but alot of people seem to like the sound signature.

 

[Quaddy]

i cant speak for a lot like other people did, as i simply havent owned them all.

but i think the general consensus would be imod first.

no one yet mentioned the classic sony nw-hd5 - great stock line out, i dont own five of them for nothing!

 

[majkel]

Another topic with the same question, so I'll repeat:
1. Rio Karma, iRiver ifp 700 and 800 series, iRiver clix2, iPod Shuffle 1st gen.
2. Meizu M6, Samsung Yp-T9, Cowon D2
3. Samsung Yp-K3, iRivers T series
4. Trekstor Vibez (regarding SQ it's a big overhype IMHO), iAudio U2/G2/G3/5, iAudio U3
Other probably well sounding which I haven't heard are: iRivers H100/H300 series, iAudio F2.
Believing my coleague from another forum iAudio 7 is disappointing SQ-wise, Teclast T39 should be quite good.

 

[dissembled]

I have the IFP895, majkel. Very warm (silky) sounding. What's a good upgrade (storage-wise) if I want a similar sound signature? I have the 512MB version.

EDIT: Is there one that has at least 8GB of memory?

 

[dissembled]

To add to this thread:

My ranks. All subjective of course.

1. IFP-895 (flash) - silky, warm
2. NW-HD5 (hd) - silky, warm, bassy
3. Zune (hd) - airy; relatively neutral; a bit fragile sounding
4. Vision M (hd) relatively veiled but uncolored

Ipod Photo (4g) - uncolored; bit bass shy
Ipod Nano (flash) - uncolored; bit bass shy
Sandisk Sansa (flash) - very identical to Zune's signature.

I'm not going to rank the Pods since it's been way too long since I heard them. They were my sister's so I haven't had considerable experience with them.

 

[majkel]

dissembled, if you can live with no lossless support, stay with iRiver and buy yourself clix 2nd gen. Very natural, colorful (but not colored) and spatial sound. Up to 8GB of capacity. If it didn't add static to ogg playback, it would be mine but for people not concerned about ogg Vorbis it's the way to go.

 

[immtbiker]

Even though other equipment is needed, the Iriver h120/140 series with optical out rivals my 5.5G iMod. It is as good as good gets.

 

[wolfen68]

Quote:

Originally Posted by immtbiker /img/forum/go_quote.gif Even though other equipment is needed, the Iriver h120/140 series with optical out rivals my 5.5G iMod. It is as good as good gets.

x2....but I haven't heard an imod yet (but I've heard a lot of other stuff).

 

[oicdn]

It's not really a fair comparo to compare an iMod to anything. It's heavily modded, yes, the bottom line is SQ, but if someboy dumped as much money/research into another DAP, do you still think the iPod would be the modded DAP of choice???? Probably not.

 

[Malakei]

Im really suprised nobody has mentioned the x5 yet. I always read it was on the top of the list with a few other including that kenwood, imods, that h120 iriver, hmmm what else. Dunno but i should think the x5 would get the job done quite well with FLAC. Just picked one up based on alot of positive opinions and reviews, so i hope its up there at least considering my top top top priority is SQ. Imod just seemed out of budget as did the kenwood. iriver is discontinued and hard to find and the meizu is too small for me space wise. hope this helps. there is a canadian place that sells the x5 right now for 188 plus shipping cheap. Hope this helps

 

[immtbiker]

I have the Cowon IAudio X5L and the S/Q isn't as good as the Iriver. It is built like a tank, accepts .flac files without the need for conversion, and is a pleasure to hold and look at.
However, the bass output and detail don't compare well with Rockbox and .flac files on the Iriver.