[Ssnake51]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrBenway /img/forum/go_quote.gif Let me be the second. I buy sound devices on the basis of one criterion: HOW THEY SOUND. The infintile fascination with whizzy tech that adds nothing to sound is unfathomable to me. The typical DAP will keep your schedule, cook your breakfast, and get you a date. Sorry, I already have people for that (or, more accurately, I have a "person" for that: me.)

If sound quality is the only criterion you use, then I don't see why you should give a rat's ass whether a player has a touchscreen or not.

 

[newfier]

interesting topics.

Any body of you have encountered the accident broken of the touch screen? how is the ratio? I have broken tow touch screens within this year. bad lucky.

 

[DrBenway]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ssnake51 /img/forum/go_quote.gif If sound quality is the only criterion you use, then I don't see why you should give a rat's ass whether a player has a touchscreen or not.

Because I have yet to hear a touchscreen player that I would consider purchasing. Not that I've heard all of them, mind you, and there may be some out there I've missed. But in my experience, players that emphasize the screen de-emphasize the sound. Keep the features. Give me the sound.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrBenway /img/forum/go_quote.gif Because I have yet to hear a touchscreen player that I would consider purchasing. Not that I've heard all of them, mind you, and there may be some out there I've missed. But in my experience, players that emphasize the screen de-emphasize the sound. Keep the features. Give me the sound.

As long as they don't put touchscreens on turntables, I'll be happy. My expectations for portable gear are fairly low - I get my high-end fix at home.

 

[Ssnake51]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif As long as they don't put touchscreens on turntables, I'll be happy. My expectations for portable gear are fairly low - I get my high-end fix at home.

A touchscreen on a turntable would be a pia for sure.

I'm very happy with the sound I get from my portable players, but I agree that for high-end listening a good home system is the way to go.

 

[Ssnake51]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrBenway /img/forum/go_quote.gif Because I have yet to hear a touchscreen player that I would consider purchasing. Not that I've heard all of them, mind you, and there may be some out there I've missed. But in my experience, players that emphasize the screen de-emphasize the sound. Keep the features. Give me the sound.

I dunno. I and a lot of others would rate the SQ on the Cowon S9 faily high and it has a touchscreen.
I can understand wanting buttons instead of or in addition to a touchscreen in order to make it easier to play music on the go. But that is a question of ease of use. I don't see the necessary correlation you seem to see between the input a player has and its SQ.

 

[Ham Sandwich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by newfier /img/forum/go_quote.gif interesting topics. Any body of you have encountered the accident broken of the touch screen? how is the ratio? I have broken tow touch screens within this year. bad lucky.

The move to flash based touch screen players means the industry is just replacing crashed hard drives due to dropping the player with cracked screens due to dropping or sitting on the player.

 

[DrBenway]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif As long as they don't put touchscreens on turntables, I'll be happy. My expectations for portable gear are fairly low - I get my high-end fix at home.

Well, given the preponderance of USB turntables these days, that's not so far-fetched, is it?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ssnake51 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I dunno. I and a lot of others would rate the SQ on the Cowon S9 faily high and it has a touchscreen.

And I would call that the exception that proves the rule. When that player came out, the Apple hegemony was not quite what it is now. Honestly, it's not that I object to touch-screens, as long as the overall implementation emphasizes fidelity. Can you name another player, besides the Cowon?

 

[Earwax]

I'm with the OP. I don't see the reason for a touch screen on a music player. Or even on a video playback device. I see why it would be good for web surfing or game play on a hand held, but I do very little of that stuff.

The other thing I don't like about touch screens is they always seem to look dirty with greasy fingerprints all over them.

 

[righteousball]

I think the "need" to "understand" why this particular trend come and go... comes from the assumption that Apple is a hegemony. They obviously are not so dominant in the head-fi world, so I don't see what the problem is. It's like the moustache in the 70s, big shoulder pads in the 80s, Meredith Brooks in the 90s, so heading into the 2010's we've got Lady Gaga and Aladdin-style pants for women. And touch screen for our electronics. All there for the future generation to laugh at? Probably. Does that mean you can't have fun with it? The answer to that is as individual as your dress sense. I get tired to watching people rebel at nothing. If anyone's tired of the consistent apple coverage, it's perhaps the media you should avoid, not apple products per se, cause that' a sign of crap media.

I tried the hardware buttons on the X1000 and I did not like them - if you want to give people both, think things though. Be thorough. Make them stiff enough to prevent accidental clicks, or give us a second hold switch. Move the volume buttons closer, have an option to not trigger the screen on...don't do things half-baked. Samsung had a lot more dignity with the P3 because they don't go "omg we got buttons, shows we're age-old experts at mobile electronics". And the S9's setup is probably also better thought out.

I personally find the ipod touch A LOT easier for navigating serious numbers of songs than the non-touch screen ipods. The same can be said of the X1000 versus the other Sonys. When you've got a lot of music to browse through, I think it becomes apparent. It can also be nice to use your finger, not to approximate the location of the item, but physically touch the visual representation of that item on the screen.

But I guess that's gonna probably make people proclaim in a very holier-than-thou way that they're not song skippers, they listen to the entire album through, so they don't see the issue...

 

[Arainach]

Quote:

I think the "need" to "understand" why this particular trend come and go... comes from the assumption that Apple is a hegemony

It's not just Apple, it's all the market leaders - Apple, Microsoft, and in the audiophile niche Cowon. I've tried lesser brands like Sandisk, and they're all decidedly lacking in polish, UI, battery life, etc, so I stick to the major brands. Thus, when the major players all seem to be going in a direction, I notice.

 

[Skampster]

And you really have to admit, its a hell of alot easier finding tracks on an iTouch than it is on an iPod. I hate the click wheel now.

 

[azncookiecutter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skampster /img/forum/go_quote.gif And you really have to admit, its a hell of alot easier finding tracks on an iTouch than it is on an iPod. I hate the click wheel now.

One of the best reasons why a touchscreen is beneficial.

 

[Ssnake51]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrBenway /img/forum/go_quote.gif And I would call that the exception that proves the rule. When that player came out, the Apple hegemony was not quite what it is now. Honestly, it's not that I object to touch-screens, as long as the overall implementation emphasizes fidelity. Can you name another player, besides the Cowon?

Exceptions don't prove a rule: they show a rule is defective.

In any case, the Cowon is not alone. The Saumsung P3 is also a touchscreen and it is the editor's choice over at anythingbutipod.com.

As has been mentioned in other posts here, the touchscreen makes it a lot easier to organize one's music on their player. But it doesn't work so well when one is trying to play music on the go. I think those players that have incorporated both are a step above others in input quality.

But I see no reason for linking quality of input with quality of sound.

 

[iriverdude]

Could have full LCD remote control with lapel clip. Like the H120/H140. yuk yuk.