What is the best MP3 Player out there or coming next? (M4a) Sell my Cowon J3?

[Marvin the Martian]

Originally Posted by bmiamihk

If you are happy with Apple

Originally Posted by bmiamihk

Have you compared that player with the Hifiman, DX100 or a Cowon?

I have a 4th-gen Touch, and I did have a Cowon D2 and Cowon i9. The Touch sounded better than the D2, and equal to the i9.

[bmiamihk]

Originally Posted by The DarkSide

First, read this on the HiFiMAN: http://anythingbutipod.com/forum/sho...t=HiFiMAN+RMAA

That's truth, not someone's opinion or "facts".

Second, I don't need to test a HiFiMAN, as the sq is garbage.

Third, I never said the DX100 didn't sound good. I've said that the same sq can be attained using a "quality" mp3 player, and the same volume reached using a good amp.

And lastly, I've tried & own/ed Sony, Cowon, Archos, Creative, Apple, Philips, MS Zune, coby, maxell, etc. I have a decent amount of experience under my belt. And, I've had opinions that have been proven right AND wrong. I think someone testing a device is more informative and ACCURATE then an opinion any day.

When a person asks for help facts are what's required, not JUST an opinion. The recommendations we make are all proven to sound good. A clip+ tests better than almost ANY player,...I wonder if it's better than the DX100? I'd personally luv to know,...

And as noted in other threads, if the person states that $100 is their price point, why recommend a device that costs $800+??? You can read & write,...

You have great writing skills and you state everything perfectly. Thanks for helping me become more educated. I have no idea what to recomend as a good player for $100 Dollars but from your expertise it seems the Clip will be the choice.

[mamamia88]

Wouldn't better headphones and audio encoding make way bigger difference then the player itself? For example I would rather listen to a flac or 320kbps mp3 on a cheaper player than a 128kbps mp3 on a more expensive player. You can have the worst player in the world with great headphones and it will sound better than the worst player with shitty headphones.

[bmiamihk]

True I agree with you that a better earphone/headphone with a soso player will improve the sound then a bad/free earbud with a great player. It is only my opinion and I have NO Scientific proof of this. JH13 pro and Future Sonics are both nice custom earphones.

[The DarkSide]

^Thanks from the head-fi crowd^

An inexpensive "good quality" player can sound amazing with a nice set of iem's/headphones. A clip+ with custom iem's is what WalkGood has, and he states the SQ is excellent.

I'm just waiting for another recommendation for the DX100, as a cheap player would NEVER be able to be compared to it,...or the wonderful HiFiMAN as well.

***my last comment was BS***

[bmiamihk]

OO I had various Sony players and they nice plays. Also had some Ipods and a Samsung. I do recommend the DX100 it is so good.

[The DarkSide]

Originally Posted by bmiamihk

I do recommend the DX100 it is so good.

[skip252]

Originally Posted by mamamia88

Wouldn't better headphones and audio encoding make way bigger difference then the player itself? For example I would rather listen to a flac or 320kbps mp3 on a cheaper player than a 128kbps mp3 on a more expensive player. You can have the worst player in the world with great headphones and it will sound better than the worst player with shitty headphones.

That's going to be generally true as long as the player is decent quality. You can't set the bar too low though. There are some DAPs that aren't capable of producing a good quality signal. They can't sound good regardless of how good the headphones even with well encoded files.

I've come across iPod fakes that sound really bad. I've also heard some really cheap junk that can't sound good because they're poorly made. Either poor hardware or firmware keeps them from being in the decent quality category.

Other than players like those I've found what you say to be true in my experience. Better quality headphones and well encoded files will do more to improve sound quality than the player.

[CDMP3PlayerFan]

Originally Posted by Marvin the Martian

I'm in partial agreement.
Clip variants = wonderful
Fuze = coulda been wonderful with Clip-type controls
Fuze Plus = desperately needs Clip-type controls
J3 = way overpriced

I have a Clip+ and like it except for its size, it's a bit too small for my hands. With this in mind, rather than a Fuse Plus with Clip-type controls, I'd like to see a larger version of the Clip+ that is the same as the small Clip+ except for the following:

- Triple the player's size with the screen and controls increased in size by the same proportion

- Increased battery life (should be possible with the increased player size)

- Uses an SD memory card instead of a MicroSD memory card (due to their small size, I find MicroSD cards difficult to insert and remove)

Considering the popularity of the Clip in its many forms, I think that this could be a good alternative for those who want a larger (in size) player.

[The DarkSide]

After a bit more thought, I'd personally luv a fuze++ with tactile controls. That's about it. Especially since I'll never get a Sony the size of my S639 with 32gb on board.

[Marvin the Martian]

Originally Posted by The DarkSide

After a bit more thought, I'd personally luv a fuze++ with tactile controls. That's about it. Especially since I'll never get a Sony the size of my S639 with 32gb on board.

[Pickaxe]

Honestly, if someone took the Clip Zip, gave it a slightly bigger and higher-res screen, say... 1.5" 192x192? And then slightly modified the original firmware to display more info on the WPS, it'd be perfect.

[bennyboy]

My RE272 earphones with my Cowon J3 on my personally configured EQ setting and flac format music files are making sweet love to my ears. I fully expect to get morning sickness any day now.

[mikee]

A sansa fuze droid would be nice. Maybe a 2.8 or 3.5 inch capacitive screen and android (ideally ICS) would be nice. They would sell real nice and be of good quality knowing sandisk. As long as it isn't anything like the capacitive controls on the fuze+

[WalkGood]

Originally Posted by skip252

That's going to be generally true as long as the player is decent quality. You can't set the bar too low though. There are some DAPs that aren't capable of producing a good quality signal. ...

How true, while I've never listened to a coby player I can't imagine they're any good or other Chinese OEM players. I did own the Zen Stone and was never impressed with its sound quality compared to all the other players I have owned. I tried numerous blind tests and even our kids could hear the difference with the same headphones, volume matched as close as possible. I did have a reason for buying it and it did serve its purpose but it did die the day after the one year warranty expired. To this day, I don't know if they ever improved their sq with later releases but could care less

[dgb52]

I would like a updated version of the E200 series from Sandisk. That player was the right size had a sd slot and removable battery . and the controls had the scroll wheel and buttons
if they could recreate a better version of it that would be great