Purchase advice on new DAP - SQ is most important

[pablobaluba]

Hi guys,

I hope I will find an useful advice here. I already read a lot of threads and I anticipate part of your replies. Still, some things are note very clear to me.

I come from another forum where I read some recommendations: HiSoundAudio Rocoo P, Colorfly C3 and a few others. I couldn't find them here.

I'm looking to buy a new DAP. Right now I have an iRiver Spinn which I will sell soon.

Most important for me is Sound Quality. I don't care about videos, photos, big screen, etc. I will just carry the player in my pocket. So if it will have buttons instead of touch screen it'll be better...still I will handle it either way.

I'm mostly playing FLAC and mp3.
Another important thing for me is the battery life.
I don't care too much about capacity. 8GB should be ok...16GB even better, considering I'll use FLAC mostly.
I'm willing to spend up to 200$ if it's really worth.

Now, you'll probably suggest the Clip+.
-But I read about Rockbox, which is not clear to me what it is? A new firmware? Is it hard to install it?
-Are there also 16GB versions?
-As portable headphones I will use AKG K518.
-Is it worth to buy the "cheap" Clip+ and spare some money for a new pair of AKG K267 or should I invest in a more expensive player?

Thanks in advance!

[CrowdAds]

[saratoga]

Those are pretty easy to drive headphones so you will probably get similar results with any reputable player.

Rockbox see Rockbox.org

[The DarkSide]

I own the AKG 518dj,...any player you buy will power them easily. And they go great w/the clip's, iPods, SGP's, and Sony Walkman players. I've even used them w/iPhones, WP7 phones, and Android phones. The sky's the limit, so get a player with the features you want most & enjoy!!!

[Jack4L]

Originally Posted by pablobaluba

-Is it worth to buy the "cheap" Clip+ and spare some money for a new pair of AKG K267(?)

Yes. I personally get more enjoyment out of a decent selection of headphones then I do out of having a different (or "more expensive") music player to use them with. Although I would personally go for a different type of headphone versus another of the same sort. Meaning I'd rather save up for a full sized set of headphones if I already had a portable set or a set of IEMs.

[CDMP3PlayerFan]

pablobaluba wrote the following as part of a post:

Originally Posted by pablobaluba

Most important for me is Sound Quality. I don't care about videos, photos, big screen, etc. I will just carry the player in my pocket. So if it will have buttons instead of touch screen it'll be better...still I will handle it either way.

I'm mostly playing FLAC and mp3.
Another important thing for me is the battery life.
I don't care too much about capacity. 8GB should be ok...16GB even better, considering I'll use FLAC mostly.
I'm willing to spend up to 200$ if it's really worth.

The Sony Walkman players should meet the above criteria with the exception of the ability to play FLAC files. They do support WAV, MP3, AAC-LC, and WMA.

I rip my music to FLAC, and manage my music collection with MediaMonkey (MM). When MM loads my FLAC files on my player, it automatically converts them into high-quality LAME encoded MP3 files. Media Go (Sony's media management software) can also convert FLACs to MP3 or AAC as it loads them on your player.

Per the instruction manual, the battery life for my player (a Sony Walkman NWZ-E465) ranges as follows:

• 48 hours when playing AAC-LC files encoded at 128kbps
• 50 hours when playing MP3s and WMA files encoded at 128kbps
• 55 hours when playing WAV files

I hope this helps.