Portable MP3 Players

[Dreven]

I never thought about the sound quality of portableMP3 players before, but now owning some IE's that don't suck (Imagies) I want to get something decent. I currently own a 1st Gen and 3rd Gen Ipod Nano. I like the small size of the 1st Gen but can't stand the 3rd gen size. It's very wide and I could care less about watching movies or videos on a MP3 player. I really do like "small" in mp3 players.

Through just reading, I'm having trouble getting a sense of exactly what has the best sound quality. I've seen good things written about:
-Sandisk
-Cowan
-Zune (nano sized one).

Sandisk is releasing a 4GB "Clip". It's already on Amazon.com but not in stock yet. I like the looks of the small size and just enough screen size to be able to change tracks without having a true screenless (shuffle like) player.
http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/07/sandisk-releases-a-32gb-sansa-view-4gb-sansa-clip/

What's everyone using and has anyone compared sound quality (+bass output) between multiple players? Thanks...

[Guest IVstringer]

I have been highly satisfied with my Samsung YP-U2JQB 2GB. The reasons I bought it:

-Small size (slightly bigger than USB thumb drive). It has a place to attach a lanyard, so I can wear it around my neck on a plane.

-Direct USB plug in, no 30pin connector to mess with. I have a small USB travel adapter which is all I need for the road...

-Just enough screen to change track/artist/etc.

-Battery life is pretty darn good. I used my wife's Nano for my first 12-hour plane ride, and it cut out after 4 hours. I could have probably messed with brightness settings, etc. but I was NOT satisfied. I can now make the whole plane ride. It does have a sleep feature so I can set it for 2 hours and have it put me to sleep on the plane.

-Has an FM tuner which works pretty well given the small size of the thing.

Biggest con:

-You might find that it could have a little better bass output. I had E2's before, so I didn't know what I was missing until I got Images. Given that I'm on a plane, even with the Image headphones I'm not going to get true full isolation to maximize it. Also, it is small, I'm not surprised that it's a little lacking. It has a built-in PEQ, I think it's 7 band. So, you could tweak it if you want, but maybe that cuts your battery life a touch.

All in all, it fits my criteria of having a travel MP3 player. I can wear it under my shirt and put my headphones underneath as well so that I don't get the cable caught on anything and I don't have to worry about carrying anything. I has buttons which I can actually feel so changing tracks doesn't even require me looking at the screen. It plays long enough to last most of my trip (24 hrs+ would a hefty requirement anyway). Yeah, 2GB is a bit limiting, but still impressive size-wise for a player that small.

A couple of the other engineers here have the 30 GB Zune players, and they use them for int'l travel and are quite happy with those.

[pretzelb]

You sure you want to go down this path Dreven? Like anything audio it's a path paved with information and money that can overwhelm even the bravest!

Having said all that I'm no expert. I've read many a post on the topic enough to know I don't have the time to get into it full speed. Before you do anything you should look into your recordings. How are you recording your music? Even going with a certain recording format can make a huge difference. I think this also drives your selection in a player. For example, some find the Ogg Vorbis format to be what the require but few players can handle it. Even if you go with run of the mill mp3 you stlll have various encoders that some people will swear by. And changing your recordings can alter your file sizes which may dictate what player capacity you need. This assumes you don't want to bother with loading/unloading songs on to the player which is something that annoys me but probably not others. I do think you need to consider the file format first since it's like the foundation of a house and can alter your player choices.

Have you considered a pocket amp? I have a very cheap one and it makes a big difference in some of my headphones. With an IEM you need to pay a bit more so you can get one with adjustable gain but amps can really improve things dramatically. You do lose some portability but just a little.

One other thing to consider is line-out. This is huge for many, especially those with amps. I've read tons of opinions on the topic. Nice thing about the pocket amp is you can bypass the amp of your player and switch in the amp you prefer. You can even get an amp that is good for it's bass. You can find line out cables even for the iPod.

I do fear if I get either the Image or the Custom 3 I will itch to get a new pocket amp.

Good luck.

[baglunch]

I picked up a Cowon A2 for several reasons, sound quality being one of the highest priorities (but I also wanted to watch movies, read books, share pics, etc.). I've had it for a bit over a year now. Had to send it in to Cowon once now to get the motherboard replaced when it stopped turning on, but shipping and repairs were free. I've been tremendously happy with it. With your Images, you'll be getting decent sound isolation, so good sound from your player will make a difference. I don't have my Images yet, don't know what it takes to drive them or whether an amp would make much of a difference, but my A2 can even drive my Senn595s respectably. I don't have experience with any other brand or model of MP3 player or PMP, but I bought my A2 after extensive research in the area of audio quality. Cowon is known for their top notch sound. They have a wide range of product prices and capabilities, that should suit a wide range of customers. I feel safe recommending them to a fellow audiophile.

[pretzelb]

I went to the Cowon website the other day and looked at the specs for one of their players - it was an impressively long list of features. Some were bogus in my opinion (software to create mp3 files) but you still could tell that this was something geared toward the audiophile more than mainstream users. If I were in the market I'd have to consider one. I do know that on the head-fi forums you see Cowon in lots of people's signatures. The only issue I would see being possible is user interface. My first dap was Creative Labs and after a while I gave in and got an iPod. I hate all the hype Apple gets but they did do a great job on the interface.

[baglunch]

No doubt. Someone left their iPhone in the company bathroom the other day. I'd never held one before, but I had no problem quickly finding their picture folder, scrolling thru, figuring out who it belonged to, and getting it back to them. It was a really impressive interface, so much better than my A2. But eventually, you want to listen to something, or watch a movie, etc. And then the A2 wins. []

[jt1stcav]

I own an affordable Creative ZEN V Plus 4GB that's the size of a matchbook. Besides its 20Hz - 20kHz frequency response, it too has a lanyard and a velvet pouch, direct USB connection, a line in cord to record direct from a CD player, a good size OLED screen, excellent battery life (up to 15 hours on a charge), plays videos, jpegs, has an FM tuner, and records messages, et al. It also has bass boost and other EQ settings, but I don't use them. And it comes in various sizes, up to 16GB I think (maybe more). I rip my CDs at 128Mbps and synch them to the ZEN via Windows Media Player (their own ZEN V Series Media Explorer is provided) and have over 65 hours of high quality music at my disposal! With my TOTL 16 ohm, 17Hz - 22kHz Sennheiser CX500 earbuds (maybe the Images will come later when they're more affordable and I know what range their frequency response is), sound quality is truely amazing even with compressed MP3s. Its sonics won't come close to my SET stereo system, but for what it is (and used in a noisy work environment), this li'l rig works wonders! Highly recommended for anyone who's looking for an affordable player that sounds extremely well (IMHO)!

[baglunch]

I think jt1stcav has a good point. Different tools for different uses. For sheer portability, it's hard to beat those chiclet sized flash-based players. Music that you bring with you is better than music that you leave at home because it's just too bulky to bother taking along. My A2 approaches this limit, but I only use it while sitting on the bus, and for occasional large file transfers, so its size isn't as much of an obstacle for me, and the background noise is usually not too obtrusive. If you are mostly going to be using it in noisy environments, or situations where you can't dedicate yourself to immersive listening, you aren't going to get much benefit from more advanced sound circuitry or higher bitrates. Still, with what I've read about Cowon's flash-based smaller offerings, I'd still try to steer an audiophile (e.g., someone putting $300+ into headphones) toward something by Cowon.