I need a MP3 player with some really good sound quality. I was looking at the Zune HD. Not fairly interested in the iPod Touch due to 258758275285 people having it within my school but whatever is better I'm for it. Nothing over $300 but I would more so prefer under $250. Thanks.
[QUOTE=Soldier32;18340549]I need a MP3 player with some really good sound quality. I was looking at the Zune HD. Not fairly interested in the iPod Touch due to 258758275285 people having it within my school but whatever is better I'm for it. Nothing over $300 but I would more so prefer under $250. Thanks.[/QUOTE]
Whats wrong with people having an iPod touch. It doesn't mean it's less good.
It doesn't mean its the best either.
Also OP if you want good sound quality get a CD player.
Creative ZEN X-fi. The X-fi series soundcards are absolutley brilliant, so it's a sure shot. Plus it's sexy.
[img]http://www.slashgear.com/gallery/data_files/7/4/Creative_Zen_X-Fi_PMP_official_2.jpg[/img]
Also, the term "audiophile MP3 player" is sort of an oxymoron, just so you know. But this is probably as close to it as you get.
Archos internet tablet.
[url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16855501046[/url]
500 gigs of storage then get all you music in lossless format.
[editline]06:25PM[/editline]
The biggest thing that hurts quality of a mp3 player is the format it is captured in. Really, for quality of sound pull out you cd player but lossless is close.
Cowon D2+ I hear is a great little Audiophile MP3 player
[QUOTE=Soldier32;18340549]I need a MP3 player with some really good sound quality. I was looking at the Zune HD. Not fairly interested in the iPod Touch due to 258758275285 people having it within my school but whatever is better I'm for it. Nothing over $300 but I would more so prefer under $250. Thanks.[/QUOTE]
what's absolutely hilarious about this is that iPod Touches support lossless audio, be it WAV or ACC(apple lossless), and it really shouldn't matter if other people have them, i don't see why that makes a difference. also, you can't be an audiophile and want an MP3 player, as the MP3 codec in general is quite shit. just call them portable media players if you're going to call yourself an audiophile.
Any MP3 player will do, it isn't the player as much as the files. Most of the time people can't even distinguish between 256kbps and 320kbps so there is no point having a player that can play lossless.
[QUOTE=demoguy08;18340784]Creative ZEN X-fi. The X-fi series soundcards are absolutley brilliant, so it's a sure shot. Plus it's sexy.
[img]http://www.slashgear.com/gallery/data_files/7/4/Creative_Zen_X-Fi_PMP_official_2.jpg[/img]
Also, the term "audiophile MP3 player" is sort of an oxymoron, just so you know. But this is probably as close to it as you get.[/QUOTE]
Those support Flac don't they?
I have a slightly older Zen model (pre X-fi) which doesn't support Ogg or Flac. :(
But I do like my MP3 player, and I would recommend the X-Fi because it's has a much better sound chip.
[QUOTE=M_B;18341300]what's absolutely hilarious about this is that iPod Touches support lossless audio, be it WAV or ACC(apple lossless), and it really shouldn't matter if other people have them, i don't see why that makes a difference. also, you can't be an audiophile and want an MP3 player, as the MP3 codec in general is quite shit. just call them portable media players if you're going to call yourself an audiophile.[/QUOTE]
lol ok
Thanks, to anyone that suggested something useful. I'll look into it.
[QUOTE=BoosLee;18341224]Cowon D2+ I hear is a great little Audiophile MP3 player[/QUOTE]
The Cowon S9 as well. Both of which are great. Perhaps the best sound quality available for a PMP.
Not all mp3s are created equal, although 128kbps mp3s sound poor to a lot of people higher bitrates like 192 or 320 are much close to the original.
Well you could go with the AMP3 Pro 2 from hisoundaudio
[img_thumb]http://www.whiplashaudio.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/5e06319eda06f020e43594a9c230972d/a/m/amp3_5.jpg[/img_thumb]
It has support for mp3, mp4, ogg vorbis, and flac. It has 100 hour battery life per charge. Is made from billet aluminum. Has a built in amp and it comes with very nice earbuds that go for $60 retail. It also has a microSD slot.
It goes for $160.
I would also recommend the Sansa Clip+ and Sanse Fuze, they are very inexpensive, have microSD card slots, and have a very good sound.
[QUOTE=4RT1LL3RY;18345090]Well you could go with the AMP3 Pro 2 from hisoundaudio
[img_thumb]http://www.whiplashaudio.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/5e06319eda06f020e43594a9c230972d/a/m/amp3_5.jpg[/img_thumb]
It has support for mp3, mp4, ogg vorbis, and flac. It has 100 hour battery life per charge. Is made from billet aluminum. Has a built in amp and it comes with very nice earbuds that go for $60 retail. It also has a microSD slot.
It goes for $160.
I would also recommend the Sansa Clip+ and Sanse Fuze, they are very inexpensive, have microSD card slots, and have a very good sound.[/QUOTE]
How much space does the first one have on board?
basically anything from cowon
[QUOTE=Lazor;18345111]How much space does the first one have on board?[/QUOTE]
I think it is only 4GB onboard. They have another version thats not out yet that will have 16GB built in along with an even better amp.
Its a music only player, nothing else. But it does that great. It also has a line-in port so you can use it as an amp only for other things if you need to, don't know why you would. They do have a hiss at high volumes with very low impedance headphones though.
If you are only so-so on the audiophile path go with the Sansa Clip+. It has great sound quality and is quite inexpensive, $70 for the 8GB one. Plays all the formats as the AMP3. Battery life is only 15 hours though. Its a good player though, you don't need to worry as much as with more expensive gear. I have one for when I just need something small.
Cowon is a great brand, I'm not a fan of touch screens though, can't pocket control well.
Anything from Cowon, especially the iAudio series, is sworn by from audiophiles. Check out HeadFi for more info.
Hm, that AMP3, is there a way of buying one in the UK? Can't find one.
[QUOTE=4RT1LL3RY;18345580]I think it is only 4GB onboard. They have another version thats not out yet that will have 16GB built in along with an even better amp.
Its a music only player, nothing else. But it does that great. It also has a line-in port so you can use it as an amp only for other things if you need to, don't know why you would. They do have a hiss at high volumes with very low impedance headphones though.
If you are only so-so on the audiophile path go with the Sansa Clip+. It has great sound quality and is quite inexpensive, $70 for the 8GB one. Plays all the formats as the AMP3. Battery life is only 15 hours though. Its a good player though, you don't need to worry as much as with more expensive gear. I have one for when I just need something small.
Cowon is a great brand, I'm not a fan of touch screens though, can't pocket control well.[/QUOTE]
I have a hard time believing that's for audiophiles if it only comes with 4GB, since most audiophiles use lossless formats. Even 16GB isn't good for storing FLACs. You would want at least around 80 GB but then again most people with a lot of music would probably want even more.
Out of personal interest I encoded a lossless waveform file into all the common mp3 bitrates.
Take a listen and see where you start noticing a difference, most mp3s you'll come across online are 128, 160, or 192.
[url]http://tgcujo.dabananabunch.com/Files/mp3_comparison.zip[/url]
Here are the sizes
Uncompressed Waveform - 39mb
FLAC Lossless Compression - 19mb
LAME mp3 320kbps - 8.78mb
LAME mp3 256kbps - 7.02mb
LAME mp3 192kbps - 5.27mb
LAME mp3 160kbps - 4.39mb
LAME mp3 128kbps - 3.51mb
LAME mp3 80kbps - 2.19mb
LAME mp3 64kbps - 1.75mb
LAME mp3 32kbps - 900kb
LAME mp3 16kbps - 450kb
LAME mp3 8kbps - 225kb
[editline]11:04PM[/editline]
I find myself noticing audible quality difference below 192 but above 128 is still great and listenable.
[QUOTE=matey9;18347818]Out of personal interest I encoded a lossless waveform file into all the common mp3 bitrates.
Take a listen and see where you start noticing a difference, most mp3s you'll come across online are 128, 160, or 192.
[url]http://tgcujo.dabananabunch.com/Files/mp3_comparison.zip[/url]
Here are the sizes
Uncompressed Waveform - 39mb
FLAC Lossless Compression - 19mb
LAME mp3 320kbps - 8.78mb
LAME mp3 256kbps - 7.02mb
LAME mp3 192kbps - 5.27mb
LAME mp3 160kbps - 4.39mb
LAME mp3 128kbps - 3.51mb
LAME mp3 80kbps - 2.19mb
LAME mp3 64kbps - 1.75mb
LAME mp3 32kbps - 900kb
LAME mp3 16kbps - 450kb
LAME mp3 8kbps - 225kb
[editline]11:04PM[/editline]
I find myself noticing audible quality difference below 192 but above 128 is still great and listenable.[/QUOTE]
Most of my uncompressed wave songs are around 350MB :v:
[QUOTE=Kai365;18348010]Most of my uncompressed wave songs are around 350MB :v:[/QUOTE]
That sounds unusual, unless each song is somewhere around 40 minutes long.
[QUOTE=matey9;18348299]That sounds unusual, unless each song is somewhere around 40 minutes long.[/QUOTE]
96 KHz sample rates, 24 bit audio.
Sony is supposed to have decent sound quality. And they're pretty much perfect in every other respect. I dearly want one.
Cowon S9 is your best shot.
Yeah, I'm using a Cowon as well. They can play FLAC files and the audio quality is [I]superb.[/I] I'm having a D2 model, it's definitely not as powerful as an iPod in terms of games and firmware (although the firmware in the D2 and other Cowons are highly customizable).
Battery size is extremely good too, a whopping [B]52 hours[/B] for music and 10 hours for video.
I have been using the D2 for about two years now and it's still as good as it was when I got it. Except that I think my external flash card in it is malfunctioning a little (can't play movies properly when they are of a certain length anymore, but it could just as well be the Cowon too though.)
It's REALLY sturdy. I have dropped it on the ground for like 50 times and I haven't got anything chipped off but I have been getting scratches on the back and some really really minor ones on the touch screen.
[img]http://metrica.org.ua/img/articles/359/1.jpg[/img]
[img]http://www.pmptoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/cowon-d2-pmp.jpg[/img]
[url]http://www.jetaudio.com/products/cowon/d2/[/url]
Sony WALKMAN X SERIES
[img]http://www.loopycellphones.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/sony-x-series-walkman.jpg[/img]
If this thing at least had j2me support I'd be having one right now :P
I have a Sansa Fuze with some Sennheiser CX500s and it sounds great, Awesome functionality when you put Rockbox on it too.
Duhh you need to lack ears if you can't hear the difference between 128kbs/320kbs
True men use Flac, besides, the headphones/amp play much bigger part in the audio quality than the player, so I'd use at least the same $$$ to the headphones than to the player.
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