Opinions on best sounding DAPs - please help

[admin_exported]

Hi, I've been using my SE W850i for a year and yesterday upgraded my earphones to the Ultimate Ears 5Pros. I now want to get a dedicated audio player because these Pro babies show up the limitations of my phone.

Question is, which one do I buy?

I am reluctant to automatically buy a 160GB iPod Classic, even though it has the storage capacity I would like (I use iTunes so it would make sense).

The reason for this is because my main priority is high quality sound. I have read mixed reviews about the sound quality of the Classics, particularly since the latest generations no longer use Wolfson chips. Many reviews put players like the Cowon and Sony Walkmans ahead of the iPod in terms of sound quality (typical comments say the iPod is a flatter sound whereas Cowon and Sony have warmer, richer and more musical presence).

I am not looking for flash, bang gimmicks or features but just want a solid, reliable audio player with a large capacity and top quality sound. I listen to a lot of classical and ambient/electronic music.

Please can anyone give me their opinions?

Thank you

 

[rob_981]

The Cowon D2 does have excellent sound quality, although it has nowhere near the 160gb of space that the Ipod classic has. It can be bought now with up to 16gb of internal memory, and can take SDHC cards up to 32gb, although I think they're quite pricey. One thing to note about it though, is that there are limits to the number of files you can store on the internal and external memory. I think the limit has just been increased to 4,000 files on each. Which would only really be a problem if you're using a 32gb SDHC card.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Rob.

I went to the big Apple store today to test run the Classic; then I nipped round the corner to the Sony store and tried out one of the latest Walkmans.

The Walkman won easily and by miles for sound quality. It was clear and detailed, yet rich and warm, even on 128k MP3 format. I felt the Classic was a bit muddied and less clear, although it did have plenty of attack - this may be perceived as harsh by some. I wouldn't said harsh, exactly. It just wasn't so 'musical' sounding as the Walkman. It was also easy to hear artifacts, although this may have something to do with the ripping of the music. I'll give the old boy the benefit of the doubt.

However, the Walkman only has 16GB of internal memory - a bit like the Cowon.

I'm still not sure what to do. Ideally, I would love the Sony's sound quality with the storage and ease of syncing of an iPod Classic (I use iTunes).

Any players out there that can do this?

 

[Anonymous]

I have one of the Walkmans and the sound quality as you say is excellent but unfortunately storage capacity is quite low...I guess its the quality v quantity dilema

 

[rob_981]

I know, the storage capacity is a bit disappointing, but it's just because it uses flash memory rather than a hard drive. It's less breakable, but can't give the same capacity unfortunately. Remember though that the Cowon does take SDHC cards, and 16gb ones are coming down in price all the time. There other Cowons which have larger memory, but I couldn't comment on the sound quality. I did consider the Sony too before I got the Cowon because of the better sound quality, but I went with the D2 because I can expand the memory.

 

[fatboyslimfast]

I have found that low-bitrates on my classic sound pretty rough. But, 128kbps mp3 does sound rough, so it could be that the classic is just highlighting what the sony is masking. Apple lossless music is a whole different ballpark, and sounds far more open and engaging (but obviously needs the higher capacity of the classic to make sense)...

I suppose it boils down to whether you want a portable player that you can download music to (in which case the sony makes most sense), or one to rip your CDs to - which is nearer my situation, and hence why the 160gb classic got my vote...

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all your replies. I'm still not sure

I wonder if Sony will introduce a larger capacity player this year - even 30 or 40 gig would be enough of a difference. I think I may wait and see what their new range will bring (should be in time for Xmas)

Thank you. A very happy summer and happy listening

Scot

 

[rob_981]

Remember that the Cowon does have an expansion slot which can take SDHC cards, which are widely available up to 16gb, and I believe 32gb are on the horizon (I think you can actually get them now from certain places), so with the 16gb version of the D2, you could get 32gb or even 48gb in memory. But this is quite expensive, and if you are interested in the Cowon, I would advise trying it out before you buy if you can, because it isn't as intuitive to use (as I think i might have said before!!!!)