Is there such a thing as an audiophile player?

[dannyhgt 0]

As MP3 players are lossy, are there any players in the market that plays loseless formats such as wma loseless., or even better, FLAC? Obviously a newbie question... I am looking for a good headphone, but am thinking of the source as well.

[sghound 0]

look no further

 

http://en.meizu.com/product_m3.asp

 

[kross 0]

aei...correct me if I am wrong...i thought ipod all these ordinary mp3 players already support lossless formats, such as FLAC??

 

[sghound 0]

aei...correct me if I am wrong...i thought ipod all these ordinary mp3 players already support lossless formats, such as FLAC??

 

the ipod can play flac if u replace the entire firmware with rockbox. on its own it can support lossless AAC not the superior FLAC.

 

http://www.rockbox.org/

 

 

 

another killa FLAC product, many consider the X5 to be the king of portable players for sound quality. Cowon seems to be way ahead of the game.

 

http://www.cowonglobal.com/product/product_X5_feature.php

 

Edited April 8, 2007 by sghound

[sonq 0]

Hi Sghound,

 

If I don't need video, is this the best SQ available for portable device? How does it compare to their smaller M3 in SQ? http://www.cowonamerica.com/products/iaudio/m3/

 

BTW I'm using WMA lossless files. Anyway, are there reviews on these devices? Searched but only found reviews on mainstream non-audiophile medias like zdnet etc

Edited April 17, 2007 by laukinkon

[Absolute0 0]

Many DAPs support WAV. The iPod also supports Apple Lossless playback.

[sghound 0]

Hi Sghound,

 

If I don't need video, is this the best SQ available for portable device? How does it compare to their smaller M3 in SQ? http://www.cowonamerica.com/products/iaudio/m3/

 

BTW I'm using WMA lossless files. Anyway, are there reviews on these devices? Searched but only found reviews on mainstream non-audiophile medias like zdnet etc

 

yeah the HDD is big enuf for lossless. but i'm not sure if it can support WMA lossless. FLAC is supported though, and is arguably the best sounding & most widely supported lossless format currently.

[sonq 0]

I rip my CDs on Windows - got WMA by default. What's the easiest way to rip to Flac? Heard quite drastic dif between WMP & Foobar - is the dif between WMA & Flac of the same magnitude? Thought WMA Lossless is exact copy of the CD I ripped.

[sghound 0]

I rip my CDs on Windows - got WMA by default. What's the easiest way to rip to Flac? Heard quite drastic dif between WMP & Foobar - is the dif between WMA & Flac of the same magnitude? Thought WMA Lossless is exact copy of the CD I ripped.

 

all you need to know

 

http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?ti...less_comparison

[scottiebabie 0]

the best portable source bar none is iwine imod 4g 60gb ipod available from iwine audio in the states. u can buy it online and it takes 2weeks and will play flacs (and other formats) if u install rockbox. only caveat is the imod turns the headout into a true lineout and u have to pair it with an (preferably good) amp.

 

cost about us500 for the whole shebang inclv 60gb ipod or us200 for the imod only. if u care about SQ OTG, its the best investment u can make at the moment.

Edited April 18, 2007 by scottiebabie

[iynaix 0]

Hi Sghound,

 

If I don't need video, is this the best SQ available for portable device? How does it compare to their smaller M3 in SQ? http://www.cowonamerica.com/products/iaudio/m3/

 

BTW I'm using WMA lossless files. Anyway, are there reviews on these devices? Searched but only found reviews on mainstream non-audiophile medias like zdnet etc

 

Although I will not say that the M3 has as good SQ as the X5, cowon's SQ in all of their mp3 players have been stellar in performance and definitely the best I've heard from an audio player. Not to mention, they actually listen to their consumers, supporting FLAC, using MTP etc. How many other mp3 player makers actually release 3 firmware updates in 2 weeks, as well constantly improve on their firmwares monthly? That's dedication to their consumers!

[alamakazam 0]

look no further

 

http://en.meizu.com/product_m3.asp

 

 

 

cool product, much better than a ipod. imagine 0.1% of china people buy 1 each ....

 

check out youtube on this demo

[v1nx 0]

Hi sghound,

 

What is your opinion if a comparison is made between iAudio Cowon DAPs (D2, X5), Meizu DAPs (M6, M3), and the latest Samsung K3 in terms of sound quality with/without using their sound enhancements?

What about their sound signatures?

Thanks for the advice, i might be buying a new DAP soon.

 

[sghound 0]

Hi sghound,

 

What is your opinion if a comparison is made between iAudio Cowon DAPs (D2, X5), Meizu DAPs (M6, M3), and the latest Samsung K3 in terms of sound quality with/without using their sound enhancements?

What about their sound signatures?

Thanks for the advice, i might be buying a new DAP soon.

 

generally, i like the Cowon & Samsung SQ over the Meizu. in terms of which Cowon model or K3, it really boils down to your personal preferences. if you want a quality MP3 music maker which is ultra-portable, then the K3 is hard to beat. if you wanna play higher quality/size formats like FLAC, then u gotta go the way of something like X5, but together with that comes a larger package with greater fragility (HDD). so weigh your priorities b4 making the decision.

 

for myself, a protable rig has to be ultra-portable with minimum compromises. i chose Flash players coz their smaller, and more durable than HDD (better try not to drop). i can live with MP3 at 320kbps played back on a 8GB flash player, thru a quality portable amp and quality IEM. on my current 2GB K3, i store the bitrate at 128kbps, tats why i'm eyeing the 8GB variant so that i can pump up the quality to 320.

[sWirL 0]

will like to enquire from the experts here whether there will be a substantial difference if I play from a line-out of a mp3 player or a headphone-out from it.

 

Heard from my friend that it will have a great difference 'cos it bypasses the internal amp of the mp3 player. I'm asking this 'cos I intend to pair it up with my amp.

 

But not many mp3 players have line-out right? hmm....