Best Portable Audio Solution 2013, and mp3 player vs phone Options

[cpchan]

And strange things often seem to happen to J3 batteries with age - I think mine is now down to pretty much the same playing life as my Clip+.

Please don't generalize, I have had my J3 since it came out and the battery is still good. However, I do agree if one does not need the long playback time, hardware buttons or video (with it's exellent AMOLED screen and TV out), the Clip+ is a great choice.

[scuttle]

And strange things often seem to happen to J3 batteries with age - I think mine is now down to pretty much the same playing life as my Clip+.

Please don't generalize, I have had my J3 since it came out and the battery is still good. However, I do agree if one does not need the long playback time, hardware buttons or video (with it's exellent AMOLED screen and TV out), the Clip+ is a great choice.

Possibly you should read posts before answering them? I didn't CONCLUDE that J3's tend to have battery problems because mine has developed them - if had, that would be a generalization in the sense you mean (ie. an over-generalization.) This is in fact what you are doing by drawing conclusions from a single player...

Otoh, there are a good number of J3s around, and that battery problems are somewhat reported might just reflect the numbers of players - and that the player as a whole is reliable, so that battery problems are all that are left to wrong.

Anyway, the J3 certainly kicks ass at its own thing - which is playing with all those enhancements like BBE, megabass and room acoustics effects on. Otoh, its EQ is only 5 band, which is very low if you're going to dabble this way. If I was buying today I'd buy a cheap Clip and wait around until I found an Android phone with sq and a price I liked and someone launches a player that's either a VST host or has the BBE Cowon license for their players. (Which they had to pull from their Android app for legal reasons.) But if you don't like messing with the sound that way (I didn't think I would when I bought my J3 but it has worked for me) then stick with the Clip.

[cpchan]

Possibly you should read posts before answering them? I didn't CONCLUDE that J3's tend to have battery problems because mine has developed them - if had, that would be a generalization in the sense you mean (ie. an over-generalization.) This is in fact what you are doing by drawing conclusions from a single player...

I did not draw my conclusion just from my player. If there is really a wide spread battery problem, you would hear all about it on iAudiophile and ABi.

[andrew_berge]

As a member on iAudiophile, i've read of a handful of users with battery problems, no more than that.

Speaking of bugs, though, the J3 does has several software bugs. Such as the tag database not updating when you edit your files, or freezing up when you play anything higher than 16-bit, 48kHz.

This post has been edited by andrew_berge: Feb 18 2013, 06:41

[eleria]

I read a lot of hardware reviews and I had the same problem with every item, I needed about 19Go of memory if I wanted to use V1 MP3s, and almost nothing had that space.
Luckily my brother changed his phone, went from a Galaxy S (Wolfson Dac) to a Nexus 4. He asked me if I was interested in his old phone I said I would try it out.

So he put me some Android 4.1 rom with voodoo sound configured with direct audio, no processes.

In the end I have 32Go, I have about 18Go of -q7 AoTuV OGGs (in lossless the same music equals to 70Go).
The only "problem" I have is a very slight noise that is probably there when I start playback I can't hear then, but that I hear when I stop playback (some white noise continues for a few seconds before shutting down the audio)

[andy o]

Have you considered the Altmann Tera Player? It's a high-quality audiophile DAP. I have recently conducted an objective test of the device, and it beats the venerable Clip+ 5:0. But see for yourself:

And it doesn't have the WiFi "frequencies" that "don't do your body any good". But does it have a good blocker for the "frequencies headphones produce"? Right now I have to put two earplugs in my ears underneath the headphones in order to block those, but my dumb stupid WiFi-frequency-non-blocking iPod seems too quiet then.

[skamp]

andy o: I suspect you might be joking, but I don't get it…

[Arnold B. Kruege...]

andy o: I suspect you might be joking, but I don't get it…

My take is the joke is composed of all of the product's disadvantages on the one side, and the hearty endorsement by a questionable source on the other.

[andy o]

Jeez, no one reads the OP to completion anymore?

Hi there, Im looking to buy a new portable music player (but not apple). I also dont want a volume-capped EU product (im in the UK), so I need to be able to buy it from elsewhere...or the device needs to be able to be flashed or modded to remove the cap!
I am a bit of a perfectionist and would like some nice sound to help inspire my work!


I have done a fair amount of research but it is still a tough choice, and would love to hear peoples thoughts or advice!

I am currently attracted to the Sony z-series (mainly the Z1050 / 60) which I can still get on ebay from japan (uncapped)
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SONY-Walkman-NW-...=item3a7db9eba3

this seems like a lot to pay for something that I cant make calls on though! I understand that it is the amp which bumps the price up.
but...is this kind of player not obsolete now?



And this is part of the brief I guess...my phone is a bit crap so I was thinking that maybe some of the new phones may be good enough for my audio needs.


- I read samsung have good audio, for one...and that many of today's smartphones compete with cowans players for examplem in terms of sound quality

- And ive also seen the new HTC range with 'beats' audio...although I know that the beats brand is somewhat of a gimmick..
HTC one http://www.handtec.co.uk/htc-one-v-black.html ...which I may be able to flash or mod to remove the cap.

- I have always liked sonys products and have also considered an xperia J ...or even an old w995 etc! Apparently the sonys also have a 'warmer' sound.

- I will also be getting some decent headphones (been looking at the IE9's etc...but will cross this bridge when I have a player in mind )

videos and web browsing are less important to me. I would also probably be disabling any wifi ability as I dont think the frequencies do your body any good.

On this note...has anyone ever looked at the frequencies headphones produce?!



any help appreciated...thanks for reading

This post has been edited by andy o: Mar 1 2013, 01:55

[Kohlrabi]

I would also probably be disabling any wifi ability as I dont think the frequencies do your body any good.

On this note...has anyone ever looked at the frequencies headphones produce?!

I'm just happy that humans are unable to see radio-, or microwaves, lest we'd see a mass panic, soon.

This post has been edited by Kohlrabi: Mar 1 2013, 08:04

[mzil]

^I have no difficulty seeing either of them. There is a microwave in my kitchen and a radio in my bathroom.

This post has been edited by mzil: Mar 1 2013, 09:12

[Mach-X]

I hate carrying around anything, especially things which need the maintainance of recharging. I use my cellphone's music player for my portable music, since that kills two birds with one stone and it keeps me down to only one such device I wish I didn't have to carry, and if there was some aspect about my phone's music player that I didn't like, I'd get a new cellphone.

Considering my cellphone is an over clocked cyanogenmod dual core beast, its always in need of charging. When I simply want to go out walking its great my clip+ always has a charge and doesn't weigh my pocket down, unlike today's 5 inch and larger cellphones.

[andy o]

I have a Nexus 4 and an iPod Touch. I carry the iPod when I'm going to drive, and have most of my music in Google Play for occasional listening via streaming. That way I don't have to connect any charging cables on either, and use Bluetooth in the car.

This post has been edited by andy o: Mar 1 2013, 17:06

[mzil]

Since I never walk out my front door without my cell phone, that wouldn't apply to me, but I can see how people who don't like to always carry their cell phone due to its weight and/or battery consumption, as you mentioned, would want music at times, so that makes sense

[andy o]

oh, I meant I carry the iPod in the car in addition to the phone, which I also always carry.

[kwanbis]

I read a lot of hardware reviews and I had the same problem with every item, I needed about 19Go of memory if I wanted to use V1 MP3s, and almost nothing had that space.
Luckily my brother changed his phone, went from a Galaxy S (Wolfson Dac) to a Nexus 4. He asked me if I was interested in his old phone I said I would try it out.

So he put me some Android 4.1 rom with voodoo sound configured with direct audio, no processes.

In the end I have 32Go, I have about 18Go of -q7 AoTuV OGGs (in lossless the same music equals to 70Go).
The only "problem" I have is a very slight noise that is probably there when I start playback I can't hear then, but that I hear when I stop playback (some white noise continues for a few seconds before shutting down the audio)

what is a "Go" as in 19Go?

[db1989]

The context makes it quite obvious, but Google and (in a rare show of usefulness) Yahoo Answers save the day:

Im not sure this is relevant but Go is the translation for GB in french...

No Difference. It is just a bi-lingual spelling of GB.

[[JAZ]]

what is a "Go" as in 19Go?

In french (I don't know if it is used in other languages), they talk about "octets" (which means eight, as in "octal") instead of "bytes".

[skamp]

Octet is valid in english as well, from what I can tell, though not widespread.

[kritip]

The "clip" on my clip+ broke, and the background noise accessing the memory/CPU access was a killer for me so I never used it other than in the car. I have just given it away to a friend.

I have a HTC One X, but battery life is an issue when you couple it with the daily calls, wifi, browsing etc. So I'm also on the hunt again.

I hate to say it, but the size, battery life and weight of the iPod Nano is looking really good to me. The downside I can see are: Cost + iTunes!

The cost I can handle, if it sounds decent....I can't find anything with a comparable size, battery and capacity..

iTunes.....arrrggghhh, it's awful

Any similar alternatives anyone can think of (and no, not another clip )

[eahm]

kritip, why is iTunes so awful?

I have all my music in FLAC and I have only an iPhone 4S as portable audio device. I don't even use iTunes that much other than MUSIC SYNC and it's perfect for it, it's clean, light, organized and the design is better than the competition.

This post has been edited by eahm: Mar 10 2013, 22:26

[saratoga]

I have a HTC One X, but battery life is an issue when you couple it with the daily calls, wifi, browsing etc. So I'm also on the hunt again.

Does playing music actually impact the battery life much? Since the phone still has to be physically on most of the time even in its low power state, it has a lot of idle cycles that could probably be used for decoding audio.

[kritip]

kritip, why is iTunes so awful?

I have all my music in FLAC and I have only an iPhone 4S as portable audio device. I don't even use iTunes that much other than MUSIC SYNC and it's perfect for it, it's clean, light, organized and the design is better than the competition.

I find it slow, and seems there is way too much going on....I'd be much happier just dropping folders onto a mass storage device.

I have a HTC One X, but battery life is an issue when you couple it with the daily calls, wifi, browsing etc. So I'm also on the hunt again.

Does playing music actually impact the battery life much? Since the phone still has to be physically on most of the time even in its low power state, it has a lot of idle cycles that could probably be used for decoding audio.

No, the actual playing doesn't make much difference....however, after I've been using the phone for a million and one other things, it's frustrating when it gets low on power or runs out. If I leave the phone, and JSUT play music, it lasts ages....however I make good use of the phone