Looking for at 120+GB FLAC Player, dimensions L<=6 W<=3 D<=.5 Options

[Jonathan217]

Before we get started, I've Googled it.

I have a music library that expands at the rate of about one cd every month. I encode all of my music as FLAC files and then lock my little plastic discs away for safe keeping.

I had a Rockboxed iPod with a 60GB drive in it, but I have long since outgrown it. I could have expanded the Hard Drive, but I am looking for something with native FLAC support and better hardware.

I don't mind discontinued devices being listed, but I would like to see what is currently out there too. I'd say the player should provide a minimum of 3 hours of play time on a single charge, 8 would be 'cherry.'

I need to be able to put music on it with out proprietary transfer software.

The player will be plugged into a pair of ATH M50s and will be listened to by someone who puts his hands over his ears when a track from iTunes is played.

A good bonus would be support for 96khz/24bit files, but I'm not holding my breath.

Lastly, I'm looking at spending less than $200USD. If it is a little over budget and meet the aforementioned requirements perfectly, I'd still like to know about it.

Thanks in advance for your time.

[Jonathan217]

Wasn't there iPod with 160 GB drive? something like Classic? 249$, 160 GB of space.
Transcode all music to Apple Lossless if you insist of listening to lossless files on the go - I am not aware of any other device that has that much capacity.

It's your best CURRENT option for high music density on a portable device. You won't even need to rockbox the clip+ to play Ogg Vorbis (unless you just really want to rockbox it)..

Why is that "the best"? I rather using and find more practical AAC for example. AAC performs also better than Ogg Vorbis at the same bitrate so you can go lower. Lower = smaller files = better for portable use.

Jonathan217, use ALAC, use whatever makes you happy.

Unless it is dinner time, Apple is a bad idea. ;-)