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

[leon11]

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

[Gregory S. Chudo...]

I love my Cowon J3. Gapless playback, flac/ogg support, and to make it almost unique - 50 or 60 hours of battery life.

[scuttle]

I love my Cowon J3. Gapless playback, flac/ogg support, and to make it almost unique - 50 or 60 hours of battery life.

I have a Clip+ and a J3. They're both excellent, but the Clip is a LOT cheaper. 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+.

Re. the Fuze: a lot of people seem to hate the newer trackpad driven Fuze+ and, regrettably, NOS older model Fuze prices are getting silly on ebay.

[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.