The Breitling Watch Source Forums

We have had a number of discussions over music in the past, but wondering if anyone here is into serious audiophile level mp3 players / DAPs.

I'm looking to buy a new one and probably upgrade to a headphone amp and looking for some recommendations. Not averse to iPod, but not sure how they compare to the Hifiman / Colorfly or even Cowon / Sansa.

Anyone with any experiences or recommendations?

mmmm cant help you there much mate, I have always used whatever mobile phone I was using (eversince the phones became capable of playing music) to play music. have had Sony Ericsson, iPhone, Blackberry and now Android..... never had to complain about the music playback

I like the fact that I dont have to carry yet another device with me to listen to music since thet phone is always with me anyways. But standby time and charging the phone remains a pain in the nec.

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I know that the ipods / iphones support lossless audio, which from what I've been told sound extremely sharp and clear. However this format uses a significant amount of storage for each song.

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sco
Breitling Chrono Superocean
Omega Aqua Terra 8500
Rolex Submariner Date Ceramic

Yeah, they support FLAC, as do a lot of players - the problem is getting it out without losing quality. A 160 gig iPod classic is an option with line out taking much of the processing of the sound away from the iPod into dedicated equipment. What I don't know is how good the quality of the iPod line out will be relative to some of the other options.

I came across this today, maybe of interest to you:

http://gizmodo.com/5838204/the-icon-ido-is-an-audiophile+grade-amp-for-the-iphone-and-ipad

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sco
Breitling Chrono Superocean
Omega Aqua Terra 8500
Rolex Submariner Date Ceramic

Thanks sco, there are quite a few amp options and I am pretty sure I know which way I am going there, it's just the source that I'm not clear on - i.e. whether the iPod is the best starting point for the amp / headphones or whether there are better options.

Sounds like you have more research to do in that case... happy hunting

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sco
Breitling Chrono Superocean
Omega Aqua Terra 8500
Rolex Submariner Date Ceramic

Creative is renowned for their audio quality. They have a line of mp3 players called "Zen". I had one a long time ago but have since sold out to the iPhone.

I think they are lacking in the "user experience" department but they allowed for lossless and gapless playback ages ago. They also support drag and drop of music and files without having to sync with a standalone application (at least they used to).

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“The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once.” - Albert Einstein

Thanks Ian, hadn't seen those but if I can get their website to do something I'll take a look

Ha! Told you their user experience was no good!

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“The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once.” - Albert Einstein

Roff, what did you choose ?

I still haven't made a decision. The amp that I want hasn't been released yet so I may wait until I have that and then take it with me when I look at options so that I can actually listen to them.