[appuchan]

I have tried out most of the mp3 players in market and found ipod shuffle to be the best in terms of SQ. Pair it with a Shure E3c or the newer SE series and its pure bliss.

[kvish]

check out meizu m6 too.(quite unlike the typical chinese ones actually!) very good sound quality especially with good earphones.

[motorheadinc]

I beg to disagree with others here.
Even with the same headfones (EP-635) the Ipod shuffle lags behind Zen Stone in SQ.
I tried I pod headfones too on the Zen which didnt make too much of a difference.
Zen is clearly better in SQ than an Ipod shuffle.
Maybe the ICE gurus can shed some more light here.

PS: i haven't tested the more expensive Ipods

[vebmetal]

Originally Posted by anuragn

Don't mistake me.
Kindly read carefully: I said best among all IPods and not best among all PMPs.

Umm, did you not say this?

Originally Posted by anuragn

And Ipods in general are supposed to be among the best in SQ.

[anuragn]

Originally Posted by vebmetal

Umm, did you not say this?

Quote:
Originally Posted by anuragn
And Ipods in general are supposed to be among the best in SQ.

Very true, I said among the best, and not the best. And IPods are definitely among the best. I am no expert (read Audiophile), so it is only my personal opinion and might be wrong.
Anyway, any expert opinion guys?

[revvedup]

Hi fellow bhpians, have to buy an MP3 below 4k( again SQ top priority). Earphones woulds be creative EP 630(don't think any other in-ear phones are below 1K).

I was looking at the Creative Zen Stone Plus( I already have had the ZEN Plus for a while and quite like it's sound apart from the fact that it isn't loud enough when I connect it to the Altec Lansing MX 5021).

However now with the pleothra of options avialable, I am confused. Here are the ones I am looking at apart from the stone

Samsung S2 pebble (stone/pebble who names these things archaeologists )
SA1928/97 - Digital MP3 player - Portable audio and video products - Portable audio and video - Philips
Sansa Clip

Top priority is SQ.

[CliffHanger]

Guys,

Please suggest me a good portable mp3 player. The following are my requirements.

1. Very good sound quality.

2. Space of about 4gb.

3. Ability to play high volume. A lot of players have their highest volume that is inaudibe in noisy atmoshpere, so I do not want them.

I'm in Bangalore, so suggestions on shops in Bangalore are welcome too.

[drsingh]

^^^^^^^ sansa clip..

[chevelle]

Originally Posted by CliffHanger

Guys,

Please suggest me a good portable mp3 player. The following are my requirements.

1. Very good sound quality.

2. Space of about 4gb.

3. Ability to play high volume. A lot of players have their highest volume that is inaudibe in noisy atmoshpere, so I do not want them.

I'm in Bangalore, so suggestions on shops in Bangalore are welcome too.

I have a Sony S Series and E Series mp3 player. One is 4gb and another is 16gb. Both are excellent mp3 players in terms of SQ. The volume goes upto 30 and it is very very loud. The good thing is, they provide IEMs with this mp3 player which are great starter IEMs. So you won't be using all the volume. Usually i keep it at volume of 12-14 depending on mp3 quality.

I am loving it.

http://www.sony.co.in/view/View.acti...ries&id=349093

http://www.sony.co.in/view/View.acti...ries&id=349128

http://www.sony.co.in/view/View.acti...ries&id=349224

You haven't mentioned if you will watch video on it. But looking at how you mentioned 4gb, i think you will be using for audio only. In that case the above 3 (A,S,E) in sony are great.

Sandisk Sansa Clip+ is a good option too but battery life is not good and it is pretty basic. I had a Clip before and it was great. But clip+ is a disaster.

You cannot go wrong with Sony Mp3 players. I had 2 since 5 years and i am blown by the sound quality they provide.

[CliffHanger]

Originally Posted by chevelle

I have a Sony S Series and E Series mp3 player. One is 4gb and another is 16gb. Both are excellent mp3 players in terms of SQ. The volume goes upto 30 and it is very very loud. The good thing is, they provide IEMs with this mp3 player which are great starter IEMs. So you won't be using all the volume. Usually i keep it at volume of 12-14 depending on mp3 quality.

I am loving it.

http://www.sony.co.in/view/View.acti...ries&id=349093

http://www.sony.co.in/view/View.acti...ries&id=349128

http://www.sony.co.in/view/View.acti...ries&id=349224

You haven't mentioned if you will watch video on it. But looking at how you mentioned 4gb, i think you will be using for audio only. In that case the above 3 (A,S,E) in sony are great.

Sandisk Sansa Clip+ is a good option too but battery life is not good and it is pretty basic. I had a Clip before and it was great. But clip+ is a disaster.

You cannot go wrong with Sony Mp3 players. I had 2 since 5 years and i am blown by the sound quality they provide.

Thank you, Chevelle. Just a layman question - how long the mp3 format will be around?

[chevelle]

Originally Posted by CliffHanger

Thank you, Chevelle. Just a layman question - how long the mp3 format will be around?

I don't see it dying for atleast next 5 years. There are other formats in market already but those cannot replace mp3s. The good thing is, all companies are supporting mp3s so i don't think it will be affected for next 5 years.

I had this question in 2007 when i got sony mp3 player, 6 years later, i am still using it.

[condor]

Found this interesting bit of info about connectors, and how Apple is building up it's exclusivity ... rather, trying to be an island by itself.

May be better to stay away from Apple (despite their advantages), and enjoy the RoW ?

In all of the following explanations- imagine that the tip of the plug is facing left.
The standard 3.5mm headphones (no in-line controls on the cable) use the configuration of (from left to right)
TRS- Tip, Ring, Sleeve. The pinout for these connections is: Left Audio, Right Audio, Ground.
Connection types for headphones with a mic (and newer ones with volume control) are configured in
TRRS- Tip, Ring, Ring, Sleeve.
On TRRS there are 2 types-
1. The original TRRS configuration was created by Nokia and has a pinout of Left Audio, Right Audio, Mic, Ground.
Apple came along and changed their pinout to Left Audio, Right Audio, Ground, Mic.

This is why many apple headsets will not work with android, because the last 2 connections, for Mic and Ground are switched. The issue is with the hardware.
The way that songs are skipped (forwards, backwards, and pause) occurs by sending signals down the ground channel (when you tap the button it shoots an electrical signal that the phone will pick up and interpret).
The way that volume is increased/decreased occurs by sending signals down the Mic channel.

This is why- if you try a set of newer iPhone earbuds on the GSIII- as I have- the center button does nothing, but yet the volume up and volume down both pause tracks, and allow you to skip them!!
Additionally, Apple has patents on their TRRS connection- in fact on the resistances (the actual ohm resistance in-line on the controls- not to get scientific or anything ) so that the headphones are designed to work only with Apple products. In other words- you could have a device with the same TRRS Pinout as apple products- but the headset wont work because the resistances (ohms) of the headphones send signals that your phone is not allowed to interpret into the correct actions (since apple patented these)

Hope this clarifies things up a bit

Source: head-fi.org
positng member there: http://www.head-fi.org/u/294036/squallkiercosa

[alpha1]

Originally Posted by condor

Found this interesting bit of info about connectors, and how Apple is building up it's exclusivity ... rather, trying to be an island by itself.

Any idea if there is indeed a technical advantage to be gained by keeping the ground in between?

[condor]

Originally Posted by alpha1

Any idea if there is indeed a technical advantage to be gained by keeping the ground in between?

Not that I can think of. Signals are signals. Looks more like a strategy by Steve to keep Apple products separate.