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Author Topic: Portable player  (Read 9671 times)

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Offline deejayen

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Portable player
« on: February 16, 2020, 01:11:31 PM »
I'm thinking about buying some sort of portable player.  I would mainly use it for listening to mixes of my recordings, and also for listening to some albums I would save as WAV files from CDs.  I'd use it with headphones/earphones.

I'm undecided about buying a portable recorder (maybe the Sony PCM-D100) for this task (I'd also obviously have the benefit of using this as a recorder if needed), or if I should buy a dedicated player.  I don't want to use a phone for playing music.

I would also prefer something with knobs and buttons rather than a touchscreen.

I'd like something which sounds really good/accurate, but I don't have the budget for a top-end player such as the expensive Astell & Kerns or Sonys.

I'm in the UK.

Suggestions would be appreciated!
 

Offline Lostbrook

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Re: Portable player
« Reply #1 on: February 16, 2020, 01:22:31 PM »
Bought one of these recently and love it. Mostly touchscreen though:

https://www.fiio.com/m11

Offline unidentified

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Re: Portable player
« Reply #2 on: February 17, 2020, 12:30:20 AM »
I have a pair of FiiO X5s (first and second generations).  They can be a tad quirky at times but they (and a good set of headphones) have changed how I listen to music for the better.  Also great in the car. 

Offline jerryfreak

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Re: Portable player
« Reply #3 on: February 17, 2020, 01:30:54 AM »
my PCM-A10 is a recorder first and a player second, but i use it all the time to dump 24-bit flacs on

no frills interface but does the job. smaller than my phone and sounds great.  takes big cards. i think it has a 5000 track limit.
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Offline deejayen

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Re: Portable player
« Reply #4 on: February 17, 2020, 01:13:31 PM »
Thanks for that.

The Sony appeals to me more than the FiiO, mainly because it doesn't have a touchscreen.  However, when I start to consider its recording capabilities I'm immediately compelled to consider other options, such as the aforementioned PCM-D100!

The PCM-A10 might be a good allrounder.  I suppose that anything with better recording quality will be much heavier and bulkier, but wouldn't be as convenient for carrying around as a player. 

I haven't seen them, but I'm wondering if a cheap player such as a SanDisk Clip/Jam might work okay for general listening, and with the savings I could buy a PCM-D100 or Tascam DR-100MkIII etc when I need a recorder.

Offline jefflester

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Re: Portable player
« Reply #5 on: February 17, 2020, 01:47:54 PM »
I haven't seen them, but I'm wondering if a cheap player such as a SanDisk Clip/Jam might work okay for general listening, and with the savings I could buy a PCM-D100 or Tascam DR-100MkIII etc when I need a recorder.
I used a Sansa Clip for 6-7 years until the battery started lasting less than 2 hours. I was very happy with it for the low price point, simplicity, and functionality, though not being able to play higher resolution files became an issue as more of those started circulating. I've replaced it with a Hidizs AP80 which I am happy with, though it does not handle un-tagged files very well.
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Offline unidentified

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Re: Portable player
« Reply #6 on: February 17, 2020, 03:41:28 PM »
My FiiO X5s don't have touch screens per se.  Off-on and volume controls are physical.  To access other functions, you turn a physical wheel inset flat on the front of the player until the function you want is displayed on the screen.  You activate that function by  pressing a physical button. https://www.head-fi.org/threads/fiio-x5-2nd-gen-impressions-and-discussion-thread.765943/  You can get one for less than $200 on EBay (no affiliation with any that you would find there). 

I myself would be cautious about subjecting my recorder to the day to day rigors of being my primary portable playing device.  YMMV. 
« Last Edit: February 17, 2020, 03:47:07 PM by unidentified »

Offline deejayen

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Re: Portable player
« Reply #7 on: February 18, 2020, 07:25:16 AM »
Thanks for that.  I think the current generation of X5s might be touch screen, as is the M11 mentioned by Lostbrook, but from your description the 1st and 2nd generation X5s might not be.  I suppose I could have a look around for an older device, but I'd rather not buy something like this from eBay.

Offline moondust.and.solitude

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Re: Portable player
« Reply #8 on: February 18, 2020, 09:47:31 AM »
The iRULU F20 is a nice, well built, player.  Easy on the pocketbook/wallet.
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Offline Chilly Brioschi

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Re: Portable player
« Reply #9 on: February 22, 2020, 08:45:16 AM »
The SanDisk Clip is very small.
Clip it on clothing, and go exercise or walk.
Sound isn't bad, but fairly low powered, somewhat warm with my Panasonic earbuds.
I don't recall it as doing .wav or .bwff, but I wasn't expecting Hi-Res or Hi-Fi, just background.
It does Audibles, a big plus.
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Offline raymonda

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Re: Portable player
« Reply #10 on: February 22, 2020, 08:48:25 AM »
The Fiio M6 is the new darling. It is priced right at around 140, plays all types of files, has blue tooth for your car and headphones and will playback 2tb cards when they become available. That is right, 2tb! That is a lot. You could also just use your phone and a Dropbox account.

Offline MakersMarc

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Re: Portable player
« Reply #11 on: March 30, 2020, 11:26:43 AM »
Find a Pioneer XP-30. Punches way way above what you can find it for, maybe $150-200. I’ve owned fiio and this sounds much better to me, two 256gb slots, WiFi for streaming, a real champ.

https://www.whathifi.com/us/pioneer/xdp-30r/review

 
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Offline Big Perm

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Re: Portable player
« Reply #12 on: March 31, 2020, 08:17:02 PM »
Find a Pioneer XP-30. Punches way way above what you can find it for, maybe $150-200. I’ve owned fiio and this sounds much better to me, two 256gb slots, WiFi for streaming, a real champ.

https://www.whathifi.com/us/pioneer/xdp-30r/review

so you like the pioneer better?
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Offline OldNeumanntapr

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Re: Portable player
« Reply #13 on: June 20, 2020, 03:18:23 PM »
I had a FiiO X3 second gen that I loved. It sounded amazing, with my FiiO headphone amp and Sennheiser 770 Pro headphones.

But...It died almost a year and a half after I bought it. I don't know if I would trust a FiiO again. They don't have a good track record on reliability.

I want something that will play gapless FLAC, read tags in the metadata, and is easy to use and reliable. I don't like a lot of these high priced players with all the bells and whistles.

I was looking for a home player that would play FLAC but I haven't seen anything, except for the $1,100 Cambridge Audio CXNv2 and I'm not sure it will read FLAC tags. Marantz had a home player with a USB port but apparantely it will only play WAV files. :(

Offline heathen

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Re: Portable player
« Reply #14 on: June 21, 2020, 03:06:29 PM »
I had a FiiO X3 second gen that I loved. It sounded amazing, with my FiiO headphone amp and Sennheiser 770 Pro headphones.

But...It died almost a year and a half after I bought it. I don't know if I would trust a FiiO again. They don't have a good track record on reliability.

I want something that will play gapless FLAC, read tags in the metadata, and is easy to use and reliable. I don't like a lot of these high priced players with all the bells and whistles.

I was looking for a home player that would play FLAC but I haven't seen anything, except for the $1,100 Cambridge Audio CXNv2 and I'm not sure it will read FLAC tags. Marantz had a home player with a USB port but apparantely it will only play WAV files. :(
For a home player you could use a Raspberry Pi. Cheap and effective.
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Offline edtyre

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Re: Portable player
« Reply #15 on: June 21, 2020, 05:29:41 PM »
I use my Iphone along with Dragonfly Black USB
DAC and lightning connection kit. On the phone
I have the Onkyo HF player that plays 24 bit flac files
I already own my phone, it has plenty of storage
Just needed the additional hardware and software to
make it sound better!
« Last Edit: June 21, 2020, 05:32:14 PM by edtyre »
music>mics>pre>recorder

Offline unidentified

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Re: Portable player
« Reply #16 on: June 22, 2020, 09:59:59 AM »
Find a Pioneer XP-30. Punches way way above what you can find it for, maybe $150-200. I’ve owned fiio and this sounds much better to me, two 256gb slots, WiFi for streaming, a real champ.

https://www.whathifi.com/us/pioneer/xdp-30r/review

There's a lot of wisdom on this board.  My Fiio X5 first gen still works fine but my newer Fiio X5 2nd gen's outputs (both headphone AND line out) have crapped out on me (as foreseen by OldNewmantapr).  I've taken MakersMarc's advice and ordered a Pioneer XDP 30R, which appears to use the same type of cards as the Fiio.

Here's my question -- can I just swap out the cards from the Fiio to the Pioneer when it arrives, or should I copy the cards' data to my computer (that connection still works fine on the Fiio), reformat the cards in the Pioneer, and then copy the data from the computer back onto the cards in the Pioneer?  The first approach sounds temptingly easy, but, as Click and Clack used to say, it's the lazy man who does the most work.  Thoughts? Advice?
« Last Edit: June 22, 2020, 10:03:15 AM by unidentified »

Offline MakersMarc

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Re: Portable player
« Reply #17 on: July 12, 2020, 11:47:45 AM »
I believe that with most DAPs, you can move cards around without losing data. Ima gonna try I’ll get back to you.

The Pioneer wouldn’t recognize music from another micro sd card. I connected the pioneer to my pc and just did a mass transfer
« Last Edit: July 12, 2020, 12:02:22 PM by MakersMarc »
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Offline unidentified

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Re: Portable player
« Reply #18 on: July 17, 2020, 01:54:14 PM »
Your first thought turned out to be right in my case.  When I got the Pioneer, I first backed up all the data on the cards and then moved them from the Fiio to the Pioneer.  They worked liked a charm.  The Pioneer is a nice machine.  Good points are that it is significantly smaller than the Fiio, has a much more convenient gain control, and--perhaps best of all--can accommodate cards that have twice the capacity of the Fiio (so I moved those cards back and put new ones in the Pioneer)!  Downsides from my point of view is that it won't play through folders, a drag since I like to load chronologically dated folders, each holding an album of a given artist, to listen to sequentially so I can enjoy listening to how his or her style evolved (imagine listening to Miles that way from Birth of the Cool to Agharta).  It also won't remember where I left off the night before and resume from that point when I fire it up  in the morning. It also seems to choke at times at files with embedded art work. But, hey, I've adapted my use of each of the players to take advantage of their specific quirks.  I also do everything I can to baby their headphone jacks, since these damn little openings seem to be the Achilles Heel of every portable device I've owned since my first cassette Walkman.  Thanks again for the advice, gang.   :headphones:
« Last Edit: July 17, 2020, 08:15:19 PM by unidentified »

Offline MakersMarc

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Re: Portable player
« Reply #19 on: July 18, 2020, 11:30:58 PM »
My 3.5 is a little jinky two years in and having been dropped maybe 30 times and counting. None of these players seem to have a real robust connection. But as you say, I love the storage, and for the price I don’t think you can come close to the sound.

Thinking of picking up a Shanling m0. Size of a big postage stamp. Crazy. These things can get addictive.
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Offline unidentified

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Re: Portable player
« Reply #20 on: July 19, 2020, 05:57:18 PM »
https://www.amazon.com/Shanling-Hi-Res-Portable-Music-Player/dp/B07BZY2QN1

At that price, this little player is very tempting. 
« Last Edit: July 19, 2020, 05:59:05 PM by unidentified »

Offline spyder9

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Re: Portable player
« Reply #21 on: July 21, 2020, 02:47:34 PM »
Sony NW A45.  Last year's model.  The new one is the A55 ($220 New).  You can't go wrong with either.

If you want something small for the gym, I recommend the FIIO M6.  Sounds great.

Offline jerryfreak

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Re: Portable player
« Reply #22 on: July 21, 2020, 04:16:46 PM »
im assuming all these do gapless with both flac and mp3?
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Offline spyder9

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Re: Portable player
« Reply #23 on: July 22, 2020, 09:34:55 AM »
im assuming all these do gapless with both flac and mp3?

Yes.  I wouldn't own them if they didn't.

Offline MakersMarc

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Re: Portable player
« Reply #24 on: July 22, 2020, 12:16:32 PM »
some advertise gapless and aren't, like some fiio models. The Pioneer does gapless, and the Shanling m0 says it does.
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Offline jbell

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Re: Portable player
« Reply #25 on: July 26, 2020, 11:17:29 AM »
I've owned 2 Fiio models and both are gapless. 

some advertise gapless and aren't, like some fiio models. The Pioneer does gapless, and the Shanling m0 says it does.
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Offline unidentified

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Re: Portable player
« Reply #26 on: July 27, 2020, 08:37:13 AM »
Same here

Offline MakersMarc

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Re: Portable player
« Reply #27 on: August 07, 2020, 10:16:05 PM »
Picked up an open box Shanling m0 for $89, couldn’t resist. Of course, two days later and one of my beloved pairs of Thinksound ms02 earphones, decided to finally take a crap after four years of daily use. So now shopping for backup iem pair, I won’t be stuck with fucking iPhone earphones if my other pair of thinksounds goes bad.


Pretty decided on the 1more triple drivers, $60 at BH Photo.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1496409-REG/1more_e1001_triple_driver_in_ear_headphones.html/?ap=y&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIv5rb5MSK6wIVlyCtBh0UAAdWEAQYASABEgKJtvD_BwE&lsft=BI%3A514&smp=y
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Offline jerryfreak

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Re: Portable player
« Reply #28 on: August 09, 2020, 12:12:42 AM »
Picked up an open box Shanling m0 for $89, couldn’t resist. Of course, two days later and one of my beloved pairs of Thinksound ms02 earphones, decided to finally take a crap after four years of daily use. So now shopping for backup iem pair, I won’t be stuck with fucking iPhone earphones if my other pair of thinksounds goes bad.


Pretty decided on the 1more triple drivers, $60 at BH Photo.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1496409-REG/1more_e1001_triple_driver_in_ear_headphones.html/?ap=y&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIv5rb5MSK6wIVlyCtBh0UAAdWEAQYASABEgKJtvD_BwE&lsft=BI%3A514&smp=y

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Offline MakersMarc

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Re: Portable player
« Reply #29 on: August 09, 2020, 07:20:44 PM »
Shanling m0 is super cool. Nice UI, two way BT, works as a DAC, which I like to have for each lappie. Unfortunately, my four year old Think sound ms02 IEMs took a shit, my second pair isn’t burned in at all, neither is the m0. I’ll report back on sound. But decent, even unburned.

Takes 512gb but I went cheap and dropped in a Sandisk ultra 128, no issues. Stupidly, I tried for a half an hour to get it to work as a DAC, before realizing I needed to download the Shanling usb driver. 🙄 once that was done, no issues.

$89 for an open box. Pending the burn in, I love this thing. It has the tightest most secure 3.5 Out I’ve ever seen. The Pioneer sounds a little better, but the 3.5 comes loose if you look at it wrong.

30-40 hours in, it's a keeper. Not as good sounding as the Pioneer, but damn close.



 
« Last Edit: August 14, 2020, 09:25:28 PM by MakersMarc »
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