Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Jan 24, 2016 19:59:59 GMT
Oh, brilliant. That takes some doing. Well either X1 or X3 will play them. Don't think the Clip plays FLAC, but easily converted to mp3 for it.
When you add the cost of say, X1, E12a plus just a Portapro, you have a very good sound for the price with files that will sound even better with headphone upgrades later as well. Even just an X1 with Portapro sounds very good for somewhere around £100 in total.
It's the improvement paths for later that make them so attractive. Don't need to do it all in one go.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 24, 2016 23:28:29 GMT
Of course the Clip plays FLAC. Damn well too. Install Rockbox and you also have a parametric EQ.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2016 0:57:52 GMT
Of course the Clip plays FLAC. Damn well too. Install Rockbox and you also have a parametric EQ. Clip at approx £25 plus Topping NX1 at approx £25 equals superb system that will drive even my 600ohm Sextetts to 'live' levels.
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solderdude
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Post by solderdude on Jan 25, 2016 5:59:21 GMT
That combo will indeed be hard to beat VFM wise. Then there is also a good alternative to the Sansa Fuze....the E 70.- FiiO M3. Plays a bit louder than the Sansa's but not as loud the X1 (E 140.-) Can play up to 24/96 WAV and the memory can be expanded (uSD) to 64MB. Looks really nice. Is smaller than it appears to be on the picture. The X3 = E 250 X5 = E 430 X7 = E 750
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Jan 25, 2016 7:16:15 GMT
Never tried FLAC on mine because I never realised that the Clip could play them.
£50 for a system is extremely cheap really isn't it? Great value.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2016 14:43:57 GMT
Another option is to hook the Z3 up to a portable dac / amp. Fiio E18 works well with my Z2 and I think Topping do I cheaper one that I think Ian mentioned (NX2?). Guess it depends on whether all you want to do is listen to CD rips or other types of media too e.g. streaming services (online or offline mode), video content, games etc. If the Z3 is anything like the Z2 the audio quality is really good. Just too darn quiet as you say. Don't mention the volume cap, that's really annoying
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Jan 25, 2016 15:59:34 GMT
Luckily, the Fiios and the Sansa have a healthy output. The Ipods are weak. Digital out from Ipod is ok though.
I had nothing but complaints from people at the other end of my old Experia phone. Everyone complained of low audio and there wasn't a fix for it. I got rid of it in the end.
The topping digital amp isn't too shabby either considering its daft price.
When you think about it .....
Sansa clip > Portapro = under £50!!! Unbelievable sound for that price. 32 Gb memory plus on board. Or there's the Fuze. Sansa clip > Topping > Portapro = under £80 great sound plus you can hook up other headphones too. M3 comes in here, with Portapro = £70 64 gb memory plus on board. X1 > Portapro = £120. great sound plus line out into home system. 128 gb capability memory. None on board. X1 > Topping > Portapro = £150 which allows other headphones plus home system. X1 > e12a > Portapro or almost anything else, mobile. Price depends on headphone. £230 plus headphone of choice. X3 into Portapro = £200 128gb memory capability plus on board memory. X3 > topping = digital use as well as line out. At about £200 + headphone X5 = dsd capability (although it converts to pcm), terrific line out and digital out. 256Gb memory capability plus on board memory.
The rough prices give an idea I guess. All sound great as well.
I just used the Portapro as a cheap mobile, but fairly decent headphone as an example. In reality, most of us have better already!!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2016 16:49:42 GMT
My combination of Sana Clip+ (Rockboxed) & Sennheiser PX 100-II (with HD414 pads) is awesome for the outlay. If I lose anyone one part of it I can replace it for less than £50. Having said that I don't really listen to music in that way any more. I actually like going out for a walk and hearing birds 'n' shit. Seriously. Life is good right now.
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Jan 25, 2016 17:01:55 GMT
Do the 414 pads lighten the sound of the px100 at all, Gordon?
Oo er ..... I just put some 414s on and the Senns sound really good!! Less sensitive than the Portas but the sound is improved I think!!!
Plus, they actually look more like my old 414's from **** years ago!!! Thanks for that. Never even occurred to me.
More comfortable as well.
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Post by tunkejazz on Jan 25, 2016 17:36:48 GMT
My combination of Sana Clip+ (Rockboxed) & Sennheiser PX 100-II (with HD414 pads) is awesome for the outlay. If I lose anyone one part of it I can replace it for less than £50. Having said that I don't really listen to music in that way any more. I actually like going out for a walk and hearing birds 'n' shit. Seriously. Life is good right now. At the moment birds are frozen in Sweden :-P I want the player for trips and for commuting. My wife is tired of me borrowing her ipod and loading my "filthy" music there!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2016 19:03:09 GMT
Do the 414 pads lighten the sound of the px100 at all, Gordon? Oo er ..... I just put some 414s on and the Senns sound really good!! Less sensitive than the Portas but the sound is improved I think!!! Plus, they actually look more like my old 414's from **** years ago!!! Thanks for that. Never even occurred to me. More comfortable as well. I call them my ABBA Phones. Yeah, the sound is just that bit smoother with a bit more air to the sound. It's a great combo.
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Jan 25, 2016 19:07:06 GMT
It really is!! I've sat here and listened to the whole of Moulin Rouge. That combines orchestral and pop together so os great for judging tonality and I have to say, it gives punch for pop and shimmer for strings.
Plus the fact that Moulin Rouge is such a roller coaster to listen to.
It's a tad more even sounding than the Portapro too.
That was a pleasant surprise!! I'd forgotten about my collection of 414 pads.
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Post by tunkejazz on Jan 25, 2016 20:17:50 GMT
Another option is to hook the Z3 up to a portable dac / amp. Fiio E18 works well with my Z2 and I think Topping do I cheaper one that I think Ian mentioned (NX2?). Guess it depends on whether all you want to do is listen to CD rips or other types of media too e.g. streaming services (online or offline mode), video content, games etc. If the Z3 is anything like the Z2 the audio quality is really good. Just too darn quiet as you say. Don't mention the volume cap, that's really annoying The volume cap is a deal breaker for me. I think I got a somewhat faulty unit of the Z3 because I can hear a lot of background noise that was not there in the beginning...and after one year the phone case has started to desintegrate.
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Jan 25, 2016 20:30:49 GMT
Tunejazz, do tou know that you're 'invisible' on here?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2016 20:46:22 GMT
Tunejazz, do tou know that you're 'invisible' on here? You'd think this was his thread wouldn't you? The volume cap is a deal breaker for me. I think I got a somewhat faulty unit of the Z3 because I can hear a lot of background noise that was not there in the beginning...and after one year the phone case has started to desintegrate. It is for me too with anything other than sensitive IEMs. Your Z3 does sound iffy as I get zero background noise with anything I plug into the Z2. The headphone socket on mine is on the way out though (seems a common problem) and now using IEMs with anything other than squat right angled jacks can result in the sound cutting out briefly if the jack is nudged...hard to avoid when it's in my back pocket whilst walking! Fortunately with the E18 I can now bypass the headphone out all together which solves both my problems. It's actually brought a new lease of life to the phone as I can now listen to all my headphones from it with plenty of headroom to spare. For the money it gives me a really nice portable set up. That said I've never tried a good DAP - I have no doubts they sound great but they just lack some features I consider essential. Horses for courses though.
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