Upgrade from Clip+
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raksrules
Oracle
I also have exactly same query as above since i think clip+ is one player which provides an awesome combination of size and SQ.
Few days back, i was listening to music on my wife's iPhone 4 using my TF 10 and found that sound to be flat (may not be right term), but then i heard the same songs on my clip+ and the experience was totally different and far far superior.
But if you really want a new player, then i think other audiophiles may be able to answer you.
Few days back, i was listening to music on my wife's iPhone 4 using my TF 10 and found that sound to be flat (may not be right term), but then i heard the same songs on my clip+ and the experience was totally different and far far superior.
But if you really want a new player, then i think other audiophiles may be able to answer you.
Metalspree
Galvanizer
@raks TF10 sounds amazing with iphone4 wonder why ur complaning. Did you activate any eq?.
@OP Moving from clip+ to cowon is a downgrade.
@OP Moving from clip+ to cowon is a downgrade.
Cowon C2 is not an upgrade,but u get BBE enhancements which is fun to play with
If small size is what you prefer then you can go for Nationite N2 which at default settings has a liitle better SQ plus it also comes with BBE and headphone amp.:cool2:
These are only options in terms of SQ upgrade you can get over clip+
If small size is what you prefer then you can go for Nationite N2 which at default settings has a liitle better SQ plus it also comes with BBE and headphone amp.:cool2:
These are only options in terms of SQ upgrade you can get over clip+
esanthosh
Herald
I'd second what Joker mentioned back in his review of T51:
A few months ago, I'd have said that nothing sounds better than Clip+, which was true at that time (vs Cowon S9, iPod Touch 3G, Nanite N2, Sansa Fuze v1, Creative Zen V Plus). Nothing still beats it as an overall player - price, small form factor, ultimate portability, durability, ease of use, Rockbox (EQ, UI), SQ, low output impedance. The last factor is now becoming a slight rage in head-fi thanks to NwAvGuy's musings. Day is not far when it becomes too important for it's own good. To read why "near zero" OI is preferred, read this - The "0-Ohm" Headphone Amplifier: The Sonic Advantages of Low-Impedance Headphone Amplifiers | Benchmark Interaction.
But, most of my current setups do sound better than Clip+ (IPod Video 5G -> LO -> Arrow 3G, QA350 -> Sysconcepts Optical -> UHA-6S) that I no longer use Clip+ and Sony E353 much these days. Within a small budget, nothing really offers an "upgrade". With a larger budget, combos / players take out more than what they give (better SQ, but bulkiness + 2 things with different battery lives + not much ease of use).
Question is what makes them "better"? What other players add over Clip+'s SQ is better power (more dynamics, better sound stage == amplification's effects) and in most cases - slightly better resolution and body/weight to the sound. On the other hand, they all would be a slight compromise one way or another. If SQ is the ultimate goal and sacrifices can be made, then you can find a brick that's better sounding than Clip+. As of now, I don't see any player to be significantly better than Clip+ by itself to recommend. Even Nanite N2 / Cube C30, which otherwise might check your boxes, does not support MP3 Tags and I don't see it as an "upgrade" from Clip+'s SQ.
Even with what I own / heard, I don't really like the Headphone out of either iPod Video or HM-601 enough to suggest dropping dough on them. Short of an iMod / diyMod, the best I could do is to add a LOD and amp and that is when iPod gets ahead of Clip+ due to warmth, better tonality etc., HM-601 even with all it's power, sounds better via it's LO than HO unless matched with something like a FX700 (did not like it with CK10 or Yuin OK1). The reason being high OI of these players (OT: This is no longer true of the recent iPod Touch / iPhone since their HO doesn't have as much Output impedance as the older generation and hence do not benefit hugely via amplification). QA350 brick is nice sounding and has enough power on it's own to drive headphones, but you need to be mentally prepared for the digital equivalent of maintaining turn tables and live with it's various issues. Won't recommend it unless you want to go 'hardcore'.
A few options...
A few months ago, I'd have said that nothing sounds better than Clip+, which was true at that time (vs Cowon S9, iPod Touch 3G, Nanite N2, Sansa Fuze v1, Creative Zen V Plus). Nothing still beats it as an overall player - price, small form factor, ultimate portability, durability, ease of use, Rockbox (EQ, UI), SQ, low output impedance. The last factor is now becoming a slight rage in head-fi thanks to NwAvGuy's musings. Day is not far when it becomes too important for it's own good. To read why "near zero" OI is preferred, read this - The "0-Ohm" Headphone Amplifier: The Sonic Advantages of Low-Impedance Headphone Amplifiers | Benchmark Interaction.
But, most of my current setups do sound better than Clip+ (IPod Video 5G -> LO -> Arrow 3G, QA350 -> Sysconcepts Optical -> UHA-6S) that I no longer use Clip+ and Sony E353 much these days. Within a small budget, nothing really offers an "upgrade". With a larger budget, combos / players take out more than what they give (better SQ, but bulkiness + 2 things with different battery lives + not much ease of use).
Question is what makes them "better"? What other players add over Clip+'s SQ is better power (more dynamics, better sound stage == amplification's effects) and in most cases - slightly better resolution and body/weight to the sound. On the other hand, they all would be a slight compromise one way or another. If SQ is the ultimate goal and sacrifices can be made, then you can find a brick that's better sounding than Clip+. As of now, I don't see any player to be significantly better than Clip+ by itself to recommend. Even Nanite N2 / Cube C30, which otherwise might check your boxes, does not support MP3 Tags and I don't see it as an "upgrade" from Clip+'s SQ.
Even with what I own / heard, I don't really like the Headphone out of either iPod Video or HM-601 enough to suggest dropping dough on them. Short of an iMod / diyMod, the best I could do is to add a LOD and amp and that is when iPod gets ahead of Clip+ due to warmth, better tonality etc., HM-601 even with all it's power, sounds better via it's LO than HO unless matched with something like a FX700 (did not like it with CK10 or Yuin OK1). The reason being high OI of these players (OT: This is no longer true of the recent iPod Touch / iPhone since their HO doesn't have as much Output impedance as the older generation and hence do not benefit hugely via amplification). QA350 brick is nice sounding and has enough power on it's own to drive headphones, but you need to be mentally prepared for the digital equivalent of maintaining turn tables and live with it's various issues. Won't recommend it unless you want to go 'hardcore'.
A few options...
- You can buy a Clip Zip (same SQ + album art + color)
- Up the budget and get a Teclast T51 (which I've not heard yet).
- May be try Teclast X19HD - Teclast X19HD (now available). Be the guinea pig and tell us how it sounds
- Try the ZO2 v3. While not a player, it can color things enough to give you a new perspective.
- You can also experiment with this - 1 $ for Hisound’s new released ROCOO player???. Third auction range is from $60-119. I have no idea how it's going to sound though.
^^
+1. There are no PMPs better sounding than the clip+ in price range of about 6~7k. But there are some other players which has better features and sounds the same atleast like the fuze, clip zip and the fuze+. I recently gave away some fuze+ and clip zip to my cousins and they are amazed with the SQ, who have only heard ipods/sony PMPs or others only till date.
If you need to drive higher impedance IEMs/HPs, just buy an amp in your budget and would be a nice addition.
+1. There are no PMPs better sounding than the clip+ in price range of about 6~7k. But there are some other players which has better features and sounds the same atleast like the fuze, clip zip and the fuze+. I recently gave away some fuze+ and clip zip to my cousins and they are amazed with the SQ, who have only heard ipods/sony PMPs or others only till date.
If you need to drive higher impedance IEMs/HPs, just buy an amp in your budget and would be a nice addition.
I might be one more guy hijacking this thread but I hope this question serves others who drop down here too:
I have an iPod touch; one is 2G & another 4g. How will they sound with IEMs like Klipsch X10?
Am I looking at an upgrade? Or will they be good enough and do justice to the IEMs?
Sent from my LT15i using Tapatalk
I have an iPod touch; one is 2G & another 4g. How will they sound with IEMs like Klipsch X10?
Am I looking at an upgrade? Or will they be good enough and do justice to the IEMs?
Sent from my LT15i using Tapatalk
esanthosh
Herald
I think X10 has an impedance of 50 ohms. I came across certain comments that X10 does better with an amp. It may be driven nicely out of iPod Touch(es), but may fare better when connected to an amp (not for loudness, but for better control). I don't think you need a source upgrade, if that's what you are asking. But, you may want to try a portable amp with X10 if you have one around.
Second thing would be "synergy" - the sound signature of player + IEM + all other factors (OI of source, impedance curve of IEM and how they affect the Frequency response of the IEM). That is purely personal and one cannot judge which sounds better to others.
Second thing would be "synergy" - the sound signature of player + IEM + all other factors (OI of source, impedance curve of IEM and how they affect the Frequency response of the IEM). That is purely personal and one cannot judge which sounds better to others.
Though not the best, even 256 kbps ones sounds good. There are just too slight difference between a 256kbps and a 320 kbps track, provided they both share the same original source. But the problem is, most of the so called 320 kbps or loseless FLAC/AAC we find over the net for download are encoded off low quality 120~160 kbps files and in that case it doesnt make any improvement in quality.
esanthosh
Herald
Sarath_ said:
Despite the countless golden ears around, I actually see only a few claiming to "easily" hear the difference between FLAC and 320kbps. Even they say it's not the content, but the "way it's presented" - like a note or a particular portion of an instrument that you need to pay close attention to make the differentiation. You need a good source that reproduces those tiny differences, IEMs that can reproduce those differences faithfully (transparency, resolution, dynamics all matter) and ears which are trained to pick those differences. Personally, I never bothered to tell them apart despite doing 'critical listening'. You go deep in this "golden ears" mud hole, you only get more muddy. Listening to music should never be forgotten in the quest for hearing the gear - at least to some possible extent.
So for casual listening, go with whatever format suits you. The compromise is on the amount of music you can carry. With something like a QA350 which supports only WAV, I could fit only 14-15 albums in a 16GB SD Card, whereas I have the same number of albums in MP3 VBR format in my 4GB Sony E353. Processing overhead for FLAC is also a bit more, so for an all FLAC device, battery life could be affected at least to some extent (though it's still a small % of battery life lost in the scheme of things).
I'd say that VBR0 is a nice format for portables - saves lot of space which means you can carry more music on the move. Usually 128kbps and under may sound 'horrible' because they throw out much more data. 256/320 won't make a huge difference. As long as you have your own or trustworthy rips (as mentioned by dominator), you can stay with the MP3 for normal listening.
Short answer is to go for sansa fuze
if the only problem is battery life and you want same sound signature. If you are looking for a change (note I did not use upgrade) in same form factor go for cowon e2.I would also like to add to the discussion that cowons are loved because they allow a wide range of sound tweaks to suit the listener and to tweak sound output from the headphones.
Sent from my LG-P500 using Tapatalk
if the only problem is battery life and you want same sound signature. If you are looking for a change (note I did not use upgrade) in same form factor go for cowon e2.I would also like to add to the discussion that cowons are loved because they allow a wide range of sound tweaks to suit the listener and to tweak sound output from the headphones.
Sent from my LG-P500 using Tapatalk
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