best mp3 player?

taliesin

Not sure whether OP is still monitoring this thread, but here goes ...

I was surprised to see that you criticised sound quality of the Archos 1. I have one and certainly agree that the controls are very poor, but I have been entirely happy with sound quality in the circumstances for which I use it - listening to music, usually via headphones, whilst travelling. At £22, it was cheap enough that if I lost it, I could walk into a shop and buy another without feeling too bad.

I just tried hooking mine up to my studio system (well-worn KEF/Rogers gear via a Mackie VLZ mixer) and compared it with the output of a decent PC system (E-mu 1616m, CS4398 DACs). Test material - Ben Sidran, Bela Fleck and Clapton's "Unplugged" album. Original CDs against 192kHz mp3s, which I grant isn't entirely fair. The Archos needed 20dB extra gain and a little low-bass roll-off but stood up well. A little less "air" - cymbals especially lost some definition - and snare and string transients lost a little "snap" but totally musical.

I see three possibilities - that you are accustomed to (and expecting performance similar to) top-quality audiophile systems, that your Archos 1 is faulty, or that some other part of your system is letting you down. Personally, I am often disappointed by the low quality of 128kHz mp3s that are provided by many download services, and the default setting of most ripping software. Are you quite sure that it isn't the source material that is letting you down?

want2bmortgage3

taliesin, still here, i think at the time i criticised the archos sound quality it wasn't long after that i realised there was some wax build up on my sennheiser earphones! cleaning that sorted the problem. i agree regarding source material, and that could be another factor. the biggest difference i've ever noticed is with earphones.

taliesin

I realised just after I hit submit that you had just replied!

Yes, a good lump of wax will certainly take the edge off the sound quality. And indeed, earphones make a big difference, especially with the earbud or "just inside the ear" types. If your ear isn't quite the "right" size or shape, models that the reviewers rave about can sound completely lacking. But for perfectly sound reasons (sorry!), you can't try them out before purchase. Partly for that reason, I've gone back to using "over the ear" types.

How does the Sansa compare with the Archos 1?

want2bmortgage3

hi taliesin
the sansa is pretty good, very light, decent battery and good storage with 8gb.
i just got some soundmagic e10's and sound quality is very good.
i would still like to try one or two other players to compare them, possibly a creative player (i've always been impressed with them in the past) and maybe try an ipod shuffle (like the design).
what do you currently use?

Derivative

want2bmortgage3 wrote: »

hi taliesin
the sansa is pretty good, very light, decent battery and good storage with 8gb.
i just got some soundmagic e10's and sound quality is very good.
i would still like to try one or two other players to compare them, possibly a creative player (i've always been impressed with them in the past) and maybe try an ipod shuffle (like the design).
what do you currently use?

I have the original Sansa Clip and bought it after reading reviews of the sound quality - and the price made it a done deal.

I've had it for years, it now has a cracked screen due to my neglect, it's still going strong. Probably the best £30 I've ever spent on a gadget.