Muzman on 16/4/2013 at 08:40
Inline Image:
http://members.iinet.net.au/~ragtag/empeethree.jpg(yeah there's probably an old thread about this sort of thing, but so what)
So I never really cared about these things. I have always found using them weird. I'm kinda impressed by how much people feel able to block out a fairly important sense for living while walking around the street and so forth. But y'know, maybe I'm weird. Walkman's were bad enough back in the day, but these days people are a little more particular and in-ear headphones are more popular, which block out just about everything. All the same, I have been swayed. Took me long enough. And never missing a chance to procrastinate I thought I'd attempt weird product shots for a while and try a review as well.
My podcast schedule was already fairly long and then I went and added to it by trying to research everything about security tech I could find. Turns out there's a lot of that stuff. But lo my low brow job provides hours of no computer time with which to fill my ears (which everyone else there does already. Probably contravening Occ Health, but who cares). So I went and had a look around for a low cost low frills MP3 player that wasn't some no brand thing no one ever admitted using and I was continually referred to (
http://www.sandisk.com/products/music-video-players/clip-plus-mp3-player/) this guy you see above. Got it on sale from Amazon and worked out about half the price you can get it here, which is nice.
I didn't have wild expectations, as podcast listening doesn't have particularly huge requirements, but it turns out this thing is a serious music machine. My first indication was trying me Sennheiser eh350s on it. Despite their low-ish impedance rating most times I've tried it portable devices sound terrible through them (it's been a while since I tried that admittedly). Using a proper amp they sound spectacular.
Well somehow the tiny Clip can drive them quite nicely.
So now I had to get decent headphones, because because because. This is a pain because who lets you stick things in your ears to try them out. You can't trust personal reviews either because the people in question may have no taste and thought their Dres were "amazing" because they were previously using cans and string. So I got some debt money back and felt like a bit of splurge. I went for the mid range ones by (
http://www.audiofly.com/) these folks because they look kinda cool and are across-town local, which is pretty unusual (although branded hipsterly enough to make dethty explode from all the way over here). I then up-sold myself to (
http://www.audiofly.com/headphones/af56-detail.html) these, because I'm the easiest up-sell there is on sound stuff.
Although I've heard about some (
http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=108&cp_id=10823) really cheap things that are supposed to be relatively great, these are nice too. Comfortable and seem pretty tough so far (they're made out of metal). A little too nice in some ways as they make the flaws in the Clip a bit more obvious (I didn't do much testing with the 350s). They seem to have a flat or even up-curved response to compensate for shitty devices. Unfortunately to Clip has a flat or up-curved response too (read more about the Clip's almost miraculous numbers (
http://nwavguy.blogspot.com.au/2011/02/sansa-clip-measured.html) here) resulting in some harsh highs and bass that's just stupid and overcrowded. On my mixer amp the af56s sound lovely though. So I'm EQing a frowny curve (which you just about never do) on my Clip because
both components are over achievers. And that's kinda cool in its own way.
In a world where people are spending 50% more or twice the amount on Dres, Skullcandy rubbish or (
http://store.munitio.com/Store/Product/Sku/CPFA000473-01) things that look like bullets I've done well I think.
Shorter:
Clip+ good and cheap. Af56s good
Vivian on 16/4/2013 at 08:46
Yeah I've got one of those. They're rad.
Briareos H on 16/4/2013 at 08:56
A Clip+ / Clip Zip with (
http://www.rockbox.org/) Rockbox* is clearly (
http://nwavguy.blogspot.fr/2011/02/sansa-clip-measured.html) the best choice for someone who needs great portable audio and nothing more. It's also one of the cheapest.
It's too bad there's no such obvious solution for high-capacity players (I'm talking 250 gigs and more), unfortunately the trend of technological convergence towards all-integrating smartphones is a great impediment to new and perfected audio players.
*High-quality open source firmware adding many codecs, a very good DSP and advanced audio treatment, correcting a few original bugs, etc.
Jason Moyer on 16/4/2013 at 19:33
I use a Clip. It's great, although the one downside is that it doesn't have a clock (not sure if this has been added in recent models).
Muzman on 17/4/2013 at 10:17
Rockbox apparently adds one that will even speak the time to you, which is kinda cool.
I guess these days people do mostly use their phones. Are they any good, users? I imagine with good enough 'phones, phones are decent.
Some people take this stuff pretty seriously though, buying really expensive players and little amps for their really expensive headphones. Seems like surefire way to get expensive things crushed when sitting down on the train or something, but I imagine that is avoided with practice.
Briareos H on 17/4/2013 at 10:53
Phones are decent, although they won't beat a Clip in sound quality, most people won't notice. There are problems though:
* Finding a music player app with efficient controls and enough features. Easy switching between tracks, quick playlisting, tag management, DSPs and such features are hard to come by.
* Many phones don't have an additional memory card slot so you're limited to whatever storage capacity they include.
* Most smartphones have a battery life of ~1 day, even less with extensive audio listening, which is far less than all dedicated audio players. They are not a viable option when travelling, for example.
Jason Moyer on 17/4/2013 at 12:10
I use mp3 players because I need music on the go (you know, portability being the only thing mp3's are good for) and my phone stays at home. I've always fucking hated phones and I don't see a reason to have one constantly strapped to my hip like a tumor.
As far as battery life goes, I can usually get several days out of my Creative Zen, but the Sansa Clip seems to chew through battery a lot faster for some reason.
Jason Moyer on 17/4/2013 at 12:13
Quote Posted by Muzman
Rockbox apparently adds one that will even speak the time to you, which is kinda cool.
Neat! I didn't realize there was third party firmware. Has anyone here messed with Rockbox at all?
Briareos H on 17/4/2013 at 13:28
I have, both for my old Gigabeat F60 and the Clip Zip. It's great, and stable.
Firefreak on 17/4/2013 at 15:57
Quote Posted by Jason Moyer
Neat! I didn't realize there was third party firmware. Has anyone here messed with Rockbox at all?
I have a Clip+ running with Rockbox. I mainly flashed it for its coolness, but also it supports 64GB microSD cards. Don't know whether a vanilla device would support these cards though, I believe to remember my main reason was the alleged longer battery life per full load with Rockbox. The recommended sound quality came in handy as well.
I didn't have any issues flashing it, with the install helper working in a breeze. I only selected one skin that I liked and nothing more (Apparently there's even a Doom port as one of the game add-ons ...)
The device specific manual is detailed and also essential to work out the controls. Be prepared to have a
very small font with the default skin.
I was using a first-generation Clip 4GB before, with the main reason for it to have a clip (hardly any does these days) and FLAC support out of the box. The Clip+ with Rockbox and 64GB was and is the perfect match for me.
On the headphones sector I'm not so happy. For music listening on-the-go I don't like big headphones. Since day 1 I was used to and liked the earbuds. But those with quality appear to be extinct in favour to those in-ear thingies - which don't stay in my ears like they should. I still have to find the proper plugs that do the job. For now I settled with a standard pair from Sony on the lower end of the middle price range.
