Media player for best SQ on Stereo Audio

[gvsriks]

Hi All,

Could you suggest a good media player which would give best sound quality to play compressed (mp3) or uncompressed (flac, wav files)? Ofcourse same would be used for playing Movies as well. Would be connecting it to an AVR like Denon 1911.

Experts, please let me know your opinions/thoughts on different players in market.

 

[jainanshal]

I think if you are interested in playing more of music, apart from SQ, it is also important to check the music playback functionality of the player such as sorting of music files and playback options available.

Usually media players' interface is primarily designed to satisfy needs for video playback, audio is kinda ignored.

Even i am interested to see more inputs on this..

 

[vivek.saikia]

I think if you are interested in playing more of music, apart from SQ, it is also important to check the music playback functionality of the player such as sorting of music files and playback options available.

Usually media players' interface is primarily designed to satisfy needs for video playback, audio is kinda ignored.

Even i am interested to see more inputs on this..

Very true! Even I have done an impulsive purchase of an Asus HD R1 media player primarily for music playback but due the not-so-great stereo SQ and and lack of basic music playback features, it has been lying unused.
I should have gone for the Logitech touch or something......sigh :sad::annoyed:

 

[gvsriks]

I am assuming if it supports playlists, lack of sorting would be still OK though it affects the ease of use. What do you mean by playback options - could you please elaborate?

Basic idea is to avoid spending $$$ on two boxes. Squeezebox and Sonus seem to be costly as well.

 

[vivek.saikia]

I am assuming if it supports playlists, lack of sorting would be still OK though it affects the ease of use. What do you mean by playback options - could you please elaborate?

Basic idea is to avoid spending $$$ on two boxes. Squeezebox and Sonus seem to be costly as well.

It doesn't have an equalizer (not that it is so important, but still), doesn't list down the tracks by it's own (you have to select the music location from the disk), no random as well as continuous playback (you need to select the track individually to play), no loop playback etc etc. Lot to keep me away.
But let me add here that it is an excellent video player, but unfortunately, I don't love videos as much I love my music.

 

[stereorules]

I'm using a Sansa Clip+ and it seems to be handling well. I am going to ask fellow members from Hyd to let me connect it to their systems and do a comparison with a dedicated CDP.

Clip+ with rockbox is really gr8. The sound qlty is awesome esp with FLACs.

 

[rijuc]

Myself going through the same dilemma.. Recently got a seagate freeagent theatre but not really satisfied with the music.. The internet radio sounds better than the flac files.. So was wondering whether to get a squeezebox or a cambridge audio dac magic.. Both cost about 20k..

 

[vasishta.sushant]

use your existing PC/notebook, coupled with a decent DAC such as HRT Music Streamer II. This the best I can think of while being on budget (assuming that we already have a PC/Notebook with us).

I got the Streamer II along with monster 400i RCA interconnects and Belkin Gold USB connector, for less than 10K. I guess thats the best deal.

 

[vivek.saikia]

I got the Streamer II along with monster 400i RCA interconnects and Belkin Gold USB connector, for less than 10K. I guess thats the best deal.

Hey Vasishta, Did you get the Streamer from India? how much you paid for the DAC alone? How is the SQ of the Streamer in comparison to a good CDp?

 

[jainanshal]

I have used Amkette Flash Player, WDTV Live, Asus and Iomega TV Link Director. The SQ i would say was more or less the same, just a little here n there. With 320VBR MP3 the output was good and, to my ears, neutral. Although having equalizers was missed.

But there was huge difference in playback options, worst with Amkette and best with Iomega. Iomega TV Link Director actually has decent options like proper folder browsing for music files, option for selecting various files (mark option) from anywhere in your storage and then play them in one go, editing of current playlist with option to add or delete songs.

I havn't seen these many options for music playback with any of the media players i have used.

Although i have stopped using it since i got the Sandisk Fuze which gives decent output (may be not as good, but still at par) to my 2.1 HT and the video playback needs are fulfilled directly by the TV's USB port.

 

[gvsriks]

Thanks all for your inputs.

The problem with portable media players like sandisk sansa, fuze, ipod or any other player would be support for different file formats. I am not sure if there is any player which would support all the formats, mostly looking at lossless/uncomressed.

Though DAC is a good option, again it needs PC/Laptop to be connected near the AVR setup.

 

[mod-the-pc]

doesn't list down the tracks by it's own (you have to select the music location from the disk

Not true always. WDTV Live has a library where you can browse by Artist, Album, Year, Genre. Audio files from multiple disks would show up in the library and you don't have to browse through disks.

 

[vivek.saikia]

Not true always. WDTV Live has a library where you can browse by Artist, Album, Year, Genre. Audio files from multiple disks would show up in the library and you don't have to browse through disks.

Even Asus has this feature but it never worked for me. I even tried updating the file attributes but no gain

 

[no1lives4ever]

I use the O!Play mini to feed it to my Denon 1910 over HDMI. The sound quality of this combo is pretty good and satisfies my need for music playback to an extent.

There are a few problems with the O!Play mini with respect to the music playback functionality:
1. It does not do gapless playback of FLAC files
2. It can not read metadata from flac files
3. I normally do not play mp3s, but a few times I have played mp3s, i could not figure out how to check the bitrate of the mp3 files on the O!Play mini.

I have my music collection organized into directories and I typically do not use a media library to play music. I use the file manager on the O!Play mini and it does the job good enough.

In terms of SQ for stereo music, your best bet is to connect a media player to an external dac over coax/optical SPDIF connection and then feed the DAC's output to a good stereo setup.

-- no1lives4ever

 

[nandac]

>I got the Streamer II along with monster 400i RCA interconnects and Belkin Gold USB >connector, for less than 10K. I guess thats the best deal.

this forum seems to abound in claims about buying this or that product in india for a reasonable price - but if you ask a question about who the seller is there is seldom any reply.

 

[zeeya]

I am using WDTV Live HD media player, connected it to Denon 1611 AVR. Sound quality is awesome with 320kbps MP3s & FLAC files especially.

 

[kaushik]

I'm using a Sansa Clip+ and it seems to be handling well. I am going to ask fellow members from Hyd to let me connect it to their systems and do a comparison with a dedicated CDP.

Clip+ with rockbox is really gr8. The sound qlty is awesome esp with FLACs.

I tested clip+ with rockbox in TRIPATH 2020 setup .. nowhere near to basic USB dac

 

[avphreak]

Gentlemen,

I guess since the requirement is to have multiple audio formats playable including Flac, one should not miss out on Cowon Audio's J3. Rated one of the best and the sound stage it has is brilliant.

I've tested a couple of them and in fact, I am on my way to buy one for myself now.

It plays all audio formats without a glitch and it performs absolutely brilliant.

It would seem a little expensive - 14K for a 16GB version all inclusive, but personally, its completely worth the money for the clarity one hears.

I've used it with my Marantz and Wharfdale setup...
My 2 bits...

Cheers

 

[stereorules]

I tested clip+ with rockbox in TRIPATH 2020 setup .. nowhere near to basic USB dac

Thanx for the feedback ...So now I know where to head next ..

 

[nirrej]

In terms of SQ for stereo music, your best bet is to connect a media player to an external dac over coax/optical SPDIF connection and then feed the DAC's output to a good stereo setup.

Do any of the media players like Cowon or Sansa or something else come with digital out?
If it's price is under 10 k and then spending another 10k on a DAC, will get us an alternative to an entry level CDP.