Media player for best SQ on Stereo Audio

[kaushik]

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

some clear paths as per as I know:
CDP playback - - good SQ , hassle
laptop>dac [upto 8k] ---- Mid SQ , easy 2 use
portable players:
head phone out>amp -- unmatched signal Below mid level SQ
line out >amp [Sflo:, ipod] --near Mid level SQ , expensive if capacity is more

bigger media player (modded)> --may go till mid level or + , unknown mods!!
Squeezebox touch,DAC mods -- good SQ, expensive

 

[kaushik]

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.

portable players will NOT give near cdp as they contain budget components

- smaller ceramic resistors,preferably small capacitors , low cost but bad for audio
- confined pcb layout to reduce size , sections interface each other
- component tolerances are high to cut cost audio suffers
- circuitry is small so no dedicated clock circuits better opamp sections etc
some stuff like HifiMan are there .. but no idea how it sounds
bottom line , does not exist [till 15k for sure ]

 

[anm]

old appletv 160gb is also a good option. It has all features, has bit perfect output from optical, and can be controlled easily by apple remote or ipod or ipad. I purchased one and I think it is the best for music. It doesn't play flac though.

 

[TaureanBull]

I have read much of discussion going on here. Here is my opinion

-A CDP or a media player is a very important part of your setup. It may screw up your good gear. You must have a good budget for it. IMO you sould go for anyone of them depending on your collection-CDs or FLACs.
-An average player would need a DAC.

I personally bought a Squeezebox Touch. It may seem expensive but its well worth. Its DAC is a very good one. You wont need a DAC.

Other contender was Sonos but it lot to it because of several reasons. The lowest model would cost you more than twice tha of touch, assuming that you buy the controller, else you wont get a diplay to navigate your files. Touch supports USB! Its the only one. No sonos and no other Logitech model supports USB. Plug in a HDD and forget everything. Tuner, a nice display and networking capabilities are obvious features.

Other players are mostly AV players and dnt have a good DAC. This one is a featureful item. Just go to one of its forums. People swear by it.