So, which iAudio is right for me?

[Robonaut]

I'm kind of new to the whole MP3 thing. I bought an iPod when they first came out, but never used it very much because I thought that the sound quality was horrible. However, now a lot of the music that I like (mostly progressive house and trance) is available only on vinyl or via direct download, so I'm looking at getting an MP3 player again.

I've heard great things about the sound quality on the iAudios. I'm particularly intrigued by the BBE bass enhancers--I listen to a lot of club music and it drove me insane that my iPod would distort if I turned up the bass in the EQ.

So, as the title says, which iAudio should I get? All of them are within my price range, but, obviously, I don't want to spend more money than I have to.

Here's my requirements:

(1) Sound quality, sound quality, sound quality!! Do any of the players sound noticeably better than the others?

(2) I probably will use the player almost entirely for listening to music, so the video playback isn't a big deal for me. However, I'm wondering if the bigger screen on the video players makes them easier to navigate? That would be worth the extra money to me.

(3) I will spend most of my time listening to the player at my desk at work, not while jogging or anything, so I don't think that I really need one that's resistant to being jostled while playing.

(4) Since I'm going to use it mostly at my desk, I'll probably have it plugged into the wall most of the time, instead of running it off of batteries. Are any of the players better suited to this than others?

(5) I may end up getting an external headphone amp and DAC at somepoint in the future--do any of the iAudios have a digital out?


Hmm, I think that's about it--I look forward to your suggestions!

[Zeus's Uncle]

The X5 is going to present you with the greatest capacity (60 gigs). There are a handful of new players coming out from Cowon, but since I'm not in the market to buy this winter I haven't been playing close attention. I don't think any of these would replace my recommendation of the X5 on disk space though.

If you looking for headphone amps I can recommend the offerings at headroom with confidence. Give them a look: www.headphone.com

[afruff23]

1. Not from what I hear. I have the X5 BTW.

2. Some people have problems with the U3's small font, so you might want to stay away.

3. Sounds like you'd prefer a HDD player.

4. Sounds like battery life is not a priority. You want the X5, M5 (black and white stripped-down rare version of X5), or M3 (discontinued).

5. No. For something with digital out, check out the iriver H100 series (discontinued).

So, you probably want the X5 20/30/60 gig or one of the iriver H100 series players.

[Robonaut]

Well, at the moment, I'm kind of leaning towards the 30GB A2.

I've read multiple reviews which gave it the edge in SQ over the rest of the iAudio products.

Any reason that I shouldn't get this one? I know that the X5 is available in a 60GB version, but I figure 30GB is more than enough to last me through the day (heck, it's probably enough for a month!).

I like that the iRiver has a digital out, but, from what I can tell, its been discontinued for, like, a year now. I'd be a little reluctant to pick up a used DAP, I think.