wow, so the sansa clip+ is actually a good player now

[jinp6301]

And build quality sucks. The sound is probably the best in its price range for a portable though

[Tony]

As to the Clip+, I have been listening to sister's Clip and wasn't impressed by its sq: it just seems bright and bass light. All the raving on headfi seems out of place. I also haven't liked the user interface, plus battery life is embarassingly short. But yes, it's very cheap and also tiny.

[Chekhonte]

The sony x series walkmans have slipped under my radar. If they weren't so expensive for the internal storage you get I think I'll wait a little.

[Chekhonte]

As to the Clip+, I have been listening to sister's Clip and wasn't impressed by its sq: it just seems bright and bass light. All the raving on headfi seems out of place. I also haven't liked the user interface, plus battery life is embarassingly short. But yes, it's very cheap and also tiny.

That's weird, that's not what I hear at all form my clip. I wonder if there is poor quality control over at sansa. My clip isn't even remotely bright, I would say it's the most subdued attribute. Were you using high impedance cans with them? All I've used are grado/alessandro, shure se530, and jvc marshmallows. By the way the marshmallows are the worst sounding headphones that I've ever heard with this device.

Just wonder also, are you using the European verson of this device? I wonder if they have to conform to volume limiting standards and some however they alter the firmware causes it to sound crapy.

[GPH]

I picked up a 4GB Clip+ on sale yesterday and I'm pretty impressed by this little device. I really like the minimalist interface and no frills design. Concerning sound quality, I don't think it sounds better or worse than my iPod Touch, but I haven't done any particularly critical listening.

All the raving on headfi seems out of place.

The portable source gear forum on Head-fi scares me.

[K3cT]

The sony x series walkmans have slipped under my radar. If they weren't so expensive for the internal storage you get I think I'll wait a little.

I actually agree. They need to come up with something less gimmick-y with the same SQ at a cheaper price.

[Tony]

That's weird, that's not what I hear at all form my clip. I wonder if there is poor quality control over at sansa. My clip isn't even remotely bright, I would say it's the most subdued attribute. Were you using high impedance cans with them? All I've used are grado/alessandro, shure se530, and jvc marshmallows. By the way the marshmallows are the worst sounding headphones that I've ever heard with this device.

Just wonder also, are you using the European verson of this device? I wonder if they have to conform to volume limiting standards and some however they alter the firmware causes it to sound crapy.

I think I have used the wrong word: it's more of "anemic", or thin. The bass is lacking so much that everything else is more prominent, impressing the listener more, giving a sense of overall "brightness", although not meaning that it's really more sibilant than other players.

[padam]

Maybe the EQ wasn't set right? It sounded pretty good with the ESW10JPNs, actually lessened the highs a little bit, which is a good thing.

[Tony]

When I had the CD3000, my iAudio 7 substantially lessened its highs, but that was an amplification mismatch thing.

[Kabeer]

When I had the CD3000, my iAudio 7 substantially lessened its highs, but that was an amplification mismatch thing.

So maybe that was it's ideal amplification

[Tony]

Hahaha! That's what I had thought back then.

[padam]

Okay, then I might need a Clip+ in the future

[GPH]

I think I have used the wrong word: it's more of "anemic", or thin. The bass is lacking so much that everything else is more prominent, impressing the listener more, giving a sense of overall "brightness", although not meaning that it's really more sibilant than other players.

Are you sure there wasn't some sort of EQ applied? Listening to it right now and it doesn't particularly strike me as a bright source.

[Tony]

Hmm, as I said, bright was a wrong term. Don't you find it a bit bass light? Maybe it depends on my own earphones, while with bassier ones the bass would just sound more "delicate".

[GPH]

Hmm, as I said, bright was a wrong term. Don't you find it a bit bass light? Maybe it depends on my own earphones, while with bassier ones the bass would just sound more "delicate".

To be honest, I've only tried it with my PortaPros so far, which could explain that I don't miss any bass.

[LFF]

I think it's on the warm side of transparent. Not lacking bass or anything at all. I love it.

[blessingx]

Goofy general question I know, but although I've been repeatedly tempted to pick up a Sansa since hearing Grahame's on two different occasions (especially straight to a CD3K), I keep wondering about missing a net connection and audio streaming (WFMU, Pandora, various news, etc). Any of you guys with a Clip (or iPod, Zen, etc.) love the sound, but can't get over the loss of internet content?

[jinp6301]

isint the clip+ like $50 bucks? seems kind of weird that you're expecting internet access for something that costs so little

[Grahame]

Small. Cheap. Good.

Feature Rich (Flac/Gapless/ReplayGain)

Removable / Replaceable Micro SD Media.

Use it for its intended purpose. There may be other devices that better fit your intended use case.

What exactly is lacking in over a days worth of preselected media?

Don't forget the built in FM Radio (How Quaint ), Although Clear Channel have done their best to make this less useful.

Edited April 9, 2010 by Grahame

[blessingx]

isint the clip+ like $50 bucks? seems kind of weird that you're expecting internet access for something that costs so little

It isn't the $50, it's either carrying it around as a substitute (and losing that functionality or carrying around one more thing). Though I know streaming audio isn't that important to many (especially when discussing quality).

Don't forget the built in FM Radio (How Quaint ), Although Clear Channel have done their best to make this less useful.

Are there good FM stations left in the area? All my faves are back East.

Anyway, sorry guys. No disrespect to the Clip (been impressed). I knew it was a silly question. Maybe I could velcro a Pico Slim and Clip+ (for my music) on the back of my iPhone (for streaming). Maybe even add a microcassette player for oldish school flair. Wall - strike - block of sound.

[Grahame]

Convergence confounds contemplative Clip considering consumer!

[MexicanDragon]

I took my daughter's Clip+ to work one day filled with FLAC with HP-1s hangin' around. It's really so unintrusive that it wouldn't be any big deal to just keep attached to the headphones or keep it clipped inside a pocket. The mini->1/4" adapter was MUCH more of a pain than the clip+, not to mention it weighs virtually nothing. An incredibly small FLAC player with 24 gigs (8+16) is just around 100$. Really, though, I had a decent variety with just the 4 gig with about half and half FLAC/MP3.

You know, Best Buy has a great return policy.

**BRENT**

[MASantos]

Howare you guys playing flac on the newer versions of the clip +? Or is this only possible on the earlier versions?

[Salt Peanuts]

Howare you guys playing flac on the newer versions of the clip +? Or is this only possible on the earlier versions?

I'd check to make sure you have the latest firmware as the flac support was added on via firmware update, iirc.

[MASantos]

I don't own one actually, I just didn't see flac support on the sansa website. I need an ultraportable solution for the gim, the ipod+pico slim being huge in this context.

Anyone tried this with the shure E4c?