Trying to decide on a DAP ~roundup~
2005-01-19 23:50:03
I'll jump in here since I have been researching portable HD players myself and I must say that there aren't really any rundowns in one place that give user opinions as well as specs. Just because a player supports wav for instance, doesn't mean it records in wav format. I still haven't pinned down whether or not the Cowon Iaudio M3 records in 320kbs mp3 or has the ability for wav. Anyway.... -Your needs may be different than mine: -FLAC support or Ogg Vorbis support or both (I guess Apple lossless will suffice but I am not sold on it) -at least 20GB capacity -Recording from external mic in wav -ID3 tag support or better -A competent interface (the Rio Karma sounds great here for browsing whereas the Iriver devices sound better in that you can drag and drop...just two examples of course) -95 SNR or better -actual mic in/mic pre-amp -monitoring capability of recording & paused recording monitoring of levels etc. Basically, I am looking for little an all around, high quality audio player/recorder that will support some kind of competent lossless codec. It wouldn't hurt that the company have good support/firmware upgrades. Or so I thought....the more I read, it seems like I may have to wait. So, after realizing the Karma is only a player, I looked at the Cowon M3 & M3L but it doesn't support tagging only filename structure which may be do-able since my filenames are correct, but it limits sorting features and organizing etc. The M3 also has an in-line remote and I think it may record only in mp3. It has good sound quality but appears it lacks in a few departments. Anyone know anything about the Karma 2 features or quality of the 60gb photo Ipods? I'll have to check what recorder/players Rio offers if any, and also investigate Iriver's sound quality and supported codec list. DC:thumb: