#BEST PORTABLE PLAYER FOR FLAC UPGRADE#
#BEST PORTABLE PLAYER FOR FLAC ANDROID#
#BEST PORTABLE PLAYER FOR FLAC SERIES#

So by rights the new DX160 should represent the state of the midrange PMP art.Д¬ertainly the iBasso DX160 (ВЈ349) looks the part: its 5in high-def touch-screen is bright and reasonably responsive, and as itвЂ™s running Android 8.1 it can be tweaked like a smartphone display to give a bespoke user experience. ItвЂ™s almost 10 years since iBasso developed the worldвЂ™s first high-resolution Android portable music player (24bit/192kHz, numbers fans), and itвЂ™s been honing its range of players ever since. Storage: 32GB | Screen size: 5in | Battery life: 13 hrs Maximum file support: 32bit/384kHz DSD256 | Dimensions (h/w/d): 11x7x2cm | Weight: 178g In short, itвЂ™s a much bigger performer than it looks. ItвЂ™s not afraid to tackle big dynamic variances head on, and has enough subtlety to make quiet musical passages just as engaging as the blood-and-thunder stuff. ThereвЂ™s sufficient weight to low frequencies, enough information in the midrange to make a singerвЂ™s character explicit, and plenty of properly controlled top-end shine. By the standards of sub-ВЈ200 players, itвЂ™s an expansive and detailed listen, with a tonal balance thatвЂ™s just the right side of вЂpunchyвЂ™.

ThatвЂ™s mostly because of the sound it makes.

#BEST PORTABLE PLAYER FOR FLAC UPGRADE#

But itвЂ™s usefully compact, sturdy and well made, with proper hi-res audio specification and the ability to work as a DAC to give your computerвЂ™s audio an upgrade - which means itвЂ™s quite a bargain. ItвЂ™s a staunchly off-line player - thereвЂ™s no installing your favourite streaming apps here.

#BEST PORTABLE PLAYER FOR FLAC SERIES#

These days, Sony uses the вЂWalkmanвЂ™ sub-brand on a series of portable digital audio players - and this NW-A55 (ВЈ179), while far from the most expensive, might be the sweet-spot of the entire range. ThereвЂ™s one in every Design Museum worthy of the description.

Storage: 16GB | Screen size: 3.1in | Battery life: 30 hrs Maximum file support: 32bit/384kHz DSD128 Dimensions (h/w/d): 10ењ†x1cm | Weight: 99gДЄpple may think вЂ20 years of iPodвЂ™ is a milestone, but SonyвЂ™s first portable music player (TPS-L2, the original Walkman) celebrated its 40th birthday last year. So if youвЂ™re all about iOS to start with, the seventh Touch is more than worthy of the iPod name. Detail levels are good, and itвЂ™s capable of meaningful volume. ThereвЂ™s not an awful lot of vigour to the AppleвЂ™s sound, but itвЂ™s nicely balanced and seems to get out of the way of most recordings rather than sticking its oar in. And while Apple is characteristically coy about the technical specifics of the Touch, it can handle most high-res audio files without alarm.ДЄnd most importantly of all, itвЂ™s a really enjoyable listen. It has a 3.5mm analogue headphone socket, for a start off, which gives it far wider headphone compatibility than the iPhone. It even has a zizzy little built-in speaker and a torch.ДЄway from all peripherals (the 8MP camera, the numerous apps crammed on the bright 4in retina display) the iPod Touch, as a music player, is all business. A big part of the reason this current, 7th generation of the Touch is the only iPod you can buy, of course, is the globe-munching success of the iPhone - so it seems only fitting that the iPod Touch (ВЈ199) looks and feels so much like a tiny iPhone from back in the day. Portable digital audio didnвЂ™t gain mainstream legitimacy until Apple launched its game-changing iPod back in 2001.

Storage: 32GB | Screen size: 4in | Battery life: 40 hrs Maximum file support: 24bit/292kHz Dimensions (h/w/d): 12ењ†x1cm | Weight: 88g

Best portable player for flac