
To personally tailor your sound, the SE180 goes one step further than the slightly older SE200 (which has two user-selectable DAC configurations built into the player) in that it features an interchangeable DAC module design. The new SE180 is the third model in Astell & Kern’s near-flagship A&futura range, following the inaugural SE100 and SE200, both of which gained Awards from this very publication in 20 respectively (and are listed below). How about a customisable PMP with interchangeable DAC modules? That's the idea here – and we liked it so much, we gave it a What Hi-Fi? 2021 Award.
Media player with subtitles rated reddit portable#
It’s important to note that wi-fi streaming is still off the menu – so you will have to go without on-the-go streaming from Tidal, Deezer and others – but if you have the files and like the idea of pairing your portable music player either to a wireless speaker or pair of headphones for one of the smallest wireless systems you’ve seen, there’s no better shout currently on the market for the money. This is a talented player that's sonically similar in character to its older siblings, but there are small upgrades here in terms of rhythm, timing, detail and musicality. There is support for 24-bit/192kHz WAV, FLAC, ALAC, AIFF and DSD128 file compatibility too – and that support is native, so DSD files aren’t converted to PCM during playback. The D3 boasts a seriously impressive battery life of up to 45 hours if you’re playing MP3 files, or a solid 30 hours when listening to hi-res files at 'normal' volume. The cracking new volume dial on the top right of the player feels like an homage to far pricier Astell & Kern players (several of which are listed below) and makes this little machine feel much more expensive than it is. Now into its third iteration, Cowon has added Bluetooth, a volume wheel and a dual DAC to its 2021-issue bijou matchbox-sized player – and produced a What Hi-Fi? 2021 Award-winner.

And if you're here, that is probably important to you.

Some have built-in access to streaming services, too, while others have even more functionality that mirrors a phone's.īut all of the products in this list share one thing: excellent sound quality.

There are even players here that can double up as a DAC to enhance the sound between your smartphone/laptop and headphones/speakers. Expandable memory also means you can keep all of your music at the highest quality possible, without worrying about those large file sizes taking up all of your player's storage space.īalanced headphones are niche in today's world, but if you're proud owners of a pair, you'll want to consider which players have balanced outputs that'll make the most of them, too. Have an extensive digital music collection? Many of these players have microSD memory slots so your assembled throng of tracks and artists need never stop growing.
