Yup , definitely SS sound . from memory , i liked the Jazz more than the Concerto who had more of this analitytical SS sound IME . Last Jan's amps seemed to gain some smoothness and warmth. I should buy another Jazz to ses if my old impressions are still the same. 

I liked the Concerto when I heard it years ago. Maybe on the more SS lean sterile side, but I didn't feel it sounded nasty or outright horrible. It's funny. We used to hear so much more about this brand 6-7 years ago and then suddenly no mention. What happened? Was there shilling or did Jan Meier not pay Jude?

Jan really doesn't make nasty sounding stuff IME.

any recommendations for a portable closed headphone here? Something like the NAD HP50. B&W P7, VMODA XS, AKG K545, etc...?

Hooray for FSP for boldly being a design that stays on my head! I absolutely love the clamp. I also tend to move sometimes when listening to music.

Got a crack in them as well though

A mention for K701 against the hate. Headphones are inexcusably expensive these days and the K701 can be had for 180eur new in Europe. Even though they miss the FR sweet spot, they do many things great for that price.

Quote from: gelocks on October 09, 2014, 12:57:01 PM

No DAPs on the list?!?

 

DAPs are in a pretty sad state right now. Haven't been impressed with much.. but a few that I feel are decent:

Sony ZX1 (Used) - Prices are as low as $400 now.. which I feel is a pretty good deal. Solid G/UI, build, and sound. Plenty of storage and small enough to carry around with a pair of IEMs or portable headphones.

HFM HM-901 - Conditional with use of the balanced or IEM amp module. Stock and minibox are pretty crap. It looks horrible and the UI was sluggish and archaic but sound is probably the best I've heard from a stand-alone DAP. Not the best value at $800-1000 but for some this might be all they need.

FiiO X5 - Conditional on use with a good external amp. This is my rig right now and it ain't too shabby with the Leck. Line out is decently clean. Build quality is good, UI is okay and decently snappy, and sound is pleasantly warm. Plenty of potential storage to boot. Far from reference quality but good for the $150 I paid for the thing. Used prices are slowly creeping down.

Of those, I don't think any are good enough to be on the leaderboard expect for maybe the Sony ZX1. I fully expect the Geek Wave to be worthy though.

I was definitely interested in the ZX1 and thought it was an almost perfect player but lack of microSD storage option gets to me! I see that they released a new 64gb player with support for microSD (a first I think from them!! NWZ-A17). Keeping a close eye on those... Right now I'm rocking an AK100 MK2 I bought used, it's Ok, a few bugs but works for me and battery life (which is another think I look for in a player) is quite good. Had an X5 for a week+ or so as part of FiiO tour and I definitely liked it but bugs, incomplete features, etc... meh!