Need help choosing hi-fi music player.

learner77

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Hello everyone,

I would really appreciate if someone can help me finding the correct device. Basically I have lots of MP3 music files. I do not have high definition flac files. I use to connect my cell phone which is an LG V 35 through Bluetooth with my car. Later I learned about the DAC inside my LG phone using an audio cable, I noticed some improvement in sound quality. I downloaded the USB audio player Pro which apparently is the best music app which uses the built-in DAC of the phone.

I am trying to find a device which would improve the quality of the MP3 files even more, that I can use in my car. I came across these two devices on the Internet:

1. Creative Sound Blaster X4

2. Surfans F20 HiFi MP3 Player + Se01 IEM Headphone, High-Res Portable Audio Player

(Posting the links was not possible)

The creative Sound Blaster claims that they can improve the sound quality of even basic MP3 files significantly especially with their surroundsound technology. However I do not think that it has a Bluetooth to receive music stream from the phone and I will have to connect the line in with the headphone port of my cell phone. Which is okay but kind of annoying because if I upgrade to a cell phone, it may not have the audio jack.

The Surfans F20 HiFi MP3 Player , claims that it can connect through Bluetooth from a music stream like a cell phone and then upgrade the sound quality after which I can connect with the 3.5 mm audio cable with my car stereo system. My budget is about $200.

I want to know in your opinion out of those two high resolution music players which one is better to play simple MP3 files? The one which can really improve the sound of basic MP3 files? Also if there are other high definition music devices that cost $200 or less that I can get? that would serve my purpose.

Thank you very much for your help. :)
 
Hi. There's only so far you can push an MP3 version of a song. By it's very nature it's flawed. By the time you add engine and road noise you have even more negative factors. As a result, I genuinely think you'd be wasting money chasing better sound quality than you already have.
 
Do you know what bitrate your mp3 files are?
 
Even at the highest bitrate (320kbps) MP3 is only 22% of the rate of CDs
 
That is correct, but I do find that 320 Kbps files are still pretty decent. I’d have to concentrate to tell the difference with FLAC on my home system.
 
That is correct, but I do find that 320 Kbps files are still pretty decent. I’d have to concentrate to tell the difference with FLAC on my home system.
Totally agree, but i still wouldn't spend too much trying to optimise them for a car.
Caveat being, unless you have a fancy car with a hifi standard system. Even then, I'm not sure it would be worth it. My fiesta has a b&o system. It's tons better than the standard ford system in my previous fiesta, but i still wouldn't expect wonders from it.
 
Hello everyone,

I would really appreciate if someone can help me finding the correct device. Basically I have lots of MP3 music files. I do not have high definition flac files. I use to connect my cell phone which is an LG V 35 through Bluetooth with my car. Later I learned about the DAC inside my LG phone using an audio cable, I noticed some improvement in sound quality. I downloaded the USB audio player Pro which apparently is the best music app which uses the built-in DAC of the phone.

I am trying to find a device which would improve the quality of the MP3 files even more, that I can use in my car. I came across these two devices on the Internet:

1. Creative Sound Blaster X4

2. Surfans F20 HiFi MP3 Player + Se01 IEM Headphone, High-Res Portable Audio Player

(Posting the links was not possible)

The creative Sound Blaster claims that they can improve the sound quality of even basic MP3 files significantly especially with their surroundsound technology. However I do not think that it has a Bluetooth to receive music stream from the phone and I will have to connect the line in with the headphone port of my cell phone. Which is okay but kind of annoying because if I upgrade to a cell phone, it may not have the audio jack.

The Surfans F20 HiFi MP3 Player , claims that it can connect through Bluetooth from a music stream like a cell phone and then upgrade the sound quality after which I can connect with the 3.5 mm audio cable with my car stereo system. My budget is about $200.

I want to know in your opinion out of those two high resolution music players which one is better to play simple MP3 files? The one which can really improve the sound of basic MP3 files? Also if there are other high definition music devices that cost $200 or less that I can get? that would serve my purpose.

Thank you very much for your help. :)
Like you I went through some of these steps .I had / have a mobile phone and tried UAPP , and yes I believe an improvement. I then got better headphones and yes even better improvement ,I then got the Cyprus external DAC and that with the better headphones a huge improvement . The problem ,if it is, is that these improvements then quickly just fade into the woodwork and you just accommodate them. However the only thing that didn't was the extra load on the phone battery from the extra DAC.
Years back I had a sound blaster usb device with XFi Crystallizater ..where do they get these names? ,And when used between a PC and reasonable headphones, certainly seemed an improvement..It worked for years before dieing, so was good value . It claimed to enhance MP3s . Currently I have a Sony NWA 45 music player with the same bells and whistles , it has the huge advantage that it doesn't deplete my phone. I would recommend that for car or headphone use ,and will be under your budget. Unless you need streaming from internet sources, I would bypass the mobile phone entirely and just put your library on an sd card in the music player.
.
 
Like you I went through some of these steps .I had / have a mobile phone and tried UAPP , and yes I believe an improvement. I then got better headphones and yes even better improvement ,I then got the Cyprus external DAC and that with the better headphones a huge improvement . The problem ,if it is, is that these improvements then quickly just fade into the woodwork and you just accommodate them. However the only thing that didn't was the extra load on the phone battery from the extra DAC.
Years back I had a sound blaster usb device with XFi Crystallizater ..where do they get these names? ,And when used between a PC and reasonable headphones, certainly seemed an improvement..It worked for years before dieing, so was good value . It claimed to enhance MP3s . Currently I have a Sony NWA 45 music player with the same bells and whistles , it has the huge advantage that it doesn't deplete my phone. I would recommend that for car or headphone use ,and will be under your budget. Unless you need streaming from internet sources, I would bypass the mobile phone entirely and just put your library on an sd card in the music player.
.
Thank you very much. Most of my MP3 files are at 128kbps, about 25% of them are at 320kbps. I do understand that when MP3s are made a significant information is lost. I was just trying to find the next best thing possible for my MP3 files. I don't think I would be able to purchase all the songs in flac format. Like I said there are a few options available, I'm not sure how good they are so before making the purchase I wanted to ask the community members about their experience. If I do not find that these devices are for me, I can easily return them within 14 days. But still rather than ordering randomly, I just wanted to see what other people have used and recommend. Thank you very much. I think I will most likely try the creative Sound Blaster X4. However I will be waiting for response from other group members. Thank you very much, everyone who has replied to my post. I really appreciate it. :)
 
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