Not too long ago I was chatting with a product manager from one of the MP3 player manufacturers about sound quality. He asked me, “Do you know what the biggest factor in improving a player’s sound quality is?” My ears perked up. This is the kind of stuff I love to learn straight from the source, the nitty gritty tech behind the products. Was he going to discuss the audio chip or some kind of amplification technique? No, his answer, “The headphones.” Ugh… everyone knows that, what disappointing answer.

Many users do know that the included headphones are the first thing to get upgraded, but many also stick with the stock earbuds manufactured in China for literally pennies. Perhaps manufactures are realizing that the stock buds are becoming less acceptable and are an easy way to add value to the overall out of the box user experience. Manufacturers like Microsoft, Sony, and Creative have recently ponnied up a few pennies to include “premium” earbuds.

Granted, they are no substitute for headphones north of a Benjamin, but they do perform very well and add great value to the purchase price. Hopefully this trend will continue, but for now I offer my three picks for the best sounding out of the box MP3 players.

The WSJ is reporting that Dell may be back in the game as soon as September with a player that is currently being referred to as “The Zing”. Zing is a company that Dell bought not too long ago that helps users discover new music. So with that its assumed that Dell’s new player will be tied to a music downloading subscription like service.

Dell’s last MP3 player episode was back in 2003 with a few of their own MP3 players ODMed by Creative, but was relatively unsuccessful. The details on the new player are a mystery to me, but I would tend to lean towards the Zing not doing so well. The market is crowded and no one seems to be interested in a wireless music service.

[via GearLog]

I've been using this incredibly tiny and cheap headphone amp we already mentioned earlier for a few days now and I'm really impressed with its performance. My expectations weren't exactly high when I ordered it, but after testing it with several phones I'd say the Chinese FiiO company managed to design a really fine product.

The amp's construction is very simple. It's powered by one AAA battery and sporting only a 3.5mm input jack that connects to the headphone output of an MP3 player and another 3.5mm output jack where the headphones plug in. The output also acts as the power switch. A red LED lights up when phones are plugged in, indicating that the amp is active. Rumor has it that a National Semiconductor LM4917 op-amp works at the core of the amp. However, this has yet to be verified.

The FiiO E3 was not designed to work with line-out connections since it lacks a volume control. However, what it does for low- (and not-so-low) powered headphone outputs can be quite nice - when one's headphones synergize well with the amp, that is.

I'm now 5 weeks into my summer job and being in a job that allows for using an MP3 player I have been searching around for stuff to listen to the last few weeks. Music is all good and well, but when it's 6 hours a day 6 days a week you do get tired of your "favorites" playlist rather quickly.

My way of thinking has always been to happily pay for something as long as it's a reasonable fee for something I can actually use. 10 years after the first MP3 players reeked havoc in the music industry one would think that there's been some steps made in the right direction when it comes to legal content for our beloved players, but has it really or are we still more or less left to illegal downloading if we want the good stuff? Read on for a look at what's available in the realms of legal content now in 2008.

There may be a few hardcore Journey fans ready to pounce on this deal, but this likely will draw glazed over looks by most or Only The Young. Journey has Faithfully teamed up with ZVUE for 1GB themed MP3 player. The player features 11 of Journeys’ new songs as well as 11 re-recorded classics.

Now you can have Journey, Any Way You Want It from vinyl to digital hardware. So if you are a old school fan, welcome this new format with Open Arms, Be Good To Yourself and pick up one of these players today from Walmart.

Ok, I have to go lie down now, I’m a bit lightheaded from writing all those lame Journey references.

[thanks techzec]

Creative has been updating a lot of it's lines of MP3 players lately with the Zen X-Fi and the Zen Krystal. This time it's the Zen V line that's getting an update with the new cheap medium sized Zen Mozaic.

While the Krystal and X-Fi both look very stylish, I must say I'm a bit puzzled about the looks of the Mozaic. The player is available in three basic colors; black, silver and pink, but the front of the player has a rather peculiar pattern which in my opinion just looks weird. The player has gotten a 1.8" TFT screen versus the 1.5" OLED screen of the Zen V and combined with the button area with the 9 tactile buttons on it does make it noticeable bigger than the Zen V. The specs are pretty standard with video support on the 128x160 screen along with a radio and voice recorder. It also has a tiny speaker on the back, something that Creative seem to be putting into more and more players. Battery life is rated at 32 hours for audio. Only the 2GB ($99) and 4GB ($129) versions will launch now, but 8GB ($169) and 16GB ($249) version will be available later in August. Update: hit the jump for a video

[Press Release|Product Page via Nothing But Creative]

I'm quickly running out of ways to introduce small players like the iriver T7. They are small and they have exactly the same specs as the competitors do now and did 5 years ago. Reviewing them is all about finding out if they have anything to offer whatsoever.

The T7's specs are rather unremarkable, but there are a few things speaking in it's favor - on paper. The integrated USB plug matched up with user selectable MSC mode surely makes it a nice alternative for those who want to connect anywhere, but is that enough to join the party of tiny players? Read on to find out

The Cowon Q5(W) has been the flagship of all MP3 players for a while, offering and costing more than anything else out there. The successor is now official, and will be called the P5.

The P5 will of course have an impressive feature list, which includes (draws breath): 5" 800x480 pixel LCD haptic touch screen, FM tuner, TV output, speaker, Bluetooth, USB host, games, DMB-T TV tuner (US version will definitely not have this) and optional Wifi module. It will come in 40, 60 and 80GB versions running a 700mhz CPU and a Windows CE 5.0 core. While 14 hours for audio isn't very impressive, the stated 9 hours for video certainly is and the device supports pretty much any audio and video format there is. If and when a US version will come out is unknown, but expect it to be priced like it's predecessor, meaning it won't be cheap. For more pictures and full tech specs check out the product page.

[via GenerationMP3]

If you thought controlling your MP3 player with a Bluetooth headset was high tech, you haven't seen anything. At the Wireless Japan Expo in Tokyo, a company called NTT Docomo showed a technology called EOG (electro-oculogram) that allows the user to control electronics with their eyes, in this case an MP3 player.

In it's current incarnation the device isn't very practical, but in the future the technology might be integrated into headphones to allow for controlling your music. Seems rather odd, then again it's not without it's usefulness, at least in some circumstances.

[VG.no (Norwegian)]

Just a heads up to one of our giveaways we are running in the forums. All you have to do is show up really and you have a chance to win one of 3 pairs of Radius Atomic Bass IEMs. They retail for around $40 and are on par and maybe slightly ahead of the curve in that price range. They are heavy on the bass, more than the Mylar One XB’s but they lack clarity in the highs. They sound a lot like the included Zen X-Fi headphones, the EP-830s.

Stop by the forums for a chance to win.

Although this one was up on the FiiO site back when we told you about the FiiO headphone amp, Chinese products like this isn't really that interesting before they make it to the rest of the world. The FiiO S3 is now available on DealExtreme (check this link for more pics) and therefor fall into that category.

The FiiO S3 is basically a portable speaker with two 1.2W speakers running off USB power or AA batteries. What's special about it is that it has an SDHC slot and a built in MP3 player along with both audio out and audio in jacks. I can see several uses for a player like this; first of all, I'd imagine this is a product suited for the older generation as the controls are simple and it doesn't require headphones. It might also be a nice toy for kids as they too would prefer a speaker. Lastly, podcasting might be a good use for it although not ideal seeing it doesn't have a screen. Either way, if FiiO is Meizu like we think, it should be decent quality for the $30 shipped.

For those who were wondering what’s inside the new Creative Zen X-Fi, here is your chance for a peek. The Zen X-Fi opened up similarly as the Zen did with clips around the edges holding the face to the back. However, this time the face separates from the backing with the circuit boards and such attached to the back plastic plate. Also this time around there is a little bit of glue applied to each clip holding it together; this likely the reason the Zen X-Fi feels a little sturdier than the Zen.

I would only recommend opening your Zen X-Fi for repair and not just for fun since you may not get it back together with the same tight feel it had before. If you are planning on surgery I would recommend checking out the Zen teardown video for some pointers on getting the case cracked. Otherwise below are lots of pics of the wireless player splayed for your viewing pleasure.

Also be sure to check out the Zen X-Fi review.

Zen fans have been looking forward to the next big thing from Creative. These fans clamored for a Zen Vision:M replacement which is, in my opinion, the best blend of MP3 players and PMPs to date. Creative’s last biggest release, the Zen, didn’t seem to hush this cry for something new, because it couldn’t yet natively play high resolution XviD/DivX files, failed at integrating the SD slot, and had cost-prohibitive 30GB+ capacities.

The brand new Zen X-Fi is basically a refreshed version of the Zen, but with added wireless features and X-Fi sound enhancement. Will this be enough, though, to satisfy the Zen fans who have been patiently waiting for Creative’s latest addition to the family?

One of our forum members found something interesting over at Creative's Hong Kong site; a new player called the Zen krystal. It look smore or less like a Stone Plus on its side, featuring what seems to be the same kind of display that the Stone Plus uses. The player looks pretty ordinary, but it does have some tricks up it's sleeve.

The 4GB player (no other capacities available) is a sports player that brings the sports features of the Stone Plus (read: stopwatch) some steps further and integrates a pedometer that tracks your running speed, distance and calories burnt. It's also listed to include several games, which is rather peculiar seeing it has a 0.7" 64x64 monochrome screen. Other than that it has the same basic features as the Stone Plus (hopefully with a better file browser); 10 hours of battery life, stopwatch, radio, clock and voice recorder. Accessory wise it comes with a pouch and wristband on top of the standard earbuds and USB cable, so it should be ready to use for anyone looking for a workout player. Pricing and release date will be known once Creative does an official press release of the thing, which should be soon.

[Creative HK via ABi>> Forums]

When I came across the FiiO headphone amp a few days ago I immediately dismissed it as crap and posted a topic on it on Head-Fi presenting it as the cheapest headphone amp out there. Someone then mentioned that there was an entire thread dedicated to the thing and that feedback is pretty darn good.

According to the Head-Fi thread the FiiO amp is far from crap and offer very good sound quality. The size adds to the usability as it seems to be about twice as big as the AAA battery it runs on. Headphone amps are normally a bit bulky for most people and few other ampsthe FiiO's size. It all sounds (too) good and for $8.50 shipped worldwide it might turn out to be the best thing since sliced bread. I myself have ordered one just to see if there is any truth to the Head-Fi fuzz. I still think it's too good to be true, but I guess I'll know in a couple of weeks.