what's the best meizu audio product?

Hi, Sorry if this is not necessarily the best place to post this, but there didn't seem to be a all-encompassing general Meizu thread for all products. I have the Meizu M3. I bougth this because it was the only DAP that had a 10-band EQ where I could manipulate each frequency band. I love it, but I was hoping to update it.

Which one of the Meizu products still have the 10-band EQ but have improved sound quality? I don't need all the other features (video, phone, etc) but if it comes with it that's fine. I'm looking to use it only as a digital audio player. I think the M6 has everything the M3 does, but does the M8??

thanks

M3 and M6 are basically much same thing, just using different layouts. However the SL had different sound signature in comparison to the first versions.
I know the M8 can do 10-band EQ and boost settings but with less wide customization. Don't ask for details cuz I skipped that phone and went for the M9.
The M9 in other hand got 5-band EQ only by default, but you can install apps to extend functionality.

In terms of sound quality, the M8 and M9 are not on the same level as the M3 and the M6.

I found the M8 somewhat lacking in the sound quality department, especially when driving larger headphones (in-ears were better), but this was solved by adding a fiio e5 in the mix.

Conclusion: if you can still find a meizu M6 in decent condition (especially check battery life), and have no need for all the more advanced function (video, browsing, ...) I can definitely recommend one!

On the other hand, if you can grab a second hand M8, you get the added bonus of an excellent video player, but sacrifice somewhat in the SQ department, your choice

thanks for the information. Just as I thought, I will skip the M8 and M9. I know the M6 has a wolfson chipset. Does the M3 have one as well? Does anyone know the difference in sound quality of the M3 vs. the M6?

There's always been a bit of confusion over the M3. It was definitely built using the same Philips codec used for earlier versions of the M6. Supposedly, later M3s -like the M6- also switched to the Wolfson 8987 , but I never saw any independent, conclusive proof. The Rockbox website also indicates this, and includes a date of March 2008 when the switch apparently occurred.

Really, though, people need to move on. Meizu doesn't make DAPs anymore. They are not an "audiophile" or "music-centered" company anymore. They make phones and that means some compromises. Of course, there will always be a full-featured music player on Meizu devices, but that's not the priority now and I think future devices will further blur the line. High performance, yes; powerful multimedia, yes; focus on user experience through UI design, yes. High fidelity audio? Not so much.

The Golden Age of portable music devices is over. In my view even Cowon, arguably the only company left in the world still focused on high quality portable audio, is struggling with how to move forward. Sandisk still offers the Clip+, but after the much-debated "disaster" of the new Fuze+, it remains to be seen what they're planning for the future.

I now see that Meizu is no longer interested in a portable audiophile market and I know that there are other DAPs that probably have better quality than Meizu, but for me, the defining factor was the 10-band EQ. It is so indispensable that I cannot consider a DAP without it. So I was hoping that the M6 would be an improvement over the M3.

Rockbox is a wonderful (and free) ongoing project and there are ports to a number of good players. The Sansa Clip+ with Rockbox combo is especially popular among the music-centered community.

Otherwise, the new Samsung Galaxy Player along with PowerAMP could be what you're looking for. I would guess the Galaxy Player uses Wolfson audio like its Galaxy S phone cousin and PowerAMP adds every conceivable audio tweak, including a 10-band equalizer.

I have heard rockbox is great, but AFAIK it has only a 5-band EQ?

So is the Samsung Galaxy Player a DAP, or a phone? I do not have a smart phone (only a traditional cell phone) so I'm not sure how applications work, but I assume you can download (like the one mentioned, the PowerAMP) onto this phone/DAP in the same way that you might download software on a computer?

The Galaxy Player = Galaxy S without the phone part. I guess there will be some other internal differences, but that's the idea. And yes, you get full Google Market access so you can install whatever you want the same way you would with an Android phone. The Player also has Wi-Fi, which obviously makes it a competitor to the iPod Touch....four years after the original.

so if i download this PowerAMP, it's not like I have to be connected to the net in order to use it right? I assume it works the same way when you download software on to your computer.


This DAP may be what I am going to aim for. Though I am skeptical about the quality of the EQ. The meizu EQ is far superior to say the EQ in audacity. So I have this image of EQ software being inferior to hardware EQ (or is the EQ in a meizu DAP considered to be software as well??). In any event I am hoping for some great quality to come from this DAP.

PowerAMP is just software that you use as a replacement for whatever came with your Android device. It's quickly become the de facto "Android Rockbox" for all its "audiophile" features and continuous refinements, although PowerAMP is not free like RB. You just download it, install it, configure it to your liking, and that's it.