i have mostly 16bit flacs. but have some SaCDs too.
i ll use it mostly in bus. not loudy as streets i think.
my preferred device is zx100 with sony XBA-Z5 headphones. also have Fiio E6 amp.
ofcourse there is better options then sony players but i think other devices cost me even more. for long years i trust sony's quality and its just enough for me. example my walkman still works that i bought at 98. and my discman works just fine over 15yrs old.
im not an ''audiophile'' for sure but i want to listen better sound with an easy portable setup.
Well, it seems that you've got a pretty good setup here with XBA-Z5 and Fiio E6. Didn't now the level of your headphones when writing my comment. I think that ZX100 will be a good variant for you then, the only alternative for that price being ASTELL&KERN AK Jr. However, I've heard that it has some troubles with Windows 10 or MacOS so if you don't want to dance around it with tambourine, just buy ZX100.
I don't think that more powerful players like Colorfly C4 or ASTELL&KERN AK120 will give you a improvement in sound quality over ZX100 that is worth paying for, at least if you're not in the quiet room. I personally use Beyerdynamic T1 and (with proper amp) couldn't find any real differences between my iBasso DX100 and Colorful C4. So I wouldn't spend my money on something that I all the same would not be able to hear. But it's up to your own ears
BTW, I'm sure that a lot of people will call you "Crazy Audiophile" just looking at the price of your headphones
Being an "audiophile" myself I can give you a couple of advices about portative players. Sure a good stand-alone player beats a smartphone in the field of sound quality, but you should ask yourself, where and how will you listen to the music?
1) You said about many records you have - are they on CDs or Vinyl LPs? Or SuperAudio CDs, maybe? Because those expensive Hi-Res players will only give you sensible advantage if you use a very high-quality source. Standard CD flacs encoded in 16bit/44.1kHz will not give you better performane if you play them in a Hi-Res player or even upsample them to 24bit/192kHz - you just cannot generate the information that isn't in the source. Only digitalized LPs and originally Hi-Res SACDs can give you something more.
2) What headphones do you have? Acquiring better headphones can result in much better performance than a new player. With cheap headphones you will not be able to discerm MP3 320 kbps from flac. I'd recommend something like Audio-Technica ATH-m40x or Beyerdynamic DT990 PRO if you want to get all the minor details from lossless-encoded tracks. Only upper-class headphones like Denon AH-D600 or Sennheiser HD650 can give you difference between usual CD and Hi-Res record or vinyl LP.
3) You re talking about portative player - so, I suppose, you're gonna use it in the street, not in the quiet room. There are no headphones that are able to completely eliminate the noise from outside (even with active noise cancelling) and this noise won't allow you to hear the minor music details.
TL:DR
If you're not a crazy audiophile who wants to spend a lot of money on golden cables and just want to lislen to music grabbed from CDs - choose the cheap one and don't bother with Hi-Res. However, I would recommend you to look at Cowon players, especially Cowon X9 - their sound is better than Sony and they have more options and effects (if you like crazy bass, for example). If you want to listen to the music with best possible quality - buy expensive Hi-Res player, but be prepared to spend a lot of additional money on good headphones.
Well, it seems that you've got a pretty good setup here with XBA-Z5 and Fiio E6. Didn't now the level of your headphones when writing my comment. I think that ZX100 will be a good variant for you then, the only alternative for that price being ASTELL&KERN AK Jr. However, I've heard that it has some troubles with Windows 10 or MacOS so if you don't want to dance around it with tambourine, just buy ZX100.
I don't think that more powerful players like Colorfly C4 or ASTELL&KERN AK120 will give you a improvement in sound quality over ZX100 that is worth paying for, at least if you're not in the quiet room. I personally use Beyerdynamic T1 and (with proper amp) couldn't find any real differences between my iBasso DX100 and Colorful C4. So I wouldn't spend my money on something that I all the same would not be able to hear. But it's up to your own ears
BTW, I'm sure that a lot of people will call you "Crazy Audiophile" just looking at the price of your headphones
Being an "audiophile" myself I can give you a couple of advices about portative players. Sure a good stand-alone player beats a smartphone in the field of sound quality, but you should ask yourself, where and how will you listen to the music?
1) You said about many records you have - are they on CDs or Vinyl LPs? Or SuperAudio CDs, maybe? Because those expensive Hi-Res players will only give you sensible advantage if you use a very high-quality source. Standard CD flacs encoded in 16bit/44.1kHz will not give you better performane if you play them in a Hi-Res player or even upsample them to 24bit/192kHz - you just cannot generate the information that isn't in the source. Only digitalized LPs and originally Hi-Res SACDs can give you something more.
2) What headphones do you have? Acquiring better headphones can result in much better performance than a new player. With cheap headphones you will not be able to discerm MP3 320 kbps from flac. I'd recommend something like Audio-Technica ATH-m40x or Beyerdynamic DT990 PRO if you want to get all the minor details from lossless-encoded tracks. Only upper-class headphones like Denon AH-D600 or Sennheiser HD650 can give you difference between usual CD and Hi-Res record or vinyl LP.
3) You re talking about portative player - so, I suppose, you're gonna use it in the street, not in the quiet room. There are no headphones that are able to completely eliminate the noise from outside (even with active noise cancelling) and this noise won't allow you to hear the minor music details.
TL:DR
If you're not a crazy audiophile who wants to spend a lot of money on golden cables and just want to lislen to music grabbed from CDs - choose the cheap one and don't bother with Hi-Res. However, I would recommend you to look at Cowon players, especially Cowon X9 - their sound is better than Sony and they have more options and effects (if you like crazy bass, for example). If you want to listen to the music with best possible quality - buy expensive Hi-Res player, but be prepared to spend a lot of additional money on good headphones.