The ultimate battle: shuffle vs s10 (please vote)

[SkripT]

Hi, this afternoon my brother and myself have compared the sound quality of his iPod Shuffle 2nd gen and my iRiver s10. We've plugged both devices to the line-in of the computer and have recorded the results. They can be found on the next links:

http://www.mediafire.com/?ejzzdwj9lzm -> a1
http://www.mediafire.com/?69ynwgios1m -> a2

To make a just comparation (based only on the "clean" sound) I've configured s10 with no effects and with the equalization in the normal set. By now I will hide which audio corresponds to each device. Let's see if you can recognize each of them

PS 1: Listen to the wav files with a player without equalization set like mplayer2 o vlc player and modify the volume to listen both files at the same volume level.
PS 2: the song is 6 O Clock by Dream Theater ripped at 320kbps from the original CD.

[VipFREAK]

I'm gonna say a1 is the shuffle and a2 is the S10

[gzus11]

i prefer a2, much crisper and a pleasure to listen to, the other is not.

i have not used either player, so not going to comment on which is which.

[VipFREAK]

I haven't used a shuffle but if it's anything like my Nano then I'd stick with my answer. BTW, I like the S10 sound over the Nano.

[mlehtela]

a2 sounds muchhhhh better. =D

[DaHarder]

Not even a contest for the true DAP enthusiast.

The Shuffle is as limited as a DAP can possibly get in almost every conceivable way, whereas the S10 offers features that even higher-end iPods Don't Offer.

Of course the S10's greatness does cost considerably more than the competition, and the battery life is... pretty bad to be quite honest.

The real competition is between the S10 and the Sansa Clip.