The Hammer Test and Portable Audio

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If you can't hit it with a hammer
and easily replace it, leave it
at home ...
There is an old story about two guys sitting at a bar.  One wearing a Rolex, and one wearing a cheap Timex.  The guy with the Timex, after a couple of beers, asked the Rolex guy "I bet my watch can do something yours can't"

"That cheap Timex?  It cost what, $25?"

The Timex guy took off the watch and placed it on the bar with a nod, pulled out a hammer and smashed the watch.

"I can go and get another one easily."

Touché.  And so it goes for portable audio ...

=====

While there has been a resurgence in consumer electronics around portable audio - that has reached and created genuine high end products for it, the acid test for such devices is while you are traveling.

I have some simple principles that I use when selecting what to take:

Fiio X5 ... the heart of my
road warrior kit
It has to be light, have long battery life, portable, inexpensive enough to lose without creating a financial crisis when replacing it, but managing the best sound quality and recordings you can muster.  I also think key to keeping yourself entertained, is to have alternatives to music, too.

For me, the balance seems to be a Fiio X5*, with a couple of high capacity memory cards filled with CD (16/44.1), HR (24/96+) and a smattering of compressed audio.  Cardas headphones (EM5813) and Etymotic ER-4's.  The whole setup weighs in well below a kilobuck.

I travel with a laptop, but I don't use it for audio (or video).  I also bring along an ePaper Kindle (not a tablet as their battery life is too short).  I can survive a 12 hour plane flight to Asia without getting bored, and at the other end, have enough to keep up personal entertainment (this is especially important whenever you are in a place where you are not fluent in the local language).

What about you?

*The Pono we have on order, promises to be better quality for a similar price.

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