There are a couple of different things that determines how good your listening experience to your songs will be. For starters it will be the file itself. Many audiophiles prefer formats such as FLAC over compressed formats like MP3. Next would be your speakers or headphones as higher quality speakers/headphones will be able to deliver a better experience. There is also the media player which is used to play the songs.
Not many people bother with this since they tend to listen to their songs on their phones or tablets, but if you’re the sort that’s really particular about these sorts of things, then perhaps you might be interested to hear that Sony has recently launched the Walkman NWZ-A17. While the device itself is pretty small, the Walkman A17 will be able to support a variety of lossless formats, such as FLAC, ALAC, as well as more popular formats such as MP3, WMA, AIFF, and more.
The Walkman A17 will also sport a brushed metal body and will come with a 2.25-inch 320×240 display that will show you song information. Unfortunately this is not a touchscreen so you will have to navigate the media player using the physical controls below it. However some of you guys might appreciate how it does not have a touchscreen display since you wouldn’t need to unlock its screen to pause/play the songs.
It should be noted that the Walkman A17 can play videos too and will support MP4, WMV9, and AVCHD formats, although with such a small screen, why bother? If you’re interested in getting your hands on the Sony Walkman A17, it should be available later this year where it will be priced at $300.