Now more than ever the MP3 player is flooded with tons of cheap China brand, other reputable players are from Creative (Zen Stone series), Sony (Sony Walkman NWZ series), Samsung (U3 series) and Apple (iPod Shuffle).

However, the Sansa Clip is sleeper hit with current audiophiles and has garnered high praises for its sound quality.

Just a bit bigger than a 50 sen coin, the Clip comes with mini universal serial bus (USB) to USB cable, ear buds, CD with the Clip’s manual on it and a multilingual manual.

At first glance, the Clip may look similar to those cheap players, but the similarity stops there. The Clip’s build quality is so-so, in metallic blue with a lacquer finish. But one shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Once I slapped in my Mylar Crossroads X3i and cranked up the sound a bit (per cent), the sound quality really shocked me.

For some MP3s which are not quality encoded, the lack of sound quality will be glaring, but MP3s that are 192kHz and higher had a crystal clear flat reproduction on normal equaliser settings. The Clip probably has one of the best, if not the best sound qualities, for a player that is only RM200. It delivers music the way it is encoded.

As I said, the Clip delivers the clearest sound you would ever hear compared to most players in the market. But you will need a good set of earphones to notice it.

So if you are looking for an MP3 player with the cleanest sound quality at the RM200 price range, grab your earphones/headphones and pop over to the nearest SanDisk agent and have a listen. I bet you will be surprised.

Product: SanDisk Sansa Clip 2GB

Manufacturer: SanDisk

Enquiries: Vector Digital Sdn Bhd

(Tel: 03-21432822), Click ‘N‘ Snap Photo Equipments (M) Sdn Bhd

(Tel: 04-2621663 for Penang)

Price: RM215

Specifications

Capacity: 1GB, 2GB, 4GB

Colours: Black, blue, pink, red, silver

Screen: Two-colour OLED

Battery life: 15 hours

Audio formats: MP3, WMA, WAV, AA

Voice recording: Yes, with built-in microphone

Package

Player

Clip accessory

USB 2.0 transfer cable

Earphones

Promotional inserts

Quickstart guide

Installation CD with user guide