sony has been in the audio market for damn long.
the best in audio quality for portable audio would be the Sony MD. nothing beats it.
Sony mp3 players have good sound too..might be better than ipod, creative and iriver imo. check them out
i like iriver T30 too. compact, great sound and the best of all is the line-in recording. the best line-in recording mp3 players in the market would be iriver imo. the best in line-in recording quality. well, i need that feature coz i love to record jam sessions.
audio technica mic --> Sony MZ-N10 lineout --> T30 line-in
iAudio is good for line-in too but rechargeable battery in a flash player?!!! no way..