While the iPod remains the reigning king of the portable audio player market, other players are scrambling to find ways to differentiate themselves, and perhaps overtake the ruling monarch. How about introducing a ridiculously expensive high-fidelity music player with a modular amplifier and battery and questionable looks?

For $700 (or only $600 if you pre-order it) you can snatch up the HiFiMAN HM-801. I would love to say this beauty could be yours starting in June, but shoot - it's not all that pretty. Small screen, boxy design, any-color-as-long-as-it's-black, no-name brand - what's the appeal? Well, the HM-801features a high-end amplifier and a Burr-Brown PCM1704U digital-to-analog converter chip. Good stuff, for sure. Problem is, will you hear that advantage when you're listening to overly-compressed MP3 files? Instead of sounding like crap, it will sound like really good, clean crap. Yay.

Keep reading for more info.

Luckily, the HiFiMAN HM-801 plays AAC, FLAC, WMA Lossless, OGG and WAV files too. In the future it will support 24-bit/96kHz audio. Memory is on SDHC cards, and the battery can play a measily 6 to 8 hours, with a headphone and line output.

We all love our music. Do you love yours enough to pay up to $700 to hear it with high-end electronics? If you plan on using a crappy pair of earbuds, save your money.

Head-Direct via Technabob