Dude, have you tried Cowon players? Great sound quality there.
I have a Cowon Iaudio9, it's great except that its like sluggish after a year of use.
I only got the ipod because I can use the line out from the ipod port into my car and am able to control it via the steering wheel controls, etc. Not looking to it for SQ, i have my other rigs for SQ. Plus the Ipod touch is so cool u can facetime over wifi and see da nekkid ladies.