If you have notebook, you can use Apogee Duet FireWire interface which you can connect through USB. This toy is near $500 but will probably 'squish' any player you can only think off.
Small hi-res player?
I am looking for a small portable music player that is able to playback hi-res files (at least, 24/96), but either I am blind, or these are still rare. One wonders why, now that these chips are cheap. I am able to record in 24/96 from my vinyl analog rig, and there is just no competition, even downsampled, it sounds much better than CD. Yet it is a shame not being able to use the hi-res format directly. I use a Cowon D2, which is very capable player, but it cannot go beyond the 16/44 (CD format level). I now have 80 gb of analog music on my hard disk and would really like to use it. Any advice? Input appreciated.