On the other side of their spectrum, I went "near" an audiophile shop test booth and I was sucked by clarity and density of the sound in the air (this was a drum solo track). Some audiophileness is good.
I actually think you'll find many "audiophiles" enamored of the Sansa Clip Plus and Zip, which fall into that price range. Probably the most highly thought of MP3 players after the iPod classic 5.5.
Now that Android supports USB DACs, you can just get portable DAC+Amp combos that you can stick in your pocket with your phone. No need for a dedicated device anymore.
I'll head back to my 40$ crappy mp3 player now.