Decent mp3 players?

[Electricblue]

Hi all.

I'm looking for a good mp3 player, that isn't an iPod. I can't be bothered with iTunes and syncing and apps and all the other iCrap that comes with it. Just simply copy/paste and drag/drop is what I'm after.

I'm after a nice sound quality with a nice beefy output (no distortion and good bass capability). 320kbps is the bitrate for most of my songs.

Also, needs to be quite high capacity (64GB or at a push 32GB) even a micro SD card slot would be convenient, providing it supports high capacity cards. I'm very happy with my Sony Walkman 16GB but it's too full.

I would prefer not to have a touch-screen unit because I hate touch screen for many reasons.

Last but not least, it needs to have a hold function!

Any guidance would be awesome!

Keep shredding

[DirtySix]

I have a creative labs zen player. 16 gig. It's a few years old now but has really good sound. I went through 3 ****** ipods and came to the same conclusion about iTunes. The software on the player can be a little annoying but it is probably revamped by now (2 years old). Take a look especially the models with x-fi sound enhancement. Menu annoyances aside i love the sound it gives.

[Electricblue]

Needs to be higher than 16GB dude! As mentioned, my Sony 16GB mp3 player is packed.

[Abner]

Don't know about it being the best mp3 players, but it takes an SD memory card (does 32GB, not sure about 64), drag-and-drop via USB (or the memory card directly), and you can plug your bass or guitar directly into it (some built-in effects).

Tascam GB10

http://tascam.com/product/gb-10/

-Alex

[DWBass]

I have a 16gb Creative Zen X-Fi. Great unit and yes, it has a SD card slot. Buy a 16gb card and you're set! I believe it also comes in a 32gb model.

[DirtySix]

Yeah like i said the one i have is a few years old so they will have newer models with more capacity.

[uOpt]

I use an older ipod with Rockbox, an alternative OS for it. Turns it into a regular USB harddrive that just plays mp3 and old-style winamp playlists. I need the winamp playlists or equivalent to have my weighted playlists.

The UI is awkward to use but it gets the job of being a plain mp3 player with good control done.

[Kmonk]

I have an Ipod and a Dell Digital Jukebox. The Ipod has much more capacity at 160GB compared to the Dell's 30GB but the Dell is much more user friendly. Very easy to navigate and allows you to arrange songs in any order, unlike the Ipod which always seems to arrange songs alphabetically. Dell no longer makes the DJ but you can find them used on Ebay.

The most useful player I have found is the Tascam GT-R1. It has an SD card slot so you can increase capacity as needed. It also has a an auxillary input so you can connect an MP3 player. You can change the speed of the song without changing the pitch and change the pitch without changing the speed. It also has a built in tuner, eq and effects. You can loop parts of songs and even record your own bass parts over songs. The list price os $469 but I have seen it at online retailers for between $149 and $299.

[zmBass]

64gb
The Cowon Z2 32GB seems to be a good bet ( a bit pricey though) , or maybe the Creative ZEN X-Fi2 , yet it still looks like you'll be stuck getting a touch screen nowadays.

32gb
For pushing 32gb , i would recommend the Cowon D3 Plenue it has good / consistent ratings.

zmBass