Recommend Me An Mp3 Player

[greekorican]

I currently own a Sansa Fuze 8gb with an 8gb MicroSD card. It served me well for two years, and I'm thinking about getting another one of those possibly. You can't beat the price. The only real beef I have with it is that a computer sees my player as two devices, the player and the MicroSD card.

I think something better must have come out in the past 2 years, so I'm not going to buy another Fuze until I've weighed my options. Ipods are great, I've had them and they work great and last quite a long time. However, I have been using Linux pretty much exclusively for the past 2 or 3 years and iPods are a bit of work to sync in Linux unless things go really smoothly (it never goes smoothly...). Ipods also don't support .flac files, I'd prefer to not have to convert files in order to play them on my .mp3 player.

I've been looking at the new Sony Walkman, but it looks a little large probably due to the integrated speakers, which I don't need. I don't need video playback or a touch screen. I plan on using this only for listening to music during my commute, the simpler the better. My priorities are:

Physical Size: I was something nice and small, because it will be in my pocket.

Storage: I want at least 16gb of flash memory. More is always good.

Syncing: I want to be able to sync it using MSC, which lets me sync it by dragging and dropping my music onto it, rather than using software to sync it.

Price: Obviously, the cheaper the better. I don't want to spend more than 200 bucks on it.

What do you recommend?

[Hugh9191]

I have the 16gb Sandisk Sansa View which I'm happy with, the sound quality's pretty decent, the battery lasts long enough, it is powerful enough to drive some meaty headphones (unlike iPods) and the physical scroll wheel is a nice way of scrolling through music. The main annoyance for me is that it groups all artists with 'The' in the beginning of their name together unlike the iPods.

[glowinghamster4]

i have one of the OLD 30 gb zunes, and contrary to what most people think of them, it has served me very well. its over 4 years old and only just starting to have problems, the hard drive seems to be slowly going corrupted. Also I like the software a LOT better than itunes. If your running linux i dont know how it will run, but on win 7, itunes zune Its different, and took me quite a while to get used to but i like it now. Also the overall software on the actual player i like too. The newer ones also have a clicking scroll pad, so you can flip through your stuff but you can also just click one at a time if you prefer. And may I say microsoft offers WAY more support for their devices than apple. theres apparently an upgrade plan coming out soon for the people like me who havent upgraded from the old 30's to trade them in to be able to buy the new ones at a steeply discounted price.

[iamlowsound]

iPhone, eliminate one of the things in your pockets.

lowsound

[bassrique]

Is there a good MP3 player with AM radio out yet? [I don't like the C.Crane model.]

[groooooove]

i'd reccomend working out the bugs you have with ipods..

theyre just too good. a 30GB can be had pretty cheap nowadays..

[My name is Mudd]

I'll second the iPod recommendation, and further state that I had ALL of my music in .flac format, but after getting an 80 gig Classic I found that doing LAME-encoded mp3 files at 220bit VBR settings, I truly could not hear the difference. The LAME encoder can be set as the default encoder in iTunes also, so ripping CDs is as simple as sticking the disc in your machine and waiting for iTunes to ask if you want to import it, although you do have to enter your id3-tag info manually afterward. A bonus is that most iPods now support cover art.

My dad was an audiophile and I learned to be anal and snotty about my sound from him, and I loves me my LAME-powered iPod!

[Strat-Mangler]

No offense to the iPod-loving community, but the sound sucks! After extensive research, testing, buying, and selling, I've finally found something that kills the iPod in functionality, battery life, and *especially* sound.

Based on what you mentioned your criteria were, I'd recommend a Cowon. They're the best-sounding devices I have ever heard. And before you guys get strangely & inexplicably offended that I called a product subpar (what's up with that, anyway?), realize that a deaf man could easily hear the difference.

Obviously, Cowon makes a lot of different models, so it depends what you'd like to use. Their portable music players are always detected as a portable hard drive and thus, you only need to drag & drop files into the assigned drive letter. No iTunes, no annoying sync'ing, no rebuilding of libraries, etc. They also support OGG, FLAC, and a slew of other formats. Their EQs have quite the effect on the sound, as opposed to other players.

Here's the Cowon iAudio 9. It's tiny. It's 16gb, has an FM tuner, supports Flash games, its battery life is more than respectable, the sound is fantastic! It costs $150 and it comes with a protective case. It also supports album art!



For additional details, click here : http://www.cowonglobal.com/product_w...uct_page_5.php

Their latest model, the J3, has a MicroSD slot that supports cards up to 32gb! The 8gb is $200 and the 16gb is $240. They even have a 32gb version so you could have up to 64gb of music with you at all times! The J3 has all the features of the iAudio 9 and more.



For additional details, click here : http://www.cowonglobal.com/product_w...uct_page_4.php

[iamlowsound]

I have never understood the "iPods sound bad" argument. The things that effect the sound quality are the bitrate of the song and your headphones, the is IT. The "iPod doesn't support FLAC" thing doesn't make sense either, I have a bunch of FLAC files on mine, all it takes is a bit of googleing and a download and you are good to go. ITunes is stupid easy to use, so there shouldn't be any complaint there, just use it for your listening on your computer as well and you are only dealing with one library.

lowsound

[bigblondeafro87]

I've heard many terrible things about iTunes and how it can be extremely nonuser friendly. And syncing your iPod to an empty library in iTunes wipes the memory of the iPod?? ***?

Thankfully, I have a Sansa e280 with a 4 gb sd card. Once I get an 8 or 16 gb sd card I'm just gonna my phone and ditch the mp3 player..

[iamlowsound]

Originally Posted by bigblondeafro87

I've heard many terrible things about iTunes and how it can be extremely nonuser friendly. And syncing your iPod to an empty library in iTunes wipes the memory of the iPod?? ***?

Thankfully, I have a Sansa e280 with a 4 gb sd card. Once I get an 8 or 16 gb sd card I'm just gonna my phone and ditch the mp3 player..

Don't set your iPod to auto sync, problem solved.

lowsound

[My name is Mudd]

Respectfully...

Originally Posted by iamlowsound

I have never understood the "iPods sound bad" argument.

I agree...it's hardware, just like all the others out there, and you choose one over the other for features that appeal to you. Saying that one player 'sounds' better than another is like saying that iTunes 'sounds' better than WMP; both players are simply assembled code sequences only. Sound quality (or the lack of) is solely dependent on the files input to them and the speakers that translate those files in music or movies or...stuff. OK, some do have on-board EQs that can tailor the signal, and better-quality circuit components can help produce a cleaner overall signal, but still...if you want good sound out of most any hardware-based player, used high quality files and invest in good headphones.

And FWIW - I'm not an Apple fan-boi in general...just clearing that up in case anyone gets the wrong impression.

[Strat-Mangler]

Originally Posted by iamlowsound

I have never understood the "iPods sound bad" argument. The things that effect the sound quality are the bitrate of the song and your headphones, the is IT.

You're so off-base, it's not even funny. With all due respect, that is bunk. The amp from which the audio comes from affects the sound much greater. The headphones only interpret the signal that is being fed to it.

Same file, bitrates, headphones and whatever else with the exception of the player itself and I guarantee you'll hear the difference between the iPod (whichever flavor of it) and a Cowon player.

The only reason you're saying this is because you never had somebody like me show you the huge difference. I've done this multiple times and the difference is so staggering that people typically have a hard time believing that 2 devices can sound so vastly different.

[bad_andy]

If Linux support is an issue, then why not use Songbird as your iTunes replacement for management and syncing? There's an open source plugin that seems to work fine with the current models: http://wiki.songbirdnest.com/Docs/De...Device_Support

[L-A]

It is a known fact that iPods integrate some sound processing. IIRC, Apple opted to compensate for cheap headphones (like those that come with iPods) by boosting less responsive frequencies. This results in good headphones being unbalanced when listened through an iPod.

Back in the Audion days, Apple had approached its makers to inquire on what made their player sound so much better than competition. The truth was, in fact, that there was no sound processing whatsoever in the software. It just happened to decode and play in an incredibly transparent way.

I heard good things about Songbird, too.

[Strat-Mangler]

The only advantage, IMHO, for iPod players is the size. The iPod Shuffle is so tiny and perfect for the gym! Since I'll be joining one in a month or 2, there might be one in my near future.

For sound quality and serious listening, I'll stick with the Cowon.

[iamlowsound]

Originally Posted by Strat-Mangler

You're so off-base, it's not even funny. With all due respect, that is bunk. The amp from which the audio comes from affects the sound much greater. The headphones only interpret the signal that is being fed to it.

Same file, bitrates, headphones and whatever else with the exception of the player itself and I guarantee you'll hear the difference between the iPod (whichever flavor of it) and a Cowon player.

The only reason you're saying this is because you never had somebody like me show you the huge difference. I've done this multiple times and the difference is so staggering that people typically have a hard time believing that 2 devices can sound so vastly different.

Believe what you want. I have tested the same song, with my same Grado SR80 headphones through both my iPod and my Arcam Delta290 and it sounded identical.

lowsound

[Strat-Mangler]

Originally Posted by iamlowsound

Believe what you want. I have tested the same song, with my same Grado SR80 headphones through both my iPod and my Arcam Delta290 and it sounded identical.

lowsound

It's not believing ; it's factual. There's a major difference in sound between the iPod and the Cowon players... which isn't at all what you're referring to. Whether you enjoy the difference is up to you, but denying it is frankly rather foolish.

It's ironic that you don't believe me due to your lack of experience in having tested what I suggest, yet you'll no doubt stubbornly refuse to test it anyway.

I have done this test with multiple people, some open-minded and some skeptics. In all cases, not one person thought they sounded the same, or gave the edge to the iPod. I own an iPhone. I can therefore easily switch back and forth at will. No matter what settings I use, music sounds 100x better on the Cowon... says me and every other Apple fanboy I've done the blind test with. They always pick the Cowon when their judgment isn't impaired by an Apple logo within their field of vision.

iPod owners are somehow (in my experience anyway, although there are exceptions) the most stubborn and closed-minded individuals when it comes to testing other products. How dare anybody hint that another product might be better (or at least different) sounding than their beloved apple-tattooed product! *sigh*

Funny how that works.

[warnergt]

There are certainly better earbuds available than those that come with
the iPod but iPod sound quality is definitely a non-issue. And, in terms
of support, nothing beats and iPod. iPod has set the bar.

Rumor has it that there is a new iPod coming out this Wednesday.
It is supposed to be the size of a Shuffle but have a display like a Nano.
So, don't buy anything before Wednesday.

[Strat-Mangler]

Originally Posted by warnergt

There are certainly better earbuds available than those that come with
the iPod but iPod sound quality is definitely a non-issue.

Untrue. Read my previous posts. Maybe most are satisfied with the (IMHO) poor sound quality. It's easy to like something when there's no basis for comparison to superior products. If, after listening to other products, a user prefers the sound of the iPod, that's fine. Insinuating the iPod sounds as good or better than anything else on the market is a laughable statement based on inexperience.

Originally Posted by warnergt

And, in terms of support, nothing beats and iPod. iPod has set the bar.

Hmmmm,... can you explain, please? Do you mean "support" as in repairing/replacing defective items or are you referring to supported file types?

Originally Posted by warnergt

Rumor has it that there is a new iPod coming out this Wednesday. It is supposed to be the size of a Shuffle but have a display like a Nano. So, don't buy anything before Wednesday.

Ah? All I could see is the possibility of a player with a screen with the following size : 1.2inch x 1.2inch. People's opinions differ, but personally, operating something with a screen that small would probably cause me to squint in order to see what's displayed.

I'd probably end up sticking with an iPod Shuffle or upgrading to a Cowon iAudio 7 if I wanted something small enough for the gym. But nothing beats a Shuffle for size, IMHO.