Tunes to go: I need a new mp3 player.

StruckingFuggle · Post by **StruckingFuggle** » Sun Apr 08, 2007 12:11 am

My current mp3 player has given up the ghost, and I don't want to go back to burning CDs. Too much bulk to be carrying around all the time. And so, I'm looking for an mp3 player that's got a good price for a good product and at least, say, 25gb of storage.

I mean, yeah, I could go to best buy or whatnot and just buy an iPod, but market share doesn't necessarily denote quality,

What's important:
Storage space.
A good, easily navigatable interface.
Not paying out the ass.
Reliability.

What'd be nice:
If it could function as portable external data storage.
Ability to promote and demote by single or greater than single intervals a song in a playlist on the fly.
Battery life.

What I don't care about:
Playing videos.

Any reccomendations for a specific player to look into?

Imeut · Post by **Imeut** » Sun Apr 08, 2007 12:54 am

I have a Creative Zen Player as it's NOT an apple product and is compatible with Vista. Yeah and stuff...

And apparently Dell is offering $50 off the 30GB Zen Vision...

Killer-Rabbit · Post by **Killer-Rabbit** » Sun Apr 08, 2007 1:30 am

I havent paid too much attention to the market for a year or two (I would like to be buried with my iriver h300)...

Typical sizes are usually on the 10s of GBs, so if you are looking for 25+ there are a fair number of 30GB models out there. However, the players at that size are becoming more and more geared towards video playback.

As for the brands, I'm not too impressed with iriver's current selection. I do recommend you check out creative as well as Cowon and their iAudio line up. I havent used one myself, but I've heard good things and the feature list seems impresive. Theres usually some from the bigger names like Toshiba, Dell, Samsung and such that might be worth looking into.

AzraeL · Post by **AzraeL** » Sun Apr 08, 2007 7:15 am

I definantly rate the Zen. Best mp3/mp4 player ever.

MasteR · Post by **MasteR** » Sun Apr 08, 2007 7:59 am

I have a iRiver H120. It has lasted me a long time. I have since upgraded the battery and HDD in it. It's not the newest out there, but it gets the job done. Unfortunatly they have stopped production, so you best bet if you want that is ebay.

But just about any player that runs Rockbox firmwares gets my approval (minus the Archos Jukebox and the iPods).

Also, the Cowon/iAudio X5L looks very nice indeed.

StruckingFuggle · Post by **StruckingFuggle** » Sun Apr 08, 2007 8:10 am

Thanks for the advice, everyone.

But just about any player that runs Rockbox firmwares gets my approval (minus the Archos Jukebox and the iPods).

How do I find out what players that encompasses?

And why do the Archos Jukebox and iPod not get your approval?

Cyberliger777 · Post by **Cyberliger777** » Sun Apr 08, 2007 8:14 am

I actually just read an article about mp3 players. Just like everyone else I recommend the Zen. But if you are looking for something smaller and a little cheaper there is the Sonly Walkman NW-S205f. There 2gb model is only 120 dollar and is really compacted.

adciv · Post by **adciv** » Sun Apr 08, 2007 1:57 pm

Off-hand, I'd say look at Neuros, if you don't need one imediately. They are comming out with a new version of their player. The hard drive connects by USB to the main unit and is swapable. No special software required.

Here's the Manual (PDF) for the Gen 2 Neuros DAC. I think gen 3 is comming out later this year. Gen 2 is no longer for sale.

Killer-Rabbit · Post by **Killer-Rabbit** » Sun Apr 08, 2007 3:50 pm

[quote="StruckingFuggle";p="731375"]How do I find out what players that encompasses?[/quote]
Clicky

MasteR · Post by **MasteR** » Sun Apr 08, 2007 8:39 pm

KR already gave the link.

The reason I don't like iPods or the Archos's:
The older Archos players use a hardware MP3 decoder rather than a general processor, thus can only play MP3.
For the iPods: I just hate em. Don't want to get into it.

But yeah, Rockbox is nice. It supports all kinds of codecs (MP3/AAC/OGG/FLAC/ALAC/Wav/Wavpack/etc/just about anything other than WMA) and adds all kinds of improvements to the interface and playback.

Skorpion · Post by **Skorpion** » Sun Apr 08, 2007 8:57 pm

I'm currently using a tiny little Matsui player. Interface is practically non-existant, with three-button menu navigation and a tag-reading screen. 2GB for £30, so if you're willing to chop and change the playlist, you're fine.
I would recommend getting an extended warranty, though. Sizeable fraction of the price, but you WILL end up replacing it two or three times over the terms.

Accer · Post by **Accer** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 6:56 am

Yet another vote for the Zen... I don't own one but I know someone who does, and though it is starting to show signs of ageing it has lasted long than most iPods.

MasteR · Post by **MasteR** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 1:43 pm

I see suggestions for small flash players as well, thought you wanted something bigger but if we are suggesting flash players I put in a vote for the MobiBlu (the newer version, 2gb). Very nice.

Gowerlypuff · Post by **Gowerlypuff** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 2:00 pm

I also vote for the Zen. I have a 30Gb Zen vision:M and it's awesome. It'll play DivX, XviD, MP3s, etc. It won't play AAC's as far as I know, but then I hate iTunes as anything more than a CD->MP3 ripper, so it's not a big deal for me.

gluttony · Post by **gluttony** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 2:21 pm

My iPod just celebrated its third birthday. The thing's a brick of awesomeness, and was worth every penny.

But, as we all know, your iPod results may vary. As in it might work 3 years without a single issue like mine, or it might die after 3 days and Steve Jobs used his psychic powers to void the warranty.

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