Buying a new MP3 player, need advice!

It may be a bit of a stretch classifying an MP3 player as an accessory, but this site is the one place I've always received the most useful and trustworthy input.

I was given a 40GB iPod (4th gen) as a gift in 12/04. I used it on a daily basis for just over a year and, two weeks after the warranty expired, it died. It had a bad sector(s) on the hard drive and the best Apple could offer was to sell me a refurb for around $199. I declined. That was almost 2.5 years ago and I've done without and iPod/MP3 player all this time. At the time, I had just bought my new car with Sirius satellite radio, so that filled the void for the most part.

I've decided that I would like to get a new one. I would mainly listen to it while I'm at work and jogging a few days each week. The iPod nano 8GB appeals to me based on its size and that it's flash memory (after my bad hard drive fiasco). The storage capacity is sufficient for my needs.

Any other ideas or suggestions? Anyone have experience with the nano or could comment on reliability?

As always, your input is appreciated.

 

Aside from Apple, i suggest the SanDisk Sansa e240, e260, or e280. (2,4,8 GB)

Personally, i like the iPod Touch, but if your like the size of the new nano... Its not for you. I have used a nano before shortly, and it was pretty nice. Just too small screen for me.

 

Sansa Fuze and Sony (various models you can see at sonystyle.com) are worth checking out. The Nano should be good too if you were happy with your iPod.

The Fuze is an especially good deal price-wise, and you can upgrade the memory too. I haven't seen it in person yet though.

 

I personally like Creative products. I have a ZEN Vision: M that is a few years old, never given me any problems, and works great.

 

I have a Nano and it's great. Compact too.

That being said, I find it quite boring. I recently picked up an iPod Touch as well and definitely prefer that. (Not sure if it's too large for you but the HDD size is comparable. Definitely pricier of course)

 

If you are going to use it jogging, get the nano as then you have the option or the nike+ thing, quite a few people I know use them and love it.

 

Have you tried the 4/8 GB zune yet? I traded an old notebook for one, and been impressed with it ever since. I have the 1124, and love it for work outs and such.

 

My personal opinion, the Cowon D2 is the best mp3 player on the market, its somewhat in the size range of the Nano(Yeah, its bigger but not ALOT bigger). If your looking for small, then I'd suggest the Sansa clip, its the best sounding player on the market, and if your getting a mp3 player for music, then why not get one that has good sound quality? Sony's players are pretty good, except none of them are that small right now, at least none of them that run without sonicstage, which is horrible software and I suggest against it.

The Creative Zen Vison:M is a great player, except its hard drive, and isn't sold anymore. And the new zen isn't that great if you ask me.

The Zune is alright, except its software is said to be pretty horrible(I don't have one) and the last I check its still using the same screen from over when it was released, which may not be all that bad of a screen, but its cheap of M$ to not upgrade it.

The Fuze sounds like a pretty good player, it uses the same sound hardware as the Clip, so it has really good sound quality as well, plus its MicroSD expandable. Although for video its not the best player on the market, I can't go as far as saying that its horrible, because I haven't tried it, but sansa doesn't have the quality in their screens like Cowon and Creative.

Sorry if it seemed that I was rambling, if you have any in dept questions about any players just ask them and I'll answer them as well as I can.

 

Check this awesome site: http://www.anythingbutipod.com/

as the name says...they like anything but iPod.
dont know why but IMO iPod sound quality is quite great.

Rite?

 

Let’s see…The old zunes had durable plastic screens, and the new zunes has scratch resistant glass. The software is horrible? I want to say “what software”? But there actually is something, but never noticed it, since it’s pretty straight forward and easy to use. With all that being said, it’s very easy to go to the local Best Buy, Circuit City and compare MP3 players. But you did leave room for error, by stating you didn’t have one.



http://www.hanselman.com/blog/ZuneVsIPodVideoVsIRiverClix.aspx

 

My GF has a Zune, and personally, I would never buy one having worked with hers. It doesn't register as an external storage device; you have to use the Zune software to transfer everything to it. That also means you can't use it as an USB HDD like most players, and can't tranfer songs to it if you don't have the annoying software package (annoying because it is invasive, not because it is hard to use) installed on every PC you connect it to. It's also not compatable with PlayForSure, so it won't work with subscription music.

 

Yeah, I'm a member of ABi( www.anythingbutipod.com) out of all the ipods I've tried I wasn't impressed with the sound quality.
Zune:
I didn't mean in the screen covering, I meant more in the specs of the screen(res, colors, and such). Yeah, like I said I have really checked out hte newer zunes, just gone off of what I heard, I really should go and check them out, if I can find the time.

 

Yes you should!

Picture and Video quaility is top notch! I can't wait to get the 30gb version.

It is strange that zune is not compatible (yet) with PlayForSure, since it's MS's playground LOL!

With that being said...Excellent size, screen quality and video had won me over!

Now if I can just get the touch pad on my laptop to work as good as the zunes, I would really be happy.

 

lol, if you want a impressive touch mp3 player then go with the D2, its a VERY good player in every way. Sound quality is top notch, video quality is great, has alot of features, the touch is VERY easy to use, and works really well. Its flash with SDHC expandability.

 

"Yet"? It's been what now, 1 or 2 years? I don't hold out much hope for PFS on Zune. I think their model is aping the iPood, and that means a proprietary format with a single content distrobution channel that MS makes money from. That pretty much means no PFS.

 

And you could be right!
With that being said, the iPod has done really well! But if he wants to compare a nano to the new zunes, it’s no contest. I guess it would be a problem is someone has a subscription, but I don’t. I load my music on my device before I leave the house, and that’s all that need to happen. And since the zune is super easy and fast to browse, it makes my job that much easier. Now I could care less about which player the OP chooses, the zune has more than impressed me with its features. And for what I use it for, it’s the best solution hands down. What is good for me might not be best for other’s as we clearly show that. I don’t need a MP3 player to be seen as a storage device (helps if it does), and is more than happy to have the software loaded on my computers, as well as for my Treo and other accessories. What they can’t handle, I’m sure the 8 GB USB drive on my keychain is more than enough. Best of course, is in the eye of the beholder. You do bring up an important feature that doesn’t exist with the zune, which might be something the OP wants/needs. Since he did like the size of the nano, I thought the size of the zune would suit him better. Anyways….I is done with this.

 

Fair enough. If the Zune works for you, more power to you. I just prefer flexability.

 

Zune is not out of US yet.

donno why they dont promote it...seems interesting.

Sansa is really becoming popular.

i am gonna trade-in my 30 g iPod 5th gen for Sansa soon i think.

 

I have a Samsung T9 and I think it's great. The only downfall of it is the long start up times. The Sony's are very nice as well, my dad has one, top sound quality and EXCELLENT headphones.

 

refurbished ipod touches at costco cost around $200

 

Check out the 8gb iRiver Clix gen 2. Better audio and higher quality screen, FM Tuner, customizable themes. Heres a review - there a plenty more postive reviews if you google around for them

http://www.anythingbutipod.com/archives/2007/08/iriver-clix2-review.php

I dont know why people are suggesting players with harddrives to you since you said you dont want one...

 

What players have you compared your iPods sound quality to? New gen iPods sound is pretty middle of the road, and on the older gen iPods its not good at all.

 

actually all mp3 players are nearly same,

it depends on Sound file, Headphones, amps etc.

I re-processed my sound files by applying pre-amps & re-encoding with matrix decoder.

this way all Songs sound much better.

and i use Sennheiser HD205.

with cheap earphones u cant expect high fidelity.


rsly23,

in your opinion which mp3 player on the market offers highest sound quality by default?

 

Thats not true at all - all MP3 players are not the same. And of course lossless audio with high quality phones is going to sound better than 96kpbs with cheap earbuds.

The Sansa Clip is probably has the highest regard for sound quality. Cowon and iAudio are generally regarded as the highest sound quality PMP companies right now. Personally Ive tried Clix 2, Cowon D2, and iAudio 7 with an average pair of phones (senn 205 and mylarones) and thought they were all easily better than iPod sound

 

okay, i ll try out Sansa clip.

btw Senn 205 is not average..they are above average...they are good for DJing.
and produce great ambience.

what headphones are u using currently?

 

Umm.. No all mp3 players are the same, thats the most ridiculous thing I've heard in a long time. And yes, right now the Clip is regarded as the best sound. Cowon and iAudio are the same company/same thing. For just pure sound without sound effects or EQ then the Clip is the best, but I personally like Cowon's sound effects, some say that sound effects make the music worse, but I personally like to listen to music how I like it, so I like the effects, and Cowon does the best effects that I've seen on any mp3 player.

 

I love my Zune and bought one for everyone in my family. They are great players.

That said, my doo-doo brown Zune was recently stolen and I'm thinking of trying out a Cowon D2.

 

Yeah, I highly suggest the Cowon D2, Very good player, I actually took a long time to get a hold of one, but once I did, I regretted not getting one much sooner. I think you'll be very happy with it.

 

Cowon D2 is even more expensive than iPodtouch or iPhone.


..how much is it in US?

 

thx to thread starter, reminded me of another place to check for mp3 players.

nyways. I too want to buy a new mp3 player, currently looking at a few but want to know if there are other options.

Basic Needs
1. At least 30Gb, aiming for 80Gb
2. Asian Text Support (bout 20gb of Chinese/Japanese/Korean Stuff so renaming is OUT)

as for flash based or HD based, it doesn't really matter for me. I've looked at the zunes, sansas, ipods, and creatives, and quite frankly, i really like the new 80gb zune. BUT microsoft wants to be a git and not include asian text support. I've heard good things bout iPods but want to avoid them if possible just to go against the trend. Sansas are ok but i sorta want more space.

Then theres the creative zen, 32gb flash based player, which i can't find any info on. Any idea on its text support? or any other mp3 players i should look at?

 

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f15/cowon-d2-sound-vs-zune-80-vs-sony-nw-a816-sound-305487/

http://iaudiophile.net/forums/showthread.php?t=19818


Then I guess you can post a compare over at those forums.

And do a search on "How to use zune as storage device", works well.

 

I picked my 8GB D2 up for 162USD shipped.

 

not sure if this has been mentioned yet but the new ipod shuffles are so under-rated.

that's the one i normally take around with me and i keep my ipod video in the car now.

 

thanks for the links kobe_24!

Battery life is going to be a big selling point for me, what should I expect with the D2?

Also, I work in a fish market. My Zune survived many an accidental spray with the hose, and several big drops (it was safe in the Agent 18 clear case). I would expect even better durability from a flash-based player, is that correct?

 

Yeah, the memory(HDD vs Flash) will be more durable in a flash player, but the build quality of the player will effect how well it holds up to being dropped and such. But the build quality of the D2 is really good, so I wouldn't be to worried about it breaking from being dropped.

 

I bet its more durable than my iPod.

 

That D2 looks nice, I was always a fan of the Iriver Clix for its pure fashion/ergonomics but price wise for what you get it was not so good.

Sadly the feature I want the most is stereo blue tooth and that seems to be hard to find. I mean I already plan to just get a new cell phone that has it (sony erricson w580i) but you would think more mp3 players would have it.

I have to admit my w600i that I have now has been just as good or better than any mp3 player I have ever seen in my day. Plus it has its own speakers so I do not need headphones and thats nice when at work or showing videos to friends.

 

If you can, go with a 32 gb ipod touch
ive used them, and they are amazing (especially jailbreaked)

 

if u can afford the ipod touch do get that. the screen size and quality is the best in the market.

2nd in my book is creative and zune, focus on flash based mp3 players, and try to get the biggest screen u can afford.

ive got a creative zen and it does most of what i want

 

for me the only options would be an apple. they have the highest sound quality, high battery life, and very nice menu systems. personally i would go for the iphone or the ipod shuffle (which is amazngly tiny). however if you must not go with apple apple, the only other company i would go with was microsoft. zune.

 

Well, not the highest sound quality. Bit above average, not much better.

Check out Toshiba Gigabeat T400 and the upcoming T802.

 

Wow, fanboy here. They have the highest sound quality? Are you stupid? Or just never actually tried anything other than a ipod? If you ask me, I wouldn't go with an ipod, or a zune, unless I absolutely needed the large storage, and even then I'd go with something like the Cowon A3 or the Zen Vision W.

 

Thing is, for someone who wants a large DAP (like me) the A3 and Vision W are too big. That's where a Zune 80 seems good. Audio quality is supposedly quite good. Though my X5 beats all .

 

Yes, the X5 was an excellent player with great sound quality, its just to bad they discontinued it. I just got a replacement battery for mine, need to install it today.

 

It is indeed, especially coupled with a Shure Se420. I want a bigger HDD. 20GB is limiting.

 

Oh, mine has the 60gb drive in it. You can probably upgrade it, I dropped a 100gb drive in my A2, which only came with a 30.

edit: Yeah you can fit a single platter drive in your 20gb version X5. the largest single platter drives you can get right now is 60gb. If you had the 60gb version then you could fit a double platter drive in it, which you can get up to 180? GB, or maybe its just 120. Can't remember.

 

Max is 60, and i'd need new parts. I'd rather get a new MP3 player, as soon as a new 60GB+ mp3-player comes.

 

Yeah, I'm waiting for the 16gb version of the D2, that will be nice, add a 32GB SDHC card and your rolling in alot of flash memory.

 

I want a X7. It never came, but I still want it.

A 64GB Sony would be awesome though.

 

Yes, someone with the user name apple/user is going to be quite impartial.