need an mp3 player, help please [Archive] - Two Plus Two Older Archives

Michael Davis

12-12-2004, 03:20 AM

mike,

I recommend something by IRiver even though they are not necessarily small and not aesthetically pleasing. The one I bought is discontinued but it holds so much music that you could never fill it up. I found one that has the same storage requirements and playable hours but appears to have a sleeker display.

IRiver (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00065W74Q/ref=pd_sbs_e_3/104-2389437-1167124?v=glance&s=electronics&n=507846)

All of the details are there, and I have gotten 16 hours out of the battery easily. I rarely use it now so if you want to borrow mine for a couple weeks to test it out you are welcome to it.

-Michael

nothumb

12-12-2004, 04:13 AM

Hey Mike,

I think you meant to post this in OOT, you will get much better responses there.

I don't have an MP3 player, so, sorry..

NT

mmbt0ne

12-12-2004, 04:25 AM

I loved my iPod before it got stolen. I remember reading somewhere that the new generation ones can play 12 hours non-stop. The 20GB one's are going to cost right at $300 unless you find some student to buy you one, because they get a $30 discount. On a 20 gig, you could easily hold 4500 songs. I had around 2100 on mine, and wasn't even half full.

Anywhere you try to buy one, it will be the same price, so the only way you're getting it cheaper is to have a student, or someone who works at a school, buy it for you. And I believe you can only do that at either the Apple stores, or through this site. (http://store.apple.com/Catalog/US/Images/routingpage.html)

beernutz

12-12-2004, 04:33 AM

Motorola has a new model out, the M500, which is a 5GB with FM receiver/recorder and a rechargeable battery with a 25 hour charge life. It is based on the Rio Carbon's (another nice 5GB MP3 player) firmware which is really good. I have several Rios but the addition of the 25hour battery life has sold me on the M500. You can get them at Radio Shack or Motorala's online store for around $230. I can fit about 1200 MP3's on my M500 and they are all at a 128 bitrate or higher.

lowroller

12-12-2004, 04:51 AM

I've got a Creative Zen Xtra (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0002BRMNA/qid=1102840736/sr=8-4/ref=pd_csp_4/104-2383376-8141505?v=glance&s=electronics&n=507846) that I am happy with. Prices have really come down on these, and is below $200 on Amazon (for more storage than an iPod Mini). Lasts 12-14 hours and the battery is replaceable. Bigger than the iPod's, but can still fit in your hip pocket.

My main concern about the iPod was the battery. I had read some bad reviews about the iPod battery life not being so good, as well as when the battery stops holding its charge you cannot replace the batter yourself...you must ship it to the manufacturer for a pricey replacement! With the Creative, you can replace it yourself.

However, in all fairness, every time I see someone at my table with an iPod I ask about their experience, and everyone has given the "thumbs up". Too pricey for me, though.

Creative also has the new Zen Touch (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00028DJTY/qid=1102840736/sr=8-6/ref=pd_csp_6/104-2383376-8141505?v=glance&s=electronics&n=507846) that supposedly has an easier interface, and has gotten good reviews.

If you want small, check out the Zen Micro. (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00067TTZY/qid=1102841257/sr=8-10/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i10_xgl147/104-2383376-8141505?v=glance&s=pc&n=507846) Smaller than an iPod Mini and holds more songs too. Coming soon...

Good Luck!

bugstud

12-12-2004, 06:19 AM

I've got the Zen...nice, but a little bulky

ZeeJustin

12-12-2004, 07:34 AM

If you want long battery life, do NOT get an ipod.

shadow29

12-12-2004, 12:51 PM

I've got the Dell DJ and it runs for 16 hrs straight. Cheaper than an Ipod and looks better than most others. Easy interface, works great.

TazQ

12-12-2004, 04:04 PM

Rio Karma is your best bet.

Also has gapless playback which is a plus if you have your own mix CDs.

20GB, 15 hrs playback, comes with a docking bay, a tad bigger than the ipod, but still fairly small.

http://www.digitalnetworksna.com/shop/_templates/item_main_Rio.asp?model=261

mosta

12-12-2004, 04:13 PM

Sony NW-HD3. It's not out in the US yet, but you can get it on eBay from Japan, for around $450. The big difference between the HD3 and the HD1 is that the 3 now supports the MP3 format--the first model only supported Sony's proprietary atrac format. It's very small and very nicely designed. It's 20 gig. In the atrac format it holds a little more than a 40gig iPod. But it has a battery life approaching 30 hours. (disclaimer: I don't have it yet, but am about to order one. So this info is gleaned from media and user reviews. if someone knows otherwise, please disagree.)

mike l.

12-12-2004, 04:54 PM

n/t

Michael Davis

12-12-2004, 06:54 PM

The one I recommended has a radio. I've never used my radio so I can't help there. I think many of them have this option.

-Michael

beernutz

12-12-2004, 07:53 PM

Mike I've never heard of an MP3 with an AM radio. FM, sure, but not AM. The Motorola I recommended has a great FM tuner--much better than any other MP3 with FM I've ever had.

mike l.

12-12-2004, 08:05 PM

but i want to be able to listen to phil hendrie and art bell when theyre on. curses.

Evan

12-12-2004, 10:10 PM

I just bought a Sony Network Walkman because I'm doing a presentation on it tommorow. Its pretty cool. Smaller and lighter than my iPod. You have to convert all your MP3's to ATRAC (Sony's own format that allows you to fit more songs in the same amount of memory), but that doesn't take too long.

Overall its good, but I still like my iPod for ease of use.

lowroller

12-12-2004, 10:50 PM

Mike,

No AM's...just FM. I looked for this when I bought mine originally.

mosta

12-13-2004, 04:00 AM

they're newest models now support mp3. if you're just converting cds, you probably don't care which formate (and sony's is more efficient). if you want to buy music online, you want the mp3 option.

Evan

12-13-2004, 04:21 AM

that model isnt out yet.

the one you're talking about is the nwhd3, its coming out next year/

Rick Nebiolo

12-13-2004, 07:11 AM

Does anyone have any opinions regarding the Creative Soundworks products?

This (http://www.cambridgesoundworks.com/store/category.cgi?category=aud_mp3&item=l1mtx1gb) one looks good to me. Similar models with less flash memory are cheaper.

~ Rick

Rick Nebiolo

12-13-2004, 07:13 AM

[ QUOTE ]
but i want to be able to listen to phil hendrie and art bell when theyre on. curses.

[/ QUOTE ]

figures /images/graemlins/grin.gif

Patrick del Poker Grande

12-13-2004, 11:50 AM

The iAudio M3 (http://eng.iaudio.com/zeroboard/product_M3_over.php?bmenu=p&id=cw5000) is definitely the way to go for a harddrive player. You can get it in 20GB and 40GB, it's slightly smaller than an i-Pod with more features, and comes with either 14 or 35 hour battery life (yes, thirty-five hours). The cheapest price I found when I bought mine was from www.newegg.com. (http://www.newegg.com.) If you want a flash player, check out iAudio's too - they've got some badass ones - up to 1GB memory and plenty of features.

I've brought my M3 to the casino and it's great because it fits nicely in my pocket and I can just have the remote out and/or clipped to my pocket for when I want to change songs/albums/playlists or whatever, as opposed to taking out the whole player and running my thumb around in circles like an idiot on an i-Pod. It's much more discrete.

beernutz

12-13-2004, 12:01 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Does anyone have any opinions regarding the Creative Soundworks products?

This (http://www.cambridgesoundworks.com/store/category.cgi?category=aud_mp3&item=l1mtx1gb) one looks good to me. Similar models with less flash memory are cheaper.

~ Rick

[/ QUOTE ]

Creative makes very nice MP3s Rick. I bought my daughter that same Creative MuVo in the 512mb version and it is a slick little player. Really good sound and manufacturing quality and some nice features, right up there with the best I've heard. iRiver is also known for its good sound quality and to an extent so is Rio. Ironically to me since they are THE name in MP3, the iPod sound quality bites in comparison, IMO. I've listened to the Creative MuVo, my Motorola M500, my Rio Forge 256, and my friend's iPod mini all with my Grado SR-80 headphones and the iPod came in dead last. Not even a horse race.

GuyOnTilt

12-13-2004, 12:49 PM

I've listened to the Creative MuVo, my Motorola M500, my Rio Forge 256, and my friend's iPod mini all with my Grado SR-80 headphones and the iPod came in dead last. Not even a horse race.

It's possible your friend doesn't take care to put high-quality music on his iPod. I've listened to high-quality music on the MuVo, iPod, and Rio and the Rio was the worst of the bunch. This was with both QuietComfort2's and the SR125's. The iPod sounded better than the MuVo with the QC2's, and the MuVo with the SR125's. Only very slightly though in both instances.

BTW, you really should upgrade your headphones to the 125's. It's well, well, well worth it. There's just a HUGE difference between those and the 80's when you're listening to well done audio. The 80's are geared too "bright" imo and the boosted high end masks the overtones on recordings done at over 44.1 kHz, which is happening more and more now, and some that aren't too. You'll get a much fuller and rich sound with the 125's than the bright boosted high and low end you get with the 80's. They're only like, $40 more too.

GoT

Patrick del Poker Grande

12-13-2004, 12:58 PM

I don't mean to offend, but it always humors me when people get all uppity about their earphones/sound system when they're talking about listening to LOSSY AUDIO. If you're that much of a sound geek, then you should be listening to lossless audio and not MP3/OGG - try FLAC (supported by iAudio players) or SHN.

GuyOnTilt

12-13-2004, 01:09 PM

If you're that much of a sound geek, then you should be listening to lossless audio and not MP3/OGG - try FLAC (supported by iAudio players) or SHN.

I wouldn't say I'm a sound geek, but I used to do quite a bit of writing and arranging and got involved in a very little bit of engineering (very being the key word) and some orchestration. I do use FLAC, but I didn't know there was hardware that made it portable...Is there?

Edit: And I don't mean burning to CD. I hate portable CD players.

GoT

Patrick del Poker Grande

12-13-2004, 01:12 PM

Yes. The iAudio M3 supports FLAC and is all around the best, most badass player out yet. You can only order it online, though - I looked all over for it in B&M stores, so I guess you'll have to take my (and many others') word for it. They claim that it's available at Frye's Electronics, but it wasn't in the one in San Diego. I bought mine from www.newegg.com. (http://www.newegg.com.) Check out the iAudio (http://iaudio.com) website. Their flash players are badass too, if that's your thing. They've got one that'll play for 50 hours on one AA.

GuyOnTilt

12-13-2004, 01:18 PM

The iAudio M3 supports FLAC

Sick. I'm sold. Seriously, I owe you huge. I have a few hundred dollars in Amazon credit that's getting used as we speak.

GoT

Patrick del Poker Grande

12-13-2004, 01:28 PM

Awesome. You won't be sorry - except that you didn't get this player earlier. When you get it, make sure to upgrade to the latest firmware from iaudio.com - it takes all of about 10 seconds to do. You should also know that it's available in a couple colors - I like the brown one myself, but whatever you like is good for you. They've got a 20GB and a 40GB version, as well as a 20GB version with extended battery life - up to 35 hours playback! If you're wanting to be playing FLAC though, I'd suggest the 40GB - that's the one I went with and 14 hours playback is plenty for me.

beernutz

12-13-2004, 01:38 PM

[ QUOTE ]
If you're that much of a sound geek, then you should be listening to lossless audio and not MP3/OGG - try FLAC (supported by iAudio players) or SHN.

I wouldn't say I'm a sound geek, but I used to do quite a bit of writing and arranging and got involved in a very little bit of engineering (very being the key word) and some orchestration. I do use FLAC, but I didn't know there was hardware that made it portable...Is there?

Edit: And I don't mean burning to CD. I hate portable CD players.

GoT

[/ QUOTE ]

Rio Karma supports FLAC as well. To each his own I guess but I didn't notice that much difference between the 80s and the 125s so I couldn't justify the cost difference. I'm must an amateur musician though and since I grew up in the 60s and 70s my ears are likely damaged from too many Who and Aerosmith concerts. And no, all the players I tested were playing the same MP3 encoded at a 256bitrate. I'm not alone in thinking the iPod's sound quality is inferior but sound quality like taste in music is relative I guess.

Rick Nebiolo

12-13-2004, 01:44 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I don't mean to offend, but it always humors me when people get all uppity about their earphones/sound system when they're talking about listening to LOSSY AUDIO. If you're that much of a sound geek, then you should be listening to lossless audio and not MP3/OGG - try FLAC (supported by iAudio players) or SHN.

[/ QUOTE ]

Interesting point.

I've recently upgraded my computer speakers to the Creative Soundworks MegaWorks 213s (http://www.cambridgesoundworks.com/store/category.cgi?category=spk_multimedia&item=k1pkm24e )and its kept me mostly listening to my CDs directly since the deficiencies of MP3s encoded using the general purpose player MusicMatch are more noticeable (even encoded at 320 kbs).

My plan is to re-encode most of my CD collection using a better ripper and a better encoding scheme. Some questions for you or anyone out there:

- What do you think of Radified's Guide to Ripping & Encoding CD Audio? (http://mp3.radified.com/) This site points to The Hydrogenaudio (http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php/Main_Page) site. Are there other good sites regarding ripping and encoding audio?

- For ripping into .wav files EAC (Exact Audio Copy] and the PlexTools software that came with my Plextor CD RW drive seem to be top choices. Any other recommendations? MusicMatch will rip into .wav files but it doesn't have good error correction from my limited experience.

- For now I may play the .wav files straight up given the large size of my hard drives. Of course MusicMatch will play .wav files and I like the way my older version 7.5 works as far as managing playlists and such (MusicMatch goes downhill with each new version). Any other recommendations for players that handle the various formats and playlists well and also sound good? I tried an old version of WinAmp (version 2.81) but I can't even see it on the screen, the fonts are just too small.

- If I encode to a lossy audio format Radified recommends the LAME MP3 Encoder. There are others. Any recommendations?

- For lossless encoding Radified recommends Monkey Audio along with FLAC. Any thoughts?

All help appreciated.

Regards,

Rick

Patrick del Poker Grande

12-13-2004, 01:57 PM

EAC is the ONLY way to rip audio for serious purposes. When ripping for other people (I never used MP3 for my own uses after about sophomore year in college, which is when I discovered live concert trading) I used EAC with a LAME plug-in to encode MP3. I use OGG and FLAC now that I've got a big badass player. CDex is pretty good for making OGG files. Etree.org is a good resource for lossless audio, although they're more on SHN. I used to trade live concerts and got quite involved with lossless trading over the net (and before that, by snail-mail). Check out my (way out-of-date) trading webpage (http://pwarcham.cjb.net) for info on ripping and why MP3 is bad (for anything other than casual listening or sampling). The page was made a few years ago, but the info is still valid. Click on the link to "Pzane's burning bible" for good info on ripping and burning CDs and any MP3 link to see why MP3s are bad. Another good source for this kind of info is
the Radiohub (http://radiohub.org) (a Radiohead trading community I helped start, but unfortunately don't have the time to keep up with any more.

GuyOnTilt

12-13-2004, 02:07 PM

EAC is the ONLY way to rip audio for serious purposes.

Ding ding ding!

GoT

turnipmonster

12-13-2004, 02:34 PM

[ QUOTE ]
EAC is the ONLY way to rip audio for serious purposes.

[/ QUOTE ]

what is "serious purposes"? I can transcribe 16 piece big band arrangements from mp3s encoded at like 128k. I'm not saying the sound quality is ideal or anything, but I think you guys are overreacting /images/graemlins/smile.gif.

--turnipmonster

beernutz

12-13-2004, 03:10 PM

[ QUOTE ]
EAC is the ONLY way to rip audio for serious purposes.

Ding ding ding!

GoT

[/ QUOTE ]
I've got a Plexar drive which along with Plextools seems to work pretty well for burning. I think EAC is slower at burning since it does the extra error checking but I can't tell the difference between a WAV burned with it or Plextools. I guess I'm not serious enough.

Tron

12-14-2004, 06:00 AM

Man, I don't understand all these haters... Get an iPod... The battery life on the new ones is 12 hours, and the battery life on the iPod photo is 15 hours (though I think those are overpriced and unnecessary). iPods are the most popular because they work the best, plain and simple. The fact that they're beautiful to look at doesn't hurt either.

Evan

12-14-2004, 06:35 AM

Yea, I agree. I have an iPod, it rules.

Patrick del Poker Grande

12-14-2004, 10:59 AM

iPods are the best selling because they were the best when they came out, they've had by far the best marketing, and Mac people get all up in a fervor over everything Mac just because it's not Microsoft - they're like Canadians being excited that they're not Americans. There's better out there now. That's not to say it's not a great product, because it is. You definitely aren't making a huge mistake buying an iPod. You're just not getting the absolute best you can get. They are good looking relative to most other players, but I do honestly think the iAudio M3 has a much more sophisticated look to go along with its better features.

beernutz

12-14-2004, 03:34 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Yea, I agree. I have an iPod, it rules.

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow, you convinced me.

Tron

12-14-2004, 04:47 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Yea, I agree. I have an iPod, it rules.

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow, you convinced me.

[/ QUOTE ]

How about this? I have an iPod and it rules HARD... and A LOT.

beernutz

12-14-2004, 04:53 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Yea, I agree. I have an iPod, it rules.

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow, you convinced me.

[/ QUOTE ]

How about this? I have an iPod and it rules HARD... and A LOT.

[/ QUOTE ]

I prefer function over fashion.

Tron

12-14-2004, 06:14 PM

I like having both.

beernutz

12-14-2004, 06:32 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I like having both.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hope springs eternal.

Evan

12-14-2004, 09:00 PM

As far as I know the only issue with the iPod is the battery, right? Honestly, being able to listen to music for 15 straight hours is not something that I need. I don't like to listen when I play poker. I use it on the subway and walking around the city, I'm rarely doing that for more than 15 hours at a time. So for me the iPod is functional, if some of those things are important to you than its probably not the best choice. I doubt that those issues affect most people, but if they affect you then there's probably a better product out there.

beernutz

12-14-2004, 10:27 PM

[ QUOTE ]
As far as I know the only issue with the iPod is the battery, right? Honestly, being able to listen to music for 15 straight hours is not something that I need. I don't like to listen when I play poker. I use it on the subway and walking around the city, I'm rarely doing that for more than 15 hours at a time. So for me the iPod is functional, if some of those things are important to you than its probably not the best choice. I doubt that those issues affect most people, but if they affect you then there's probably a better product out there.

[/ QUOTE ]

Before I get pegged as an Apple basher but I will say in my defense I bought my first Macintosh Plus in 1986 and I've owned and used Mac's pretty much continuously until a just a few years ago.

As far as iPod criticisms there's the battery is not good issue you mentioned, however there is also the S/N ratio and sound quality is better on many other players issue, the doesn't do gapless issue, the cost/value is not good issue, the can't play WMA, Ogg Vorbis or FLAC files issue, the practically forced to use iTunes issue, the can't play high bitrate MP3 without distortion issue, and the can't do bookmarks issue. I'll turn your statement around and say if you're happy with your iPod more power to you, but I find it amusing when people claim they are the be-all and end-all of MP3 players.