What Mp3 player do you have?

[frederic]

Hi

I'm having difficulty trying to decide which mp3 player i should purchase.
I'm reluctant on buying an ipod a) because everyone owns one b) i want to be different c) i dont see what the fuss is all about. I dont think they're that great. way too overrated in my opinion.

I'm now searching up similar products. Something along the lines of a sleek mp3 player that has the space of a HDD, preferably over 40GB.

I've come up with the Iriver H340 and the Toshiba Gigabeat. They all look pretty good but i've yet to try them. There's also a Sony but im not so sure on the Atrac3 that they use.

Please share your experiences with mp3 players.

[Siberian Husky]

LOL what?..

no ipod because everyone has one?..you want to be different?..so your going to sacrifice quality because you must maintain to your nonconformist ways..i hate to break it to you buddy..but i'll let you down easy...

here it comes..there are many like you..so actually..you are being a conformist by being a nonconformist..oh no..the insanity!..tis true..

look..everybody has an ipod not cause its trendy..but because it is worth the price..the shuffles are great money savers..they are good hardware..made by a reliable company...have a nice conservative non flashy look to them which makes carrying them around easier on the eye...the toshiba one is ok...but ipods arent over rated...the hype is real man..they are great pieces of equipment and any other company making mp3 players with an ounce of honesty will tell you that their product cant compete with the ipod on overall performance features and aesthetic value...


hasnt your mom ever told you its whats on the inside that counts?...just get an ipod save yourself the trouble..and personalize your music passion to feed your need for originality with the media you upload into it.....

[frederic]

sorry dude but i dont agree with you

[Siberian Husky]

very well then...




*awkward silence*....


care to shave my face ol chap?...or i yours?...here here!

[leahcim]

The archos video recorders look like an alternative.

They play mp3, wma etc - but they also record TV/Video and play that back too on a small screen.

Price-wise, I don't think they cost much more than the gb ipods either.

But it's probably not the thing if you're looking for a compact mp3 player.

edit: From your list, I'd get the iriver as IIRC because it supports ogg vorbis.

[Siberian Husky]

aw man you know what!!!

GET THE SONY PSP!!!

[tolkien]

I was considering buying an mp3 player but lost interest after reading that the ipod I was thinking of buying puts a pause between tracks and there was nothing one could do about it. As I listen almost exclusively to classical music this was really off-putting. The main reason, however, was that I don't really enjoy those tiny little earplugs as headphones. I prefer moving my mp3s in CD or DVD or in those cool  memory sticks form and play them from another computer or car audio player when I don't have access to my hi-fi system at home.

[Skeptopotamus]

sorry dude but i dont agree with you

what......... you ask for people's opinions and then just say no if it isn't what you wanted to hear?  Don't waste out time with that.


Get the ipod.

[xvimbi]

I was considering buying an mp3 player but lost interest after reading that the ipod I was thinking of buying puts a pause between tracks and there was nothing one could do about it. As I listen almost exclusively to classical music this was really off-putting.

Nothing!? It's good to know all the capabilities of a product under consideration before making a decision

"Many music CDs contain tracks that seamlessly transition from one song to the next. Importing these songs into iTunes may create annoying gaps between these tracks, and these gaps are carried over when you copy songs to your iPod.

How can you fix this? Follow these steps to use the iTunes Join CD Tracks feature to create gap-free tracks.

Insert the audio CD in your Mac
Notice that the songs on the CD are listed in the iTunes window
To remove the gap of silence that normally occurs between songs, select two or more songs and click on Advanced - Join CD Tracks to combine them into a single track
Click the Import button to add the songs to your library"

(taken from https://macs.about.com/od/ipod/qt/gap_free_tracks.htm)

I have an iPod and an iPod Shuffle, and I couldn't be happier.

The main reason, however, was that I don't really enjoy those tiny little earplugs as headphones. I prefer moving my mp3s in CD or DVD or in those cool  memory sticks form and play them from another computer or car audio player when I don't have access to my hi-fi system at home.

The choice of headphones is entirely yours, of course. On airplanes, or in any other noisy environment, I use my iPods with noise-cancelling headphones; the ear plugs are sufficient for many occasions as well (working out, for example).

But then again, I also use my iPods to transfer large amounts of data between computers, so they are not merely MP3 players for me. I am pretty much completely on Apple; my priority is that things must work and they must work properly. The Apple/iPod connection and whatever goes with it is the best I have seen in this arena.

[pseudopianist]

If you want to be different, put on lots of make up, cut your wrist and listen to very depressing rock about how people will never understand you and your pain.

[tolkien]

Are you selling ipods, xvimbi?

Of course I know of the option you mention (and thank you for troubling yourself on my benefit! ). Joining tracks is not a solution I am happy with, as I usually want to have long works being transfered in the same way as they are in their original recording, tracks and everything. Tracks are there for a reason, aren't they? It's not really a solution (as that would entail that some engineer figure out an option for the ipod not to incorporate pauses between tracks - not too hard a feat I would imagine) and it asks of me to lose my time and do something that's not convenient instead. No, thanks.

The headphones issue is of course irrelevent with the ipod itself, it's just me that I can't stand those little buggers. My large headphones are too big and energy-consuming to suit an ipod and too expensive to carry around everyday!

As a portable hard drive, ipod is perfect, however. That's the main reason I would buy one and I may do eventually, when the prices drop further.

[Aziel]

iPod!

[gkatele]

Disclaimer - I, as well, own and iPod and a Shuffle.

The beauty of the iPod goes beyond its looks and design.

There is a seamless integration between the iPod and the jukebox software (iTunes) that comes with it. It's one of those things that just works - no hassle, no confusion. Simple and elegant. From what I understand, transferring files onto another MP3 player can be a hassle, and caused all kinds of problems. Not so with an iPod.

As was posted above, the abiltity to use an iPod as an external hard drive has serious advantages as well.

George

Disclaimer #2 - I use my iPods on a Mac.

[aqu01rius]

I carry Stereos around.
I'm cool =)

[frederic]

what......... you ask for people's opinions and then just say no if it isn't what you wanted to hear?  Don't waste out time with that.


Get the ipod.

Well isn't that what you're supposed to do on these forums?

And i didnt agree with what was said about me, not the fact that Siberian Husky thought ipod was better. I respect that.

[Kassaa]

Everyone has an iPod mini, not so many people have a real iPod.

I have a 4th generation 40GB iPod, and it's perfect, easy to use, fast and good.

[e60m5]

iPod baby!

4G 40GB.

[Waldszenen]

iPod!


Or if you're intending to be different, get that silver/green/black Sony 20Gb one.

[Skeptopotamus]

get a hot pink one.

[aqu01rius]

I think those mass storage ones are really stupid.
It not like you will use 50 GB just for music..

[xvimbi]

I think those mass storage ones are really stupid.
It not like you will use 50 GB just for music..

I do

[Aziel]

I do

Same Here!!

[pianobabe_56]

When I got an mp3 player, I went exactly the same route! I didn't want an iPod, and I went with an IRiver in stead, and I LOVE it!

...so, basically, my vote goes for the IRiver.

[musik_man]

I have a 30gig Creative mp3 player.  It's a bit bigger than the Ipod but costs half as much.  I do suggest that whatever mp3 player you get, you also buy a warranty, as none of the mp3 players are all that reliable.  I've  used my warranty to get two new players over 3 years.  First because of a broken power button and second time because of hard disk problems.  I've also heard that Ipods have a nasty tendency where their batteries stop holding charge after a while.(and it costs ~100 to get it fixed.)

BTW I advise you get something with alot of spare memory.  When I bought my player I had 10gigs of music, now I have 25.  (only 5gigs left  )

[goansongo]

Seriously, the IPOD would be the easiest to use.  But myself, I didn't get the iPOD because I just didn't want it.  Instead, I got the Dell Jukebox 30GB instead when it was on sale on the Dell website.  It's easy to use too.  The Ipod though, has more features than the Dell.  I still love my Dell though.

[pokita]

The iRiver H340 is a nice player, though I'd recommend that you also look at the older H120/H140 players. They may look bad at first view (e.g. no colour display) BUT they have optical input/output connectors (I don't know any other portable player who has those). I use the optical output to connect the player to my home stereo and the quality is simply great. Besides, there exists now an alternative firmware called Rockbox (www.rockbox.org) which has a ton of useful features, supports many different Codecs and has real gapless playback which is IMO very important if you listen to classical music and/or live recordings. However, Rockbox is not yet stable and if ease of use is your primary concern than by all means get an iPod.
What I also like about the iRiver players is that they don't need any additional drivers or software, they work simply as an external USB harddisk.

[Bouter Boogie]

Still don't have any I don't really care, though, I still have my discman and I prefer CD's, because I have manyyyyyy CD's and I can't play CD's on a MP3 player, so I don't really care

[xvimbi]

Still don't have any I don't really care, though, I still have my discman and I prefer CD's, because I have manyyyyyy CD's and I can't play CD's on a MP3 player, so I don't really care

Sure you can play CD's. Of course, you'd have to transfer the music first, but that's a minor issue. If your concern is fidelity, most mp3 players can play lossless formats (the iPod certainly can). Also, with mp3's at 128 bits (which is pretty much the standard, it seems), one would need pretty good headsets or a very good stereo (and a good ear!) to notice any deterioration of sound quality. One can also easily go higher in the sampling rate, say, to 320, which will give near CD-quality.

I think the trick with all that technology out there is to use it purposefully, and not to get caught up in it and use it for the sake of it. Don't let the technology dictate what you must do and what not. One has to define carefully what the needs are and then choose among the options that fulfil those needs. If a CD-player is sufficient, great! Throw all the emotional garbage that goes along with brandnames out the window. In the end, what counts with audio equipment is what reaches the ear and how painlessly it does that. I learned this the hard way. I used to get all excited about new gadgets. By now, I have thrown out everything except for a few, reasonably high-quality items. It makes life a lot easier.

[leahcim]

I think the trick with all that technology out there is to use it purposefully, and not to get caught up in it and use it for the sake of it. Don't let the technology dictate what you must do and what not. One has to define carefully what the needs are and then choose among the options that fulfil those needs. If a CD-player is sufficient, great! Throw all the emotional garbage that goes along with brandnames out the window.

Absolutely. He should get an Apple ipod U2, Apple ipod, Apple Shuffle or Apple Ipod mini?...

Now what colour...