Mp3 player thread - the best.

Z

Zetherin

Gawd
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Jan 21, 2008
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I'm currently searching for a good (potentially the best?) mp3 player out on the market right now. I'm kind of hesitant getting on the ipod bandwagon, but if you guys can assure me it's the way to go, then I'll look into it. I don't need much space - my last mp3 was 512mb and it sufficed; I don't understand putting thousands of songs on a flash hd when I only use it for the gym.

Any suggestions are welcome.

Thanks,

Z
 
Ipod's are decent mostly because Itunes is pretty much the largest marketplace for purchasing online music.

There are, from what I've heard from other people, mp3 players that have better quality sound.
 
joeshmo1985 said:
Ipod's are decent mostly because Itunes is pretty much the largest marketplace for purchasing online music.

There are, from what I've heard from other people, mp3 players that have better quality sound.
Click to expand...

Which ipod should I pursue?

And do you know specifically any of the other mp3 players that have the better sound?
 
Zetherin said:
Which ipod should I pursue?

And do you know specifically any of the other mp3 players that have the better sound?
Click to expand...

An 8gb nano is $150, 16gb is $200. I'm sure either one is plenty for your needs, coming from a smaller mp3 player.

They also have the 2gb shuffle for $70, no screen on it though.

I can't remember the other mp3 players off the top of my head. If I find anything out I'll post here.
 
joeshmo1985 said:
An 8gb nano is $150, 16gb is $200. I'm sure either one is plenty for your needs, coming from a smaller mp3 player.

They also have the 2gb shuffle for $70, no screen on it though.

I can't remember the other mp3 players off the top of my head. If I find anything out I'll post here.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your help - I'll check into it.
 
Sansa Clip, they got one at circuit city this friday for $31 for a 2gb. Great MP3 player for the money.
 
Are you looking for the best possible sound? Budget? I assume you want pretty good portability and something flash based since you use it at the gym? There are some good options out there if you are looking strictly for a small flash-based mp3 player only but if you need other things at all let us know.
 
If you looking for an MP3 player with 80gb or more storage capacity then it's all about the Zune. The only thing the iPod does in okay music, movies, and display pictures. The Zune can do all of that plus listen to FM radio, tag songs from FM to buy in their store, and share music over wifi. Also, the Zune has a bigger screen than the iPod - so its easier to read and see things.

I have several friends who have gotten Zunes and they love them.
 
I have a Cowon D2, and love it. It is generally accepted as the best when it comes to sound quality, according to all the audiophiles I've talked to. It also has all kinds of enhancements and tweaks to make the music sound the way you like it (bass boost, stereo enhancement, etc), but it sounds great without them. It has a more powerful amp than most, which I like because I play it through my car a lot. It plays mp3, wma, wav, flac, and ape.

As for the screen, it's a touchscreen and plays videos beautifully. The video converting software it comes with actually ...works, which is amazing. It'll do all the standard stuff like display album art and let you skip ahead by clicking the progress bar, but it also has cool gesture things to browse your songs.

I got an 8gb version, but there's a slot for an SDHC card. It was like $170 for the player, then $50 for a 16gb SDHC card. It also has a FM tuner that sounds pretty good, and you can record from the radio, or use a microphone built in. With a little accessory kit you can buy, you can record from line in, and play on a TV via line out.

The battery life is 52 hours, I've never gotten it below 2 bars :D It acts just like a flash drive, in that you just drag and drop your music onto the player. It's compatible with the sync feature on WMP, but I never use it. The only gripe I have is the way it handles random. I have to browse via the file folder system, rather than my ID3 tags, or it will only randomize the album I selected instead of the entire library. I keep my folders / filenames in order, so it's not that huge a deal. Oh, and there's no gapless playback / crossfade :(

You can set your own background to any of your pictures, and with the korean firmware you can even add some flash themes and small flash apps.

This player + FLAC + some sennheisers = :drool:

http://www.cowonamerica.com/products/cowon/d2/
 
I vote the Sansa Clip 2GB - works good for the gym and is pretty small if you want to clip to your waistband.
 
Cowon and Sansa have good players. If you only want to use it at the gym, then the Sansa clip is your best option.
 
Hey guys, thanks for all your suggestions - I've researched every single one you guy have thrown at me.

My friend recently bought one of the 2nd Generation ipod touches.....are these any good? What are everyone's thoughts on this?
 
The touch is great for screen size if your watching movies or need the PDA abilities you can buy for it. I personally after escaping Itunes and the ACC format will not go back. The Zunes are nice as is the Zune site, but I would only look to Zune or Ipod for big storage as the prices are so much better for the Creative, Sandisk, Samsung and even Sony . Nice pocket systems the Creative Zens are very nice and I accually just picked up a Sanddisk Sansa View 8 Gig for 130 bucks. It has a MicroSD slot on it so you can add space, Video play back, and the FM tuner. Also its "Drag and Drop" no having to build playlists. You dont like a song you delete it and drag in a new one.
 
Thanks for the insight.

Now that I've done more research on the features, I don't really need anything like an ipod touch - or even sansa view.

I've narrowed it down to two contenders:
1.) Cowon i7
2.) Sansa Clip

Now, I've been reading a lot about Clips dying, especially when around sweat (which is exactly what this device will be exposed to - gym). I've also been reading that Cowon has better sound quality and has more potential for sound enhancements with JetEffect. Both are about the same price per GB. Clip is a bit smaller and has a clip (how surprising) which would make it better for the gym. Hm...
 
I got a Clip specifically for the gym. Its perfect for that specific duty.
 
Sansa fuze ftw, I have a 8gb one I bought for $125 five months ago, bought a 8gb MicroSDHC for $20. It does everything I want it to. You can get a iTouch if you want a gimped iPhone.
 
radiatinglines said:
I have a Cowon D2, and love it. It is generally accepted as the best when it comes to sound quality, according to all the audiophiles I've talked to. It also has all kinds of enhancements and tweaks to make the music sound the way you like it (bass boost, stereo enhancement, etc), but it sounds great without them. It has a more powerful amp than most, which I like because I play it through my car a lot. It plays mp3, wma, wav, flac, and ape.

As for the screen, it's a touchscreen and plays videos beautifully. The video converting software it comes with actually ...works, which is amazing. It'll do all the standard stuff like display album art and let you skip ahead by clicking the progress bar, but it also has cool gesture things to browse your songs.

I got an 8gb version, but there's a slot for an SDHC card. It was like $170 for the player, then $50 for a 16gb SDHC card. It also has a FM tuner that sounds pretty good, and you can record from the radio, or use a microphone built in. With a little accessory kit you can buy, you can record from line in, and play on a TV via line out.

The battery life is 52 hours, I've never gotten it below 2 bars :D It acts just like a flash drive, in that you just drag and drop your music onto the player. It's compatible with the sync feature on WMP, but I never use it. The only gripe I have is the way it handles random. I have to browse via the file folder system, rather than my ID3 tags, or it will only randomize the album I selected instead of the entire library. I keep my folders / filenames in order, so it's not that huge a deal. Oh, and there's no gapless playback / crossfade :(

You can set your own background to any of your pictures, and with the korean firmware you can even add some flash themes and small flash apps.

This player + FLAC + some sennheisers = :drool:

http://www.cowonamerica.com/products/cowon/d2/
Click to expand...

I have a Cowon A3, and it's awesome. The soundquality is amazing, and the EQ is awesome.

The A3 is probably not what you're looking into, but I would suggest the Cowon S9 or the Cowon O2. Both are due out mid-december.

But I would avoid iPods. I think that them and the Archos series have the worst sound quality.

EDIT: O2 is out, but it's the successor to the A3, which means a big screen, and insane codec support. I don't know if you need support for wavepak and stuff like that 0.o
 
zwanzig said:
120 Zune is a good option
Click to expand...

If you want flash, the 16 GB Zune is good...if you want massive storage, the 120 GB Zune is where its at. The Zune pass is GREAT. If you get a zune, get the zune pass as well...wholly worth it - esp now that the zune pass gives 10 free songs a month.

(do the math; Zune pass is 14.99 a month, a song is .99 x 10...you get the idea.)

I love my 80 GB Zune, and I'm getting a 120 GB Zune Originals soon (ordered a few hours ago.)
 
Sorry to hijack but...

I'm suprised by all the Zune love! I remember when they first came out everyone shit on them. MS must have done some good upgrades. I have a question. I currently have an older iPod that I hacked with rockbox because I cant fucking stand that I cant just have music on it with folders. The iPod uses only ID3 tags for organization so if I want to listen to some song I have to search by artist or whatever, I cant search a folder structure like I would on my PC.

Does the Zune do it like the iPod or can I store the music in folders? Can I have a metal folder and an electronica folder? If not, fuck the Zune IMO (and the lame unhacked iPod too).
 
I have a SanDisk Sansa e280 8GB mp3 player.

Better than a 8GB iPod Nano, and cheaper (I got mine for $120)

If you want an iPod, then maybe you should look into a iPod Touch. Those are fucking sweet.
 
the new sansa players are so so sound wise. samsung players have much better sound. i still dont understand why people still assume ipods are he best. they simply are not. marketing is king and alot of people jumped on the bandwagon sinmply because there are not enough major players in the mp3 market. morons. people do your homework and dont just get it because your friend has one. ipods are "ok" and they have lots of accesories but their damn software they make you use sucks ass. there is no reason why any mp3 player should require software to load your songs, and i refuse to buy any mp3 player that does.
 
Rogue71 said:
the new sansa players are so so sound wise.
Click to expand...

I would say the Sansa Clip and Fuze are definitely above average and should be considered at least close to the best. Their e200 series were so-so. Many of the new Sonys are supposed to be top notch sound-wise now.
 
fss69 said:
I would say the Sansa Clip and Fuze are definitely above average and should be considered at least close to the best. Their e200 series were so-so. Many of the new Sonys are supposed to be top notch sound-wise now.
Click to expand...

ive used 2 different sansa players (fuze and e200 series, 3 samsung (k3,p2, s3). yes the fuze sounded good, but the samsung players overall had better sound and were constructed better. also be aware that most headphones that come with players are nothing but crap(the sansa ones are horrible). i used a pair of $80 sony earbuds and my sennheiser hd280pro headphones for testing everytime i run across a new player.
 
elchorizo said:
Sorry to hijack but...

I'm suprised by all the Zune love! I remember when they first came out everyone shit on them. MS must have done some good upgrades. I have a question. I currently have an older iPod that I hacked with rockbox because I cant fucking stand that I cant just have music on it with folders. The iPod uses only ID3 tags for organization so if I want to listen to some song I have to search by artist or whatever, I cant search a folder structure like I would on my PC.

Does the Zune do it like the iPod or can I store the music in folders? Can I have a metal folder and an electronica folder? If not, fuck the Zune IMO (and the lame unhacked iPod too).
Click to expand...

Hehe, that's why I still use my H360 with Rockbox. I'm the same way. :)

Unfortunately, Zune only supports sorting by tag, i.e. artist/album/genre. I honestly wouldn't mind that so much if I could have more than one "quick playlist" on the Zune, but until I have the time to make some playlists, it's not much use.

I used to have an 80GB Zune, now I have a 8GB Zune that I use for podcasts and audiobooks and I really do like it. Once my H360 dies I probably will go for a 120GB Zune, but hopefully that will be a long time in coming!
 
There are so many options here, I'm once again confused.

I'm not interested in anything with a touch screen, nor am I interested in anything that large. I'm not planning to play many video files, and am predominantly using the device for the gym.

Now, which has better sound quality:
1.) Zune
2.) Zen
3.) Cowon i7
4.) Cowon u5
5.) Sansa Clip

I'm leaning towards the cowon because I'm hearing good things about them, but am unsure even the difference between the i7 and u5.

So many goddamn decisions.
 
you could consider getting a refurbished of any of those brands if possible, especially if this is something for the gym. I got a refurb ipod nano for like $50 bucks cheaper
 
Said it before, and I'll repeat: If its music you want, the Zune + Zune pass = unbeatable...selection is great, audio quality good...and MS updates the oldest players (the 30 GB Zunes from 2 years ago are running the V3 software, something Apple does not do.)
 
rampantandroid said:
Said it before, and I'll repeat: If its music you want, the Zune + Zune pass = unbeatable...selection is great, audio quality good...and MS updates the oldest players (the 30 GB Zunes from 2 years ago are running the V3 software, something Apple does not do.)
Click to expand...

You're not answering my question. Does Zune have better SQ than the other devices I mentioned? Why is Zune the better option... why is it unbeatable? Can you provide links, evidence to support your claim?

I'm definitely not interested in Zune pass, or any other music-downloading subscription for that matter - charged for downloaded mp3's... are you fucking kidding me?. Also, if Zune requires software to load media files, it's off my option list.
 
3991vhtes said:
I have a SanDisk Sansa e280 8GB mp3 player.

Better than a 8GB iPod Nano, and cheaper (I got mine for $120)

If you want an iPod, then maybe you should look into a iPod Touch. Those are fucking sweet.
Click to expand...

I have a Sansa also. Not a bad little player, and dirt cheap now. Expandable memory to.
 
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