Author Topic: MP3 players? (Read 8294 times)

Muso · « **on:** May 01, 2006, 11:11:48 PM »

So guys I'm looking at spending £150 on an mp3 player with headphones, I know that most players ship with total cr@p phones so I was just wondering what everyone here has. I'm not bothered about capacity I just want easy to use (drag and drop) and good sound quality.
I'm gonna use the mp3 player whilst walking to work as its soo dreafully boring hehe.

sambo · « **Reply #1 on:** May 01, 2006, 11:16:25 PM »

ipod mini... theyre awesome... just sold mine as it goes... the stock headphones really are terrible on all Apple stuff but i replaced mine with some in-ear Sony ones and i loved my ipod for the time i had it... still, i wanted a new amp more... :twisted:

but yeah theyre excellent

EDIT:

your looking for ease of use? ipod mini all the way seriously... NOTHING is easier to use... theyre superb... not too small and fiddly like the nano, not on the bulky (and expensive) side like the full-size ipods, theyre just right: small but still usable, plenty of space for songs (600+)

drag and drop folder support e.t.c e.t.c... i used to be against Ipods and was convinced i could find some little companys alternative that was just as good, but i never did. all the ones i found had little catches, like no folder support or a cr@ppy tiny screen e.t.c... in the end i was converted... but only to the minis- i still dont see the point in the massive 10GB+ ones...

sound quality is excellent, and the good news is that the minis can be had for a little less now since the nanos have come out... i think they retail for £140 and on ebay can get em for anywhere between 70-100 quid... so with the money you save you could get a set of top-notch phones to go with it... or save up for some more BKPs... :twisted:

Miracle Man Matt · « **Reply #2 on:** May 02, 2006, 01:32:19 AM »

I would go for the Ipod video!! I think they are around 160 now, but considering the fact that mine isn't even full and if i left it playing continuosly from 1st to last song (in a charger) then it would take over 2 weeks to play all the songs!!!!!

Also the video's on look incredible!!! just like on a full TV!!

Muso · « **Reply #3 on:** May 02, 2006, 08:22:22 AM »

Ipod Mini, hmmm sambo i head that you couldnt drag and drop, that you had to use Itunes etc? Any ideas of which particular headphones to buy? Also is there much difference between the generations of the IPOD mini?

Cheers

b0ng0 · « **Reply #4 on:** May 02, 2006, 10:29:15 AM »

Noooo, not the iPod!

Obviously, personally I wouldn't go for an iPod - they are overpriced, not amazingly built (compared to some others) and they're Apple

.

I can highly recommend the Creative Zen or Creative Zen Micro, they are both absolute beasts. Or the Sony MP3 Walkman (that's actually the name of it I think), or any of the other current Sony MP3 products - they have huge battery life (one of them is around 60 hours :o ).

I think it's down to personal preferance, but the three main ones to look at are Creative, Sony and Apple.

Elliot · « **Reply #5 on:** May 02, 2006, 10:40:12 AM »

The Sony in ear - ear phones (the ones with the rubber nipples you stick in your ear) create an amazing improvement to any MP3 player's sound.

Shag101 · « **Reply #6 on:** May 02, 2006, 01:26:10 PM »

I just bought an apple 30gb video. Its my 1st mp3 player. It is really easy to use with itunes. Just drag and drop any song, video, picture etc.. and click update ipod. Done in a flash.
I looked around and Ipod does have the best reviews compared to others. The only downside is the battery life. They sux. But you could always pickup a bigger capacity battery off ebay "Just make sure it comes with the tool to open the ipod up."
The way i saw it was yeah, the mini and nano are cool, but for the difference in price it really is better to get the 30gb video. You get a whole lot more for only a little extra $$$.
Download some free s/w off the internet and your ready to easily transfer your dvd collection to the ipod. "Note that on the regular battery, watching a movie will kill it in 2hrs and a movie takes about 3-4gb" but it is still great to have..
Also just like my PSP, make sure you buy a nice case asap. They scratch easily.
Now if you just want to have something to put a couple of cd's to walk to work, then I would get a Sony mp3 player or the ipod shuffle. Both can
be bought for under 100 bucks American. The 512mb models can hold about 7-10 cd's depending on the size of the cd.

Dakine · « **Reply #7 on:** May 02, 2006, 02:49:39 PM »

Apple, I own a Nano with no problems, gotta use itunes OR buy aftermarket software though.
Sony, great battery life, great build quality, uses Sony proprietary compression (Sony will NEVER forget about losing the video battle with Betamax!)
Zen, heard have very good audio quality playback
iRiver, heard have BEST audio quality..

Headphones, Sony MDR EX series, v.good but Bass Heavy.
Koss well favoured over here for budget phones.

chrisola · « **Reply #8 on:** May 02, 2006, 02:55:56 PM »

i;ve got an ipod nano 2gb for my in car music, much better than having cds laying around!!

Also got a 30gb Creative Nomad Zen Extra... one of the original ones from a couple of years back. Its great, a bit on the large side compared to the new ones though.

Petre · « **Reply #9 on:** May 02, 2006, 04:27:00 PM »

The smaller Irivers are awesome. I've seen alot of cases where my friends have had ipods and after a whileth ey have just died for no reason. Ive been thoroughly impressed with my iriver. You can drag and drop with it or you go through Media player. Its a handy piece of kit. mine was 5gb which is just right for me, but i think they only do the 6gb ones now. i managed to grab a 5gb just before they disappeared. Its got a great colour screen but i wouldnt try and view pics on it. Ive heard they look awful and ive never had a reason to try on mine :roll: . However this option probably wouldnt leave much extra cash for earphones. I always just stock up on cheapo ones myself, because i always break them :P

Petre

sambo · « **Reply #10 on:** May 02, 2006, 04:31:01 PM »

Quote from: b0ng0

Noooo, not the iPod!

Obviously, personally I wouldn't go for an iPod - they are overpriced, not amazingly built (compared to some others) and they're Apple .

I can highly recommend the Creative Zen or Creative Zen Micro, they are both absolute beasts. Or the Sony MP3 Walkman (that's actually the name of it I think), or any of the other current Sony MP3 products - they have huge battery life (one of them is around 60 hours :o ).

I think it's down to personal preferance, but the three main ones to look at are Creative, Sony and Apple.

I know people whove had the Zen Micros and have had serious reliability problems... having to send them back and one was just completely bust...

the newer generation minis are extremely well built, and not so overpriced anymore (although they were- i see your point) especially if you get some of the older gen ones. im with you on the sony stuff, except like Nick said, they use really awkward software and compression which ive heard creates a lot of problems for people. Other than that like people have mentioned- superb battery life and built quality so theyre a good bet. id also say though that Sony are probably even more overpriced than Apple in my opinion.

the zen micros are a good alternative though... like bongo said though- personal preference really.

and again, like someone else said- the in-ear sony ones with black squidgy heads are excellent.

carlaz · « **Reply #11 on:** May 02, 2006, 04:40:42 PM »

I'm a long time Mac-user; I like iTunes and the iPod. 8) I have bought a few tracks from the iTMS, but not much. I mostly rip my own CDs, and find the iPod very handy for on-the-go checking of the latest versions of whatever home-recording project I've been working on.

I used to have a 1st-gen 4BG iPod (gotten, by various means, as a freebie from Apple) which finally died last year. Luckily, I was around the same time given a 4GB mini just before those were replaced by the nano.

I do find the 4GB iPod models a bit small; I've got a lot of music (even leaving out the crates of CDs sitting in storage in the US!) and only a very select subset will fit in 4GB. Since my mini was free, I can't complain, but will only note that though the 60GB iPod is 167% the price of the 4GB nano, it also has 1500% the capacity. You do the math .... :)

hobleguitars · « **Reply #12 on:** May 02, 2006, 05:00:53 PM »

Get the iPod video 30gb - I used to have a Rio Karma (20gb), which I loved dearly, but I've never looked back since purchasing one off eBay.

_tom_ · « **Reply #13 on:** May 02, 2006, 05:32:06 PM »

I'd really not go for an ipod, well I've only had experience with the mini but I assume they are all similar.. mine always has problems with turning on, alot of the time I have to hold down play and menu at the same time to reset it or whatever, not really too bad but its annoying coz that takes ages to turn on when you do that.. Plus I find the battery doesnt last very long and the charge gauge isnt accurate.. AND itunes sometimes fails to recognise that its plugged in and therefore wont update my songs. All that being said, the Mini comes in a cool shade of pink which looks awesome (not to mention pimpin :lol:), the other colours just look shite on the mini in my opinion.

hobleguitars · « **Reply #14 on:** May 02, 2006, 05:42:05 PM »

You own a PINK iPod mini?!? Well, if that's the way you swing... Pimpin' indeed. :roll:

PS. I'm not homophobic.