An mp3 player

[Tuomas]

Hiya, though I'd ask you something.

So recently I've been thinking of finally getting me one of those mp3 players. I just wanted to know, what are your experiences with them? My father though i was implying to my birthday that I should get one, but I'd rather buy it myself in order to get something decent, not the cheapest.

Well checking some out at the store, I kind of found myself liking the Creative Labs Zen stone plus, plus because it has a small screen, the other doesn't. Also, the more developed version has a speaker, which to me seems useless. Has anyone tried this, and if so, can you really recommend it? I'd need to hear them myself really to make judgements on how it sounds, what the shuffle is like (really random or just fake), if the microphone is any good, and so on. These are basically what matters to me. here's the one I'm talking about: [/url=pushclicktaptickpunchkickninjastick]http://uk.europe.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=213&subcategory=214&product=16696[/url] I personally loved the small size of it, could well hide it. I don't want one that takes as much space as my phone.

Also, I don't know if I really want to pay as much as for an IPod, as they seem pretty expensive, require the hideous iTunes and some strange format, and also come with lots of useless abilities.

I reckon if one is able to play mp3 with 320kb/s it's not that bad, most my tracks usually are around 256kbps. It says signla to noise is up to 90dB and channel separation up to 60dB. I reckon, at least it would be better than my old walkman

Anyway, if you have some knowledge, recommendations, any, I'd really appreciate it if you were to write them here. Though this might not be something I'm going for today, still someday this spring if everything goes as planned.

[Miez]

I've had a fair few MP3 players... some shitty, some VERY shitty (and one of those was a Creative Zen). But the one I have now is just awesome:

Sony NWZ-A816 (Amazon link)

It's not too expensive, has great sound quality, super user friendly. It comes in a 8Gb version as well (I have the 4Gb) and best of all: you don't need any software to use it. Just connect with a USB cable, drag-n-drop. I'd heartily recommend this thing.

[EldKatt]

...what the shuffle is like (really random or just fake)...

Sorry for not really helping in any way, but this made me curious. What kind of less-than-random shuffle would be unrandom enough to make any noticable difference in this case? It's not like you'll use your shuffled playlist to encrypt business secrets. Or are you?


More on topic, I never use my mp3 player nowadays (mainly because it's crap--a Logik HD33 with a hard drive that screws up in various ways all the time), but my cell phone (Sony Ericsson K800) does that stuff well enough for me. 2GB M2 memory cards are available--I'm not sure if it supports the 4GB cards, but officially it does not. Sound quality probably crap (I can't judge because my headset is the bottleneck at the moment), but it's a decent budget solution if you already have a suitable phone.

Also... you probably won't find any mp3 player with a good microphone. Better get one with a mic jack (or a line jack and an amplifier...) and bring your own.

[Oliwerko]

My brother owns a 2GB ZEN stone plus.
Nice one. It has enough capacity and it is really small. The main thing is that it has an EQ and all those shuffle modes/folder support/whatever, just general useful things.

I say - if the price is ok for you, go for it. There is no point in spending too much on an mp3 players. The get old too fast. And if you do not need like 40GB of space, you should be ok with it.

Disadvantages? Yes. First - charging. If you are not beside a computer with USB often, you have to buy an USB charger. You know, it has to charge through an USB connection. That seems like a little disadvantage for me. But if you have that charger, it is all right.

Second - small display. It is hard to read folder and song names because it is just very small. But I guess that is very minor bug. The overall small size costs you.

I think thats it.

Oh, one more thing. I have had ONLY Creative players and I am VERY happy using them. I am not going to buy any other than creative in the future. But that is personal. You have to choose what you want on the player.

[auriond]

My husband owns a Zen Stone Plus, and we both loved it - right up to the point where it died after I plugged it into my laptop to charge.

No, actually I still love it and would still buy it again in a heartbeat - but I'd buy the adapter to charge it in an electrical socket. I don't trust USB charging through the laptop now... the fact that it's reading data from the device while charging it just seems to me like it's begging for trouble.

[LimpingFish]

30GB Creative Zen Vision: M...this one.

Sounds fine, video playback is crisp, and with over a hundred CDs ripped to it, I've still  got about 14 GB of space left.

Heavy, though. Like a small, yet dense, brick.

I paid...just over 300 euro, I think, less than a year ago. Probably cheaper now.

[InCreator]

I would also avoid buying an mp3 player. I just bought Sony Ericsson W580i and at has about everything from 2MP camera to top-notch Java support to a really good mp3 player (with equalizer, random, shuffle, etc etc).
If I wasn't so concerned about battery life, and had a bit larger memory card, I would ditch my current mp3 player.

About current player? It's Sandisk c250.
A bit expensive, maybe, but battery is extremely powerful, I could carry it around for a week playing and not recharge. Also, no standard batteries, it has it's own and is rechargeable via USB cable. I also have additional 2GB memory card to original 2GB one, and 4GB of free space is enough to come by. Especially if you're a pirate, arr. For music, it's more than enough. Especially since ipods are so much more expensive.

Small screen is also capable of photo display, but resolution is a bit low, cellphone does this job much better.

[Stupot]

My mum bought me a little mp3 player for me before I went to Japan, but while I was out there I soon ran out of space on my memory card, so I started using my player as simple memory space for photographs and the like.  Very effective and to this day I don't think it has one song on it...

[Nostradamus]

I recommend buying a cheap generic MP3 player over any iPod or more sophisticated mp3 players with screens and such. The ones are the same size as Disk on Keys. The MP3's sole needed function is to play music, having a bigger screen and menues and such are not really needed, do not justify the price and the tend to break more. And if the case a cheap generic Mp3 breaks no big whoop you just buy a new one cos it was cheap anyway.
Anyway whatever you decide make sure you buy one that runs on a AAA battery and not ones that can only be charged when hooked by USB. You won't always have where to stick it to charge it. And buy rechargeable batteries to go with it to save money on batteries.

[Layabout]

I have an Ipod Touch. It's very expensive and flashy, and It has wifi.

True that most phones these days have mp3 players, but I cant be arsed with those.

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

Personal opinion - MiniDisc.

Cons and Pros -
-At most, 360 minutes of playback.
-You carry around the physical MDs with you.
+Garanteed good sound quality.
+Probably the most shock-resiliant player and medium.
+Great MIC recording quality.
+Most come with software for adding music via USB, and playint your MD on your computer, like most MP3s.
+If USB fails, you can still record manually. Most MP3s I've seen can't...

Of course, this is a personal choice, because I *need* the superb MIC recording quality for my classes and I don't mind carrying a lot of MDs with me all the time (mind you, they're pretty small, so it's hardly a bulge).

Also, I agree with Nostradamus - long live rechargeable batteries!

[Jack Sheehan]

I've had a fair few MP3 players... some shitty, some VERY shitty (and one of those was a Creative Zen). But the one I have now is just awesome:

Sony NWZ-A816 (Amazon link)

It's not too expensive, has great sound quality, super user friendly. It comes in a 8Gb version as well (I have the 4Gb) and best of all: you don't need any software to use it. Just connect with a USB cable, drag-n-drop. I'd heartily recommend this thing.

+1. Sony mp3's used to be absolutely shite but this is a very nice piece of kit.

[Tuomas]

Sorry for not really helping in any way, but this made me curious. What kind of less-than-random shuffle would be unrandom enough to make any noticable difference in this case? It's not like you'll use your shuffled playlist to encrypt business secrets. Or are you?

Well I had this gadget that had a preprogrammed shuffle, which basically played the mp3s I had in a "random" order, though the ramdon order was always the same, only not 1, 2, 3, 4... That's what I do not want.

Disadvantages? Yes. First - charging. If you are not beside a computer with USB often, you have to buy an USB charger. You know, it has to charge through an USB connection. That seems like a little disadvantage for me. But if you have that charger, it is all right.

Second - small display. It is hard to read folder and song names because it is just very small. But I guess that is very minor bug. The overall small size costs you.

Here, thanks for the advice first. I don't think being near a USB computer thingie won't be a problem for me, just ask the guys at #AGS also, I was thinking of the "plus" because of the screen, however, I don't really think I need a 24'' screen to see which track number I have on.

My husband owns a Zen Stone Plus, and we both loved it - right up to the point where it died after I plugged it into my laptop to charge.

No, actually I still love it and would still buy it again in a heartbeat - but I'd buy the adapter to charge it in an electrical socket. I don't trust USB charging through the laptop now... the fact that it's reading data from the device while charging it just seems to me like it's begging for trouble.

I must take this into consideration, thanks for pointing it out. Of course, I'm a bit biased here since I already like the look of it, so I'd rather hear good things about it

I would also avoid buying an mp3 player. I just bought Sony Ericsson W580i and at has about everything from 2MP camera to top-notch Java support to a really good mp3 player (with equalizer, random, shuffle, etc etc).
If I wasn't so concerned about battery life, and had a bit larger memory card, I would ditch my current mp3 player.

Well ok, right now, I'm completely satisfied with ym phone that works as a phone, you know, calling and text messaging. I've also yet to find use for a camera and phones cost money too.

I recommend buying a cheap generic MP3 player over any iPod or more sophisticated mp3 players with screens and such. The ones are the same size as Disk on Keys. The MP3's sole needed function is to play music, having a bigger screen and menues and such are not really needed, do not justify the price and the tend to break more. And if the case a cheap generic Mp3 breaks no big whoop you just buy a new one cos it was cheap anyway.
Anyway whatever you decide make sure you buy one that runs on a AAA battery and not ones that can only be charged when hooked by USB. You won't always have where to stick it to charge it. And buy rechargeable batteries to go with it to save money on batteries.

Well yeah, I was going to get one for present, but I thought I'd buy one that's good so I didn't have to buy a new one later. In the long run I assume it would pay itself back. Though with the rest I completely agree. About the AAA batteries, I'm tired of changing batteries to things because they won't load anymore, and rechargable batteries usually tend to not keep the chanrge in after they've been used for a while. Then again I have a cd-player that just nowadays sucks all the power from the batteries.

Personal opinion - MiniDisc.

I thought that technology died a long time ago :o

[RickJ]

I have a 4GB Sansa player that I'm quite happy with.  I sounds good and the battery seems to hold it's charge for a long time.   It also has a built in FM radio and a mic for voice recording.  I record presentations I give by just turning it on and placing it in my shirt pocket. I get fairly decent results in that my voice clear and questions from the audience can be clearly heard. 

The only negative thing is that it insists on organizing everything according to MP3 tags rather than file/directory.  So everything needs to be tagged before copying to the player.

[deadsuperhero]

Right on! Several of my friends have a Sandisk Sansa, and they all love it. And that upcoming Sansa Fuse looks really great!

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

I thought that technology died a long time ago

For some reason it's been heavily neglected, ayuh. But it's still my number 1 choice.

[Evil]

LGM and I bought bought first gen Zunes at the same time. I like mine. It's a 40 gig and it holds a lot. The best part is the customizable background, as well as the radio receiver. It's got P2P (more like zune to zune) sharing, but only for a few plays. There's no click wheel either, it's more like a direction pad with an extra middle button. Battery life rocks too. I wouldn't recommend one if you could get an iPod touch or something, but if you're looking on the cheap end, old Zunes aren't a bad choice.

[InCreator]

Well ok, right now, I'm completely satisfied with ym phone that works as a phone, you know, calling and text messaging

I thought so too, not giving up old trusty Nokia 3310. But now when I have a good one...
Bluetooth FTW!

[Fee]

My advice.. Dont buy an iPod.

I have 2 resons for my dislike of ipods.

1 (and most importantly) they break too dam easily. Several friends have gone through several ipods, most notably the iPod Nanos.

2 I get pissed off with the ridiculous ammpunt of people out there who think any MP3 player is an iPod.
Reminds me of the 80s when most Yanks thought any Video game console was a Nintendo...  :'(

[Nikolas]

I bought about 3 months ago a simple, dead cheap (something like £15 tops) mp3 player. 1 GB, volume, a bit of EQ and that's it! Either way I'm on the road or in the tube when using it, so sound quality is not important really. Price is! Don't care to watch anything on a 1" screen and don't mind if the name is not iPod! There is the problem that it's slow and the menu of the songs is actually non existant. So if you want to go from song 1 to song 19 you need to press 19 times the forward button... It can get annoying pretty fast but at £15 I didn't expect anything else...