MP3 player Advice

[bucksfan]

Somewhat piggybacking off of Doc Scott's question about iPod scratches, I have 2 more general digital audi questions :

What do you recommend for portable "MP3" players? I am open with respect to audio formats, not just .mp3. I don't need video, would like it to be able to be used while working out (so probably flash memory)... The 4MB SanDisks caught my eye intially.

I have rippped about 50 or so of our 600+ CDs to our PC in Windows Media lossless. The sound is fantastic IMO and I am quite happy with it. I'm using Windows Media Player 10 to play everything on our PC. But now my wife and I want to get with the program and mobilize our electronic tunes. And I read that the lossless formats are only compatible for now with some larger and more pricey players, which really is not what we have in mind anyway.

So, a second question : How do you manage your music files if you want to keep a higher quality lossless format but also want to keep a plain old .wma or .mp3 or whatever for syncing and using with your portable device?

[westofyou]

I have a 1 GIG Wolverine. It doubles as a memory stick and can record 16 hours of sound. It also has an FM radio attachment.

It cost $88 and not a penny went to Steve Jobs (which makes me happy)

[GIK]

Steve Jobs doesn't receive any hate from me, so I bought a 30gb Ipod Video. I like the interface and am pleased with it but it's obviously larger than woy's unit. I do use mine working out, however, with an armband accessory.

[westofyou]

Steve Jobs doesn't receive any hate from me

Yeah but you've never seen him steal peanut clusters from the bins at Whole Foods either.

Mine is tiny, about the size of a lighter and a half. However it feels like it was made out of lego. What I like about it is I can put large work files on it and 10 CD's and gout of town with that. That used to be numerous work install discs and a cd player and a CD case for entertainment.

That blows my mind, which was basically shaped in the age of 3 channels of entertainment and calculators costing $150.

[Caveat Emperor]

Steve Jobs doesn't receive any hate from me, so I bought a 30gb Ipod Video. I like the interface and am pleased with it but it's obviously larger than woy's unit. I do use mine working out, however, with an armband accessory.

I got a 30gb iPod video for Christmas, but it's so damn nice that I can't bring myself to take it out of the house, for fear that I'm going to drop a weight on it at the gym or something.

[bucksfan]

Thanks all. Do any of you have opinions on storing both a lossless format and a lossy format on your PC? I was thinking I need to keep to separate folders somehow (lossy and lossless) so I can keep things organized. I was not sure how Media Player would work with 2 different formats of each song/album.

Maybe I could just stick with the lossy formats, but I have a longer term plan of having all of our home aduio digital too, so the lossless format seemed a better bet for that option.

[Reds Fanatic]

I got a 30gb iPod video for Christmas, but it's so damn nice that I can't bring myself to take it out of the house, for fear that I'm going to drop a weight on it at the gym or something.

I got a 60 GB Ipod video for Christmas. It is really nice but I was also worried about getting the thing scratched or broken so I bought a Speck Toughskin case that fits around the outside of the Ipod. It is a nice solid case that also has a screen protector to keep it from getting scratched or damaged if you drop it.

[bucksfan]

I got a 30gb iPod video for Christmas, but it's so damn nice that I can't bring myself to take it out of the house, for fear that I'm going to drop a weight on it at the gym or something.

That would be me also. I am historically tough on things - not negligent or willfully abusive, just casually actively careless!

[SanDiegoRed]

Creative Zen Micro...Affordable, very user friendly, has an FM radio attached and you can download your music from anywhere. I love mine.

[M2]

I got the 30 GB iPod for Christmas along with the Griffin car radio adapter. I'm in love. Mind you, I'll be deaf in 25 years, but right now it's all love.

[bucksfan]

I got the 30 GB iPod for Christmas along with the Griffin car radio adapter. I'm in love. Mind you, I'll be deaf in 25 years, but right now it's all love.

Thanks M2, that brings up another question for me - the car radio adapter. I assume that most if not all of these gadgets can be adapted to play in the car with a kit, I think I recall via an unoccupied FM frequency. How do those work and are there any things to avoid in this area?

The ability to have so many tunes easily available in our vehicles is one of the driving factors push us both to the digital world.

[captainmorgan07]

i have the sandisk 2 gb and i like it works well uses windows media player so there's no software needed to work it

[Boss-Hog]

Thanks M2, that brings up another question for me - the car radio adapter. I assume that most if not all of these gadgets can be adapted to play in the car with a kit, I think I recall via an unoccupied FM frequency. How do those work and are there any things to avoid in this area?

The ability to have so many tunes easily available in our vehicles is one of the driving factors push us both to the digital world.

From personal experience, I wouldn't recommend an FM transmitter (i.e. the Griffin iTrip) for your iPod. I had one and found the quality to be pretty poor (this is in Cincinnati, mind you, where there are plenty FM gaps). I ended up buying an Audiovox FM modulator at Circuit City (~$50) and had them install it (~$40). It hardwires into your car and connects to the 3.5 mm input on your iPod. The sound quality is much, much better than the iTrip, at least for me.

I did a lot of research prior to buying the FM modulator and from what I read, the modulator route is second only to having a car head unit that has an auxillary input. If your CD receiver has that, you can connect the iPod directly to your receiver without the need for a modulator or transmitter. In terms of sound quality, the modulator is a close second...I'm very pleased with the results.

[Nugget]

Bucksfan - In respect of your portable music player you will need to make a decision between size and portability. If you want a flash player you really start losing out in the value for money and quality stakes once you go over the 1GB size. Also if your thing about keeping it as a flash card which you can just plug into a computer you will need to think about connectivity. A lot of the smaller devices like the Creative muvo micro require a cable to connect them to the PC. Also many of the cheaper and more convenient flash devices are not rechargeable through your PC.

The larger devices like the iPods, etc. ie with 5GB and more of capacity aren't flash drives but hard disks. A little bigger but not bad considering that ten years ago a 10MB hard drive was 10 times the size. They can usually store more have better accessability and the best thing is that most of them are rechargeable when you plug them into your PC for downloading. The drawbacks are that they are bigger, require a cable to connect to the PC and are more expensive.

FWIW - I found that creative have good flash and hard disk storage. But if you want a large capacity (over 20GB) go for the Toshiba Gigabeat. I have a Creative muvo TX on the flash side which is good as you can unplug and put it straight into your USB port and unlike some other players has good protection for the connections. Also comes with an FM radio. On the hard disk I have a Creative Zen Neeon which looks better than the Micro and is a little lighter. The other good thing about the Creatives is that they will play wma files as well as not requiring any software when downloading from your PC. Just drag and drop. Steer clear of Sony as their software is complicated and you won't be able to download without it.

As for keeping the files - I usally burn them to CD or ZIP drive them rather than converting the format.

[Caveat Emperor]

Somewhat piggybacking off of Doc Scott's question about iPod scratches, I have 2 more general digital audi questions :

What do you recommend for portable "MP3" players? I am open with respect to audio formats, not just .mp3. I don't need video, would like it to be able to be used while working out (so probably flash memory)... The 4MB SanDisks caught my eye intially.

I have rippped about 50 or so of our 600+ CDs to our PC in Windows Media lossless. The sound is fantastic IMO and I am quite happy with it. I'm using Windows Media Player 10 to play everything on our PC. But now my wife and I want to get with the program and mobilize our electronic tunes. And I read that the lossless formats are only compatible for now with some larger and more pricey players, which really is not what we have in mind anyway.

So, a second question : How do you manage your music files if you want to keep a higher quality lossless format but also want to keep a plain old .wma or .mp3 or whatever for syncing and using with your portable device?

If you haven't yet caught on to the joy that is XM, then you might want to wait until this baby comes out in March and take the plunge on this: http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/04/p...io-mp3-player/ It's an XM satellite radio and an MP3 player all in one, supposedly as small as your average iPod.

Looks pretty slick.