MP3 player advice - recommend a player

bretttp1

Hi all,

I'm in the market for an mp3 player (around 20 gig) does anyone have a preference? there are so many on the market and I'm looking for some advice, as long as its not an ipod!! (bloody itunes!!) I'd like it to double up as a storage device too.

Any ideas personal experiences etc ??

Thanks:D

Audioslaven

I know three people and they have bought Cowna IAudio. Better sound and one of the best MP3 players out there. Make sure your get the XL version as the battery lasts a way longer. No need for management bull**** software just plug in and drag and drop your tunes over. I have not heard of any single complaint.

I got (as a present) the Ipod shuffle and if the rest of Apples stuff is the quality of this, well stay well clear.
Reasons:Sometimes it takes it on itself not to recharge, need new ear fones as they are fecked, and the quality of the sound is crap, itunes fookes me off..... and it was got at xmas but i feel people buy Ipod cause they think its the player to have...... MMMMAAAaaaaaaaa

well this is just my opinion!!!

www.mp3-player.de is where they got them.

bretttp1

Audioslaven wrote:

Cowna IAudio. Better sound and one of the best MP3 players out there.

Never heard of that player before, must check it out thanks for the info, what do you think of the creative players (vision m in particular)?

racer25

Hey,

I use my ARCHOS AV500 which also play movies (Divx Xvid) didn't want to be restricted to just music.

projectmayhem

bretttp1 wrote:

Never heard of that player before, must check it out thanks for the info, what do you think of the creative players (vision m in particular)?

i couldn't recommend the vision:m more. it's 30gig, and slightly more expensive then the usual 20gig players on the market, but it's so worth it!

Audioslaven

Well I did alot of looking at mp3 players before I got one for my brother. I eventually went for the Cowan IAudio(nearly took the IRiver) because of the following:

No management software required
Good Battery life in X5L
Great sound
Play videos (avi)
Acts as an external storage device.
Great reviews on websites.

I can't really comment on any other player but none of the reviews I viewed on other mp3 players were as good as the IAudio one. The ****ty Shuffle not a hard drive based player but it has put me off Ipod. The three people I know that have them are very happy with them and have no problems to date. My bro has it a year or so now.

Check here also for some other peoples opinions on IAudio. http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2054934490

bretttp1

Thanks for all the info guys! Now its just down to making a choice !

DamienH

yah for me it's a toss between the ARCHOS AV500 and the Cowna IAudio

muletide

I know it might be a bit more than you require and a bit pricier but the Zen vision M is excellent. I cant get over the sound and picture quality and the battery life is great

Bard

Small point I know, but its a COWON iAudio, not a Cowna iAudio.

More info on them (and various other players) can be found in the many links under "LIST OF USEFUL WEB SITES" on this page.

4Xcut

bretttp1 wrote:

Never heard of that player before, must check it out thanks for the info, what do you think of the creative players (vision m in particular)?

Can vouch that the iAudio is amazing. A friend of mine has it and its amazing.

EDIT:666th post....spooky...well no not really but you only have one 666th post.

TempestSabre

Audioslaven wrote:

....I got (as a present) the Ipod shuffle and if the rest of Apples stuff is the quality of this, well stay well clear.
Reasons:Sometimes it takes it on itself not to recharge, need new ear fones as they are fecked, and the quality of the sound is crap, itunes fookes me off..... and it was got at xmas but i feel people buy Ipod cause they think its the player to have...... MMMMAAAaaaaaaaa ...

Kinda off topic but what the hey.

The current 5G ipod sounds as good as any other players. But remember that all players Sony, Cowon, Creative, iRiver, Apple have kind of a house sound style that you may or may not like. I suggest trying your friends players with a track you know and like, to see which you like. Of course you only get good sound with good quality source material, properly encoded, and using decent earphones. The standard ear phones with iPod or most players for that matter arerubbish and usually abysmal. Never use the supplied earphones.

The Shuffle, as with other iPods, Sony's etc. can have irritating problems with synching and charging. The Shuffle however has excellent SQ (for what it is) if used properly. Its very popular in Audiophile/HiFi circles for that reason. I loved my own one but its just stopped working. Boo hisss. If you're not getting good SQ either it broken or theres some other problem with what you are doing.

Personally I like filetree as opposed to tags, and dislaike all proprietary software, iTunes, SonicStage, Creative etc. But I really like the idea of having a player I can hook and use with a wireless/IR remote. Only iPods and some Creative Players have this. So you have to make compromises somewhere.

Audioslaven

TempestSabre wrote:

Kinda off topic but what the hey.

The current 5G ipod sounds as good as any other players. But remember that all players Sony, Cowon, Creative, iRiver, Apple have kind of a house sound style that you may or may not like. I suggest trying your friends players with a track you know and like, to see which you like. Of course you only get good sound with good quality source material, properly encoded, and using decent earphones. The standard ear phones with iPod or most players for that matter arerubbish and usually abysmal. Never use the supplied earphones.

The Shuffle, as with other iPods, Sony's etc. can have irritating problems with synching and charging. The Shuffle however has excellent SQ (for what it is) if used properly. Its very popular in Audiophile/HiFi circles for that reason. I loved my own one but its just stopped working. Boo hisss. If you're not getting good SQ either it broken or theres some other problem with what you are doing.

Personally I like filetree as opposed to tags, and dislaike all proprietary software, iTunes, SonicStage, Creative etc. But I really like the idea of having a player I can hook and use with a wireless/IR remote. Only iPods and some Creative Players have this. So you have to make compromises somewhere.

Well the sound is ****e in comparision to the IAudio, used the exact same mp3, so I am using like for like, but maybe the quality of sound is not as good on flash players rather than Hard drive based players.

The ear fone in the Iaudio are not feck like the shuffle ones and they are only a few months old.
Charging problems should not be a problem.
ITunes well WTF is this **** as I have a few computers and like been able to move my music and with ITunes this is a problem.


You see the thing is with this Ipod is that there are lots of problems not just one and this pisses me off.... to no end

I like something to do what it says. But in the end people have different requirements as you say but I like a product that is reliable and not giving ****ty problems.

TempestSabre

If you are using the Shuffle earphones then thats half the problem. AFAIK the iAudio comes with a Sennheiser OEM ear bud, probably a MX300 or something. Which is the bottom of the rung of decent earphones, but at least you're on the ladder. The opther point is that badly encoded MP3's sound ok on players that aren't that accurate. But on players that are accurate and detailed they tend to show every flaw in the Mp3 that you might not have noticed before. Obviously that sounds terrible.

All these players have various problems Creative/Apple/Cowon - iAudio/iRiver etc. none of them are perfect. Support is also an issue. Some of them are are good at fixing them, Creative & Apple if you have a warranty. If you don't, you're often out of luck. I've read lots of people complaining about iRiver/Cowon support in the past. Maybe its improved recently I don't know. If you buy from a website this can be a big problem.

padi89

Totally agreeing with Tempest here.The new ipod does sound very good,i wanted to dislike them but it was just jumping on the bandwagon.They are nowhere near sh1t.I have an iriverh120 myself and its without doubt one, if not the best sounding mp3 player out there.The biggest problem is people ripp and encode their music in poor quality then use the stock earbuds supplied.Spending 300 euro on an mp3 player you should be at least trying to get the best SQ out of it.
I just bought a Nano there for out and about as the iriver was too bulky and ripped music to good quality and use with a Senn PX100 and its the buisness.Doesnt matter if its Sony,Cowan,Apple they ALL come with pissy earphones.

muckwarrior

OP, can you tell us more about what you want from an mp3 player? The iAudio and the Zen Vision:m are probably the two best players on the market at the moment but they both excel in different areas. E.g. the Cowan doesn't need any extra software installed but the Zen has vastly superior video capabilities. Just depends on what you're lookin for really!

TempestSabre

Theres also the question of accessories, theres tons for the Apple, but a lot fewer for the Creative and iAudio.

projectmayhem

TempestSabre wrote:

Theres also the question of accessories, theres tons for the Apple, but a lot fewer for the Creative and iAudio.

actually i think there's a lot for creative... as in, whatever there is for ipod, there's a good chance is there for creative. it's just harder to find (a LOT harder)...

bretttp1

Just to qualify what it is I'm looking for:

Sound quality is of very high importance to me, I have a set of Sennheiser HD550's that will pick out any ropey sound!
Size isn't an issue, this player will be used in car mostly.(not for an exercise programme!!;) )
Use as a storage device would be also a high priority.
The video aspect would be nice, to be able to rip divx movies and play them on a tv would be cool.
Remote control would be good too but not a deal breaker.

I don't ask for much do I ??!!:p

Finally do all the players listed require the proprietary software installed on multiple PC's to enable transfer of music?

Thanks for the help guys

TempestSabre

iRiver and Cowon don't. The SQ of them all is on a par, but they do all sound different, they all colour the sound.

muckwarrior

Well if size isn't an issue and you want full video capabilities then perhaps an Archos is what you need? The Zen Vision:m has excellent video capabilities including playing DivX on your TV, but it does need proprietory software, so as far as i can see an Archos AV400 or AV500 range is the only thing that will meet all of your requirements.

smilydude

bretttp1 wrote:

Hi all,

I'm in the market for an mp3 player (around 20 gig) does anyone have a preference? there are so many on the market and I'm looking for some advice, as long as its not an ipod!! (bloody itunes!!) I'd like it to double up as a storage device too.

Any ideas personal experiences etc ??

Thanks:D

Personally I'd stick with the Ipod, despite the useless battery life its the only one so far I've had any luck with.

I decided to buy a 20gig Sony Walkman and its been the bane of my existence ever since, the thing is so finikey....

Has anyone tried using it outdoors? The display screen is impossible to see. Its really poorly designed.

Plus numerous problems getting the music onto the damned MP3 player, maybe its just me but I spent hours on end trying to get the music into the programme for it not to go on.

I've finally figured it out but I honestly consider it bad bad value for money! Creative Zen are brilliant I hear, but there is nothing wrong with the Ipod!