I'm thinking about getting an Ipod...

Backtoblack

I've a lot of cds.. maybe 300 approx.. and I've noticed a few of them getting scratched from being in the car etc so I thought an ipod would be a good way to preserve them.. I looked quickly online & theres an nice black one with 8gb memory.. Are there ones with more memory? I saw the new 5th generation ones with video but I don't think I'd use it except for my music.. Any advice? Are Ipods the best Mp3? Is Itunes worth it? or Are we allowed to say any of this on the board..

Thank you.

Bummer

i prefare creative mp3 players.....I think the are far handier to use than ipods....The new creative with color screen is nice.....zen vision or something i think.........

muckwarrior

Are there ones with more memory?

Yes. If you have a few hundred cd's then 8gig is a bit small, you'd be better off going for a 30gig version.

Are Ipods the best Mp3?

No. But they're not bad in fairness. They are amongst the easiest to use, although like the poster above I prefer creative, which are also quite intuitive.

The Creative is also slightly cheaper and has more features. It's main strength is it's video capabilities, although I know that's not an issue for you IMO it's still a better all round mp3 player than the ipod.

Cowan iAudio also make some really good players, although IMO they're a little over priced.

estariol

Ipods are mediocrity personified a fashion trend, one of the poorest sound and video quality/options.....creative are pretty good, my personal favorite brand is archos .

Idleater

estariol wrote:

Ipods are mediocrity personified a fashion trend, one of the poorest sound and video quality/options.....creative are pretty good, my personal favorite brand is archos .

Such ignorance.

As regards quality, the Shuffle is highly regarded as one of the best audiophile mp3 players on the market.

Search.

review wrote:

The iPod shuffle's near-perfect rendering of the square wave means that it uses push-pull output instead of the single-ended, capacitor-coupled output found in just about every other player. You just can't get this kind of audio performance from a single-ended circuit. I find Apple's audiophile approach exciting on several different levels. You can hear the improvement.

What use are a gazillion features that you will never use?

L.

Creamy Goodness

nereid wrote:

What use are a gazillion features that you will never use?

ohh the irony.

Bard

nereid wrote:

What use are a gazillion features that you will never use?

I used pretty much every extra feature of my Cowon A2 before I ... er... broke it.

Backtoblack

muckwarrior wrote:

Yes. If you have a few hundred cd's then 8gig is a bit small, you'd be better off going for a 30gig version.

No. But they're not bad in fairness. They are amongst the easiest to use, although like the poster above I prefer creative, which are also quite intuitive.

The Creative is also slightly cheaper and has more features. It's main strength is it's video capabilities, although I know that's not an issue for you IMO it's still a better all round mp3 player than the ipod.

Cowan iAudio also make some really good players, although IMO they're a little over priced.

Yeah a 30gb is a better option after researching a bit more. Thank you.

I will have a look at the creatives tomorrow night, too tired at the moment. but its sounds good!

Thanks for the replies!

estariol

nereid wrote:

Such ignorance.

As regards quality, the Shuffle is highly regarded as one of the best audiophile mp3 players on the market.

Search.



What use are a gazillion features that you will never use?

L.

emmm no of the 12 hdd and 10+ flash based mp3 players that I have way down the list comes the Ipod....poor sound quality, restrictive and mediocre video, ridiculous software, pointless features.....what more need I say, the best thing I can say about the ipod is it becomes passable if you install rockbox firmware!

Idleater

cremo wrote:

ohh the irony

Backtoblack wrote:

and I've noticed a few of them getting scratched from being in the car etc so I thought an ipod would be a good way to preserve them.. .....
I saw the new 5th generation ones with video but I don't think I'd use it except for my music.. Any advice?...

nereid wrote:

What use are a gazillion features that you will never use?

And I stand by my statement that the shuffle is better audiophile quality than other mp3 players.

L.

zod

if its features you want go for one of these :

http://search.ebay.ie/search/search.dll?cgiurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.ie%2Fws%2F&fkr=1&from=R8&satitle=gmini+402&category0=

Idleater

zod wrote:

if its features you want go for one of these :

http://search.ebay.ie/search/search.dll?cgiurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.ie%2Fws%2F&fkr=1&from=R8&satitle=gmini+402&category0=

It's features he doesn't want.

L.

Backtoblack

nereid wrote:

It's features he doesn't want.

L.

LOL Yeah, I just want to play my music really. I have dvd players and all that. Can't watch dvds & video when you're driving like!
(I'm female actually)
I'm going to have a look at the creatives now.

Another question - Where's the best place to buy an Mp3 Player?
Online cheaper? or not much of a difference? Anyone recommend any sites?
thanks a mill!

Bummer

my local xtravision sells them(creative) so try in there but try around and u may get a good offer in different shops..........happy listening......

colmranger

Here is the xtravision current online offer

http://www.xtravision.ie/xvElectrical.asp?id=377

What is the Creative like for battery life and can it be re-charched?

padi89

estariol wrote:

Ipods are , one of the poorest sound a quality

Thats a crock of ****e.So much has to do with the quality of your rips and what earphones/headphones your using.I had a 2g nano for a while aswell as an iriver h120 rockboxed and there is noway the nano had poor sound quality.
If your using the ****ty earphones included or a not much better pair of sonys,ripping to 128 then poor sound quality is expected.

art

nereid wrote:

And I stand by my statement that the shuffle is better audiophile quality than other mp3 players.

L.

I have a few different mp3 players and totally agree with that, the shuffle is one of the best out there: so simple, robust, and really genuinely excellent sound.

(Always has been a real difficult thing for me to intellectually ingest, by the way, why some people, like the earlier poster, are apparently so jealous of the success Apple has had with iPods that they have to give false information about audio quality etc etc on forums like this. )

padi89

art wrote:

I have a few different mp3 players and totally agree with that, the shuffle is one of the best out there: so simple, robust, and really genuinely excellent sound.QUOTE]

Unfortunatly aplle have made a cock up of the new shuffle,SQ wise its not on par with the old one.So if your gonna pick one up your better off getting the 1st gen one.

bennyx_o

In relation to all this iPods sound rubbish, I have both an iPod and an iRiver H140, and I honestly can't notice the difference between the two of them. Ok, so I'm not the biggest audiophile out there, but I doubt the difference is huge.

Ghost Train

my experience with the ipod mini, the sound quality was not good, any attempt to add a bit of bass or use equaliser settings resulted in distortion, only thing i could do to make the sound bearable was turn the treble down, this is with good headphones and i don't even like bassy music, just ipod sound was too tinny. Itunes is a pain, it seems to lock the ipod to one pc, this can lead to all sort of problems if youre using the ipod with more than one pc, plus the apple software embeds itself too much into windows for me, changes file associations even if you tell it not to. Wheel on the ipod failed twice, i had given it to my sister by this stage. I've been much happier with creatives and irivers products, never failed and sound great. Better features and they don't try to lock you into software like itunes

maxitwist

art wrote:

I have a few different mp3 players and totally agree with that, the shuffle is one of the best out there: so simple, robust, and really genuinely excellent sound.

(Always has been a real difficult thing for me to intellectually ingest, by the way, why some people, like the earlier poster, are apparently so jealous of the success Apple has had with iPods that they have to give false information about audio quality etc etc on forums like this. )

Well even if the ipod shuffle has "amazing sound quality", can we please stop talking about them?
backtoblack obiviously dosent want one as they max out at 2gb or possibly 4, i dont tend to take notice of ipods.

padi89 wrote:

Thats a crock of ****e.So much has to do with the quality of your rips and what earphones/headphones your using.I had a 2g nano for a while aswell as an iriver h120 rockboxed and there is noway the nano had poor sound quality.
If your using the ****ty earphones included or a not much better pair of sonys,ripping to 128 then poor sound quality is expected.

I agree that headphones make a big difference, but for me knot bitrate. anything 128+ sounds the same to me

art

maxitwist wrote:

Well even if the ipod shuffle has "amazing sound quality", can we please stop talking about them?
backtoblack obiviously dosent want one as they max out at 2gb or possibly 4, i dont tend to take notice of ipods.

It's an example of the nonsense spoken about iPods and that's why it's relevant. Also it marked the time when accusations on sound quality and iPods became largely redundant (though some of the "minis" of the same time were apparently poor alright).

I've had a Creative players, a Shuffle, a 3G iPod, a Nano and a Video iPod (have a very bad habit of losing things) - there was a big step up from the 3G (3rd generation) iPod's sound to the Shuffle. Since then (we're on 5th Generation iPods now), the nano also had excellent sound and the Video iPod I have now also seems to do the business expertly. Both the latter have more than 4GB of storage, depending on the model you pick, with a video iPod offering up to 80GB.

Why you don't tend to take notice of all this is your own business, but to dismiss iPods on the basis of misinformation, or information years out of date, is obviously not going to be very rewarding.

estariol

ok screw the detratctors, I know more about digital musice players then any of you idiots, concieted ipod owners piss off this is about the best mp3 player for someone wishing to put their 300+ cd collection on.
Well yourbest bet is going to be imho a creative/archos/sony (i include sony because sonically its the best.... i absolutely hate my 80gb ipod video...!!!!).
Pixmania frequently do a good deal on 20gb mp3 players.

And as I said before the fashion crowd can get their knickers in a twist lets stick to the brief! a cheap and functional player for 300 cds....itunes drm riddles shi*te.

estariol mp3 player god.

phantom_lord

why does everyone hate ipods?

I was looking at my brothers creative zen, and used to have a 30gb walkman and prefer the ipod I have now over both, smaller and lighter, and the menu/wheel for going through the library is better imo.

milltown

Why all the talk of audiophile sound quality?

If you re-read the original post it seems to suggest that she wants to save her CDs getting scratched in the car.

Now unless she's going to be wearing full closed headphones or have it turned up too loud, she'd be a danger on the road. I actually have a Creative player myself but it's hard to argue against the raft of quality aftermarket accessories for the iPod, from Bose docking stations to Dension ice-links for the car.

And Argos have the 30Gb iPod video for (I think) €260 at the moment. That's where I'd be headed if I was Backtoblack.

I've had a Creative players, a Shuffle, a 3G iPod, a Nano and a Video iPod (have a very bad habit of losing things)

Mind if I start following you around?

muckwarrior

phantom_lord wrote:

why does everyone hate ipods?

I think tech heads resent the fact that ipod became by far the most popular player on the market despite never being the best player on the market. The brands credibility has also been tarnished by the hoards of eejits who buy one just as a fashion accessory.

art

muckwarrior wrote:

I think tech heads resent the fact that ipod became by far the most popular player on the market despite never being the best player on the market.

That's simplistic in the extreme - how do you rate "the best player"? There's tons of mis-information and down right lies out there on the iPod, from stuff about battery life, to DRM, to iTunes. But the best player in what regard? The iPod became popular because it was easy to use, well constructed, and very good at organising and playing music. The iPod was also advertised very well and drew people to the market that would not have considered getting a mp3 player (which you've choosen for some reason to call eejits???). Creative products, at the time were flimsy, unsubstantial and prone to breaking at the sound jack. Archos couldn't play DRM stuff. Sony was just rubbish, still playing catch up after numerous attempts to get people to use mini-disks etc. iPod stormed the market because it was the best all round product out there at the time, from advertising up to build quality.

"tech heads" would never resent a well designed product like the iPod, opening up a market and doing the job it's built for well - small minded people, however, might.

art

milltown wrote:

Mind if I start following you around?

I think that might have been where the nano went... someone following me around... :mad:

Ghost Train

muckwarrior wrote:

I think tech heads resent the fact that ipod became by far the most popular player on the market despite never being the best player on the market. The brands credibility has also been tarnished by the hoards of eejits who buy one just as a fashion accessory.

I think most of what you're saying is right, any manufacturer that dominates the market will have people who hate them, or their users. Nothing wrong with the ipod but might not be for everyone

on a more political note there was the whole ipod fooxconn story last year

http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=1815

The Bollox

what I prefer about the Zen over the iPod is that you don't need to convert your songs for the Zen, however I much prefer the scroll wheel on the iPod, the one on the Zen can be a pain

art

eolhc wrote:

on a more political note there was the whole ipod fooxconn story last year
http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=1815

Not sure why you posted that here, it's a problem effecting a lot manufacturers given so many electrical components are now sourced in China - only 15% or so of their production there was for Apple afterall. Nevertheless the claims were well handled by Apple and followed up over the summer.

art

Marts wrote:

what I prefer about the Zen over the iPod is that you don't need to convert your songs for the Zen, however I much prefer the scroll wheel on the iPod, the one on the Zen can be a pain

You don't need to convert your songs for the iPod either

Ghost Train

art wrote:

Not sure why you posted that here, it's a problem effecting a lot manufacturers given so many electrical components are now sourced in China - only 15% or so of their production there was for Apple afterall. Nevertheless the claims were well handled by Apple and followed up over the summer.

If a company working for apple making ipods exploits its workers, it reflects badly on apples business policies, might be a factor for some people thinking of buying an ipod

melekalikimaka

i used to hate ipods, gotone of the new shuffles for xmas as a gift, the old creative hasnt been touched since, i have 100gig + so nothing can hold it all, ith ipd shuffle is easily the best looking small player to play your music on on the market, so small and easy to use, i use xply through wmp as itunes is too bloated now for my liking

art

eolhc wrote:

If a company working for apple making ipods exploits its workers, it reflects badly on apples business policies, might be a factor for some people thinking of buying an ipod

Except, as I said, it doesn't reflect too badly on Apple at all given the way Apple handled the matter and immediately did something about it. Also, it's a claim that's been levelled at other firms like IBM, HP, Dell etc but, of course, iPods make best news afterall ...

Scubadevils

I think the whole Apple vs all others arguement is quite simple really...

If you want a good looking, easy to use player without too many features to get lost in, go for an iPod.

If you want lots of features (direct encoding, FM tuner/recorder, voice recorder, USB OTG etc) but will lose out in terms of ease of use etc, go for something else...such as Cowon, iRiver etc.

I have had several players over the years and for sound quality the X5 has been the best. My wife has a 30GB iPod and I have compared both with the same track + same headphones...the X5 was certainly better and produced a far richer sound than the iPod. My favourite for navigation/control and general use was the Rio Karma...that was a fantastic player, pity Rio are gone now...RIP