Does the iPod have a monopolyon the high gig market?

herbieflowers

Hey, been looking to get a high capacity mp3 player for music solely (not fussed about video tbh). Choices seem to be the Zune 80g (which I'm reluctant about), iPod classic 80g or an Archos...seeing as Creative have discontinued the 60g Vision: M, and seeing as the Archos appears to be geared towards video playback / wifi etc., is the iPod the only reasonable option left?

All my music is in wma or mp3 format, though, and I heard that AAC is a duff format if transcoded...do I have any other options? Is the iPod as terrible as people make out? Should I take the plunge (seems to be the best value for money anyway...)?

Gran Hermano

Why the reluctance about the Zune 80? It's a great player - excellent sound,
podcast support, FM radio and great video playback. At less than €200 it's a bargain.

With regard to the transcoding, you'd be best avoiding transcoding from
one lossy format to another.

herbieflowers

well mainly cos I can't find an 80g on ebay...might just go for on 80g Archos, could get some use out of the video I guess, money is not a huge issue, neither is size...

pleasant Co.

If you want a Zune80 i've a mate over at DAPreview.net in America who usually ships me ove stuff... he's been a good guy so far and seems to be morally sound.

herbieflowers

hmm, I dunno, I heard that a lot of them are faulty

pleasant Co.

Yeah? Don't really know how accurate that is... We don't have many Zune80 owning members at DAPreview but none of them have had any faulty issues so far...

Gran Hermano

Did I mention the Zune's ability to sync with your PC music collection
using your wi-fi network? It's a great feature. You can pop it in the
dock and once it's charging it'll connect to your music collection and
add any new podcats or tracks. No need to connect it directly to
the PC/laptop. I charge mine in the AV dock connected via component
to the LCD and it syncs with the laptop across the room.

pleasant Co.

Gran Hermano wrote: »

Did I mention the Zune's ability to sync with your PC music collection
using your wi-fi network? It's a great feature. You can pop it in the
dock and once it's charging it'll connect to your music collection and
add any new podcats or tracks. No need to connect it directly to
the PC/laptop. I charge mine in the AV dock connected via component
to the LCD and it syncs with the laptop across the room.

I generally hate these auto features! BUT daaaamn!!! I wish it worked with OSX :rolleyes: siúcra to that

youcancallmeal

I'm kind of in the same boat as you mactard but I'd be happy enough with 30 or so GB of storage. I've been thinking about the Creative Zen 32Gb but a lot of people keep telling me to seriously look at the Zune first.

Gran Hermano wrote:

Did I mention the Zune's ability to sync with your PC music collection using your wi-fi network? It's a great feature. You can pop it in the dock and once it's charging it'll connect to your music collection and add any new podcats or tracks. No need to connect it directly to the PC/laptop. I charge mine in the AV dock connected via component to the LCD and it syncs with the laptop across the room.

I thought the wi-fi feature was supposed to be a bit of a gimmick. Does it really sync up without fuss? Also I though there was issues with the Zune and music file compatibility, something along the lines that you can only listen to DRM protected files?

Gran Hermano

The wi-fi feature that is a gimmick is that you can send a track from one
Zune to another Zune for limited file swapping.

The separate wi-fi ability that you allows you to sync wirelessly is great.
I've never bothered using any auto-syncing software in the past for
any of the numerous mp3 players I've played about with but I must say
that it's a great feature. I reckon it's only a matter of time before more
manufacturers include it. I didn't even know the Zune had this when
I bought it and it's easily one of its wow features.

I've about 80 gig of music from various sources and have not encountered
any DRM issues yet. Most of my music is in MP3 (VBR, alt preset extreme)
and sound quality is excellent, I don't miss the graphic equaliser. The
bundled earphones are good quality and well above par for what manufacturers
normally include - even though I use my Shures.

The screen is great quality and the album art display is much better than the Zen.

Good overview of the Zune here

BostonB

Where did you get the Zune from, and how are you covered in terms of warranty?

Gran Hermano

I was in the US on business last month and picked it up whilst there.
The price in most stores is USD 249 reduced from from the launch price of
USD 299.