Which mp3 player?

lemon_sherbert

Hi all, after my trusty iriver has given up the goat after 6 years, I've finally resolved myself to buying a new mp3 player. I'm finding it hard to pick a model with all the information out there.

I just want an audio player really, decent sound quality, I don't watch videos or look at pictures, but I wouldn't say no to an FM radio. Space is important to me, I have about 14GB + of music, so would be looking to buy something with 20 GB capacity or bigger. I would prefer a simple drag and drop music transfer system, rather than messing about with syncing etc. I'm not too concerned with size or design as long as its small enough for a pocket. I would also like the option to sort by album/folders on the player for ease of use.

I'd really appreciate any help with this, I'm suffering from information overload. I prefer to spend under €100, but could go a bit over for a good deal.

sxt

This little thing gets good reviews-Has expandable slot so you can increase the memoryhttp://www.amazon.co.uk/SanDisk-Sansa-Player-Expandable-MicroSD/dp/B002NX0ME6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1271851202&sr=8-1

lemon_sherbert

Thanks, that looks pretty good. Would any MicroSD card be compatible, or would I have to buy one from Sandisk, do you know?

sxt

Any brand Micro card would be compatible.

serendip

sxt wrote: »

This little thing gets good reviews-Has expandable slot so you can increase the memoryhttp://www.amazon.co.uk/SanDisk-Sansa-Player-Expandable-MicroSD/dp/B002NX0ME6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1271851202&sr=8-1

I bought a Sansa a few years ago and the sound quality was shockingly poor. I've basically never used it. Perhaps they've improved, but I'd recommend being wary.

FWIW I like the IRiver T60, but they probably have a better version by now.

lemon_sherbert

Hm, okay that's something to consider. I only seem to be able to find fairly expensive irivers on amazon, or the flash players that are too small for my collection. I don't really want to end up paying a lot extra for video features etc. that I won't use. Are there any sites you would recommend to look on? The official iriver website is such a mess, so many of the pages are broken, it's very annoying.

EDIT: I've been looking at the reviews on amazon, they are pretty good for the sansa, though seem to suggest an earphone upgrade, could that have been the issue with yours, serendip? I have a decent set I can use, so I wouldn't be too put off by that.

sxt

I have never owned a Sansa clip + so I can't comment on it's performance but It seems to get very good reviews online and ditto from the posters that have purchased it on here-

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055796275

serendip

lemon_sherbert wrote: »

EDIT: I've been looking at the reviews on amazon, they are pretty good for the sansa, though seem to suggest an earphone upgrade, could that have been the issue with yours, serendip?

That wasn't the problem in my case. I have several players, all used with the same earphones. I'm no audiophile. But the Sansa wasn't up to it for me. I remember one time trying to listen to some classical music, and it was unlistenable.

All that being said, that was only one model and was a couple of years ago. If you can find positive reviews for newer models then perhaps the audio quality problems have been fixed.

lemon_sherbert

I think that's the case, but thanks for your feedback, it made me investigate further and I do think it's the one for me Looking forward to being able to listen on the go again

pablodunlop

I got the sansa clip plus about two weeks ago off amazon. It's a great little player, you won't believe how small and tidy it is until it's in the palm of your hand! The expandable micro sd card slot is fantastic. The screen is small but very clear, and of course it's drag and drop for transferring music. A simple no nonsense audio player.

I'm no audiophile, I can only reference the vast difference in quality between the clip and the mp3 player on my mobile :pac: But you could always ask on the sandisk forum for better info on the sound quality:

http://forums.sandisk.com/sansa/board?board.id=clipplus

pleasant Co.

serendip wrote: »

I bought a Sansa a few years ago and the sound quality was shockingly poor. I've basically never used it. Perhaps they've improved, but I'd recommend being wary.

FWIW I like the IRiver T60, but they probably have a better version by now.

Was it the Sandisk Sansa E2XX Series? (1st gen)
They had quite poor SQ, sandisk updated the hardware in the second revision of the E2XX which improved it dramatically. Currently the Sansa clip(+) and Sansa Fuze are widely regarded as having the best SQ for a DAP. On the flip side, iriver are now very much a hit and miss company with more on the miss side of late.

@Lemon Sherbert, the one thing I would say that the clip+ needs to improve on is it's battery life, it can be quite poor. Otherwise it's a stellar little device. Gapless playback, replaygain, vorbis support, memory expansion and great SQ, i'm a fan.

lemon_sherbert

Mactard wrote: »

@Lemon Sherbert, the one thing I would say that the clip+ needs to improve on is it's battery life, it can be quite poor. Otherwise it's a stellar little device. Gapless playback, replaygain, vorbis support, memory expansion and great SQ, i'm a fan.

Thanks for that, I actually ordered one last night, I couldn't last music-less any longer. I'll report back if I'm unhappy with it, but I'm sure it'll be fine for me. I'm not too fussed about battery life, as long as it lasts in and out of town on the bus I'll be happy

sxt

I am very tempted to get one of these as well-everything about it screams buy me-You could probably clip it on your ear,it looks that small .

fiestaman

Hi can you transfer your music from itunes onto this player? if not where can i buy songs for it and if i want to put music from a cd onto it how do i do that. sorry ive only ever used an ipod and there program does everything for you.

lemon_sherbert

Just to update, it arrived today, I'm really pleased with it - the sound quality is excellent, better than my old iriver, particularly the bass.

fiestaman wrote: »

Hi can you transfer your music from itunes onto this player? if not where can i buy songs for it and if i want to put music from a cd onto it how do i do that. sorry ive only ever used an ipod and there program does everything for you.

You just copy and paste the files onto the device like using a USB stick or portable hard drive - so you just rip the CD onto your computer and copy the files, likewise, copy the files from the ITunes folder onto the device.