10 replies to this topic

[Kristopher]

I have the Creative Zen Xtra 40 gig player. Froogle says you can get one for $180-$220. It's very basic - it doesn't have radio and it can't record using any internal or external micorphones like some players do. It's basically a meat and potatoes mp3 player and does a pretty good job at it. I have 6000+ songs on it and it's about 3/4 full. If I had to get another player today, I'd get one with am/fm and the ability to record, but that's just me.

From what I've read and seen, IPOD is way overpriced and there are many brands that cost less and do the same job. Some players also have the ability to show pictures/album art and even video files.

[Shervz0r]

I've been using Archos brand MP3 players for almost 5 years now...they were the first to introduce hard-drive based players to the market and they have a history of making VERY VERY shoddy devices. Solder joints would break, the plastic case would wear out, and so on. I still use their products because of two reasons:

1) Upgradeable laptop-size hard drive. iPods and other smaller devices use an even small hard drive size which until recent weren't on the consumer market. I took out the 6 gig that came in my first archos and plopped in a 40 gig drive. This also has an added benefit in that you can find many "dead" archos devices on ebay but all they need is a new hard drive, and you can get n 80 gig HD for around 110 or something like that.

2) Http://www.rockbox.org This is a completely free and opensource firmware upgrade for various Archos and iRiver devices. There are a lot of great features and enhancements and it is a necessity to replace the shit firmware from Archos with this.

[ironyengine]

Like Sherv, I have been using the Archos for many years. Unfortunately all of mine are now busted and until I trek up to Sherv's place to have him teach me how to fix them properly, I cannot use them anymores. So this Christmas my girlfriend is buying me one of these instead.

When I can fix the Archii, I will probably switch back and forth depending on my intended use. But the Cowon iAudio seems to satisfy all ofmy requirements, which are very specific. Perhaps if you could give us your requirements, we could recommend one? Or perhaps you should just search around on DAPreview and see what you like.

Oh, and the iPod is by NO means the "best one." Reading that website for a while should sufficiently demonstrate why. Good luck!

[raubhimself]

I have heard the iAudio X5 is amazing.

I have a Creative Zen Xtra 30GB player, and I agree with everything Kristopher said. It's a great player, but it's not flashy. I just use it in my car basically, so it's size is no problem, but if you're gonna be carrying it in your pockets I'd go with something smaller.

[Shervz0r]

Wow, that iAudio X5 has a killer screen. Irony man, do you mind reiterating what you look for in an mp3 player?

[Shervz0r]

The archos devices typically appear as an external hard drive so you can set up the directory structure as you wish and easily copy multiple files. There's no dealing with DRM or other copy protection, if it's an MP3 (or appropriate) it'll play. As for how long it takes...it's like copying however many gigs of data from your computer to an external drive.

[Kristopher]

Mine has eq and playlist capability.

And as long as it's an mp3, there's no copy protection issues. There are other file types that include copy protection.

Try this discussion for some info:
http://www.talkbass....ight=mp3 player

[ironyengine]

Wow, that iAudio X5 has a killer screen. Irony man, do you mind reiterating what you look for in an mp3 player?

Here are my criteria for an mp3 device:

- It must be able to play mp3s solidly. Other codecs (OGG, FLAC, WAV etc) are appreciated but not necessary.
- It must have reasonably intuitive controls (reports on the X5 say it does, we shall see) and an interface that does not suck too much.
- It must be Windows-compatible, preferably mass storage compliant (i.e. shows up as an external drive) * this criteria gets lower and lower on my list as the number of devices that are MSC dwindle.
- It must be able to record to at least one good (enough)-quality format, usually mp3, with minimal accessory-use. Here is where the iPod fails miserably. The X5 requires the use of a minidock for this, but the minidock is unobtrusive enough to be acceptable. The last player I saw had a line in port built in like the Archos, but it was a 1/16" jack. What the fuck is that.
- Disk and battery must be upgradeable/replaceable, preferably without the use of soldering irons. (Damn you Archos!)

- there may be more but I'm too sick to think of them all now.

I am pretty picky.

[mashed tates]

i have an ipod myself, and for the most part, i love it. one thing i've come to realize, however, is that it doesn't sound very good. this may seem to be negligable to other users, but compared to archos and/or iriver, my ipod has noticably inferior sound quality. BUT, the itunes/ipod compatablity along with podcasts (video now too!) is absolutely kickass. my girlfriend gets those on her PC so i'm sure that it is just as easy as it is on my mac. anyways, i chose the ipod for the interface because i kind of hate technology and i already had all my shit in itunes.