MP3 Players

[FIDELCASTRO]

what kind of MP3 player do you have? right now, i can't decide on either a 15GB Apple iPod, or a Creative Labs Zen 30GB. Apple has less, but the Zen had an overall worse review? opinions, or other suggestions?

[Nazo]

Fidel, let me tell you a little story.

One day, my sister was at the uber-roxors Apple store. She sees the iPod, and of course goes off to my dad with baby-cute eyes and says "Buy me!" Seeing this, the fool of a father goes off and buys the TWENTY GB one (I know you're talking about 15 GB; just hang on.) So my sister goes home, loads up iTunes and stacks up all the songs from her closet of CDs...

When she's finished, she's got 560 full songs. And what does it add up to? 2.6 GB.

The moral of this classic fairy tale is that you don't need all that space unless you work at the music industry, or you just have a crapload of songs that actually go past 5 GB. Otherwise, I highly recommend the iPod MINI with 4 GB. Its chic, seksi, and makes everyone around u jealous. Plus I heard Apple's coming up with new colors for em, according to rumors and a good few articles from my MacAddict and MacWorld magazines- purple and orange. You might want to wait on that.

Apple did come up with that chic new click wheel for the 4th gen iPod yestarday, but its not that attractive.... I mean, come on- its just a wheel.

[Aredhel]

Umm, perhaps you did not know that most MP3 players can be used as an external hard drive for your computer? Sort of like a huge memory card for the compy http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_smile.gif

I own a 20GB Rio Karma and couldn't be more happy with it- I would reccommend that one over them all http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif

[Firocket1690]

On 2004-07-20 20:53, Nazo wrote:
One day, my sister was at the uber-roxors Apple store. She sees the iPod, and of course goes off to my dad with baby-cute eyes and says "Buy me!"

That still works in modern times ?

I saved up my own fscking lunch money.. -_-;;


When she's finished, she's got 560 full songs. And what does it add up to? 2.6 GB.
... that's approximate if you rip low quality (128 kb/s, default) High quality would be about 256 kb/s
320 kb/s is ridiciulous though.



The moral of this classic fairy tale is that you don't need all that space unless you work at the music industry, or you just have a crapload of songs that actually go past 5 GB.
It is limited space, it will eventually fill up.
You can burn new cd's for CD players, that sorta has unlimited space. The ipod has a limited amount of space, which will eventually fill.

I have a 10gb ipod. Hell, i didnt even know I'd fill that up. After formatting it, it's about 9.6 gb
As of now, my computer has..
3133 songs, spanning 8.6 days, in 17.4 gb worth of space.



Apple did come up with that chic new click wheel for the 4th gen iPod yestarday, but its not that attractive.... I mean, come on- its just a wheel.

That's the thingy the mini has. teh clicky wheel http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif

[Nazo]

On 2004-07-20 21:05, Firocket1690 wrote:

I have a 10gb ipod. Hell, i didnt even know I'd fill that up. After formatting it, it's about 9.6 gb
As of now, my computer has..
3133 songs, spanning 8.6 days, in 17.4 gb worth of space.



...I can say nothing... http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_eek.gif

Well, I suppose if you're a musical person... like Firo --;;.. And have that many songs... I guess.

I work more with sound effects and themes for movies that I work on, so that's not much of a problem. Korean music (except some rap) pretty much sucks, I'm not entirely fond of American pop/rap, with a few exceptions such as Queen or Billy Joel (hey, he's good alright? he's old, but hell to that -_-). Japanese music takes up about 200 songs, and the other 200 are "extra."

http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_confused.gif Well, if you actually do have that many songs, go ahead with the 15 Gigs. And as Aredhel said, you can use it for storage, so that's good too.


Oh and Firo, believe me- my sis puts her all into that acting. Its almost disgusting to watch. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_disapprove.gif

[Link00seven]

I'd personally get an MP3 player with alot of space just because my music collection continues to grow, and i'd want it to last awhile.

[DeathCheese87]

Oh oh ooooooooh, MiniDisc Player.


<3

Eh, might get an iPod for the sheer CLASS of getting one. You know how it goes.

[Firocket1690]

http://www.angelfire.com/psy/xylion8701/itunes.PNG
Not photoshopped, just cropped out of a screenshot. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_razz.gif

Which just reminds me, Sony's new MD (http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start;sid=b_EOyx7jXUEOlF4ekocEwFHujeFSqgerahA=?Pro ductSKU=MZNH1) plays mp3s on the newer MD's, which hold 1 gb per disc. 45 hours on a 2.5 inch disc is pretty damn good. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif

P.S. note the $400 price tag http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Firocket1690 on 2004-07-21 14:08 ]</font>

[Nazo]

MD player ain't worth it unless you're planning to stack up some MDs along with MP3s.

And Firo, I swear- is it just me or do the photos not work? >:o None of em work I tell ya. But then again, it could be just me.

[astuarlen]

Heh, I got a Samsung "Yepp" player three and a half years ago, and it holds about 30 songs depending on size and quality. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/anime2.gif I don't use it very much anymore, but I never thought it held too little. I have ~600 mp3s on my computer, yet I wouldn't want to listen to them all at once. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_eek.gif Seriously, wouldn't it be a pain to have to sort through a list of 600 mp3s on a tiny mp3 player just to find the ones you want to listen to? Meh, maybe it's just me, but I'd go for something cheaper that holds less. I actually do have a silver iPod Mini still in its celophane, which I received for my birthday. I need to get around to selling the little guy on eBay or something... http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif Crazy kids and their electronic gadgets.

[Ness]

I have an Archos 20 GB MP3 player.

[Nazo]

On 2004-07-21 08:29, astuarlen wrote:
Seriously, wouldn't it be a pain to have to sort through a list of 600 mp3s on a tiny mp3 player just to find the ones you want to listen to?

But that's the beauty of it my friend- going through songs and songs and songs... until you find the right one! http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif

Oh but you're missing out on one thing astuarlen; that crazy technology that you mention also fixes that. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_eek.gif Apple's iTunes allows you to make playlists that get downloaded onto your iPod.. (keep the silver iPod man, its GOLD. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif get it?... no? good.) That way, you don't have to sort through the whole archive (though you can, if you want to.) I have my own few playlists on my iTunes that look like this:

http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v350/NazoKun/playlist.jpg

[Myopathy]

I just don't see the point of having gigs of songs on an MP3 player. First of all, it's ungodly expensive. Secondly, sure I have the # of songs to fill up that memory. But why in the world would I want to carry 5000 MP3's around with me? o_O

I mean I won't listen to them all, so why are they there. There are MP3s on my computer that I haven't even touched for years.

I just don't think, for the money, it's necessary. I think having a smaller one is better because you can just have the songs that you listen to currently on it, and you're saving hundreds of dollars doing that. Shit, go buy a PS2 or a portable DVD player, or another video game or something with that extra cash.

[astuarlen]

Hey, if you have lots of $$$ to blow, I guess you can justify any purchase. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif

I think having a smaller one is better because you can just have the songs that you listen to currently on it, and you're saving hundreds of dollars doing that.
Exactly! Like you, I have plenty of mp3s I don't listen to at the present. I figure you may as well take an extra minute or two to load those songs you're ready to listen to without any further interference, rather than fiddling around with playlists. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_confused.gif
But, Nazo, if you really like iPods, I'll sell you mine. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_razz.gif Heaven knows I don't need it, since I'm glued to my PC all day, anyway. And I really don't need extra storage space; I have a 111 GB external HD. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: astuarlen on 2004-07-21 10:55 ]</font>

[Nazo]

Right. So Fidel, consider how many songs you have, how many you want to carry around, and how many you actually listen to on a regular basis.

If you're musical like either me or Firo, go with the iPod.

If you're more on the short-ended stick, then buy a smaller one with less memory. But I must add; it sure sucks to have to change it manually whenever I get sick of the 30 songs I'm carrying on the free YEPP I got XP.

[silvermax]

i own a MD player

that thing is soo cool

sonic stage, however SUCKS ASS

[Rich_T]

Heres a few things that you need to know about hard drive based mp3 players such as the creative zen, i pod and so on.

Most of them require you to install drivers before your P.c can recognise them ( i pod and the zen for instance)

they dont like being knocked, inside there is a hard drive, when its spinning, the disks inside are spinning very fast, on these small disks are the read heads, these need to run to less than 1 thousandth of an inch, knock them while the drives spinning and its bye bye drive.
knck them hard when the drives not spinning and you may still cause damage.
basicly the hard dik mp3 players are not suitable for Jogging/cycling ( off road/mountian biking/BMX)/skydiving/abseiling or any other activity that invloves the risk of severe knocks.

Having had a go on both the I pod and the creative Zen for a few hours, this is what i found to be the main differences between them, although theres not much to choose between the two ( i chose the zen in the end)

The I pod costs more, and the Zen offers more GBs for your money, based on capacity and cost per GB the zen was almost half the price of the i pod per GB ( based on the highest capacity models - 60gb zen Vs 40Gb i pod)

on the looks department, hold a Zen in your hand and its small, and looks good, hold an i pod and its stunning, the i pod outdoes the zen and any other player in the design catergory.
As for the touch pad wheel thing on the i pod, it works well, and tis easier to pick up than the Zens Scroll wheel, the zens wheel functions a bit like the scroll wheel on a mouse, except it doesnt rotate all the way round, hold it up to scroll up, down to scroll down and click it in to select.
the i pd you rub your finger over it in a clockwise or anit clockwise ( counter closckwise) and touch the centre to select.

As for sound quality, theres hardly anything in it, the zen just beats the i pod, but you can hardly tell the difference between them ( using the same earphones on each player)
the earphones bundled with the zen are crap, and you should buy some better ones as soon as possible.

Battery life:
heres where the Zen wins hands down, creative claim 14 hours, although i usualy get around 11to 13 hours out of my zen, the Apple claim 8 hours for the i pod, my mate gets around 6 or 7 out of his.
As for the battery itself, the Zen has a user replaceable battery, you jsuut push the open button and the battery is exposed for you to remove, its a bit like a mobile ( cell phone) battery as used by nokia etc, when the zens batteyr dies you just buy another and pop it in.
The i pods battery is sealed in the unit, when it dies you have to send your i pod back to apple.
the average life for a litium-ion battery ( used in the zen and i pod) is around 12 - 14 months, when the battery dies it will start running out quicker.

Warranties and Guarentees
in the UK, im protected by law uner the sale of goods act, the sale and suply of goods act, and the consumer credit act, which basicly means that by law i get at least 12 months cover, usualy more ( up to 6 years if i want to take it through the small claims court ) if it goes wrong, i just return it to the retialer and they have to give me a refund/replacement or repair it free of charge.
because of this Creative and Apple have to issue 12 month full warrantys on the UK.
in the US its different, no such protection exists, and because of this you only get a 90 day warranty with creative, as for apple im not sure, but you should check up on this beofre you buy, as hard disk mp3 players are complex electronic products with moving parts and sometimes they can go wrong.
it might be worth getting an extended gaurentee/warantee if your in the US.

I chose the Zen over the i pod because

You can easily replace the battery in the zen
the battery lasts longer
the zen was much cheaper than the i pod ( better value)
the zen sounded a little bit better ( although not much)

also there is no possibility for a remote control on the zenb as it doesnt have a conection for one.

Useful resources
Creative nomad website ( covering the Zen )
http://www.nomadness.net
Apple i pod site
www.ipod lounge.com

official i pod site
http://www.apple.com/ipod

offical Nomad Zen site
http://www.nomadworld.com

i compared the Creative jukebox Zen xtra, 30Gb version against the Apple ipod (3rd generation) 20GB model

note, there are new versions of both the Zen and the i pod due out soon, the Zen touch, and the i pod ver4.
the Zen Xtra will remain in production, the 4th gen i pod will take over form the current 3rd gen.
the new i pod offers better battery life, slightly different button layout, and a slightly lower price point.
the Zen touch features a touch pad slider, 24 hour battery life, and a smaller size, as well as a smaller size Hard disk.

[Link00seven]

Me, I never know exactly what song I may want to listen to at the moment, so I'd want to be able to carry everything with me at once http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_smile.gif

[KaFKa]

On 2004-07-20 21:05, Firocket1690 wrote:
As of now, my computer has..
3133 songs, spanning 8.6 days, in 17.4 gb worth of space.

HOLY SHIT!

and here i thought i was the only person with over 3k songs...

3412 songs, spanning about a week and a half, and about 30gb here.

but i agree, the mini ipod is more than enough for most people

[Firocket1690]

On 2004-07-21 12:21, Rich_T wrote:
basicly the hard dik mp3 players are not suitable for Jogging/cycling
http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_disapprove.gif x 10000

[rbf2000]

I would definately recommend the zen over the ipod. The only thing the ipod has going for it is sex appeal. The sound quality is much better on the zen, plus it is able to get a lot louder than the ipod. And as mentioned before, the zen has a much better battery life.

To tell you the truth though, you won't be disappointed with an ipod, they are really cool, my little sister has one, but I would choose my rio karma over it again in a heart beat. Personally, the ipod was at the bottom of my HDD player list when I was choosing mine.

4532 songs (http://mason.gmu.edu/~jfabian/winamp.htm)

[anwserman]

I like my MP3 CD player.
Holds 700 MB of songs, so when I get sick of one CD... I can switch in another. The media is cheaper then flash.

And since I walk, I don't worry about skipping, etc. That good stuff. And batteries are good 'ol AA. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif

[Firocket1690]

On 2004-07-21 19:01, anwserman wrote:
I like my MP3 CD player.
Holds 700 MB of songs, so when I get sick of one CD... I can switch in another. The media is cheaper then flash.

CD's hold 800 mb ...

er.. cheap ones hold 700 http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif

[Solstis]

On 2004-07-21 19:01, anwserman wrote:
I like my MP3 CD player.
Holds 700 MB of songs, so when I get sick of one CD... I can switch in another. The media is cheaper then flash.

And since I walk, I don't worry about skipping, etc. That good stuff. And batteries are good 'ol AA. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif



Ah yes, CDs. The beacon of humanity!

Although I haven't downloaded/burned anything in a long time, I tended to use the spiffy compact disk media.

And I could probably kick my CD player (though not very hard) without it skipping.

[FIDELCASTRO]

well, i ended up getting a 15GB iPod. i'd like to say, after the warranty and a jacket, i have wasted $283.84 the damned thing will not play ripped songs, or protected WMA files. i have to burn all my old songs to CD's to transfer computers. i can hold less than 1/3 of my music. i'm trading it in for either a Philips or a NOMAD Zen. my bro say iRiver Jukebox, but those are mad expensive.

[Rich_T]

the I pod will play MP3s apple lossles (if you own a mac you might know) and apples own AAC format

Most other players will play at least MP3s, WAVs ( uncompressed) and WMA files, both protected (DRM) and un protected.

[FIDELCASTRO]

does anybody know when the new Touch Nomad Zen comes out?

[Aunt_Betty]

I don't have an MP3 player but I would liek to get an iPod mini. Not much space on it. Like what 4GB? I only have I think somewhere in the MBs.
http://img36.photobucket.com/albums/v108/misoyum/ikikiki.jpg

[Getintothegame]

I might be getting an iPod soon. 20g sounds great, I'll never have to buy anything extra for more space.

[rbf2000]

On 2004-07-22 15:39, Rich_T wrote:
the I pod will play MP3s apple lossles (if you own a mac you might know) and apples own AAC format

Most other players will play at least MP3s, WAVs ( uncompressed) and WMA files, both protected (DRM) and un protected.


AAC is not apple's own format, it's just an mp4. It just so happens that apple uses it almost exclusively. ipod is the only player that can play AAC files because itunes is really the only place you get the files, and since it is not free to include a codec (unless it's ogg or flac) in a player, they exclude it.




On 2004-07-22 18:44, FIDELCASTRO wrote:
does anybody know when the new Touch Nomad Zen comes out?


That's a pretty good choice. 24 hour battery life! Looks like it's available at creative.com (http://us.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=3&subcategory=21&product=10274)




On 2004-07-23 00:13, Getintothegame wrote:
I might be getting an iPod soon. 20g sounds great, I'll never have to buy anything extra for more space.


You can get some great deals on 3g (generation, not gig) ipods now, check out amazon.com, I think tweeters.com also had some really good prices.

But I still think money is better spent on a rio karma or the creative zen touch, for instance.

[_knot_]

On 2004-07-20 21:00, Aredhel wrote:
Umm, perhaps you did not know that most MP3 players can be used as an external hard drive for your computer? Sort of like a huge memory card for the compy http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_smile.gif

I own a 20GB Rio Karma and couldn't be more happy with it- I would reccommend that one over them all http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif



I also reccomend the RIO KARMA, more than double the battery life of an iPod, OGG VORBIS support, and you get a 20GB one for the price of a 15GB iPod.

I use 96kb/s in OGG VORBIS codec. Sound is CD quality at the space of HALF and mp3 file. THAT IS DEFINATELY WORTH CONSIDERATION!

http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_chicken.gif