I'm in the market for a new Mp3 player and am starting to do some research. I'm in no hurry to get one, thinking I might spring for a new one in about a month. I'm an impulse buyer, so I need to give myself some time. I currently have a 3 year old 10G ipod, and am moderatly satisfied with it. I noticed that it suffered from poor battery life, and only above average sound quality. I use a different pair of headphones, some top of the line Sennheiser's, so I can tell that it's the ipod. I also understand that an mp3 player won't be cd quality. What I'm asking from you is what are some good players? Should I get a newer ipod? I'm looking for the following, in order of importance to me:
1. Sound quality
2. Storage. 10G isn't nearly enough. I like to convert my cds to 192 kpbs, so I'm looking for a least 40G
3. Battery life, idealy replacable battery.
4. Price...willing to spend as long as it's worth it.
5. Style/Ease of use...ect

Help is greatly appreciated. Past experiences are helpful.

Get a newer Ipod is all :D

iRiver. I've had one for two years now and it's awesome. Can't live without it. USB transfer, only takes a couple of minutes to change out all the songs. I have a 256MB version, most are >512MB's now, mine holds about 70 songs @ 128Kbps or around 90~100 at 96Kbps. I rip them at the slightly lower quality because it can carry more music and you can't tell the difference from 96 to 128.

I'm not so sure why everyone's all hyped over the iPods. The couple of people I know who have them (albeit they were older ones) thought they were more trouble than they were worth and they have a proprietary battery, if I'm not mistaken. Mine uses a single AA battery that lasts for about two weeks at a time.

-R

I second the Iriver flash players. :tucool:

Both my wife and I have one - it's never let me down and one AA battery runs it for a couple weeks.

They don't hold 40GB - but you're forcing yourself into a HDD player like Ipod for that kind of space.
(IRiver makes one of those too - but I can't speak for it)

I just got the Sony, 1 gig memory has 2.0 USB interface. It is as small as a match box and takes 1 AAA , good for seventy hours. I like portable music but since I travel with the military my equipment has to be lite and compact. Only 159.00 Ken

get a new ipod

i dunno man, i LOVE my Ipod shuffle, as the popularity grows a lot of the design flaws of the Ipod u bought 3 years ago should be long gone...i mean c'mon this isnt Microsoft here :lol:

i had a 64MB RCA Lyra....and untill i dropped it like a dozen times it worked AWSOME...but i still love my Shuffle.

I looked at iriver's stuff, they have an interesting 40 G model. I've heard good things about them. I'm really not interested in the shuffle or smaller flash players, I'm looking to haul almost my entire cd collection with me. It's hard to judge because I don't have a chance to try out these players, I have to go on gut instinct. I also want to make a good choice. Lets face it, these players are expensive and I don't want to make a bad choice. I feel like my current ipod was a poor choice. I purchased it right as that 'generation' ended, so not only did I pay a lot for something that went out of date almost instantly, but I got a small 10G player that has short, and worst of all unreliable battery life. Guess that I just need shop around. Anyone have experience with iriver's H340?

I have an IRiver, 128 megs. All I need is somethng like this, workouts last about all the songs on it (30-40). I look foward to my workout so I can hear every song :)

I wouldn't get an ipod if you're going to be using it when doing cardio. The hard drive dosn't like being jerked around when changing track.

Anything Hard Drive based isn't going to like being shaken up. I have a Rio Karma 20gig and an iPod Shuffle 1 gig. The Karma I haven't used since I got the Shuffle.

I guess it depends on how you listen to music. I listen to mixes. The Shuffle is good for that kind of listening.

When I got the Karma I thought "hey I can take every album I own with me"... Which is great except I like maybe 1-3 songs on most of those albums.So I am luging around a HD player to store music I don't even like. I guess each player serves it's purpose. I keep the Karma docked to my stereo so I have my whole collection on tap at home.

I like the Shuffle for the gym and riding my bike. It's light and I listen to the same 20-30 tracks. (I could put many more on there, but I haven't.)

-- Jeremy

I wouldn't get an ipod if you're going to be using it when doing cardio. The hard drive dosn't like being jerked around when changing track.


thats why the Ipod Shuffle is a good buy, no HDD to mess with, and you can get either a 512mb or 1G....$99 for 512 $120 for a 1G...and you can get a snug arm band for cardio sessions

thats why the Ipod Shuffle is a good buy, no HDD to mess with, and you can get either a 512mb or 1G....$99 for 512 $120 for a 1G...and you can get a snug arm band for cardio sessions

No kidding, only flash players for me. I've killed an ipod and creative micro with a combination of cardio and small drops. Moving parts are a nuisance.

get a new ipod


sums it up right there..

/thread!

adam

get an iriver, failing that, get a creative zen, they are cheaper, still have awesome battery life, not as good, but probably better value for money, ive used and owned both brands (iriver flash player and 20 gig zen) my iriver was awesome, over 24 hours of a single AA battery, i hate having to recharge things, i always forget, it didnt hold enough so i bought a zen, simply because it was $200 cheaper and i was strapped for cash. if i had had the extra cash i would have got the iriver, whatever you do, dont get an ipod, overrated, mass marketed crap IMO, i dont know what its like in america but over here (im still in school so i see it a lot) "im cool because i own an ipod, whats that, you dont have an ipod, your not cool enough to be my friend" etc, little do people know there are cheaper and better alternatives such as the zen or pay a bit more for an iriver. better battery life, a lot more codecs supported (ogg included) better sound quality, louder, and more features, though some people wouldnt really use them, overkill is good isnt it? :D

oh yea, irivers only have a very small market over here as no one knows about them so i had to wait 2 months for mine, but even so it was worth it :) :tu:

3. Battery life, idealy replacable battery.
The battery is easily replaced in all generation Ipods, a few small screws here and there, pop the casing and replace, doesn't take more than a few mins. Most of the places around here sell first/second gen batteries for about $20, and the Mini's and newer gens for $25, considering battery life usually starts to degrade around the 3 to 4 month mark, that's not that bad of an option in price comparison to having to purchase AA's.

When I said replacable batteries, I meant replacing the lith-ion battery. I hadn't thought about just replacing my ipods. I hadn't thought of creative's players either. Thanks fot the input.

Polaroid Juke Jam is a good one with 40 GB. The only problem is that it is kinda bulky.

I have/had a Rio Karma 20GB. My mom bought it for christmas a couple of years ago when I wanted an MP3 player. I told her that I wanted a Creative Zen, and she got me this. I was never really happy with it as it is kind of bulky, and no known carrying cases to me. It was dropped a couple months ago, and the LCD screen broke, though it still played. I tried to add new music to it the other day, and now I cant get anything. Hell, maybe it isnt even on the play screen, but I dont like it. I just broke down and bought an Ipod min on Ebay for $138. 4GB is plenty for me since it is mostly for workout, and I dont want to put a whole collection on it, since it would be harder to navigate that way. just my $.02

Anyone know any sites that offer good, credible reviews on these things? I noticed that creative has a zen touch 40 G model for 350, which seems to be the cheapest. Or, does anyone know how this zen is?

Seriously, don't even question it. There's a reason every company is trying to duplicate the iPod. It's perfect. Easy navigation, compact size, large storage, firewire connectivity, and iTunes. Apple also just revamped their entire iPod lineup & now all models (with the exception of the minis) sport the color screen.

Personally, I haven't had a problem with vibrations, but my cardio consists of road cycling with the iPod in the back pocket of my jersey -- so it doesn't bounce around much anyway.

I just bought a sandisk mp3 player, it actually runs off of flash sticks. I have about 5 512mb flash sticks sitting around that i load up with different styles of music, i just throw one in and go. Great little gadget for the 50.00 bucks i spent at comp usa for it