Best MP3 Players.... Vote Here!

[Master-Q]

Please place your vote for the best MP3 Players here. And if I did not list one of your favorite players, just choice "Other" and name your favorite mp3 players in a reply post.

If possible give the Pro and Con about the MP3 player if you own one or have a link to a review out in the web.

I am thinking about buying an mp3 player for my fitness/running workout daily. I need something that is light weight for running and fitness workout that will not fall out with lots of fast movement like the Ipod mini with 4gigs hard drive that have an optional armband.

The Ipod mini is the one I am looking at to get now, but it’s kind of expansive for a 4gigs hard drive…

Thanks!

Master-Q

[kimchicowboy]

iRiver iHP-140

* Up to 16 hours of battery life
* Integrated FM tuner
* Backlit remote control with 4-line display
* Built-in voice recorder
* Real-time MP3 encoding (no PC required)
* Optical input and output
* Upgradeable to future formats and features
* since it's kinda ugly, don't care too much if it gets scratched (from what i hear, the ipod gets scratched easily)

:)

[Master-Q]

kimchicowboy,

Thanks for your vote. So how much you pay for the iRiver iHP-140? I was going to add more mp3 player in the poll but it only limit 10.

Here the link: http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php?masterid=2015075&ut=447c098c3ba8c408&found=2&search=iRiver%20iHP-140

Reviews & maker's site:
http://www.iriveramerica.com/products/iHP-140.asp
http://reviews.cnet.com/iRiver_iHP_120/4505-6490_7-30571493.html?tag=pdt



for those who like this model : ). Boy, kind of expansive.

Master-Q

[Devhux]

I own the Nomad Zen Xtra 40GB, and here's my list of Pros / Cons:

Pros:

- Inexpensive (compared to the others)
- Excellent sound quality
- Large, easy to read display
- Easily-removeable battery
- Decent battery life (up to 14 hours, I tend to get around 8-9 hours with EAX turned on)

Cons:

- Requires driver to use (can't use it easily as a removable hard drive)
- A few minor design issues (clip that holds front cover tends to pop open easily)
- Not as intuitive as the iPod
- Not as cool-looking as the iPod
- Can't charge up through the data cable
- No added features (radio, etc.)

So overall, I'd say if you can afford the more expensive players, go for it -- the Nomad is a great player, but the lower price of the unit means there are some compromises. I'm still happy with my player, but I'm also wishing I spent more on one of the better ones.

[ribitch]

iPod all the way

why invest into an iPod ripoff when you can get the real deal

[Cantacuzene]

As a Muvo2 Nomad owner I feel obligated to voe for it.

In all seriousness its a great player. 10 hour battery life and best of all it recognizes windows file system and you just drag n drop files and folders to it. That right there, Ribitch, is why I wouldn't want an ipod. I hate music match and I hate Itunes. I don;t need some gay program to make play lists for me, I'm a big boy and I can organzie my own mp3 thanks.

[jase71]

I'll back up everything GuruX said about the Nomad Zen Xtra.

I've got one, and I've been extremely impressed with it. Sound quality is excellent, better than most others. Battery life is great. They advertise 14 hours. I've never run mine to the point of draining it completely, but I've gotten 13 hours before I recharged it. EAX effects will suck a few hours off of that, if you use them.

Best of all, bang for the buck. My 30gig Zen was $219. I can fit my entire mp3 collection on there (27gig). Can't beat that.

It's not the sleekest, sexiest unit. But then, I bought it to listen to, not to look at, or to impress people.

The Zen is just pretty much exactly what I needed.

Although I'd have had to think long and hard about a Rio Karma if they came
in something larger than a 20gig unit. The Karmas are pretty slick.

[LPMiller]

Originally posted by ribitch
iPod all the way

why invest into an iPod ripoff when you can get the real deal

Because you have wma files you paid for?

[Master-Q]

Originally posted by LPMiller


Because you have wma files you paid for?

I guess for this part, one just has to get a MP3 converter from wma to mp3 file software. This can be an easy fix for Ipod fans, but if you got lots of wma files then it can be a boring process : (.

I also forgot to mention I got a RioOne mp3 player that has 32MB internal memory and I add a 128MB smart media memory card. I could fit about 25 some song in it, but the case is very cheap and plastic looking. If I was to hold some pressure to the case or gaps in-between buttons it would crash or shutdown. The good side to it all is that is very light weighted.

So overall, that is why I don’t like it. I got it free when they have the Windows XP OS promo at Best Buy store when Win XP just came out.

Master-Q

[Kevster]

Originally posted by Cantacuzene
As a Muvo2 Nomad owner I feel obligated to voe for it.

In all seriousness its a great player. 10 hour battery life and best of all it recognizes windows file system and you just drag n drop files and folders to it. That right there, Ribitch, is why I wouldn't want an ipod. I hate music match and I hate Itunes. I don;t need some gay program to make play lists for me, I'm a big boy and I can organzie my own mp3 thanks.

:stupid:

I have one of these and I love it. I feel the same way as Canta. I have used a friend's ipod and I didn't see any reason for me to switch. The fact that I also hate Itunes probably factors into that decision as well.

[Devhux]

Originally posted by jase71
It's not the sleekest, sexiest unit. But then, I bought it to listen to, not to look at, or to impress people.

The Zen is just pretty much exactly what I needed.


Indeed -- this is why I went with the Nomad vs. an iPod or similar -- sure, I could have saved up an extra $100-$200 or so, but overall the Nomad does everything I need it to do. An inline remote would have been nice (why I didn't think of that sooner), but usually I'll quickly make up a playlist of several albums before I leave, set it to shuffle, and the most I'd have to do is skip ahead a track if it picks something I don't like (not too much of a hassle, since I use the included case with belt clip).

[eSDee]

I'm a big fan of iTunes for both Mac and PC. Those of you who don't like it, which application do you use?

I think that the ultimate mp3 player for me would be the Nomad Muvo NX (http://www.nomadworld.com/products/muvo_nx/) just because of the size. Once it gets up to a GB then I will probably buy it, because I don't mind changing out my tunes once a week or so, since I will only be using this when I am at the gym. However my secondary choice would be the iPod mini, since it's also small and functional in a gym situation. The only color that I would get is silver, since to me the other colors are a bit feminine.

[speedracer120]

iPod. What can beat 40GB of music? I swear endless hours of nonstop non-repetitive music when you're stuck in LA traffic or on a road trip with a car adaptor. As for iTunes, you can get yourself XPlay which is pretty stinking easy to use, or you can try the new Winamp5 plugin.

[Johnnymac]

I just got the mini and love it so far.

[verve247]

Originally posted by Cantacuzene
As a Muvo2 Nomad owner I feel obligated to voe for it.

In all seriousness its a great player. 10 hour battery life and best of all it recognizes windows file system and you just drag n drop files and folders to it. That right there, Ribitch, is why I wouldn't want an ipod. I hate music match and I hate Itunes. I don;t need some gay program to make play lists for me, I'm a big boy and I can organzie my own mp3 thanks.

I was reading reviews on this player. So if you want to play an album , you have to rename the songs by number so they play in the correct order and if you want a song in multiple playlists you need to put different copies in each playlists, taking up drive space. Yeah those itunes programs are so gay :rolleyes: And Muvo2 doesn't even do on-the-go playlists!

[kimchicowboy]

master-q, i didn't buy it cuz i personally like my MD player/recorder. :) but my friend got the 20gig version and he loves it. if you listen to like foreign music, i think it'll support the text cuz my friend listens to chinese music and it supports chinese text.

[Devhux]

Originally posted by verve247


I was reading reviews on this player. So if you want to play an album , you have to rename the songs by number so they play in the correct order and if you want a song in multiple playlists you need to put different copies in each playlists, taking up drive space. Yeah those itunes programs are so gay :rolleyes: And Muvo2 doesn't even do on-the-go playlists!

On my Zen Xtra, it looks for the Track header in the ID3 tag to determine what order to play the songs in. I'm pretty sure that the Muvo 2 could do the same thing.

[verve247]

Originally posted by GuruX


On my Zen Xtra, it looks for the Track header in the ID3 tag to determine what order to play the songs in. I'm pretty sure that the Muvo 2 could do the same thing.

From the reviews i read it doesn't offer this capability. I was surprised myself. Lacking versatile playlists and on the go playlists is a big loss in my opinion. I own the orginal 5gb ipod and the #1 complaint i get from friends is that they can't create their own lists. Sucks when you are in the car or playing off of a friend's stereo.

[Master-Q]

Originally posted by kimchicowboy
master-q, i didn't buy it cuz i personally like my MD player/recorder. :) but my friend got the 20gig version and he loves it. if you listen to like foreign music, i think it'll support the text cuz my friend listens to chinese music and it supports chinese text.

Thanks, for the advice I will keep that in mind, I am a Chinese-American, but I can't read Chinese... however my wife could.


Master-Q

[caribiner23]

I have a Rio Sport S35S w/128MB. It was under $100 at Sam's Club, and came with an extra 32MB card when I bought it a month ago.

Pros:

- Small
- No hard drive for me to drop and break :D
- Nice information screen
- Easy to use controls

Cons:

- FM tuner *rots* inside a building
- average-to-good audio quality
- certainly smaller capacity than an HD-based player

For managing my music, I used to just use Windows Explorer and created directories. The Rio Music Manager software is actually pretty nice, so I've been using that for transferring to my device. (I use iTunes for buying music, but since I can't download to the Rio from it, I tend to not use it for managing my tunes.)

I also have a Rio One with a total of 160 MB on it (32 internal + 128 SmartMedia) and I use it as my alternative to the s32s. My larger-storage option is a RioVolt, which is a CD-based MP3 player.

[LPMiller]

Originally posted by Kevster


:stupid:

I have one of these and I love it. I feel the same way as Canta. I have used a friend's ipod and I didn't see any reason for me to switch. The fact that I also hate Itunes probably factors into that decision as well.

See, I like itunes a lot, and use it as my default player now. The only thing I wish it did is what I still use music match for, which is tagging. That and I don't use the itunes store because my jukebox doesn't support acc files, and I hate having to screw with conversions. If the ipod support wma, and/or if iTunes supported wma (and it's really lame that it doesn't) i'd get an ipod in a jiffy.

[Booyamos]

hey I was just looking for a thread aboud mp3 players. I have a 10 gig ipod, i like it most of the time.

The major issue I have with it is that i want to put all my music on it, beable to listen to it on the go, and also plug it into my computer here at work and listen to the music from it with winamp.

I just recently saw that you can see the mp3's as hidden files in some sort of weird file sorting.

Also the iTunes software is annoying. It was a gift though so not bad, just wished i could throw songs on and off it.

EDIT: I will have to check out this xplay software... maybe that will do what I want.