Jeffbx

Hey, does anyone know of a good CF MP3 player? Most of them seem to take the much smaller memory (SD, MMC, SM, etc.) but compact flash seems to be the most versatile... it's cheap & you can get up to a 4GB module. Plus I have a bunch of them laying around from my camera, so might as well put them to good use, right?

I know the Muvo2 & the iPod mini both use CF, but I'd like something with removable memory (that doesn't require a screwdriver!) I'm tempted to grab one of the Muvo2 shells from ebay, but I'm worried that I won't be able to make it work with my Viking 256MB card. I've heard mixed reviews about getting that particular one to work in the Muvo.

So far, the only other one I've seen is the Nex ia from Frontier Labs. It looks great - removable CF memory, takes 2 AA batteries (which I have a ton of from my camera), and the big plus is that they actually sell a model with 0MB so I can just use my existing memory (only $64 from Buy.com). However, I haven't seen too many reviews on this guy yet.

Anyone have one of these, or know of any other players that take CF?

ceeka

I have the Nex IIe the one that came out right before the ia. There were tons of reviews at MP3.com for that one. Overall it's a very good unit. I listen to audio books on it mostly so I can't really judge music quality although the reviews I read were very favorable. I got it because it uses the CF card which is cheap media and I use a usb 2.0 reader/writer to transfer the files since it's faster than the usb 1.1 in the Nex. Overall, it's been a very good player, but if I were to buy something today it would prob be one of the new 1.5-4GB models that I've been seeing for less than $200. Mainly because even with extra memory cards it is still easier to have more space all at once and a 1.5-4GB cf card is still pretty expensive.

Merlin

I have one of the older Frontier Labs Nex MP3 players and think it is great. It seems to do what I need it to do. The sound is good. I can't think of anything bad to say about it.

The thing that drew me to this device was that it used CF and I had plenty of that thanks to my camera and that it required no software on my computer. Most of the other units I looked at required some from of jukebox software that implemented some copyprotection. Thing like you couldn't upload. As it stands I have way too much stuff running in the background so I typically favor the stuff that doesn't need its own applett running.

The only real drawback was that it did not have a rechargeable battery and its other functions were limited. No clock, no voice recorder, no radio. If the newer units have this than all the better.

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Jeffbx

Great - thax for the info, guys. Yeah, if I had an extra couple hundred, I'd certainly grab a Muvo2. But since I already have a few 256MB CF cards laying around, the Nex ia with 0MB for $64 seems to good to pass up.

Merlin, they added a radio & voice recorder to the ia (although just about every review says the radio reception sucks). Dunno about a clock.... but I like that it takes two AA batteries since 1) that'll give me a longer life that the 1 AA battery on the Nomad II I'm currently using, and 2) I have a ton of rechargable AA's laying around, so that's one less thing to worry about.

I'm still a little surprised at the lack of CF support in MP3 players, tho. Seems to me to be the perfect media... what else gives you the flexibility of very cheap memory on the low end, and very high capacity on the high end?

ski

Size! I TOTALLY agree with you that there should be more CF MP3 players, since the media is so darn cheap for a ton of space, but these developers are trying to shrink the players down model to model, and internal/SD lets 'em do it.

I have an extra 256MB CF card laying around, so I might pick up the ia for $64 too!

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And closer...

Bires

Does that player allow you to just copy mp3 files to the CF card and play them on the player, or do you have to have the CF card in the player and use some proprietary file-copying system?

( I have an old Lyra, and it has to reencode mp3 files into a special format to use them, so we can't just copy them to the CF card)

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Five years...

Jeffbx

Yeah, just copy MP3's right onto the CF. I think it even shows up as a drive letter when you connect the device to your PC. Looks like it's only USB 1.1, so I'd probably just use my 2.0 card reader anyway.

Merlin

Yes, it does show up as a drive letter. And no, they don't have and special software. See my post above. I looked at the lyra before buying the one I have and didn't because I really didn't want to have to re-encode music. Too much crappy unnecessary software.

ski

Did you end up buying the ia? If so, post back how you like the size, battery life, screen, and the rest!

Jeffbx

Not yet - I think I'm going to, tho. I'll post back when I do!

Jeffbx

OK, so I got one of these bad boys. Buy.com was backordered, so I got one off of ebay for $60 shipped. I just opened the package last night, but here are my initial thoughts:

Con:
1. All of the reviews were absolutely correct on the headphones (they're going straight into the trash) and the FM tuner (sucks almost as bad as the one on my old Nomad II).
2. Batteries are a little hard to get out - you need small fingers or long fingernails. I had to jam something in there to get them to pop out.
3. The carrying case only has a belt loop on it, not a clip. I'll have to figure out how to go running with it.
4. Not really a con, but FYI I had to format my memory card in the player before it would recognize - it didn't like whatever formatted it the last time I used it (was either my digicam or the card reader on my PC)

Pro:
1. Great size - I thought it would be bigger. It's a little smaller (but slightly thicker) than my Nomad II.
2. Display is very nice. Backlit with a nice blue light, very easy to read. You can configure the light as always on, always off or default, which seem to be 'turn off after 2 or 3 seconds of inactivity'. You can also change the screen contrast.
3. They included a nice in-line remote that works with any headphones (esp. nice since you can't access the buttons when it's in the carry case)
4. Includes 5 pre-set equalizer settings
5. All the song titles show up normally, and scroll while playing
6. Firmware is upgradable (haven't tried this yet, but I will since I seem to be a few releases behind)
7. Sound quality is great (with good headphones!)

Overall, I'm pretty impressed with it, especially for only $60. If you can live with the shortcomings and have some CF memory laying around, I'd highly recommend it!

ski

Lemme know if you figure out a way to take it running

attgig

oooh, check out the deal on the deals page. 7-1 reader and mp3 player =) 2 bucks, i might jump on it.

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Jeffbx

One more cool thing I noticed this weekend - the built in voice recorder actually records in MP3 format! Nice change from the Nomad, which for some silly reason records in some proprietary format. Also, if you're into recording radio for whatever reason, you can record a radio show in MP3 format right onto your card, assuming you can get good enough reception.