MP3 player advice

[Tortuga]

Ooga booga, folks

I'm in the market to buy an affordable, not to huge mp3 player.  I need some advice, because there's just too much choice out there!

Here's what I'm looking for:
-small
-runs on a AAA battery - I dislike those internal rechargeable batteries
-1 GB or 2 GB...2 GB preferably
-easy to load music on to
-comes with an arm-band or something...

Here's what I don't want:
-internal rechargeable battery, as previously mentioned
-something too big

I've looked into Creative's Muvo 1GB and 2 GB and am leaning toward them right now.  Creative also has the Zen Nano (which only comes in 1 GB) which seems decent.  I have been tempted by the iPod nano shuffle (the tiny l'il fellers), but the internal battery is a turn off.  I do like the fact that the iPod would work with iTunes, which I like as a media manager.

Any advice would be VERY helpful as it's starting to drive me nuts. Thanks!!

Tort

[General Jerky]

If you don't mind me asking, why the dislike for the internal battery?

[GhostMachine]

I'd go with the Creative Zen, if its the one I'm thinking of that can download songs off cds. Otherwise....

Take a look at SanDisk players. I got one as an early birthday present (birthday is the 18th, and I've had mine for about 2 weeks). I have the Sansa m240 model, and its got everything you're looking for, and is 1 GB. They make another model in the m line that is 2 GB. Comes with a clear case and an armband. It also has an FM radio tuner, but you can't save songs off the radio as MP3s and can with some of their other models. Someone I know has a model from SanDisk's c line that can save songs as MP3s, but other than that the only real differences between that model and mine are cosmetic, and theirs didn't come with any extras; just the player, earbuds and UBS cable. (the USB cable is different, too; mine has a small connection port on the top, theirs has a big connection port on the bottom) No idea where theirs came from, but mine came from Circuit City.

(For the record, I don't care about being able to save songs off the radio, but I did want an FM tuner - I only have 2 stations saved as pre-sets, though)

I use Windows Media Player to load and unload songs off it, and it works fine. (I don't use iTunes) My only gripe is the earbuds it comes with; I dislike earbuds because I have trouble getting them to stay in my left ear and they start to hurt after awhile anyway, so I went to Wal-Mart and picked up a neckband that plugs into your ears and I use that instead. Made by Maxell and only cost about $5.00 or so.

[Qwazy]

If you don't mind me asking, why the dislike for the internal battery?

ive had two mp3 players with internal batteries.....
they've both gone back, now ive got a nice little cheap battery one

with internal batteries, it dies.....well your more than likely stuck with it - alot of people cant/wont repair it so you've got to start again
they also lose the amount of time they last for so yea...thats sucky
(my sisters on her 4th...5th ipod because of battery problems.....)

most mp3 players seem to allow you to just drag and drop, they load up like a regular flash drive so yea nice and easy loading up music

i have heard that the creative zen ones can be pretty reliable but personally i would stay clear of the internal battery's.....

[Tortuga]

If you don't mind me asking, why the dislike for the internal battery?

I owned a Creative Zen 5 GB two summers ago.  The battery life was 12 hours roughly.  After about 10 days of decent use, I was having to recharge the silly thing after every hour of use...sometimes even shorter.  I turned down/off all the settings that ate energy, and after 2 weeks of owning it and getting fed up, I returned it.

So, AAA battery is the battery for me.  :D

I'd go with the Creative Zen, if its the one I'm thinking of that can download songs off cds. Otherwise....

Take a look at SanDisk players. I got one as an early birthday present (birthday is the 18th, and I've had mine for about 2 weeks). I have the Sansa m240 model, and its got everything you're looking for, and is 1 GB. They make another model in the m line that is 2 GB. Comes with a clear case and an armband. It also has an FM radio tuner, but you can't save songs off the radio as MP3s and can with some of their other models. Someone I know has a model from SanDisk's c line that can save songs as MP3s, but other than that the only real differences between that model and mine are cosmetic, and theirs didn't come with any extras; just the player, earbuds and UBS cable.

I already have a decent set of Sony headphones that I bought with the previous mp3 player.

I've looked into SanDisk's -- but they either have the cheap kind (can't remember the model) that I've heard is lousy, or the next step up has features I don't need to pay for (mostly the screen and video capacity).  But I will continue to check out the Sansa stuff.  Radio is not a concern however -- I want an mp3 player to get AWAY from the radio :)

Thanks so far, folks!

[Night Dragon]

I have an RCA Lyra which does a servicable enough job for me. It doesn't have the size you're looking for, but it does take flash cards. As for the rest, it is battery run, loading music is drag and drop, and comes with an arm band. It was pretty cheap when Lins got it for me (around $30-40), but it is pretty much bare bones, no bells or whistles to it. It plays music and that's it, which is pretty much all I wanted, or needed, it for.

[GhostMachine]

I'd go with the Creative Zen, if its the one I'm thinking of that can download songs off cds. Otherwise....

Take a look at SanDisk players. I got one as an early birthday present (birthday is the 18th, and I've had mine for about 2 weeks). I have the Sansa m240 model, and its got everything you're looking for, and is 1 GB. They make another model in the m line that is 2 GB. Comes with a clear case and an armband. It also has an FM radio tuner, but you can't save songs off the radio as MP3s and can with some of their other models. Someone I know has a model from SanDisk's c line that can save songs as MP3s, but other than that the only real differences between that model and mine are cosmetic, and theirs didn't come with any extras; just the player, earbuds and UBS cable.

I already have a decent set of Sony headphones that I bought with the previous mp3 player.

I've looked into SanDisk's -- but they either have the cheap kind (can't remember the model) that I've heard is lousy, or the next step up has features I don't need to pay for (mostly the screen and video capacity).  But I will continue to check out the Sansa stuff.  Radio is not a concern however -- I want an mp3 player to get AWAY from the radio :)

Thanks so far, folks!

The model I have and the other model I told you about don't have video capacity. I *think* the c model can hold pictures, but its got a small screen just like mine that has to scroll to tell you the artist and song title. They got theirs at Big Lots (a stock overrun and closeouts place) for about $39.99, and I was going to go get one but they sold out. Mine was about $40-50 from Circuit City and came with a case and armband and theirs did not.

I can understand why you don't care about a radio. I wanted one myself, but like I said, I only have 2 stations as pre-sets, and both play classic rock! (well, one is pure classic and the other plays mostly classic but some recent)

[Verfall]

I have Creative Zen Nano Plus. Runs on one triple a, has an fm tuner and is about the size of tic tac dispenser. It's 1 gig, and the battery life is great. It of course will vary from brand to brand, but I managed to get over 20 hours off one Energizer.

I had the 5 gig zen you mentioned, and while I loved it at the beginning, the damn headphone port screwed up as some of the reviews I had read on Amazon.com mentioned. Fortunately it was a replacement for the 1 gig RCA Lyra that I had die on me. I've had 4 Creative MP3 players, going back to the 64 meg flash card based ones years ago, and besides the one model with a defect, I've had zero problems with them. The only reason I don't have the 5 gig model anymore is because the store I had purchased it from went under 2 weeks after I returned the thing to get it replaced or repaired.

As I mentioned, avoid the RCA's. I've seen 3 of them die just from normal wear and tear. Jogging with them seems to kill them good.

[Spring Heeled Jack]

How are people burning through all these iPods and stuff? I've had mine since November 2004 and it's still on the first battery and still gets at least 12 hours of play time after each charging.

[zuludelta]

Definitely vouching for the sandisk mp3 players. I've been using the 2Gb m250 player for over a year now and I have no complaints. Sound fidelity is pretty decent for the price, and I've even used the recorder function to do a couple of interviews and it's pretty good (an hour of 22 kHz recording only takes up ~11 Mb or so). I use rechargeable AAA batteries to power mine and one fully charged battery generally lasts for around 9-10 hours of continuous play-time (with the screen backlighting turned off). There's a decent digital FM tuner as well (yeah, I hate most mainstream radio as well, but I do occasionally listen to college/co-op radio).

Looks-wise, it's not exactly the sleekest thing out there but the control layout is fairly easy to manage (although the instruction manual is pretty useless... but it shouldn't take a PC/electronics savvy person more than 30 minutes to figure out how everything works).

You can either use Windows Explorer to "drag and drop" files into the device or you can synch it with Windows Media Player 10 and the latest version of Winamp offers some device support as well.

Mac support is pretty iffy, I don't know if the current iteration of the Mac OS works with Media Transfer Protocol but I've had no success transferring music files from a Mac to the player (although data files do transfer over fine). I haven't tried it with any Linux machines but I don't think there should be any problems. Works perfectly fine with Windows XP, but if you're a Winamp user, I suggest upgrading to Winamp 5.3x (if you haven't already), as prior versions of that software tend to crash if they're running while you plug in any MTP device.

It's pretty durable, I've fallen off my skateboard with the player in my pocket and the only damage it incurred was that the cover for one of the earphones was knocked loose. Took it to the beach and got sand in it and it kept working perfectly well after I had shaken loose and gotten out all the particles inside.   

As for pricing, I got mine for $89 at a Future Shop in Vancouver, but I think it might've been during one of those discount promotions, although since it's a year later, I expect the price to be in the same range now.

Oh, and it also comes with an armband and I know Wal-Mart sells some after-market cases if you don't like how the in-package accessories look.

[Glitch Girl]

I've got a Sansa also and I like it.  I like the control layout and the visual display and it fits in my hand nicely when I'm walking so I can play with the skip or volume if needed.  Battery life seems decent enough too.  Just plugs into a USB port and you can load files on and off like another folder.  Came with a case and arm strap but I never used it.  Price was VERY reasonable  IIRC. 

[Tortuga]

I think I've settled on the Sansa m250 -- thanks to everyone's input (even those who recommended something else).  Right now they're $99 so I'll wait for a sale to happen...or get impatient and end up picking it up anyway.  :rolleyes:

Anyone with the Sansa m-series know if iTunes files (m4p format) work on it?  That would be icing on the cake.

[zuludelta]

Anyone with the Sansa m-series know if iTunes files (m4p format) work on it?  That would be icing on the cake.

AFAIK, mp4a files only work with iPods and iTunes. I do know that the Sansa players support DRM-protected WMA files (I think some of the legitimate downloads you can buy off the new Napster site come in this format) and Audible-format audio books.

[GhostMachine]

Tort, unless you plan on putting your entire music library on your player, the 1 GB model should do fine. I currently have about 95 songs on mine, only about 4 to 6 of which are less than 3 minutes long (but I have the full version of Free Bird that's over 10 minutes long on it), and I have at least half the space left on my player. And its easy to add and remove songs from it, so you can change what you have on it fairly quick.

Mine also came with a cd that's supposed to have a user guide and some other stuff on it, but I've never bothered looking at the disk. It works fine out of the box and the controls are easy to figure out. I did have to look up on the internet how to use the Favorites feature (access the list, that is), but that's about it.

If you can deal with the earbuds, you're good to go. If not, Maxell has some decent, fairly portable headphones (that plug directly into your ear) for about $5.00 at Wal-Mart. They make behind the neck and over the head versions.

[Mr. Hamrick]

How are people burning through all these iPods and stuff? I've had mine since November 2004 and it's still on the first battery and still gets at least 12 hours of play time after each charging.

i gotta second that, SHJ.  I've had mine since last summer and still going good. 

[Panther_Gunn]

Tort, unless you plan on putting your entire music library on your player, the 1 GB model should do fine. I currently have about 95 songs on mine, only about 4 to 6 of which are less than 3 minutes long (but I have the full version of Free Bird that's over 10 minutes long on it), and I have at least half the space left on my player.

Are you only downloading songs, or are you ripping your own from CD's?  I've got a little over 1300 files on my older 20 GB iPod (3rd gen, right before they started slimming down), and I'm only taking up about 8-9 Gb of that.  However, I rip my mp3's at a higher rate than what is supposedly "CD" quality, because it isn't.  Even at a lower sampling rate, I couldn't even begin to fit all of my 400+ (at last count.....about 10 years ago  ;)) CD's onto it.  Nor would I want to.  It's all a matter of what you deem important as to how much space you'll need for it.

How are people burning through all these iPods and stuff? I've had mine since November 2004 and it's still on the first battery and still gets at least 12 hours of play time after each charging.

i gotta second that, SHJ.  I've had mine since last summer and still going good. 

I have to ditto that a little bit, as well.  Granted, my older one had a shorter play time to begin with (8 hours), and I think I tended to average just a bit under that (got to really test it on trans-Atlantic flights), and I don't use mine non-stop like a lot of people do, but I haven't noticed it draining away yet like so many other people report.  There was a period when I was forced to take the bus to work that it got used extensively morning & afternoon, and I typically keep it in "sleep" mode inbetween (so that it remembers exactly where it left off) instead of powering off, and I was really only having to recharge it like once a week or so, which works out about right.  Of course, Apple is offering to replace people's batteries for them now (last I heard), but I think there was a price tag involved.  ;)

[Tortuga]

I don't think there's an mp3 player out there that could hold my entire CD collection (700+ at last count), but I do want the variety that a 2 GB can offer.  Plus, I'm a bit of a snob about sound, so 128 kb/s is a little low -- I much prefer 160 or 192.  Plus, the dutch in me says that 2 GB at $90 is way better than 1 GB at $70.

I wouldn't be ripping entire CDs, just songs from CDs that'll keep me motivated during physio.

[Tortuga]

I picked up the Sansa m250 and am very satisfied.  The sound quality isn't stellar, but so far I've got 215 songs loaded up and still have 1 GB left.

Btw, I found out that you can listen to iTunes songs on it.  Since I burn iTunes songs to CDs, you just put them back on the computer and load them into the player.  Huzzah!

Thanks all,
Tort

[captainspud]

I just bought a 1gb POS mp3 player at XS Cargo for like $30. It's awful, but it works. And the small capacity wasn't a big deal for me-- I have so little music, I could only manage to find about 700mb of songs I wanted to put on it.

Hooray for low standards!

[Verfall]

I don't think there's an mp3 player out there that could hold my entire CD collection (700+ at last count), but I do want the variety that a 2 GB can offer.  Plus, I'm a bit of a snob about sound, so 128 kb/s is a little low -- I much prefer 160 or 192.  Plus, the dutch in me says that 2 GB at $90 is way better than 1 GB at $70.

I wouldn't be ripping entire CDs, just songs from CDs that'll keep me motivated during physio.

The average CD ripped at 192 kbps is about 70-80 megs. So an 80 gig Ipod would hold your collection with over 20 gigs to spare. Of course if you're a sound fanatic who rips at 320 kbps it might not work, but it takes one heck of a good ear to tell the difference in most cases.

[Tortuga]

Ok so they do exist, but with my luck, the battery would be dead and gone before I finished uploading. :D