The Everlasting Players...running on AAs or AAAs only!
I've decided that being able to run off of AAs or AAAs is the top feature I'd want in a portable rig. I think i's sad that they stopped making the Creative Labs Muvo TX FM at 1GB...it was such a bad ass design. Another sad thing is that the Cowon G3 is the best thing available, IMO, really...and it only goes up to 2GB, which is unacceptable to me. I chose to purchase the Sansa e280 (w/ proprietary but replaceable battery) just for the 8 gigs @ $145, whereas Cowon G3 was $110. . . .
But I'm definitely all for encouraging the production & purchasing of players that use more conventional, and obviously replaceable, batteries. Lemme know if there's more I need to add to this list.
Have a good day!
+++++++++ FLASH BASED DAPs
+++++++++
1GB & Under
=====
Cowon iAudio 5
**Creative Labs Muvo TX FM
**Creative Labs Muvo V100
Creative Labs Zen Nano Plus
iRiver T50,T60
Meizu E3
Sandisk Sansa m230,m240...
+Sandisk Sansa e130,e140
Sony NW-E107
You guys don't wanna help me out with this list? I'm starting to notice that there's not a single 4+GB player that runs offa AAs or AAAs. We should start a riot!!
Archos Jukebox Recorder: 10-40GB (or 100GB+, if you put a new 2.5" HD in it), takes AA batteries, AND can be Rockboxed.
I remember seeing those back in the day. I don't think they were my cup of tea back then, and they still don't look like it today.
How's the sound quality on that thing BTW? Any sonic improvements with Rockbox, or was it all just interface? I'd prolly rather have that than a Gigabeat, but a Gigabeat would actually be easier to find nowadays.
I remember seeing those back in the day. I don't think they were my cup of tea back then, and they still don't look like it today.
How's the sound quality on that thing BTW? Any sonic improvements with Rockbox, or was it all just interface? I'd prolly rather have that than a Gigabeat, but a Gigabeat would actually be easier to find nowadays.
Oh, I wasn't completely serious in recommending it, if only because it's so big and bulky compared to iPod-sized players and because it only has hardware support for MP3 (no WMA/AAC/FLAC/OGG/WAV... nada.) Hence the But it is built like a tank. Mine was pretty beat up and had been taken apart and put back together a number of times before I finally ebayed it. And it was essentially a portable USB 2.0 hard drive, too, which was very handy.
The sound quality wasn't bad at all, actually -- the Recorder also had coaxial digital output. I don't think it was necessarily better immediately with Rockbox, but if I recall correctly, they were able to tweak the sound chip on it in ways that the original firmware didn't. It had a couple of neat sound features that aren't available (AFAIK) on other Rockboxable units -- auto volume (good for audiobooks in the car), and a bass boost that works by emphasizing higher harmonics of lower bass frequencies, tricking your brain into thinking you're hearing notes that your speakers or headphones can't actually reproduce.
Yeah, so like I said, I was only half-way serious in recommending it.
I would get the G3. My main criteria were AA or AAA batteries, UMS, and good sound, on which the G3 delivers. The UI is small and monochrome, but it's sufficient for getting things going and is less to break or drain batteries. The G3 doesn't support FLAC, however. I've heard the iRiver T-series sounds good, and maybe has better FM reception, but the T10 and T30, which were out when I was looking, are bulky and quite a bit bigger than the G3.
I just really wish that the G3 had something more than 2 gigs. My Treo 650 can hold 2 gigs of music and sounds alright to me...
I'm just gonna have to wait for something else in the flash area... I'm more convinced to get a hard drive based player with true line out now, 'cause I doubt the playing field's really gonna change that much by the time I get my Supermicro.
I'd also like to expand the thread to include SD memory card mp3 players that use AA or AAA batteries. With SD memory card prices dropping in price, a 4GB memory expansion card in a player that can also be used as a memory card reader and writer would be great if the sound quality was half way decent; unfortunately most of them are junk, but you could see the potential if you had a bunch of memory cards lying around.
The Everlasting Players...running on AAs or AAAs only!
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