Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Portable Source Gear › Good mp3 player for use in car?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Good mp3 player for use in car?

post #1 of 12
12/23/09 at 6:07pm
Thread Starter 
My brother carries a big cd collection in his car. I was thinking of buying him an mp3 player for Xmas so he wouldn't have to do that. He uses Linux, so I think that means he can't use an Ipod since that requires Itunes software. I don't know how much memory he'll be needing, so I was thinking a Sansa would be a good choice since they're expandable with memory cards.

My only concern with buying him one is that I don't want him to get in a car crash trying to use it while he's driving.

I was thinking a Sansa Fuze since you guys say it has good sound quality, but on the other hand the View has a bigger screen. I don't know if he would notice a difference in SQ through car speakers or his Ety 6 phones.

What do you guys think? Are the Sansas reasonably decent to use in a car, or is there something better?
Reply
post #2 of 12
12/23/09 at 6:44pm
Sansa fuze is very good for car use,my dad use it while driving and it's very easy to skip songs.if your brother have a big music collection I recommend the zune80/120 and the controls and sound quality are top notch ,you can control it without looking while driving,very conveniant.
Reply
post #3 of 12
12/23/09 at 8:01pm
The Zune probably wouldn't work with Linux since it requires the Zune software. Running it on a virtual machine might work, but I don't know if that would be worth it. How many CDs are we talking about here? Get him something that's got at least 8GB of storage if he's got alot of stuff. The Fuze and Clip+ have micro SD slots. I'm not really sure what all is linux compatible. My Rockboxed iPods seem to work okay, but I haven't tried anything else yet.

Honestly, the sound quality of an MP3 player itself isn't as much of a factor as the bitrate of the music files and headphones used. The quality of the player itself won't matter much if he uses 128 MP3s and stock earbuds (which I'm assuming he doesn't since you mentioned Ety 6's). Unless you get a knockoff or something really cheap like GPX, you should be okay for SQ.
Reply
post #4 of 12
12/23/09 at 8:59pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by bba1973 View Post
How many CDs are we talking about here? Get him something that's got at least 8GB of storage if he's got alot of stuff. The Fuze and Clip+ have micro SD slots. I'm not really sure what all is linux compatible. My Rockboxed iPods seem to work okay, but I haven't tried anything else yet.
I don't know, but it's more than me so it has to be over 8GB. I'm thinking either 16GB or 24 total.

I'm assuming that any drag-and-drop player can work with Linux.
Reply
post #5 of 12
12/23/09 at 9:09pm
How will he connect the PDP to the cars audio system?
Reply
post #6 of 12
12/23/09 at 10:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by fatcat28037 View Post
How will he connect the PDP to the cars audio system?
Good question. The FM transmitters I've tried suck, and cassette adaptors suck less but aren't much better. Maybe his CD player has an aux in? A free DAP still isn't a bad gift though.

Quote:
I don't know, but it's more than me so it has to be over 8GB. I'm thinking either 16GB or 24 total.
8GB Fuze with 16GB micro SD card = 24GB (with an 8000 song cap though, IIRC) for around $125 or so, depending on where you look. Newegg has good deals on the Clip+ and micro SD cards.
Reply
post #7 of 12
12/23/09 at 11:05pm
I frequently use my Sansa E280 in my viechle. I have an inexpensive Sony after market radio/CD ($100 at BB) that has an Aux input on the front panel. It works great.
Reply
post #8 of 12
12/23/09 at 11:10pm
Thread Starter 
His stereo has an aux input.

The Fuze has better reviews than the View, and they say the View has buggy software. My only concern about the Fuze is if the screen is big enough to use in a car. He'd end up putting it in the center console, or on the dash or something.
Reply
post #9 of 12
12/23/09 at 11:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by riker1384 View Post
His stereo has an aux input.

The Fuze has better reviews than the View, and they say the View has buggy software. My only concern about the Fuze is if the screen is big enough to use in a car. He'd end up putting it in the center console, or on the dash or something.
The screen is a bit tiny for the car, IMHO.
Reply
post #10 of 12
12/24/09 at 12:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by riker1384 View Post
His stereo has an aux input.

The Fuze has better reviews than the View, and they say the View has buggy software. My only concern about the Fuze is if the screen is big enough to use in a car. He'd end up putting it in the center console, or on the dash or something.
The Fuze is actually about the size of a credit card. The OP would have to see it in person to realize how small it is. Unless his brother has bad eyes, the screen would probably be okay.
Reply
post #11 of 12
12/25/09 at 11:27pm
Most DAPs don't have a line out. So if you use the HP out from your DAP to the car's MP3 player aux in, it may not have much voltage so you wind up cranking up the volume of your car's MP3 player. And if you switch input, you get blasted.
Reply
post #12 of 12
12/25/09 at 11:54pm
To bad his receiver doesn't have a USB port. I have a jvc and load up thumb drives...a couple 8 gig drives is all I need.
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Portable Source Gear
Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Portable Source Gear › Good mp3 player for use in car?