[Gonz]

I'd love to hear your input and suggestions, on any recommendations.

Requirements:
No Apple stuff.

1-2Gb, very small, good battery life, rechargeable would be a plus. Fancy color screen is not needed, but some little display would be nice.

I suppose asking for a line out would be out of the question?

It would be great to have a SD card slot, so I could carry a couple extra cards with different music. (carrying 2-4Gb extra)

Sound quality is important, but output voltage isn't, since it'll be amped.

 

[Mik]

I'm in the market for a similar mp3 player to replace my 512MB MuVo Micro. At the moment, these 2 players look the most suitable for me (and maybe you too):

Creative Labs MuVo V100 2GB
SanDisk Sansa Express 1GB

Both of these units have a usb plug built-in, which is something I'm looking for in a flash player.

The V100 is available now and can use replaceable rechargeable AAA batteries, which I have found to be extremely convenient with my existing MuVo Micro. I just carry an extra couple of AAA batteries with me and can easily triple the time in between rechargings. The V100 doesn't include an FM radio anymore though, which kind of sucks, but it is a UMS device and can treat each folder as an album and play files in alphabetical order. You don't need to worry about making sure all your ID3 tags are perfect.

The Sansa Express was just announced at CES so there's not as much info about it. It features an internal non-replaceable rechargeable battery, so loses out on battery life to the V100, but it does include an FM radio and an OLED screen. The Express only has 1GB of internal memory but lets you use SD Micro cards up to 2GB so the max capacity of this player reaches 3GB. It's unknown at this point whether the Express is a UMS device or whether you need Windows Media Player or something to copy music. It's also unknown whether it can playback folders in order without depending on ID3 tags.

Both are nice looking players, very practical, and quite inexpensive. I've enjoyed the sound quality on my existing MuVo quite a bit so I expect the V100 to be similar. I'll make a decision myself when a few reviews of the Express appear.

 

[kramer5150]

I was in your dilema recently and narrowed it down to the sansa C250 or MuVo V100.

The C250 has a slot for a micro SD card, but is rumored to have poor sound quality, and uses a proprietary battery pack. Although I think the user interface is a little more advanced, allowing playlists and such.

The V100 lacks a card slot but runs off a single AAA, supposedly has better sound quality, and does not need a separate USB cable. It has a integrated USB connector, like a pen drive. You can set up playlists, but you have to do it from your PC.... drag/drop tracks into dedicated folders.

I chose the V100 for 2 reasons: sound quality (headphone output thats clean enough to be amped) and a repalceable AAA battery. The AAA convenience is very nice to have when I'm out and about. I for one have not have much luck with proprietary battery packs. I have found them generally to be good for 5-6 months. After that, battery life drops dramatically. Again this is a generalized opinion I have based on experience with my laptop PC, digital camera and first hand feedback from friends/relatives who have MP3 players.

Heres the kicker for me....

I'm thinking about getting a Xin supermicro, and modding the V100 such that they will BOTH run off the same AA battery... but thats for another thread.

 

[Gonz]

Mik, very interesting, Thank you.

I don't think I really want or need a USB plug built in. A cable is fine and I think helps the unit to be smaller? It's unlikely this player would connect to any computers other than my own... and that seems to be mainly where a plug would be useful?

UMS is nice for ease of use.

As for batteries, I agree AA or AAA rechargeables would be ideal.
Something non-replaceable is definitely not for me.

 

[Gonz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kramer5150 /img/forum/go_quote.gif The C250 has a slot for a micro SD card, but is rumored to have poor sound quality, and uses a proprietary battery pack. Although I think the user interface is a little more advanced, allowing playlists and such.

Given the choice, I'll skip the SD slot! In no way is that worth sacrificing sound quality. And I will not buy something like this which has a non-serviceable battery... thats a terrible "feature".

Quote:

The V100 lacks a card slot but runs off a single AAA, supposedly has better sound quality, and does not need a separate USB cable. It has a integrated USB connector, like a pen drive. You can set up playlists, but you have to do it from your PC.... drag/drop tracks into dedicated folders.

Sounds good, except for the plug.

I guess I can get over that, just seems that, without the plug the unit could be 1" shorter? I'd rather have smaller than to have a feature I won't use.

Playlists, I don't care about.
I'd like to just navigate to a folder and press play.


Quote:

Heres the kicker for me.... I'm thinking about getting a Xin supermicro, and modding the V100 such that they will BOTH run off the same AA battery... but thats for another thread.

Thats a cool idea.

I don't think I've found the perfect little player yet.

But thanks Kramer, thats some food for thought. You guys have already made me realize a couple things I wasn't even thinking about... thats a big help!

 

[Mik]

If you don't care about the USB plug, Creative also has the Zen Nano Plus, which is smaller in size than the V100, includes an FM radio, and is otherwise the same, but only comes in capacities up to 1GB. It's essentially a rebranded MuVo Micro, which is what I'm using right now. It's a great little player and I have no complaints having used mine for a few years now. I just want something with a bit more capacity and a built-in plug.

 

[Gonz]

Does anyone have any thoughts on this? The iRiver T102GB

Unfortunately, it seems the price is a little high, but it seems to be close to perfect, especially in size.

The Muvo V100 is attractively priced.

 

[Mik]

I've never used an iRiver player mainly because their flash players are usually enormous. 1.2" thickness on that player is way too bulky for me.

 

[sgrossklass]

The T10 FM is one of the players I'd look at if I needed a replacement for my trusty iAudio G3 - which hopefully won't be needed soon, considering that (i) I don't have the spare funds and (ii) the G3 is a darn good MP3 player with excellent sound quality and EQ and folder based navigation (even though the extra functions aren't that great and space is a little tight as I only have the 512 meg model). I don't know about the T10, but the G3 uses its headphone amp in capless mode, while the Muvo uses 100µF output coupling caps AFAIK (and may thus exhibit a bass dropoff with low-impedance cans, as the -3 dB point would be at 50 Hz for 32 ohm and 100 Hz for 16 ohm). BTW, irivers have a good reputation when it comes to radio reception.

 

[bungle]

I also have a G3. I think it would be right for you. UMS; AA battery; good, clean output; crisp, clean, monochrome display; 2G available; folder navigation and playing; standard mini USB plug and cable. It's got enough juice you can go sans-amp sometimes, too (I always do).

Cons: You can still get it, and they just released another beta firmware, but I don't think their hearts in it supporting it. They're focusing on the U3, T2, F2, and D2. However, there aren't really any big problems with it, so it's not too bad. The only real problem is a file/folder limit of 50/250, but unless you use really low bitrate mp3s it's not an issue.

Fold up a little piece of paper into the shape of a T10 and you'll see how fat it is. 3.4" x 1.6" x 1.2" compared to 2.5" x 1.8" x 0.7" for the G3.

 

[solo2]

I like my iriver T10 even if the design isn't that aesthetically pleasing. Sound quality was at least several notches up from my zen micro. The only downside is the UI and the cranky shuffle mode - shuffling songs is a pain because the player is incapable of non-repetitive playback i.e I get the same track played twice in a row or directly after the next track......... my old zen micro never gives me problems like these. Oh yah the battery life is amazing though. I only have to change my AAs once a week and I'm a moderate to heavy user (I listen for about 4 hrs on average a day)

 

[Gonz]

I found a iRiver T30 1Gb for a good price, it seems to be an all around good compromise, and I find it small enough.

This is just a kick around player. Mostly something to listen to while washing/waxing the car. I think it'll serve well in that role... after I do some firmware updates.

I also ordered a Zen Vision W for my main player. Now this thing I'm really looking forward to. The last portable personal device I had, many years ago, was a Sony Walkman w/cassette!