Best MP3 Player ~$300?

[Head Creep]

I'm currently debating between players, now that I have a chance to get a $300 loan of sorts towards an MP3 player. Size doesn't matter, both in physical size and hard drive size, as long as it's 20GB or more; I have a flash player right now, so I'm used to syncing with my PC on a nightly basis, plus I'd only be listening to a few albums at a time, plus a playlist with random tracks. My collection consists mostly of MP3s with a few Vorbis-encoded albums (nothing too important though, so it's far from necessary).

I've been looking at Creative's Nomad Zen Xtra and Jukebox 3, as well as the Rio Karma. I'm currently using Grado SR-60's and Sony EX51's, though I plan on getting something along the lines of Ety ER-6/4 in the future. Battery life isn't very important, since there's DC adapters for all the players I've mentioned. Any help here would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Krishna]

Well if size doesn't matter then its the Karma all the way. This player has the best SQ, IMHO, the best UI, the best features (excluding Fm Radio). Only thing that kills it for me is the thickness but since that doesn't matter to you its all good. Plus I think they have sorted out all the problems with the HD's from before so you don't have to worry about that too much.

 

[Edvard_Grieg]

^^yep, and while it is thicker than the long and narrow ones, it is still markedly smaller than the nomad etc.

 

[lextek]

20 gig iPod.

 

[austonia]

here's my top picks.. LINK

 

[Head Creep]

So far, the Karma seems to be the best choice. I just keep looking at the NJB3 and thinking that it'd be good down the road, since I could upgrade the hard drive to suit my needs if they change. Plus, with the Karma, I'm a bit scared about the durability of it. Hard drive crashes seem to be both myth and reality, plus while reading around on DAPreview (nice site, austonia), I remembered that I'm a bit clumsy with my current MP3 player. Granted, I am using a flash player, so I take it with a bit of carelessness, plus I'd probably invest in some sort of belt clip for a future player. But still, the thing should be able to withstand a beating of sorts.

 

[kyrie]

Quote:

Plus I think they have sorted out all the problems with the HD's from before so you don't have to worry about that too much.

Really? Where did you get info on this?
If it's true then I'd definitely consider picking one up.

 

[mike_p]

I just got a 20gig iPod.. can be had for close to $250, check fatwallet.com, exceeds my expectations. The interface is killer good. I mostly rip and encode to mp3 with lame extreme preset. Filled her up half-way, really enjoying the convience of having so much music at my finger tips.

One great think about the iPod is the amount of accessories available for this thing, can't be beat in that department.

When oh when is iTunes gonna offer loseless tracks?!

 

[Sledge]

I'll put in another vote for the Karma.

Gapless playback plus compatibility with more formats than you can shake a stick at. It's all I could want (with the exception of a 40gig model

)

 

[John Reeves]

Hi,

I've got both the above and prefer the Karma. Better sound (via UE's and ER4's), Ogg and FLAC support. So impressed I've just got a Vaja case for the Rio. Fantastic clip arrangement and superb quality, but expensive.

Cheers
John

 

[Sledge]

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Reeves ...I've just got a Vaja case for the Rio. Fantastic clip arrangement and superb quality, but expensive.

Considering what people on this site spend on headphones, $60 for a nice case shouldn't be too big of a problem

I had never heard of Vaja before so I thank you for the link. I'm thinking the black leather one would go great with my Karma.

 

[nleahcim]

I thought that the Karma's were having serious reliability problems? I recall reading multiple Karma horror stories in the last week alone! Has this problem been fixed?

And has anybody heard anything about the Karma 2 yet? Or is Sonicblue being tight lipped about it?

 

[Edvard_Grieg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nleahcim Or is Sonicblue being tight lipped about it?

SonicBlue doesn't exist, Rio is now (since before the Karma's release) owned by DNNA (Digital Networks North America) which is a D&M (Denon & Marantz) holding. A little step up in owndership IMHO

 

[hugz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kyrie Really? Where did you get info on this? If it's true then I'd definitely consider picking one up.

People over a riovolution.com are saying that they've noticed that less people are coming along with problems, so they suspect the latest batches have fixed the problem.

for those talking/wondering about the rio karma size, here is a comparison picture for ya'll

and finally, those worred about the reliability.......... buy an extended (2 year) warranty

i think best buy sells them, but you can also buy "aftermarket" 2 year warranties on the net from at least 2 providers that i know of

 

[Luke]

At first glance, the Karma looks like a great player. It's the gapless playback that I like. The diameter is nice too.

Here's what bothers me: Out of over 600 users of the Karma that have rated the player -- 37% give it a thumbs down. That's a lot of people. That's four times the percentage of thumbs down that the JB3 gets -- only 9%. There are various reasons for all those thumbs down, but when you add it all up, how can you buy one? Extended warranties are fine, except that they do cost money. And what are you going to listen to while your unit is in the shop?

http://reviews.cnet.com/Rio_Karma_20...-30474134.html