Best value for an hard drive mp3 player
Jun 2, 2004 at 11:32 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 25

Biggy

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I was gonna go with the iriver 20Gb, until I saw the post by that dood letting me know I can replace the ipod batteries for under $50.

Now I just have no idea, I am considering these:
Iriver 20 GB
Ipod /mini
Dell Jukebox
Creative nomad zen nx 20GB
...any other suggestions you guys might have.

I'm really looking fo the best value for a player under 20 Gb.

It would help if you guys listed pros/cons
 
Jun 3, 2004 at 1:00 AM Post #2 of 25
Best value is a hard one. Arguably that may be the Creative Nomad Jukebox, but there's all those tangables, like size, etc. that play a part. Can you create a small list of what's important to you?

Also is the Rio Karma off your list?
 
Jun 3, 2004 at 1:08 AM Post #3 of 25
Size is not that big of an issue, neither is memory.

I want is:

reliability
long lasting
good sound quality
well designed

accessories dont matter and i prefer a lower price
smily_headphones1.gif


Oh yeah how are the PP2s?
 
Jun 3, 2004 at 1:36 AM Post #4 of 25
I know the Zen Xtra will be a popular vote here (especially in light of the fact that prices will drop even more than they already have when the Zen Touch arrives) but I have to nominate the Dell DJ.

At $199 or less for the 15GB model, the unit is reasonably compact, seems very durable, sounds great, has superb battery life, and has a very functional design. The scroll barrell works quite well. In my opinion, the only things the Zen Xtra has over the DJ is the larger capacity (which many don't need), the replaceable battery (but the DJ sports 16+ hours of battery life!), and the software (Zen Xtra wins hands down here - Musicmatch sucks). But you can purchase Dudebox software for the DJ, which beats the Creative software. And even if you had the Zen Xtra you might still yet purchase Notmad software for the same price.

For a basic, no nonsense, solid jukebox with great battery life I can't think of any better value that the DJ. I've had mine for over half a year now and I haven't had a single problem.

EDIT: For comparison, I actually prefer the iPod to the DJ as a player, but for best "value" the nod goes to the DJ. Never tried the Karma or Iriver and I wouldn't be surprised if I preferred those to the DJ too, but I have a hard time believing they'd represent a better value. This is assuming you don't really need fancy features, which your post seemed to indicate.
 
Jun 3, 2004 at 2:00 AM Post #5 of 25
i agree. i have the dell and it is an excellent player for the price. i got it for the same price i did my ifp-390t, and that had 256 mb compared to 15 gigs! but alas, they are 2 different beasts, one flash and one a hard drive. i still feel my dell is the better value by far. however, the njb3 may be the best value, as everything is replaceable, its built like a tank, and has a great line-out. i guess the only drawback is its huge size, but if thats not a problem, it just may be for u. i believe it goes for $100 or so on ebay.
 
Jun 3, 2004 at 4:10 AM Post #6 of 25
best value IMO is dell DJ (15gb) at $200

however if you afford 25% more, and can find rio Karma at $250-260, you get 50% more goodies (features, capacity, dock)
 
Jun 3, 2004 at 5:04 AM Post #7 of 25
Quote:

Originally Posted by Biggy
Oh yeah how are the PP2s?


Very good for the price. Along with the KSC35s, great option for portables. In fact, use the PortaPros more than the Etys lately.
 
Jun 3, 2004 at 12:36 PM Post #8 of 25
Quote:

Originally Posted by Biggy
Size is not that big of an issue, neither is memory.

I want is:

reliability
long lasting
good sound quality
well designed

accessories dont matter and i prefer a lower price
smily_headphones1.gif


Oh yeah how are the PP2s?



If size isn't an issue, you gotta look at the Creative Jukebox 3
 
Jun 3, 2004 at 5:01 PM Post #9 of 25
Nothing is really on or off my list.
I'm really leaning towards the ipod mini right now because I saw the post that said I could replace the batteries for $49.

How is the Rio Karma? I haven't heard too many good things about it.
No hard drive player is worth the money if the hard drive locks up all the time.

I'm willing to spend a bit more on reliability, how long have you guys had the dell? That seems like a really good value for the price. Only real negative thing i've heard is that if you play a playlist, it will stop with the song you select and wait till you tell it to play another one. Is that true?

place these in order if you can blessingx:
Portapro, Portapro2, ksc 35

P.S. yep if you haven't heard the ksc 35 is back on the koss website, Great decision to continue it.
 
Jun 3, 2004 at 5:06 PM Post #10 of 25
One other thing: the Iriver ihp120 20 Gb
Anybody own this?

if it wasn't for the steep $300 for it I would get this. If I can find it for like $250 I would get it.

Its gotta a mic, a remote, and a blue backlight
smily_headphones1.gif

Supposed to be well constructed too.
 
Jun 3, 2004 at 5:14 PM Post #11 of 25
Quote:

Originally Posted by Biggy
One other thing: the Iriver ihp120 20 Gb
Anybody own this?

if it wasn't for the steep $300 for it I would get this. If I can find it for like $250 I would get it.

Its gotta a mic, a remote, and a blue backlight
smily_headphones1.gif

Supposed to be well constructed too.



if you like the bells and whistles (e.g., opt line in/out, mic, radio), then the iriver is for you. the ihp is also well-constructed and not many problems are reported about it so far. but if value is your main concern, i'd go with the dell dj too.
cool.gif
 
Jun 3, 2004 at 7:19 PM Post #12 of 25
Biggy said:
I'm willing to spend a bit more on reliability, how long have you guys had the dell? That seems like a really good value for the price. Only real negative thing i've heard is that if you play a playlist, it will stop with the song you select and wait till you tell it to play another one. Is that true?
QUOTE]

Heh..quoting myself
 
Jun 3, 2004 at 7:32 PM Post #13 of 25
Quote:

Originally Posted by Biggy
place these in order if you can blessingx:
Portapro, Portapro2, ksc 35




1. KSC35
2. PortaPro/PortaPro²

Similar sound. Likely because of fit, the PortaPros (and PP²) are usually said to be a little more bass heavy than the 35s. Never heard them side by side, but having owned the 35s previously, I believe it. I just could never get use to the 35s clips. Friend is getting his 35s next week, so a quick comparison is a possibility.
 
Jun 3, 2004 at 8:31 PM Post #14 of 25
Biggy said:
Quote:

Originally Posted by Biggy

I'm willing to spend a bit more on reliability, how long have you guys had the dell? That seems like a really good value for the price. Only real negative thing i've heard is that if you play a playlist, it will stop with the song you select and wait till you tell it to play another one. Is that true?
QUOTE]

Heh..quoting myself



i've not experienced any such bug.
 
Jun 3, 2004 at 11:12 PM Post #15 of 25
Thanx,
Please do get back to me when your friend gets his 35's blessingsx.

I've basically narrowed it down to these:
(Heh, the whole best value thing went out the window i guess)

Ipod 15 or Ipod mini
Iriver hp120
Dell Dj

reliability is probably the biggest issue for me, and that's probably the ipod. But the ipod is the worst value anyways
frown.gif


I left the creative stuff off because of the reliability issues. the headphone jack was supposed to be messed up on all their stuff. The hard drives have issues too, or so i've read. Same reason for the Rio Karma. If this product gets only a 2 1/2 star satisfaction rating on pricegrabber.com im not getting it.
 

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