choked when i went to buy a DAP...

[slick]

i wanted to get an mp3 player, again.

i needed something small that i can keep in my pocket, but i'm such a gadget monkey that its hard for me to settle on something simple.

i narrowed it down to the zen micro, rio carbon, and iriver h10.

the h10 was the "coolest" looking one, and i thought it was the only one with an FM tuner (didnt know that the micro also has one, though i dont see myself using it much). the iriver was the most expensive, at bestbuy, it was $100 more than the carbon, which was the cheapest.

i stood there for 30 minutes looking at all of them, leaving with nothing. i like all of them, and i cant decide.

the carbon was the smallest, i liked that since i want something thats not easily "sensed" in my pocket. the iriver was slim also, while the micro was a little "fatter" than the rest, they were all small though.

really, it comes down to which one sounds the best, and which can power my sennheiser px100.

i really like that iriver, but if its not the best sounding, i dont want it.

so, which should i buy? please help me, next time i go to get one, i want to leave the store with one

no ipod mini, had one, its okay, thats all i am saying about that.

 

[Seijang]

If you want to read about the iRiver H10, go to www.misticriver.net and look around the Hx0 forums. They'll give you the pros and cons.

Currently, I am an iRiver fan, and I wanted to buy my sister an mp3 player - based on the not-so-favorable reviews from misticriver.net, I am not getting an H10 for her, but will probably get one of the 1 gig flash sony flash drive mp3 players.

 

[Cyclone]

buy all three. its the head-fi way.

 

[slick]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seijang If you want to read about the iRiver H10, go to www.misticriver.net and look around the Hx0 forums. They'll give you the pros and cons. Currently, I am an iRiver fan, and I wanted to buy my sister an mp3 player - based on the not-so-favorable reviews from misticriver.net, I am not getting an H10 for her, but will probably get one of the 1 gig flash sony flash drive mp3 players.

wow, a quick read on those forum revealed A LOT of upset H10 owners, i think i might stay away.

thanks for the quick reply and helpful info, you saved me some cash

 

[slick]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cyclone buy all three. its the head-fi way.

thats what i was trying to avoid, lol.

looks like i knocked one of the contenders out.

 

[wanderman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by slick thats what i was trying to avoid, lol. looks like i knocked one of the contenders out.

most of the thing wrong with the iriver have been fixed with the firmware upgrade. It no longer has the sound distortion problems whe using eq. Everything is organized by track order.

 

[Cyclone]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wanderman most of the thing wrong with the iriver have been fixed with the firmware upgrade. It no longer has the sound distortion problems whe using eq. Everything is organized by track order.

Iriver fixed it?!?!?!

good times if your an H10 owner.

edit: i just look over at irivers site and the US still DOESNT have a firmware.


liar...


Yet another edit: Quote:

Originally Posted by wanderman FOR ALL YOU NON-BELIEVERS

Well strike me down and call me mary, im wrong. i didnt look very hard did I?...

 

[slick]

damn, maybe i will put the H10 back on the list.

see what i mean, its hard to pick one, i looked like a dope standing around staring at the DAPs and not buying one.

if we leave the iriver out of this and look at the micro and carbon, which is better one for sound quality? i heard that creatives always had great SQ, its just that they were bigger than the competition, or the UI sucked, and crappy supplied software, am i right to assume this?

 

[Cyclone]

Quote:

Originally Posted by slick damn, maybe i will put the H10 back on the list. see what i mean, its hard to pick one, i looked like a dope standing around staring at the DAPs and not buying one. if we leave the iriver out of this and look at the micro and carbon, which is better one for sound quality? i heard that creatives always had great SQ, its just that they were bigger than the competition, or the UI sucked, and crappy supplied software, am i right to assume this?

I dont think you will be able to tell the difference in SQ, its not like comparing the micro to the 1g ipod mini. Both sound flat out great. The UI on the micro is better than the mini's UI, mostly because creative jacked the mini's UI and refined it and added more options to it. i absoloutly LOVE the UI for the micro. the carbons UI just sucked, i can figure it out but it just feels unintuative, its like driving a stick but 1st gear is in the bottom right hand corner, i can still drive it but it just feels a bit cumbersome. Others swear by it though so what can is say.

the software supplied by the micro does suck but luckily you can just use WMP10 and only WMP10 and it will be fine (for most people). the micro is a few cm thicker than the competition but i really dont care or notice, if your used to having a teeny tiny player the micro will seem big but i came from a RCA 1080 so i felt it as a very thin player in my pocket. not to mention the micro just looks smaller head on than the carbon does, in my eyes (i have 17/19 vision

me = supperior

). But all in all you cant go too wrong with either the carbon or micro. Just make a list of your top 5 most important features and qualities and decide which one fits them best.

 

[blessingx]

Well out of the three I'd get an iPod mini. Seriously though it's difficult to help without knowing more what you're after. All should power the PX200s fine. I know I'd probably pick the Rio next, but that's based on A) personal touch/feel/"ergonomics" perferences and B) only major issue can be solved with a bit of tape (as long as plastic disc doesn't break). The iRiver, has you've seen, has a few problems (which may or may not be fixed in the future). Creatives iPod-like PDA features though is a big plus in my book. It's just the reported weakness in output (~7 [some reviews put it at 5] mW per channel) would concern me with some phones. Many MDs have nearly the same though.

 

[wanderman]

FOR ALL YOU NON-BELIEVERS

 

[gshan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wanderman FOR ALL YOU NON-BELIEVERS

Iriver often posts the most vital firmware upgrades (ex. the one that allowed my flash player to be recognized by win as a usb drive) on their world site (iriver.com) instead of their america site (iriveramerica.com). They have awesome firmware support, new features, and even modify current features to make them work better. It seems to me that they just don't push out a product and forget about it - they're constantly testing them, or simply listening to user feedback.

 

[Bacon]

The Zen Micro's removable battery, FM Radio, Voice Recorder are all fancy little add-ons which when looking for a DAP, stuff like that was on the bottom of a long list of priorities, but now I've got my Micro, I use the radio all the time, and I'm going to buy a spare battery very soon.

As for sound, hey, its creative! And speaking of getting creative (do you like the link there? ) the custom EQ setting means whatever style of music you like, you can set the Micro to play it however you like.

If I had a sign with "Pro Zen Micro" written on it, I'd definatly be holding it up right now.

 

[mushu]

I've owned a rio carbon, and it was the perfect form factor, features, SQ and navigation (just a bit too little space for me).

I've played with the micro, and find it really annoying. The carbon can be used with ease in your pocket, and I much prefer real buttons apposed to touch sensitive crap. Plus the carbon is far cheaper than the rest!

Sound quality wise, it is very hard to tell any difference. But all 3 have amazing SQ for such small players, maybe not on par with a karma, but still very good indeed.

 

[wanderman]

THe best thing about the iriver h10 is the dock has a foldable clam shell design so it is perfect if you want to connect and amp to it, and the best thing about it is that it is a true line out. If you want to get a small portable amp the ipod mini and the iriver h10 are the best ones to use.