[Jeffreybar]

I know that all the buzz right now is focused on the Nano, but with SQ questions still unresolved, I decided to purchase a 1GB Shuffle for the gym. I had briefly listened to a friend's Shuffle before making the purchase, so I felt pretty comfortable that it would sound ok, but I just wanted to throw the official thumbs-up at my little white gumstick.

I'm an iRiver man all the way...I had a iHP140 which broke earlier this year...I replaced with an iPod Photo 60GB, which I despised. The SQ on the iPod through my preferred phones (E3s) was harsh and sibilant, it scratched immediately and annoyingly, I don't like the user interface (unlike everyone else, I guess), the EQ sucks, and I don't think that iTunes is a very good tool for managing 600-800 albums worth of music (file-folder is way better for this, since it's hierarchical, even if it's not as slick).

But man, I love the Shuffle. It sounds fantastic through all my phones (including my E3s, although my E2s are my standard workout phones), it doesn't scratch, it's light as heck, I like the fact that I can control it without looking at a screen (like I can with my iRiver, and very much unlike the iPod), and I think that iTunes is a great tool for dealing with a couple hundred songs. If Apple could make a 60GB player that gave me the experience of the shuffle (that sort of usability, SQ, and durability) with a screen, I'd buy 20 of them. Ok, well 2 of em anyway.

 

[blessingx]

The more the albums the more important tag/db structure is over file-folder if you ask me (especially with iTunes search/playlist creation artificial search), but why did you have to post the positive Shuffle review two days after I had an option to buy a 512 MB Shuffle at a local Visa marketing sale for $50 and passed it up?

Damn.

Anyway glad you're enjoying it. No problems adjusting to screenless?

 

[psyco1]

No trouble here.
I just keep it in my pocket, set it for shuffle and if I'm not in the mood for a particular song, I forward it.
Great little player, it gets good bass into er-4p's, I like the SQ from it, simple to use. You should have jumped on that deal, man.

 

[Sparky191]

I have a Zen Micro, a HiMD, MD, PCDP. Recently I got a 1GB Shuffle and find its the only thing I'm using. Its the smallest and best sounding of everything I have, and I don't need to look at it to use it. It has buttons! I shuffle, or if I find something I want to hear more of, I turn off the shuffle and just listen to all the tracks in that album. Whats not to like.

 

[ken36]

Shuffle will probably be next for me. Seems to be all I need.

 

[Jeffreybar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by blessingx The more the albums the more important tag/db structure is over file-folder if you ask me (especially with iTunes search/playlist creation artificial search) ... Anyway glad you're enjoying it. No problems adjusting to screenless?

Agreed -- IF you're using something like iTunes, the tag/db structure is important (as is having all your stuff correctly tagged, which can be a pain if you've got a lot of older mp3s). But if you are only playing stuff by albums and have your albums organized under artists, file-tree is the easiest thing in the world. The tree-structure organization, as opposed to the "flat" list which iTunes uses is just way superior if you only ever access your mp3s using a single criterion.

The lack of a screen would be a decided disadvantage if the player held gigs and gigs of files, or if I wanted to play by album or artist or whatever. Since it's for the gym, and there aren't that many files on it, and since I generally play in shuffle mode anyway, it's perfect as it is. With that few files, I find I can generally find something specific pretty quickly anyway.

 

[dougwx12]

I also just got a shuffle instead of a nano. Sound quality is more than I was expecting, but the hiss level with Shure E4's is kind of irritating. Mostly only a problem during quiet parts of a track. Anyone else having this issue?

 

[st5150]

I just gave the nano a good listening at the apple store, even though it was only through bose tri-ports. I have to say, I was very impressed with it. What shocked me most was the power output. It had no problems driving the bose triports. Definately more powerful than my iRiver H320. What surpised me second was just how thin it was. It is perfect for the gym or jogging. The screen picture wasn't bad at all. The only thing I didn't like was the click wheel, several times it would over shoot the selection I wanted to pick.