[Nick B]

Greetings Learned Forum:

My old 1 GB flash player has died and I need a replacement. I have been looking closely at the iPod Shuffle and the iAudio U2. Other than the display, what are the differences between these two players, especially when it comes to sound quality. I keep hearing about the shuffle's great sound. Are any of the others catching up? Also, feel free to throw the Creative Zen and Muvo into the mix. A rechargable battery is a plus. Thank you for your thoughts and opinions.

Nick B

 

[Asr]

I can't speak for the Shuffle but the U2 has good SQ. It adds a heavy kick to the bass (I tested it against its corresponding CD on my speakers) and everything else just sounds good; I can't say "great" because I encoded the MP3 files at 160 kb/s but if you encode higher obviously it's going to sound better.

The U2 also has an FM tuner, a line-in recorder, and a voice recorder. And a lot of options. And the latest firmware adds support for OGG.

Combine all that with the features it has, and you've got the best damn flash player around IMO. Nothing beats it. The iRiver flash players might pack more battery life (with AAA battery) but they need to be upgraded to be recognized as USB drives, and are a little bigger. The U2 is USB ready out of the box.

 

[ed_bollix]

I am perfectly happy with my Creative N200 and they have dropped in price to the $125.00 US price point. I have directly compared it to the Shuffle and can't really notice a difference. I couldn't manage without the display so to me the choice was clear. I use Shure E2's on the N200 without an amp. I ride my motorcycle and the level is adequate for most riding.

For size:

 

[grawk]

The shuffle + ER4Ps have stunning SQ...

 

[underdogg]

ed,

how's the line-in recording w/ the n200?

 

[Little J040]

Somone had a Monolith, I'm not sure if there avail in the Us though, but they are sick I've heard

 

[c.you]

I also recommend the iaudio u2. I personally have an iriver ifp790 and the SQ's great.

 

[Nick B]

Thank you all for your replies. I am definitely leaning toward iAudio. After a bit for time on their website, I would like your opinions regarding the U2 vs. the G3. The size difference between the two does not matter to me. The price difference is negligible. I am just wondering what factors would push a person one way or the other. Again, thank you very much for your input.

Nick B

 

[ed_bollix]

I only used the in-line on the N200 once and the quality seemed to be good. I was ripping a demo fro my band from a mini-disk so it wasn't really a good example. I purchased it for the size and was pleased with the features and sound.

 

[Asr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick B Thank you all for your replies. I am definitely leaning toward iAudio. After a bit for time on their website, I would like your opinions regarding the U2 vs. the G3. The size difference between the two does not matter to me. The price difference is negligible. I am just wondering what factors would push a person one way or the other. Again, thank you very much for your input. Nick B

Well the differences between the U2 and G3 are battery type, form factor, and the G3's flash memory seems to be removable (!). You said the size difference doesn't matter but the G3 is almost the size of an HD-based player, a better alternative would be the iAudio 5. Anyway it comes down to which battery type you prefer. The U2 recharges from any computer with a USB port and in real-world usage has about 16 hours. The G3 claims 50 hours but you can probably expect about 40, and you'll need to use an AA battery. Of course you can use rechargeable batteries but you'd probably want to carry a spare everywhere you go.

 

[jrosenth]

Entirely in my opinion, but I've been real pleased with the sound quality on the rio chiba (also heard the forge which was very nice too) - both have removable SD memory, up to 1 gig.

 

[Decotti]

I have an iAudio U2 and love it. I encode all my music for my U2 in Ogg v5 and sometimes use the EQ, I get about 13 hrs playback time. You mileage my very.