Azure
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I'm sure all of those mp3 players will be able to drive them, I'm just wondering which one will deliver the absolute best sound quality.
Need a new MP3 player...
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Mr Iriver
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Even though I dislike the ipod's sound signature, I am sure the ipod will drive the headphones better than the other players you listed.
Thisp
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In terms of power to drive headphones, the Rio Karma has a 55 mW output @ 16 ohms. The iRiver has a 20 mW output @ 16 ohms. The Karma will output 30 mW @ 32 ohms, and I don't know what the iRiver will.. usually when you double the impedance, you cut the power almost in half. the Grados are 32 ohms so.. you'll get about three times the power with the Karma than with the iRivers, unless you use an amp in which case the iRiver'd step on the Rio. Yet you said ampless.
The iAudio models have the same output power as the iRiver.
The iPod has a bass recession with 16-32 ohm 'phones, which speaks for itself regarding its quality ampless. It shouldn't really be enough to cause its own 'signature' on the entire spectrum of audio, though..
The iAudio models have the same output power as the iRiver.
The iPod has a bass recession with 16-32 ohm 'phones, which speaks for itself regarding its quality ampless. It shouldn't really be enough to cause its own 'signature' on the entire spectrum of audio, though..
Thisp
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btw.. in response to a majority of the first page of this thread.. who says you'd be limited in getting flash players for $200?
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...150-028&depa=0
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...101-121&depa=0
And you'd still have money left over for an extended warrenty.
iRiver and Rio are regarded as some of the best companies for MP3 players, especially flash ones(much simpler in design, much less to screw up). You can expand the forge to 1 GB using flash memory cards, and the iRiver supports Vorbis and USB 2. Doesn't seem 'limited' to me.
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...150-028&depa=0
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...101-121&depa=0
And you'd still have money left over for an extended warrenty.
JayDPiii
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Quote:
Regarding the original Q of this thread. I looked at three 512 Flash Players before deciding to go with the Creative ZEN Micro for more storage space.
The RIO FORGE: Advantages - Additional memory.
Disadvantages: previous, similar, lots of problems according to reviews of users. Lousy Customer service.
Creative MuVo TX FM 512: Advantages - less expensive, appeared to be more reliable than previuos versions of RIO Flash players.
Disadvantages - so-so customer service, no expandable memory.
Neither accept the preferred Ogg Vorbis format vs. the more expensive iRiver 790, which, except for the price, & not as intuitive menu/navigation may have been my first choice.
| Originally Posted by Thisp btw.. in response to a majority of the first page of this thread.. who says you'd be limited in getting flash players for $200? |
Regarding the original Q of this thread. I looked at three 512 Flash Players before deciding to go with the Creative ZEN Micro for more storage space.
The RIO FORGE: Advantages - Additional memory.
Disadvantages: previous, similar, lots of problems according to reviews of users. Lousy Customer service.
Creative MuVo TX FM 512: Advantages - less expensive, appeared to be more reliable than previuos versions of RIO Flash players.
Disadvantages - so-so customer service, no expandable memory.
Neither accept the preferred Ogg Vorbis format vs. the more expensive iRiver 790, which, except for the price, & not as intuitive menu/navigation may have been my first choice.
Circuit City has the Sandisk 1Gig flash player on sale thru 11/27:
Sale price $179 - $40 rebate = $139 net
I think that is the best storage::$$ ratio for flash players ATM. For the same price you can also look at the hard drive-based Nitrus that holds 1.5gigs too. I can't comment on the file navigation of either one.
In the end, I think that is too much money for such limited storage. I never go anywhere for the day without my backpack, so such a small player is not a necessity, as cool as it may be. And managing the music selection on such a small capacity player would be a daily thing, which is too often for me.
I agree that the money is better spent on CD's, or save for a better high-capacity player like an iPod (full size).
Sale price $179 - $40 rebate = $139 net
I think that is the best storage::$$ ratio for flash players ATM. For the same price you can also look at the hard drive-based Nitrus that holds 1.5gigs too. I can't comment on the file navigation of either one.
In the end, I think that is too much money for such limited storage. I never go anywhere for the day without my backpack, so such a small player is not a necessity, as cool as it may be. And managing the music selection on such a small capacity player would be a daily thing, which is too often for me.
I agree that the money is better spent on CD's, or save for a better high-capacity player like an iPod (full size).
Azure
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Okay, now I'm thinking of getting a HDD based player with use with the A500s and I've narrowed it down to the following:
Rio Carbon - $200
Rio Karma - $170
Apple Ipod Mini - $200
Which one delivers the best sound quality and has good functionability (Be able to create your own playlists easily, scroll through all your songs easily and quickly, etc.)? I don't know why, but it seems like the Carbon and Karma would be horrible when it comes to browsing through your songs because there isn't a scroll wheel and you would constantly have to press that "next" button. Is this true?
Rio Carbon - $200
Rio Karma - $170
Apple Ipod Mini - $200
Which one delivers the best sound quality and has good functionability (Be able to create your own playlists easily, scroll through all your songs easily and quickly, etc.)? I don't know why, but it seems like the Carbon and Karma would be horrible when it comes to browsing through your songs because there isn't a scroll wheel and you would constantly have to press that "next" button. Is this true?
proximal
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Quote:
The Carbon and Karma have scroll wheels. The Karma's (not sure about Carbon) is speed sensitive, so getting to the bottom of longs lists isn't a problem. The Carbon doesn't do playlists on the fly, but the Karma does, and you can easily view and edit (insert/append/reorder) a playlist. If interface and playlisting capabilities are your priorities, the Karma's what you're looking for.
| Originally Posted by Azure I don't know why, but it seems like the Carbon and Karma would be horrible when it comes to browsing through your songs because there isn't a scroll wheel and you would constantly have to press that "next" button. Is this true? |
The Carbon and Karma have scroll wheels. The Karma's (not sure about Carbon) is speed sensitive, so getting to the bottom of longs lists isn't a problem. The Carbon doesn't do playlists on the fly, but the Karma does, and you can easily view and edit (insert/append/reorder) a playlist. If interface and playlisting capabilities are your priorities, the Karma's what you're looking for.
Jmmmmm
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Quote:
the karma has a scrollwheel....it's on top corner
karma and ipod have good sound quality; karma's sound is much more adjustable with it's parametric eq, while the ipods eq is pretty much unusable. both will probably sound good with the a500s.
i used to think the ipod had the best navigation (and i still think it is very good), but after using the karma for a while, i find the ipod a pain in the ass to use. i borrowed my g/f's ipod for a week and only ended up using it twice because i didn't like it's lack of a few features i use all the time, like:
-viewing your playlist when on random - you push the joystick and it shows the playlist, and you can scan down or up and skip to any song. as far as i know, you can't view your playlist or where you are on it with the ipod (if you can, someone please correct me)
-adjusting your playlist: at any time, you can select any song and move it to a different place on your playlist. this you can do while playing another song, etc.
-viewing details about the song: like format, bitrate, number of times played, etc
-rio dj: lots of cool features like play most often played, least often played, play me music for x amnt of time, music added within the past day/week/month/year (somethign I use a lot, so i dont have to go searching)
-dedicated volume buttons: very useful for when i'm on my bike or when someone starts talking to me
they're both great players, but these are some of the reasons i glad i have a karma. it is a good bit thicker than the ipod, though.
about the carbon - do you want 5gb or 20..?
| Originally Posted by Azure Okay, now I'm thinking of getting a HDD based player with use with the A500s and I've narrowed it down to the following: Rio Carbon - $200 Rio Karma - $170 Apple Ipod Mini - $200 Which one delivers the best sound quality and has good functionability (Be able to create your own playlists easily, scroll through all your songs easily and quickly, etc.)? I don't know why, but it seems like the Carbon and Karma would be horrible when it comes to browsing through your songs because there isn't a scroll wheel and you would constantly have to press that "next" button. Is this true? |
the karma has a scrollwheel....it's on top corner
karma and ipod have good sound quality; karma's sound is much more adjustable with it's parametric eq, while the ipods eq is pretty much unusable. both will probably sound good with the a500s.
i used to think the ipod had the best navigation (and i still think it is very good), but after using the karma for a while, i find the ipod a pain in the ass to use. i borrowed my g/f's ipod for a week and only ended up using it twice because i didn't like it's lack of a few features i use all the time, like:
-viewing your playlist when on random - you push the joystick and it shows the playlist, and you can scan down or up and skip to any song. as far as i know, you can't view your playlist or where you are on it with the ipod (if you can, someone please correct me)
-adjusting your playlist: at any time, you can select any song and move it to a different place on your playlist. this you can do while playing another song, etc.
-viewing details about the song: like format, bitrate, number of times played, etc
-rio dj: lots of cool features like play most often played, least often played, play me music for x amnt of time, music added within the past day/week/month/year (somethign I use a lot, so i dont have to go searching)
-dedicated volume buttons: very useful for when i'm on my bike or when someone starts talking to me
they're both great players, but these are some of the reasons i glad i have a karma. it is a good bit thicker than the ipod, though.
about the carbon - do you want 5gb or 20..?
Azure
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Probably 5GB. Does the Carbon have all those features that you listed for the Karma?
| Originally Posted by Jmmmmm about the carbon - do you want 5gb or 20..? |
Probably 5GB. Does the Carbon have all those features that you listed for the Karma?
cowboy
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Have you considered these;
Ipod Shuffel 1gb
SanDisk SDMX1 1gb
Samsung yp-mt6z 1gb
Comments ?
Ipod Shuffel 1gb
SanDisk SDMX1 1gb
Samsung yp-mt6z 1gb
Comments ?
Girdag
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Some, but not all.
The most important thing about the Karma? It is one of the few (it and a few Sony players) players to be able to play music gaplessly. Every other player (iPod, iRiver, Creative) inserts small 0.5 second gaps between songs. If you are listening to 2 songs that run into one another (like live mixes or some techno/dance albums), this can REALLY break the flow. The Karma doesn't. It doesn't remove deliberate gaps, but adds none of its own. UI is EXCELLENT, less simple than the iPods, but much more powerful when you master it (only takes an hours fiddling to work it all out). Has a bad rep for hard drive failures, which probably affect 1-2% of players. However, this is not too bad compared to other players (about 0.5-1% higher than most other players), and it has no other problems.
The most important thing about the Karma? It is one of the few (it and a few Sony players) players to be able to play music gaplessly. Every other player (iPod, iRiver, Creative) inserts small 0.5 second gaps between songs. If you are listening to 2 songs that run into one another (like live mixes or some techno/dance albums), this can REALLY break the flow. The Karma doesn't. It doesn't remove deliberate gaps, but adds none of its own. UI is EXCELLENT, less simple than the iPods, but much more powerful when you master it (only takes an hours fiddling to work it all out). Has a bad rep for hard drive failures, which probably affect 1-2% of players. However, this is not too bad compared to other players (about 0.5-1% higher than most other players), and it has no other problems.
Jmmmmm
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Quote:
no. i dont know all that much about the carbon, but it is known as a pretty basic no-frills player. somone with a carbon could probably tell you more, or you could go ask over at www.riovolution.com, you can probably find more than you need there.
| Originally Posted by Azure Probably 5GB. Does the Carbon have all those features that you listed for the Karma? |
no. i dont know all that much about the carbon, but it is known as a pretty basic no-frills player. somone with a carbon could probably tell you more, or you could go ask over at www.riovolution.com, you can probably find more than you need there.
Azure
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Too small (I'm already almost at a gig) and I don't like how the Shuffle doesn't have a screen.
EDIT: How does the headphone amp in the Karma compare with that in the Zen Micro?
| Originally Posted by cowboy Have you considered these; Ipod Shuffel 1gb SanDisk SDMX1 1gb Samsung yp-mt6z 1gb Comments ? |
Too small (I'm already almost at a gig) and I don't like how the Shuffle doesn't have a screen.
EDIT: How does the headphone amp in the Karma compare with that in the Zen Micro?
Mr Iriver
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If output power is most important then get the Karma.
I remember reading the output power of the micro was only 7Mw. I don't know if this is true however especially when it sounded louder than my 20mw per channel h320.
I remember reading the output power of the micro was only 7Mw. I don't know if this is true however especially when it sounded louder than my 20mw per channel h320.
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