[Nick B]

Greetings Learned Forum:

Now that some Christmas cash has trickled into my hands, I find myself seeking to upgrade my hard drive player. And it's a dinosaur. I own an Archos Jukebox 10 GB. I still love it, having downloaded the Rockbox operating system and enjoy it thoroughly. The problem is that the storage is limited. My music collection is roughly twice the 10 gig capacity.

So I am looking for something I can put all of my tunes on, with room to grow. I'm thinking 20 GB would be minimum, 30 GB would be fine, 40 would be even better.

If money were no object, I believe I would be drawn to the iAudio X5L. I currently own an iAudio G2 and absolutely love it. However, I'm tempeted by some of the really low prices on Creative Zen Touch 40 GB. And then there is the whole ipod thing. And the whole Rio thing.

So, learned forum, what are your thoughts and opinions. You input is greatly appreciated.

Nick B

 

[Nick B]

somebody?

 

[Steve Wilcox]

Hi Nick

I'm in much the same boat as you.

I've currently got a Zen Micro 5MB which is great but now full up - I find it very annoying having to delete stuff every time I want to put something new on.

I like my Creative more than my daughter's I Pod. I find the software easier to use - I find I Tunes a little "big brother". The thinking seems to be tied in to buying music from I Tunes and there's also a bit of an assumption that you're going to synchronise with your music library on your PC.

Soundwise, Im still undecided. The I pod has got bigger base but the Zen micro has got a slightly more subtle sound and is probably better for longer listening.

All this leads me to think about the Zen Touch 40GB which is much cheaper (at least it is this side of the pond (England)) than equivalent I Pod and seems to be reviewed in much the same light.

I use the Zen Micro with some Etymotic ER4P's which are fantastic. I've also got the ER4S converter and can quite happily listen to music on my Hi Fi through them while my wife watches telly.

I'd really welcome more advice on this.

 

[max-9]

The X5L is my favorite player . Nothing yet matches it (in my opinion).
My main reasons for this opinion are Huge battery runtime and Excellent sound quality , Topped of with features other daps may not have (fm radio , user adjustable equalizer , sound enhancements , drag n drop ect ect)
Its worth looking into.