[JonnyBoy]

I'll just copy this over from an archos forum because I'm way too lazy to retype it. It'll give you an idea of what I need.

Well, I'll introduce myself real quick. My name is Jon and I'm an design student at the University of Cincinnati. Until recently I've been just peachy with my Cowon X5, but I've been having a hard time with the fact that I simply can't fit all my music on it. Right now my collection is around 95 gigs, and I would absolutely love to carry it all around with me.

I've never been an iFan. Nobody can deny how fantastic the iPod initially was from a user-friendliness and design standpoint, but certain things always scared me off, including reports of sound quality, and the fact that everybody and their grandmother has one...and people are always having them break.

Now, I see there are a few options for large capacity players. Obviously the iPod Classic, and just recently I learned about the 605 Wifi. The Price of the 605 is pretty awesome, and all the features make me lust after it, but there are certain things that are scaring me away.

Basically, here are a list of my priorities. Being poor and obsessed with music, it's my first priority in a player. I am not an audiophile or anything, but I do own a fairly decent set of headphones (Grado SR60), and I like my music pretty loud sometimes (due to the fact that they aren't noise canceling).

I'm also pretty busy with schoolwork, and don't always have time (or I fall asleep before I get a chance) to charge my player. The X5L was great, because it had a huge battery capacity and I was able to use it for a few days before charging became a problem.

I also take a lot of Greyhounds when I travel home, and I absolutely hate the trips. I could see how a PMP would be awesome for this, but again, the battery thing comes into play. Some people are hardly getting any time when playing videos, and charging via wall outlet requires that extra dock.

I'm conflicted. I really need some advice. The new Zune looks great too, but does anybody know if they plan on releasing a 160 gig flavor? Any other suggestions? Any help is incredibly appreciated, and if you need any more information out of me I'll be glad to

 

[JonnyBoy]

Bump for desperation

 

[Assorted]

I won't be able to help with the PMP, but I think I can give you a healthier direction.

Greyhounds, in fact all transportation is pretty noisy, and it isn't very healthy to use open headphones for hours at a time in that kind of an environment, especially if you're obsessed with music. Your first priority is always hearing conservation: rule one in the book for all music listeners. I won't suggest noise canceling, but IEMs, or semi-canal phones is more suited to your lifestyle. Earphonesolutions.com for starters

 

[JonnyBoy]

I appreciate the suggestion. I plan on investing on some nice IEMs soon enough, but I really need a new mp3 player.

I'm getting close to just saying ef it and getting an iPod.

 

[appophylite]

The AV604/5 will give almost 14 hours of battery on music and 4-5 before crapping out with movies. You can also get a higher rated battery later for it, I believe.

But I think they top at 30 GB so you wouldn't be able to carry your entire collection. Unless they sell those models with a higher capacity drive or you can buy one later from Archos themselves.

 

[davidr2287]

I have the 605 wifi 30 GB. I have to say that i was dissapointed with the sound quality at first but after the recent firmware update i would say the sound qualitiy of the 605 has improved. I use UE super fi 5's with my archos and i noticed that since i started using the archos wit the super fi 5's my battery life has decreased. I still find it too be pretty good though (at least for me). At full charge and by having it a high volume i would say i get about 7-8 hours before the power bar shows its halfway.

 

[JonnyBoy]

Do you have problems with the volume being too low overall? Is the interface too clumsy to be a player that focuses on audio moreso than video?

 

[vDrag0n]

I Plan on getting a cowon A3 when it comes out. It supports many different formats, but only has 60gb space and 7.5 hrs vid time..

 

[dave-g]

I would personally have to say that there is nothing wrong going the iPod route. I've always been a swimming upstream kind of guy myself, so I understand where you are coming from. But let your good taste in music separate you from the unwashed masses, who cares how you listen to it.

I would have to agree 100% with Assorted, you'd be wise to pick up some nice ear canal phones or you'll do damage that you can't undo. I work in the audio field and you wouldn't believe how many people I know who have fried their ears during their youth, and are now paying the price. As an added bonus, you'll hear much more detail and it really helps shut out the world around you. I had my first Greyhound bus adventure this spring (we don't have buses down here) and I put on my ety ER4P's and listened to my Nano all the way from Mannhattan to DC without one interruption...

 

[Aevum]

im also looking for a new harddrive player, the A2/A3 is too bulky, and i dont like the battery life on the archos,

i have a 20gb kenwood, but it dosnt convince me, im basicly hoping that the x7 is the true answer, for now, the X5 has more then 2 years on it, creative and apple are DRM and propietary traps, archos battery life isnt to my liking, i dont use the video, but the 17 hours audio on paper turn in to 13-14 hours real life and thats playin 128k mp3´s, using higher bitrates and more cpu intensive formats, that drops to less then 8-10h, add the "no usb, please use our propietary dock" factor, so, im kind of going insane here, the A2 dosnt look that bulky anymore, but still, i´d like something more fresh and less brick style,

 

[davidr2287]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JonnyBoy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Do you have problems with the volume being too low overall? Is the interface too clumsy to be a player that focuses on audio moreso than video?

For the archos, it use to be a problem but it seems like its been fix through the firmware so volume is not an issue for me (especially with the super fi. 5's). The 605 is not built to be used mainly as a music player, it focuses more on video, so i would say that it is a bit clumsy. The user interface is not intuitive like my creative zen which i would usually control without having to look at the screen. But for all the xtras the 605 has, i still prefer it over most players

 

[dave-g]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aevum /img/forum/go_quote.gif icreative and apple are DRM and proprietary traps...,

I might be missing something here, but if an ipod plays AIFF, WAV and MP3's how is that proprietary or DRM limited? I can see where the Audible, AAC, and even ALAC formats could be proprietary... but 3 out of 6 formats doesn't seem like a trap to me.

Here's a list of most of the current players and the formats that they support:
Devices and formats that they support

 

[JonnyBoy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aevum /img/forum/go_quote.gif im also looking for a new harddrive player, the A2/A3 is too bulky, and i dont like the battery life on the archos, i have a 20gb kenwood, but it dosnt convince me, im basicly hoping that the x7 is the true answer, for now, the X5 has more then 2 years on it, creative and apple are DRM and propietary traps, archos battery life isnt to my liking, i dont use the video, but the 17 hours audio on paper turn in to 13-14 hours real life and thats playin 128k mp3´s, using higher bitrates and more cpu intensive formats, that drops to less then 8-10h, add the "no usb, please use our propietary dock" factor, so, im kind of going insane here, the A2 dosnt look that bulky anymore, but still, i´d like something more fresh and less brick style,

Looks like we're pretty much in the same version of hell. I'm probably going to just swallow my pride, get the iPod, and with my leftover money grab a decent set of in ear phones.

 

[Aevum]

i cant swallow that much, i will have to hold it till the X7 is out,

 

[JonnyBoy]

I'm pretty sure I'm just going to go iPod. My friend can get me a discount via the apple store, so even if something better comes out soon, I won't sweat it because of the price I paid. With the extra I'm going to invest in some in-ear phones.