[ctguitarguy]

im certainly not a technical noob,but my psp (which has always seem to sound great) is just too cumbersome and not enough space for my massive mp3 collection. and ive been lookin for a solid mp3 player. ive read about the cowon brand on a number of threads reading the pros and cons. as well as sony,creative etc. but i have no idea what to choose. initially i considered quantity over quality and goin for a massive ipod but ive read its audio is consistently subpar and im willing to sacrifice space for better audio quality as i listen to all sorts of music,as its a music player first and everything else player second that im looking for if i have to pick and choose. ive heard lots about the cowon d2 but the idea of all touchscreen controls is a big turn off for me.

 

[synaesthetic]

I find the Sony NWZ-A720/A820 series to be very good in regards to a lot of gripes I have about current players.

My player (A728) sounds very good right out of the headphone jack. It only holds 8GB, but there is a 16GB version available as well. It has a very nice screen that's actually large enough to watch videos on, compared to the iPod Nano 3g, which really is too small.

One of the most important aspects of the Sony player is that it has all-tactile controls. No touch wheels, touch bars, touch screens, none of that stuff. Of course, tactile buttons are moving parts, and will wear out faster than a touch screen layer (and are not as easily replaced), but I'm sure you'll be upgrading to a newer player by that point. The A728's buttons feel very solid and depress nicely.

It's also drag-and-drop, which is a huge plus for me. I don't like using music management software if I can avoid it. It has some issues with some ID3 tags, and I've seen this problem in a number of drag-and-drop capable DAPs, so it doesn't seem to be limited to the Sony only.

The D2 isn't a bad option either, and I almost went with one, but I value being able to control my player "blind" a little too much. Being able to adjust the volume blind on my A728 is a real treat after using iPods for so long. Pros and cons taken together, the A720 series is a solid choice.

P.S.: Don't bother spending more on the A820 series unless you need the Bluetooth capability. That's the only difference between the two models. Everything else is identical.

 

[ctguitarguy]

thanks for the suggestion the only thing that i feel the sony needs is memory card expansion though knowing sony they would wanna use there pro duo sticks,though i do hear the audio quality is top notch.

 

[ctguitarguy]

my only issue ith flash based mp3 players especially like the sony is capacity...i have a massive music collection the kind a 160gig ipod is suited for but the idea of sub par audio,clunky and problematic menu's,having apple be the only ones to replace battery etc... are also big turn offs so im willing to try and prioritize what i want. the only thing i think these sony's need to support are memory card expansion,as 16 gigs just is not very much...but i hear its top notch in audio quality

 

[synaesthetic]

8GB is still more music than can be played on a single battery charge. You're going to be plugging it in to recharge before you get halfway through it all anyway.

The only thing I see super high capacity players being useful for is video, but your mileage may vary, especially if you consider lossless to be worthwhile for portable use.

 

[ctguitarguy]

i dont care too much about lossless but it depends on what im listening to,i could careless about video,i have a psp with an amazing screen for that. the best price ive seen for the 829 is 280$ from circuitcity which is infact cheaper then what im seein the 729 go for in most places,though im tryin to find it either cheaper,any suggestions?

isn't the point of having lossless is to have the highest grade possible audio source? and isnt it a stifled feature if the audio is subpar ala ipod classic?

 

[Ub3rMario]

Quote:

Originally Posted by synaesthetic /img/forum/go_quote.gif 8GB is still more music than can be played on a single battery charge. You're going to be plugging it in to recharge before you get halfway through it all anyway. The only thing I see super high capacity players being useful for is video, but your mileage may vary, especially if you consider lossless to be worthwhile for portable use.

I think that another issue with a lower capacity player is that if you want to have different music on it, you have to delete and then upload others. It's a hassle to be switching around stuff instead of just having access to everything after one upload.

 

[ctguitarguy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ub3rMario /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think that another issue with a lower capacity player is that if you want to have different music on it, you have to delete and then upload others. It's a hassle to be switching around stuff instead of just having access to everything after one upload.

exactly

 

[uraflit]

in all seriousness, ipods, cowon, sansa, etc... all have practically the same sound quality... they are driven by a portable source... cant be that great in the first place. take the practical route and get the 160gb ipod if u really need it, and just use that!

 

[babya]

Sony NWZ-A720/820 is great one to get-you'll find SQ on Sony's to be very good.

 

[compuryan]

I recommend the sansa e280. It is 8gb and has a microSD slot for expansion. It does what it should and is very well priced.

 

[ctguitarguy]

if it took sdhc cards i'd be sold,the big thing about the ipod is actualy the fact that hard drives go,and the big minus that the battery eventualy needs to be sent back to apple for replacement and only through them thats a major turnoff. i was looking at the creative zen with the card slot but i heard that its audio is not much better then the ipod, otherwise it looks appealing.

 

[Rarn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ctguitarguy /img/forum/go_quote.gif i was looking at the creative zen with the card slot but i heard that its audio is not much better then the ipod, otherwise it looks appealing.

The Zen's card slot is as good as completely crippled, as it does not integrate into the library, and you literally can not browse other menus or switch the screen if you choose to play anything off of it. Its borderline useless, to me at least.

The Cowon D2 on the other hand perfectly integrates SD cards into your library. They're treated just like any media on the device. This was the feature that sold it to me.

Mind you the Zen does goes up to a 32GB model, while the D2's highest is only 16GB.

 

[ctguitarguy]

the d2 is all touch control basicly so thats a no go for me,im not big on touch screen.

 

[Mr_Junesequa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by uraflit /img/forum/go_quote.gif in all seriousness, ipods, cowon, sansa, etc... all have practically the same sound quality... they are driven by a portable source... cant be that great in the first place. take the practical route and get the 160gb ipod if u really need it, and just use that!

This is not true. there are audible differences. you dont have to be an audiophile...you just have to be the type of person who posts on this forum. Before i posted here, i could tell the difference between my 1g and my crappy chinese $20 mp3...and imho the $20 sounded better. but it was rockchipped....plus were talking stock 1g. the 4g is a quite an improvement!