[sadaniel]

OK i'll just make it simple. Im buying either one of these next week so i need some serious feedback from u guys.

Sony VGF-AP1
- it has 20gb
- bulky, heavier then iPod
- great sound (based on reviews)
- 3 lines LCD remote with backlit
- color LCD display that display covert art of ur mp3s, if u assigned one (EXCELLENT!!)
- supports MP3 with new firmware

iRiver H10
- great design n size
- color lcd but doesnt display cover art

- doesnt sound that great (from reviews, i think u guys might have read them too, please correct me if im wrong)
- its 5gb same as zen micro

Zen Micro
- Excellent sound quality
- Got Fm tuner
- 5gb
- i heard lot or problems with people using these players (freezes, dead player, remote n earbuds are not functioning well)
- great selection of colours and small

So please guys, i need ur feedback on these, anything but the price (coz i already haf the money

i would love to hear on their durability, future proof, or anything. thanks.

 

[nashi]

Can't comment on the Zen or iRiver but I have the Sony and am very happy with it. I also own an iRiver iHp-120, iAudio M3 and iPod Mini and the Sony is my favourite. It is not that big to either hold or carry and when people say it is smaller in the flesh that it appears in pics they are right. The screen is great and the user interface with the touch pad works great and doesn't really take too much time to get used to (well not for me). The iPod scroll wheel is still the best of course but the Sony system is not too far behind and definately better than the other players I have tried. Having the LCD remote as well is also a bonus and this works well too.
As for the SonicStage software it is not as bad as some make out. OK again it is not iTunes or WMP10 (which is now close to iTunes) but SonicStage works OK and has not crashed on me. I have transferred using both MP3s and ATRAC and both work great. Have used the cover art feature for both and the lyrics display for ATRAC and these work as advertised. My only complaints are that the battery on the Sony drains quite a bit when it is off (like the iPod) as it is not really off but in standby mode. However this does mean it comes on really quick when you want to use it. But don't expect to leave it for a couple of weeks without charging or being in the dock connected to power and then for it to turn on with a full battery. How bad this is for you depends on how you use your player. But the battery does last a long time when actually playing. My other quibble is that the player doesn't really integrate everything with the PC software so that whilst I can have 5 playlists on the player these cannot be seen or edited by SonicStage. The same is true of the My History/Ratings feature on the player which keeps a record of all the tracks you listen to and when. Both Apple and Rio have done these features better.
Some of these might be fixed by firmware but as I experienced with iRiver there is no point in expecting anything new even if it is officially promised. If we get more improvements from Sony it will be a bonus.
Finally on sound quality the Sony is good. I don't really feel there are night and day differences between any of the major players (pun intended) but I am happy with the Sony sound through all kinds of phones including my Shure E5s. It's volume is a little limited but in the real world this is not a factor.
The Sony looks great, feels great in the hand, is easy to use, comes with a good dock and remote and sounds very good. There is no perfect player but this Sony is a worthy alternative to the iPod.
Of course the H10 and micro and really a different class of player given their size and features so its a bit apples (oh another pun) and pears. The Sony is really a competitor to the iPod Photo given its photo display abilities and in this case it is very close and better value for money.
Hope you enjoy whichever one you plump for.
nashi

 

[sadaniel]

Yeah now that u mentioned it, i also heard about the battery drains even when the player is off. is this supposed to be normal or its just dun work properly n sony is supposed to fix in coming firmware?

 

[nashi]

My best guess is that it is designed that way to keep certain information in memory and/or to have the player start up fast (about 3 secs). It is like the iPod in this respect which also drains the battery when off and this hasn't put too many people off an iPod. It would be better if Sony had given an option in the settings so that off was either standby or completely off with no battery drain but longer start-up time. This might come in a future firmware but don't bet on it.
The battery drain is not a major issue if you are likely to use the player every day for a reasonable period as you won't notice it and you'll be happy if you need to turn it on and off regularly whilst using. But it you use it infrequently and don't keep it in the dock charging when not in use then it might annoy you. I guess that Sony did include a nice charging dock with the player so if we don't use it to keep the player fully charged before use it is partly our fault.
nashi

 

[Jmmmmm]

I owned the micro for about two weeks and really liked it, but I had to return it because the radio didn't work. After that, I debated between getting another micro or the h10. (In the end, I got a rio karma, mainly due to the really low price.) I think the micro is a great player and I would recommend it to anyone. The UI is fantastic, is a breeze to use, and has lots of extras. It's really small and it sounds quite good. As you can see on here, people who have a micro are very happy and are very attached to them; even if they have to return them a couple times.
That, however, brings up the negative of the micro: as you said, it seems to have some reliability issues. Now I'm sure the majority of people have a working micro (we just don't hear from them), but I think its fair to say that it has a higher return rate than a lot of players at the moment. Overall, I think it's a fantastic player, if only they would fix some of these issues.

The h10: I don't know as much about these, since I only used one for about half an hour.
Positives: light, good design, good buttons/touchpad, color screen, lots of features (like 30 eq settings). You said the h10 doesn't sound that good, but I disagree. I can't directly compare it to the micro because I listened to them at different times, but I think they are on the same level. I don't know if it sounds better, but I don't think it sounds any "worse". I might give the slight edge to the h10, but I don't think sound quality is different enough b/w the h10 and micro to make it a consideration. I'd just think of them as comparable in this aspect, and both quite good.
Negatives:
Small screen - same height as other players, but narrower.
UI fine, but not as good at the micro, IMO
Apparently the american version doesn't ship with any software, and you can't upgrade the firmware w/o the software. This is an issue, and though it can be fixed, iriver is not very reliable when it comes to software/firmware updates.
Price - more expensive, but you said this wasn't a problem; lucky you

Between the two, it's a tough choice, but both are good players. I think it comes down to personal preference here. I don't know anything about the sony, though.

Edit: oh, the micro also goes into a 'standby' mode like the sony, for the first 12 hours. This might not be as bad as the sony, but the battery does drain a little bit while it's off. I found it annoying, and probably the best solution is to remove the battery if it's extemely important you get the whole battery life and you're not going to use it for a little while.

 

[mistermurph18]

EVERYONE, PLEASE READ! I need help.

I am about to buy a new mp3 player but still not exactly sure what im going to get. At first i was thinking iPod, obviously, but then i became more interested with the mini. but, heres the problem. i want to have music on the player other than cd's i own, but dont want to pay the 99 cents at itunes, but just almost got arrested for downloading on limewire. so, then i found out about Napster-to-go (for $15 a month, fill mp3 player as many times as you want) sounds great, but only three mp3 players work with it. creative micro, iriver h10 and dell pocket dj. the dell sucks so id have to either get the micro or h10 ( had the original Jukebox Zen at one time and loved it, too big now though.) so the real problem is: i like the mini better but i want to use the napster to go which requires the creative or iriver.

any suggestions??

please, comment. just tell me if you didnt follow all that.

Thanks

 

[mr.caliente]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mistermurph18 EVERYONE, PLEASE READ! I need help. I am about to buy a new mp3 player but still not exactly sure what im going to get. At first i was thinking iPod, obviously, but then i became more interested with the mini. but, heres the problem. i want to have music on the player other than cd's i own, but dont want to pay the 99 cents at itunes, but just almost got arrested for downloading on limewire. so, then i found out about Napster-to-go (for $15 a month, fill mp3 player as many times as you want) sounds great, but only three mp3 players work with it. creative micro, iriver h10 and dell pocket dj. the dell sucks so id have to either get the micro or h10 ( had the original Jukebox Zen at one time and loved it, too big now though.) so the real problem is: i like the mini better but i want to use the napster to go which requires the creative or iriver. any suggestions?? please, comment. just tell me if you didnt follow all that. Thanks

You only have to post it in one thread my friend.