[snowyweston]

....or is that asking too much? I simply don't care for video, mobile web browsing and all these other natty apps getting shoehorned into players these days. I noticed on TV this week the Nano's doing video now - why?!?

I'm coming from music-only, Sony stock here - I've loved every unit of their's I've owned but my D-E805 couldn't hack the pace at uni, my NW-HD1 didn't like travelling the world, and now my NWA-3000 is showing it's battery-recycle life - I'm getting all of 2 hours out of it if I'm lucky.

Admittedly I'm not helping it by listening to 320kbps MP3's on it - but I've long given up asking SonicStage to convert (and double up) my music library - and since my MDR-D66's died, I've reset the volume hack because I'm making do with a pair of Sennheisers CX300 II which don't need as much juice... but 2 hours is a joke. My commute to work is less than 10mins - but I like to go on long walks on the weekends but getting half way to where I want to be and having my music run out is really really frustrating.

So I need a new player - without any bells any whistles - just good honest sq , fairly decent* storage (when I say decent, 20gb would do me fine) and a battery life that'll get as close to a full days play - which I guess is sending sees me in realm of flash-based players?

I got quite excited when I saw the Sansa Clip+ got ABI's #1 spot for 2009 mp3 player of the year - but have since read internet critiques of their battery life - I'm a bit out of touch with everything else - since all the interest seems to have been on the big boys toys of late.

Any other suggestions?

 

[toughnut]

X1000? Since u love Sony sound. Or perhaps give a try with Clip+ as it's pretty cheap.

 

[snowyweston]

I have been following the X1000 - but I can't help thinking I'm going to be paying good money for a lot of features I won't ever use.

And yes I know people always say people who say they'll never use features often always do - but, well - it's quite a bit of cash to "suck it and see"....

you're right though, the clip is so cheap I'd be stupid not to just get one - and it's so cheap AND small I could buy two and carry one as backup! But I thought I'd ask here all the same incase there were models out on the market completely missing my radar.

 

[prone2phone]

sansa fuze sounds same as clip and has better battery and card slot

 

[Joe Average]

Grab a Fuze and some microSD cards, some great 'phones or IEMs, and have fun. Better battery life, larger display (if that matters at all), and while it's more capable than just the Clip/Clip+ with video support (all but meaningless), it's a better value I'd say for the display and battery life precisely.

 

[shigzeo]

The Amp3 is also good if you don't have too sensitive of earphones (hiss).

 

[DKaz]

I would say stick with Sony. I have had several Sony Walkmans and if you love the sound, then you may be dissappointed by other players (Cowon seems cold to me, Sansas have always seemed grainy to me). If it's just for music, then get the new S series. I have used my S series several hours a day for the last year and a half, and I love it. I just bought the E series for my wife, but haven't listened to it yet. The X series may sound better, but it will cost you almost 3 times as much and I'm not sure I/you want a touchscreen.

Amazon:
Sony 545 16Gb

 

[RASeymour]

Just a niggling point: I haven't seen too much difference in the battery life between the Fuze and Clip+, at least with playback of mostly FLAC files.

Otherwise the Clip+ is just great. I 2nd Joe Average's observations.

I bought the AMP3 largely because I too only needed a music player. It is a tough love though.

 

[snowyweston]

RASeymour / Joe Average - see these are the reasons I make threads then regret it, we're now onto the Fuze and comments about card slots - but I thought the Clip+ had a card slot?!?


DKaz - the S series? Isn't that the natty one with the built in speakers? I've always thought they looked quite slick, and can be had for less than a £100 from places like play these days... I wonder maybe if I could even drop "down" to the E series - looks like I've some reading to do on all the series and models though....


I'm in Australia at the moment so do you reckon buying from Japan is a viable option? I've a (Japanese) colleague going home for Christmas and could get her to get me NW-A840

 

[larryhudson]

Quote:

Originally Posted by snowyweston /img/forum/go_quote.gif RASeymour / Joe Average - see these are the reasons I make threads then regret it, we're now onto the Fuze and comments about card slots - but I thought the Clip+ had a card slot?!?

Yes, the Clip+ has a card slot, they're saying get the Fuze for the better battery and bigger display.

 

[bcpk]

Time for an S9 and ONLY an S9

 

[snowyweston]

Thanks bcpk - I'm sure you're very proud of yours, but in addition to being massively over-specced for my needs, it's also a little too large for my wants - I'd buy a netbook if I wanted something that did everything - and going by the looks of it, the cowon's not that much smaller than a netbook.

 

[bcpk]

The Fuze's battery life is better than the Clip+'s, I think. Also, isn't the fact that the Clip+ can record with its mic and play radio offputtingly over-specced to you?

 

[BenWaB3]

I just checked the measurements on the S9 & they are a little less than 4-1/4" x 2-1/4". The tape measure I was using didn't have centimeters. One thing about the Cowans is that the battery is supposed to last over 40 hrs. per charge. I can't say if that's true or not since I've never tried. I'm not sure what you mean by over-specced but whatever unit you decide on you might want to get one that does a little more than what you want & possibly start to use those features rather than gettiing one that just fits the minimum & then having to purchase another unit when the present one no longer suits your wants. The Sansas can be had for a better price than the Cowans, plus they are expandable. I had picked one up for an ex-GF one year & thought they were a fine sounding unit. I also have a Walkman & think it's a great unit too, but just personally think the S9 shines a bit more than everything else out there.

 

[foreverfi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RASeymour /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just a niggling point: I haven't seen too much difference in the battery life between the Fuze and Clip+, at least with playback of mostly FLAC files. Otherwise the Clip+ is just great. I 2nd Joe Average's observations. I bought the AMP3 largely because I too only needed a music player. It is a tough love though.

Also , AMP3 has the longest playing time battery in the market , about 100 hours per charge.