[wardyboy]

I'm a total idiot when it comes to MP3 players, so I would be obliged to hear from those who know, which is the best MP3 player to buy, and why? I apologise if this thread has been on before, but as an idiot, I couldn't find it. Thanks in advance.

 

[The D]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wardyboy I'm a total idiot when it comes to MP3 players, so I would be obliged to hear from those who know, which is the best MP3 player to buy, and why? I apologise if this thread has been on before, but as an idiot, I couldn't find it. Thanks in advance.

Best SQ out of the headphone out: iAudio X5 and the Rio Karma.
Best SQ out of line out: ipod with dock and the iRiver h120.
Best screen: Toshiba Gigabeat and the Mrobe m500.
Best features: iAudio X5 and iRiver H320.

What more do you want to know?

 

[Oddball]

The best thing you can do is decide what you want in an mp3 player.

How much storage? (a flash player that can hold a few albums, a hard drive player with the potential to hold your entire collection, or a mini-hd player as a compromise)

What will you use it for? (hard drive players don't go well with exercise)

What's the format of your digital music collection? (if you have iTunes store songs, then you'll have to use an Apple player, not all players support ogg vorbis or flac, but mp3 is almost universal)

Is your digital music collection tagged correctly or is it pretty messed up labeling? (if it's tagged well, look into id3 tag database oriented players that read the tags, if not, look into file folder tree navigation players)

Do you want any special features? (fm radio, recording, etc)

How will you be listening to it? (out of the line-out with an amp or straight out of the headphone jack)

How big (physically) do you want it to be? (a lot of the older hard drive players can be found cheap, but they're usually huge. flash and mini-hd players have a definite advantage)

And finally

How much are you willing to spend?

These are just a few questions that pop to mind. There are many more. Decide what you want and which ones are the most important to you. Only you can decide what's the best for you. I find preference to be highly subjective. Use the search function here, and www.dapreview.com is an awesome site for your needs.

 

[wardyboy]

Thanks for the replys. I want to be able to listen to music CDs only. I'm not interested in video or radio. I'm totally confused as to some of the terminology, as I'm a 62 year old fart who doesn't exercise except for walking. I like to listen to jazz and occasional classical. I think that Cleo Laine is just about the best female vocallist the planet has ever produced which will give you some idea as to my state of mind. From what I have read, something along the lines of 5 - 10 Gb should do me. I have used my sons Sony 1Gb player, and would prefer something larger. BTW my son is a bigger berk than me when it comes to the technology of MP3's. So I defer to people who know. Me and him (my son) don't.

 

[4xer]

I think you will do great with the M:Robe. $99US for 5gb is good enough

 

[bigshot]

So, what is the best model of MP3 player for total idiots?

See ya
Steve

 

[wardyboy]

Bigshot; Oooooooooh! As it seems to take one to know one, perhaps you, could tell me. Us total idiots should stick together. I can freely admit to being an idiot when it comes to MP3 players. Keep the replies coming people. I think I'm leaning towards something in the 5 - 10Gb range.

 

[bob2300]

If you have the cash and dont care about extra features then I would get a ipod.

Simply because it is easy to use.

 

[Sparky191]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigshot So, what is the best model of MP3 player for total idiots? See ya Steve

iPod Shuffle

 

[Fatality_]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sparky191 iPod Shuffle

i agree

 

[Oddball]

I have to agree about something in the iPod line. They're really easy to use and are very nice players.

 

[wardyboy]

Thanks for the replies everybody. Does anyone have any views on the SonyNW-HD5? I know it's quite big, but it's also not much dearer than the ipods. Any other suggestions (polite ones that is) would be appreciated.

 

[Ypoknons]

HD-NW5: Try the Sony software first. If that doesn't kill you, you'll find that you get a small stylish player with very long battery life, but if you're an audiophile the output maybe a little too bass-y for you. No color. Check out the new Walkman and see if you the look of that.

iPod: Can't go wrong here. Easy to use, good battery life, does photos (I find it useful to show off some of my photo/photoshop work). Plenty of accesories - for example, if you want a line-out, you can buy one. If you want speakers, you buy one. If you want an ultra-stylish case, you can buy one. Biggest drawback: ongoing rumors of a next generation ipod at the end of the month. Avoid the Shuffle.

Seriously, I've never found an FM tuner to be of great use, and I'd rather have a hot case than an tuner.

Olympus MR-100: Why not? Good 5GB player for $100. Sure to perk eyes. I like mine very much, even though she's just the fluffy minded kind of girl.

Toshiba: Naw. Why? The next-genreation X30 is an 30GB player the size of an ipod mini with a great screen, but by the time that gets outside Asia Apple may have something better out.

X5: Great player. I need my ID3 database (you know, browse songs by artist or album) though, and plenty of people do.

iRiver H10: The American models can't be used as a portable hard drive outside of Windows XP, which sucks for someone who loves his PC but works on Macs quite often.

iRiver H320: Almost a X5 with ID3 database, but it's big by today's standards.

 

[IstariAsuka]

If you're concerned about pricepoint as well, you can get a 5GB Rio Carbon for really rather cheap nowadays. It's a nice, small little player.

 

[Sparky191]

Quote:

Originally Posted by The D Best SQ out of the headphone out: iAudio X5 and the Rio Karma. ...

I would have said the shuffle. Not that I've compared them in an A-B test but based on scientific tests, posted on the web.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ypoknons ....Avoid the Shuffle. ...

Personally I find the shuffle great. I've a 5GB Zen micro aswell and I use the shuffle more. Its smaller then everything else. Sounds great, and you never need to look at it. That said if you tried a 1gig player and felt you needed more (why BTW?) then the shuffle is out anyway. As is a nano at 4gb.