What is the best MP3 player (.)?

[legionnaire]

So what is the best mp3 player period? Taking into account construction, batt life, and most importantly sound quality. I would use it with a pair of sony mdr-cd3000's not exactly steathly, or a pair of grado ra's. Both obviously have low ohm loads. Eventally I will buy a little mint or pimeta to take with it. So let the ranting begin, what is the best mp3 player, and why? Thanks for any help I get.

 

[kyrie]

Is this for portable or nonportable?

 

[Haribo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kyrie Is this for portable or nonportable?

a WILD guess is that he might be looking for a portable mp3-player.

 

[legionnaire]

hahahah, yea portable. who woulda thunk

So what is the best? Money is not an object, if im going to do this im goin to do it right!

 

[kyrie]

Haha, sorry, I forgot what forum this was for a moment.

If you're going to use it with the CD3k's, I'm guessing that size or looks isn't much of a factor.

In that case, I'd say the NJB3.

 

[raaj]

Quote:

Originally Posted by legionnaire hahahah, yea portable. who woulda thunk So what is the best? Money is not an object, if im going to do this im goin to do it right!

One more question, just to annoy you about specifics.. when you say portable, how PORTABLE do you mean?? Portable could be anyone of these varieties : 'Fits in yar pocket', Fits in a pouch around yar waist' and 'fits in a suitcase' type...

I'm not trying to be witty, but portable means different things for different people.. I myself lug my Creative Nomad Jukebox 3 around when I travel.. the NJB3 is anachronistic and butt-ugly clunky in its looks, but it has arguably the best sound in portable MP3 players (as per quiet a few people here.. including yours truly)

The extreme case of 'fits in your suitcase or laptop bag' kind of portable is one based on using a laptop with an external harddrive and a high-end soundcard like the Echo Indigo. I am sure I read that someone on head-fi has this kind of setup.. But I guess this setup goes way to the top in the 'diminishing returns' scenario to be recommended to get a laptop and an external HDD just to listen to music on the go.. One interesting possibility using this uber costly setup is the possibility of using "Digital Upsampling Headphones".. Our learned frined 'Bangraman' might be able to tell you more about this approach.

[/end of rambling]

Hope I said something helpful... good luck.

 

[legionnaire]

fits in a small bag, nothing that i cant put in a backback.

 

[legionnaire]

is the jukebox 3 the one that looks like a big pcdp or the one that looks like a mini jukebox, its a rectangle with the blue corners. Do these sound better than the Ipods?

 

[legionnaire]

haha also, now that im talking to myself, are any of the creative zen series any better?

 

[AdNauseam]

(This is my first post, but I've been lurking for a while)

The first thing you should keep in mind is that there is no "best" mp3 player. I personally own an ihp-120, and I feel it's the best for my needs, but it could still use a lot of improvement.

Creative makes two portable mp3 players which are worth considering. If you don't mind lugging around an mp3 player the size and shape of a large PDCP then the Creative NJB3 is a good choice. It (apparently, haven't heard it) has the best sound and has over 20 hours of battery life. Creative also makes the nomad zen players, which have good audio and battery life(15 hours), but are bulkier than the ipod, ihp, etc.

Two other players worth considering are the iPod and Rio Karma, both of which sound good. However, the ipod only has around 8 hours of battery life, compared to around 15 for most other players and the Karma seems to be more prone to failure than other players. Both of these players have a line out on the dock, but not on the player itself.

DAPReview has a lot of information on mp3 players.

BTW, I think bangraman's digital upsampling headphones need a toslink connector, which isn't present on the echo indigo or on most mp3 players. The ihp has optical line in/out, but bangraman disliked the sound quality enough to return his ihp.

 

[BigFil]

I say the best player is argualbly either the iRiver IHP-120 or the Apple iPod. The two seem to battle it out regularly across many forums. When you say "best" though you need to realize that that is a subjective term and a loaded question.

 

[jet_fighter00]

Yes, first, what do you need? Do you want a ton of features? Then go for the iRiver iHP (120 or 140 depending on size you need) or the NJB 3 (Big CD player looking thing), or if you just want playback features, look at the iPod or Rio Karma. The Rio is great for advanced playback features like a crossfader, gapless, WMA support (iPod doesn't have), parametric EQ, awesome sound, etc. But if you just want a simple player, and other features don't matter, do with the iPod. But take a look at the Rio Karma, it is a nice player and very compact.

 

[Bolt San]

The IHP is good, but its line-out isn't a real one, which sucks.
In terms of sheer sound quality the NJBR3 wins, but in terms of all around goodness I'd recommend the Rio Karma.

 

[Luke]

My vote is for the Creative Nomad JB3. It has the best sound. It has not one, but two line outs. It has wireless and wired remote w/ FM capabilities. It has a battery life capability up to 22 hours. It uses USB 2.0 or firewire, your choice. And it's built like a tank. I've had mine two years, I listen to it every day, and it still works as well as the day I bought it.

 

[legionnaire]

sound is my number one priority, i mean hell im using it with cd3k's. I want it give those cans the best signal possible. Looks, batt life, and other things are not as important. Does the zen have a line out? And does it sound as good as a NJB3? Also, why does the NJB3 have 2 line outs? Why do you need 2? Thanks