[Ckaz]

I'm looking for a portable media player, but I need lots of space. I was thinking the iPod Classic 160gb, but it is (like all apple products) pricey and would require me purchasing it used.
 
Can you give me any other suggestions of portable media players with around the same amount of space? 
 
Also, it needs to have the capability of becoming a transport. In that, I mean that I would like to be able to bypass the internal DAC and use an external one. I know the iPad can do this, and by getting a product like the Onkyo ND-S1, I can do that with a regular ipod.
 
Anyways, if you can shoot me some recommendations that'd be great. Is the iPod classic the best option?

 

[BotByte]

First. Don't get mad at me for stating my opinion
 
1. NO ONE. I SAY NO ONE. Can listen to 160gb of music in a full battery charge. It's impossible. With my 4tb worth of music, I can't even live long enough to listen to all of it.
 
2. Ipod is only for people who either got caught up into the fashion, have a wish for someone to steal it, or thinks every headphone needs a amp.
 
3. I will state the best match for you, then I will say healthy alternative given you preferences, then I will give you great alternatives after that.
 
 
 
Cowon j3/s9 - Because great audio, great screen, battery life, ui on j3 and design for j3. Buy a s9 if your strapped on money, the j3 is a update/upgrade in design. In the latest filmware update for the s9, the ui has sped up. s9 16gb-32 for $150-210, j3 for 8gb-32gb for $200-280
 
Sansa Clip+, DO NOT KNOCK THIS PLAYER. The clip is the BEST $30 I have spent in a LONG time. It cna be rockboxed, I didn't and it plays flac. Expandable memory and up to 40gb on it for around $120. 8gb + 32gb card for $120
 
 
 
Now to alternatives
 
Cowon x7. Pricey, yet tottaly worth it. $320 for 160gb, 100 hour battery, yes, 100 hours music, nice screen, still portable.
 
Zune HD, nto too much to say, if you like great ui, and it doesn't matter to you about eq, yet the sq is still great.
 
Now onto healthy alternatives:
 
Ipod classic, if that's your thing
 
Archos 32, like a ipod touch, yet cheaper, and android.
 
 
NOT TO BUY, imo.
 
Ipod Touch
Ipod nano/shuffle/swallows watever
Samsung (just never liked them, don't stone me to death)
 
 
Enjoy

 

[stevenswall]

^I agree and would like to add that Cowon makes up for pretty much anything with SQ alone. Then add an OLED screen, incredible battery life, and hardware controls on top of that; take away the need for a headphone amplifier, iTunes, and the terrible Cirrus Logic DAC used in most newer iPods. If you want to hear your music sound better than you have ever heard it from an iPod, go with a Cowon player.

 

[Ckaz]

Quote:

First. Don't get mad at me for stating my opinion
 
1. NO ONE. I SAY NO ONE. Can listen to 160gb of music in a full battery charge. It's impossible. With my 4tb worth of music, I can't even live long enough to listen to all of it.
 
2. Ipod is only for people who either got caught up into the fashion, have a wish for someone to steal it, or thinks every headphone needs a amp.
 
3. I will state the best match for you, then I will say healthy alternative given you preferences, then I will give you great alternatives after that.
 
 
 
Cowon j3/s9 - Because great audio, great screen, battery life, ui on j3 and design for j3. Buy a s9 if your strapped on money, the j3 is a update/upgrade in design. In the latest filmware update for the s9, the ui has sped up. s9 16gb-32 for $150-210, j3 for 8gb-32gb for $200-280
 
Sansa Clip+, DO NOT KNOCK THIS PLAYER. The clip is the BEST $30 I have spent in a LONG time. It cna be rockboxed, I didn't and it plays flac. Expandable memory and up to 40gb on it for around $120. 8gb + 32gb card for $120
 
 
 
Now to alternatives
 
Cowon x7. Pricey, yet tottaly worth it. $320 for 160gb, 100 hour battery, yes, 100 hours music, nice screen, still portable.
 
Zune HD, nto too much to say, if you like great ui, and it doesn't matter to you about eq, yet the sq is still great.
 
Now onto healthy alternatives:
 
Ipod classic, if that's your thing
 
Archos 32, like a ipod touch, yet cheaper, and android.
 
 
NOT TO BUY, imo.
 
Ipod Touch
Ipod nano/shuffle/swallows watever
Samsung (just never liked them, don't stone me to death)
 
 
Enjoy

Thanks very much for that wealth of information! Very helpful
 
However, I think you have mistaken my reason for wanting an ipod. The only reason I am getting a portable media player is so I can have a bedside rig. It isn't portable per say, its just not a desktop setup because I would like to be able to control what I'm listening while lying in bed.
As such, I'd like to be able to bypass the internal dac and amp of my portable player, since its not really being used portably, and use my external desktop components.
 
So I thought I would get the iPod classic because its got tons of storage space, and then I can buy a transport in order to bypass the internal components. I am fully aware of the consumerist mentallity that comes with buying apple products, I happen to despise it myself.
 
As for needing the 160gb of storage.. obviously I'm not going to listen to all that in one minute, its just that I find that I go through phases every month where I switch between genres that I mainly listen to. As such, I like having my full library at hand, so I can listen to whatever I want when the mood takes me (as it often does).
 
Therefor, I'm not sure how wise it would be to buy a Cowon X7. I end up having to spend considerably more than the classic 160gb, and I'm still stuck with internal components. Sure, they'll be better than the iPod's internal components but it doesn't really matter since they still can't beat my external ones. I'll acknowledge that the features of the Cowon X7 really are quite amazing, and they totally beat those of the iPod, its just that I really don't need those features.

 

[Coatze]

This is kind of a shot in the dark, but if it is not moving, why not bypass the whole dock nonsense and just find a netbook deal? 
 
The footprint would be a little bit bigger, but the function, in terms of a bedside "rig" would be superior, and if you are planning to get a DAC, I don't think it is possible to knock the SQ.  It would also save you the cost of a dac/amp bypassing dock which, if I am not mistaken, runs at least $100 for the relatively untested Pure.  
 
I haven't been looking at netbooks in a long while as my eeePC 901 just turned 2 years old a few months ago and is still kicking, but older models used to go for around $250 if you looked hard enough.
 
A Netbook+Ibasso d12 is my current "bedside" rig.. well, actually it is my only rig  (i currently don't have a desk or real "permanent address" so to speak).