Which portable mp3 player?

[Sniper991122]

Okay so I did a little search and couldn't find a comparison without digging deep into the pages... anyway my budgets $300 and heres what i've found...

Apple 20gb ipod.. standard non-photo ipod $300

iriver h320 20gb mp3 player... its color, can record audio and display pictures... very nice.. - $300

creative 60gb xtra non color display.. however 60gb of storage... and yes I do have 60gb worth of music so it would be nice to throw most of my stuff on there.. however I doubt 60gb of music worth listening to... - $300

Rio Karma 20gb black and white... supports ogg and flac which could be useful later on down the line but not now...

anyway, the mp3 player would be used with a pair of ath-a900s (currently) and yes I will look like an idiot for portability.. heh (at least till i can get a good pair of earphones... I will probably also have an amp to go along with them later down the line..

so my question in comparison is which is the best deal? They are all the same price... it seems like the ipod is the odd one out since the 20gb similar to it is color and has extra features.. and the creative is 60 gb... but what about sound quality? Which ones sound the best?

If you were to choose between one of these 3 which would you choose and whY?

(note: I don't think I have any of my music in flac or ogg just the majority in 320kbps vbr mp3s so support doesn't really matter)

 

[blessingx]

Are you adding the Karma to the list? With the best EQ, arguably you would get the best (ie closest to what you desire) sound.

Also how do you get 320 VBR MP3s? 320 is the max most encoders can encode and nearly all players can play.

 

[fr4c]

wait until CES in Las Vegas. there is bound to be some new units to be reveiled.

 

[Sniper991122]

Quote:

Originally Posted by blessingx Are you adding the Karma to the list? With the best EQ, arguably you would get the best (ie closest to what you desire) sound. Also how do you get 320 VBR MP3s? 320 is the max most encoders can encode and nearly all players can play.

what i meant by 320 vbr was that it would go all the way up to 320.. whereas i could have done 192 vbr where it couldn't exceed 192?

Also I haven't looked at the karma, but i'll look at that now and edit my post once i see it..

and when is CES in vegas? and how long would it take to see the changes on the mp3 market?

 

[Thisp]

Go for the Karma. It's the only one with gapless playback. I didn't even know it had this as a feature when I got it. I read about it, but assumed all the players had it, I was shocked to find out it was the only one on the market with it, seems like such a simple thing.

I also can't live without Rio DJ, and find it to be the easiest to use with the combo stick + wheel.

My second choice would be the iRiver.

 

[bangraman]

Personally I would go for the iPod. But the only major player I haven't had is the Rio Karma. And that could really be better, who knows.


But I thought I'd just mention something about the A900. You shouldn't be using them portably, not just because they look silly and not just because they're too unwieldy but mainly because they're too fragile for any sort of portable use. You have been warned...

 

[Sniper991122]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bangraman Personally I would go for the iPod. But the only major player I haven't had is the Rio Karma. And that could really be better, who knows. But I thought I'd just mention something about the A900. You shouldn't be using them portably, not just because they look silly and not just because they're too unwieldy but mainly because they're too fragile for any sort of portable use. You have been warned...

hrmm... well when i meant portably i didn't mean using them while walking or jogging or anything.. was thinking more along the lines of when i have free time between classes sitting and waiting.. stuff of that sort... but I suppose if I got a case for carrying them in and threw that in my book bag or something that wouldn't pose too much damage?

also I think im leaning more towards the iriver now and using the korean firmware to flash it so it can play videos as well...

 

[fr4c]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sniper991122 hrmm... well when i meant portably i didn't mean using them while walking or jogging or anything.. was thinking more along the lines of when i have free time between classes sitting and waiting.. stuff of that sort... but I suppose if I got a case for carrying them in and threw that in my book bag or something that wouldn't pose too much damage? also I think im leaning more towards the iriver now and using the korean firmware to flash it so it can play videos as well...

carrying the A900 in a case between classes? good luck with that.

 

[Sniper991122]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fr4c carrying the A900 in a case between classes? good luck with that.

yeh yeh okay, so i've dropped using the a900 with the mp3 player

anyway..

I think i've decided on the iriver, and i hope to be getting either the er-4p or the er-4s... thanks for the help..

 

[fr4c]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sniper991122 yeh yeh okay, so i've dropped using the a900 with the mp3 player anyway.. I think i've decided on the iriver, and i hope to be getting either the er-4p or the er-4s... thanks for the help..

good boy. now you get a cookie.