Help: Looking for perfect MP3 player

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TallPaul

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I'm not after video, just music. I have two MP3 players and between the two there are the features I want, just not in same one. Also I need little more storage than my 2 gig. Here are my specs:

Approx 3 gig.
Standard battery like AAA.
Sort by album, artist, folder.
Remembers it's place when you shut it off.
Tone control (equalizer selection is okay, but bass treble controls would be sweet!)
Ease of operation.
Reasonable price (less than 50$ is great)

Anybody know of such a device? I fear they are all going over to the rechargables.
 
A bit expensive. Looks like 8 gig is next step above 2 gig. Actually I don't need quite that elaborate of a display, though it would be nice, really just need song and album listing (I only have one artist on this MP3 player (Johnny Winter). Maybe there is a 4 gig somewhere.
 
What they really need is a portable, pocket sized mp3 player that allows you to plug in a thumb drive for the storage (either total storage or supplemental). I could see a half gig chip in the unit to hold the program and a limited selection of songs, then you can plug in any size drive for your whole catalog. The other thing these mp3 players need is a better operating system where you can customize many parameters, make special play lists, etc.
 
I'm guessing a USB-connected thumb drive would negatively affect battery life. Also, if you have a pocket-sized player, plugging in an external thumb drive would be awkward and may preclude you from putting it back into the pocket, or it may get damaged more easily. A better option would be to have a slot on the player that accepts a memory card, such as microSD, and some players do offer that.

As for playlists, most of these come with software that you install on your PC that lets you create them quickly (as opposed to trying to do this on a tiny little screen and a couple of buttons).

I think you're being a bit unrealistic here. The tiny pocket/clip sized players are meant to just play and not much else (like for jogging). And if you're an audiophile, you'll get a slightly larger model that has all the bells and whistles, which will require the player to have a bigger/better display so that you can comfortably configure all those extra settings/features. But those extra features will cost more.

Check out the sandisk players like the one below (there are several different versions), although I haven't been able to find out if they offer tone control...

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9448449&type=product&id=1218106623813
 
I don't think very many mp3 players now use AA or AAA batteries anymore, almost all of them now have built in rechargeable batteries charged via usb.

I would go for the Sandisk Sansa clip. It is relatively small, the display is lit like a car stereo and the sound quality is very good in my opinion. Its got FM radio and voice recorder which is a great added bonus. The Sansa clip uses a common usb cable (same as digital camera) so the connector is not proprietary. This is good because you can easily use it as a portable storage drive and bring it to someones house as the usb connector is common.

Here is a video review on Cnet.
http://reviews.cnet.com/mp3-players/sandisk-sansa-clip-4gb/4505-6490_7-33770002.html?tag=mncol;lst
 
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Problem with rechargable is what if you are away from a charging source for a long time and it runs out? I can carry a pack of AAA batteries in a backpack very easily, not that I am a backpacker, but sometimes on travel recharging is not convenient.
 
Originally Posted By: lpcmidst128

I would go for the Sandisk Sansa clip. It is relatively small, the display is lit like a car stereo and the sound quality is very good in my opinion. Its got FM radio and voice recorder which is a great added bonus. The Sansa clip uses a common usb cable (same as digital camera) so the connector is not proprietary. This is good because you can easily use it as a portable storage drive and bring it to someones house as the usb connector is common.

Here is a video review on Cnet.
http://reviews.cnet.com/mp3-players/sandisk-sansa-clip-4gb/4505-6490_7-33770002.html?tag=mncol;lst


I liked Sansa before it broke. I fixed it but there is a problem with battery wire snapping. See my review here:

http://www.epinions.com/review/Sandisk_S...nt_484728278660
 
Just get an ipod nano 8GB... Good price, and simply the best mp3 player imo. Plus you can use it with itunes, and music isn't DRM anymore when you buy it. Also get a car charger for it and BAM. Your good to go.
 
I heard that ipod has it's own file format and you have to convert everything, but your message implies that is no longer true. So I can simply load .wma files onto it and play them?

ipods are very expensive though, right?
 
Originally Posted By: TallPaul
I heard that ipod has it's own file format and you have to convert everything, but your message implies that is no longer true. So I can simply load .wma files onto it and play them?


Yes, but you can't just do this "loading" of files in Windows Explorer. Instead, you have to use iTunes application (major bloatware that hogs up huge amounts of resources) or some other 3rd party app. Some of them thankfully are free, like Floola.

Also, the ipods don't allow you to manually adjust bass/treble. They have a few preset EQ settings, but that's about it.

And as far as sound quality, I don't agree with rudolphna that iPod is the best. Cowon/iAudio is much much better in my experience. I still use iPod in my car though because there is an integration kit for it.
 
Well I bought a 4 gig Centon MoVex MP3 player. It pretty much fits the bill and only cost me $20 new over the web. It does not list out music by artist or album, but only by folder, but again with nothing but Johnny Winter on it, each folder is an album and it works great. Can pause for up to half an hour before it shuts down and it always restarts in same spot to the second. As a bonus, it came with very good earbuds, sound nearly as good as the $30 Coosh buds I recently purchased for $10 on sale. Also the buds that came with it have a short 3-foot cord which is a bonus, as I get sick of extra cord bunching up in my shirt. Also nice is when it finishes an album (folder) it goes to the next folder and keeps playing. My other one recycled to the first song of same album. The key though is I have to copy songs on one at a time and it the correct order as it plays them back in the order they were copied to the device. That is fine, it works. Happy camper on the cheap.
 
I used to listen to one of these:

http://reviews.cnet.com/mp3-players/panasonic-sv-sd80/4505-6490_7-8010319.html

I don't know if they make them anymore, but it was a great little player. Crazy long battery life if you use it with both the re-chargable and AAA battery. Memory is limited to the size of the SD card you install.

It has some preset "equalizer" settings but I preferred to listen to my music without the filtering.

Hmmm...I might just dig it out of the closet and start using it again.

I saw a bunch of these 1GB players on closeout at Walgreen's last night:

http://www.cobyusa.com/?p=prod&prod_num_id=106&pcat_id=1001

I don't know how they sound, but they were only $20. They had 4GB players too, but I can't recall the price.
 
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What they need, besides decent hardware (my Phillips/Magnavox has very nice hardware) that includes also a tone control, is a decent program that allows you to really go in and customize. Now I have a music editor program that can customize a song and I could make all songs so they play best on the standard setting, thereby not needing a tone control, but that is A LOT OF WORK. I actually have reduced volume on one album, increased volume on another album, and a third album I had to cut the bass to a workable level as it was way overpowering.

Anyway, this MoVex is a great little player for the money, especially with the very good earbuds. My NAXA 2 gig that I use in the truck came with earbuds that are worthless for music, no bass, but can use for the baseball game broadcast.
 
If you want better sound quality, I recommend Creative. My former landlady used to work there and she has the sharpest ear a human can get and is a Phd in Music. She is the official ear for all of Creative's audio product.

Our Sansa is easy to use low end MP3 player that is affordable, no thrill, minimalist, and very affordable (wait for sales once in a while on techbargain or fatwallet).

If you want an iPod, well, you know why already, so I don't need to mention it.
 
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