I just ordered my 1st MP3 player and headphones today
Creative Zen V Plus 8 GB
Ultimate Ears super.fi 5 EB
Creative Zen V Plus 8 GB
Ultimate Ears super.fi 5 EB
Just ordered my 1st MP3 player and headphones
- Thread starter Islandvic
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I'll report back this weekend as to how well they work.
Found them both on sale for good prices.
Found them both on sale for good prices.
Great. Let us know how these earphones work. I've got a set of those "in-ear" Shure e2c earphones, and they lack any sort of bass, big time. In addition, they have very low impedance which causes them to put high load on the amp. THis results in distortion early on as you try to increase the volume.
How much are the super.fi 5EB? Assuming you're getting them for way less than $200...
How much are the super.fi 5EB? Assuming you're getting them for way less than $200...
I'd like to give one a whirl.
Maybe it's just me, but DD CD sound quality just sounds better than MP3. I can't give my bulky top of the CD Walkman up.....I'm just an 49 year old fuddy duddy.
Indeed earbuds sound terrible to me as well. What am I doing wrong?
Maybe it's just me, but DD CD sound quality just sounds better than MP3. I can't give my bulky top of the CD Walkman up.....I'm just an 49 year old fuddy duddy.
Indeed earbuds sound terrible to me as well. What am I doing wrong?
I've always been the one with a CD player while everyone had iPods on Campus. I just recently upgraded to an iPod and I really don't see what all the hype is about. I absolutely hate using iTunes, constantly plagued by it telling me files are in use by another program and not letting me un-dock the player. Also, I hate the whole "syncing" system. If you manage two ipods with the same computer, it's next to impossible to work with as well. Plus the battery life is pretty bad, I can't get it to last more than a couple of hours, even with the equalizer turned off.
Not an iPod?
Quatro Pete, I think I paid $125.
Pablo, what type of earbuds do you own?
thirdeye, yes the ipod has many cons. I was going to buy the new nano 4gb with a screen, but decided against it because of it's proprietary technology.
I like non-Ipods because a lot of car/home stereos have direct USB connection to MP3 players now, and many will control the player.
With Ipods, you must buy an expensive adapter to plug it in to anything.
Pablo, what type of earbuds do you own?
thirdeye, yes the ipod has many cons. I was going to buy the new nano 4gb with a screen, but decided against it because of it's proprietary technology.
I like non-Ipods because a lot of car/home stereos have direct USB connection to MP3 players now, and many will control the player.
With Ipods, you must buy an expensive adapter to plug it in to anything.
Of course, the iPod doesn't win from a practicality (or value) standpoint.
However, one purchases an iPod as a compromise in a variety of areas. Sound quality, style, build quality, portability and status symbol.
However, one purchases an iPod as a compromise in a variety of areas. Sound quality, style, build quality, portability and status symbol.
Are you saying iPod has good sound quality? To me, there are a lot of better sounding mp3 players out there. My old iAudio X5 was one. Plus it had a very flexible customizable equalizer which came in very handy if you had some really unbalanced (tonally) earphones.
Also agree with ThirdEye, iTunes software is major bloatware and a nightmare.
iPod's are overpriced dumpster food...kinda like FRAM oil filters. Pretty on the outside, but the internals aren't so lucky.
I bought my daughter the Zen V plus 4GB about six months ago. Great battery life, holds a ton of songs. One thing I don't like about it is that it can't play Windows video files (such as the file type you can download from SpiralFrog.com- free music and videos). It'll play AVI and MPEG though.
Sandisks are top notch imo, that is their specialty, info storage which is all an mp3 player is.. btw if your cd player has an auxilary mode you can play your mp3 player in your car. just get a two end male plug from radio shak for $5..
JHZR2
Staff member
I got a solid-state ipod mini (4GB, not a shuffle) with a military employee discount for a very good price. Love the fact that I can use my Nike + attachment to monitor how far I run during workouts, and that the whole unit is very compact, thin and light, with good battery life.
Might there be another that is better? maybe... does it have the full set of functionality and integrated parts like the ipod does? likely not. I wont buy a non solid state player, so that might limit my choices, but all I know is that Ive been extremely happy with my ipod.
The shure earphones are very dependent on correct fit of the silicone earbuds in your ear. There are a wide variety of ones that fit in different ways, and with the right fit, Ive been VERY happy. I listen to bands like Tower of Power, Earth, wind and fire, etc., where bass is very important, but its not like overwhelming bass is needed, like in some rap music. With the right EQ setting on my ipod, the bass with respect to the SPL of other frequencies is fine, and it sounds good. There is some distortion noticed, but what ive found is that with the right fit of the shure headphones in my ears, I play them much lower than I would with other headphones, because so much extra noise is blocked. This tends to negate distortion, as Im not asking for much power, regardless of the impedance of the units. I dont like my headphonemusic too loud one way or another though... but loud airplanes and trains are not an issue, and hose are tough environments.
Like anything, a bit of tuning and modifications are necessary, I guess.
JMH
Might there be another that is better? maybe... does it have the full set of functionality and integrated parts like the ipod does? likely not. I wont buy a non solid state player, so that might limit my choices, but all I know is that Ive been extremely happy with my ipod.
The shure earphones are very dependent on correct fit of the silicone earbuds in your ear. There are a wide variety of ones that fit in different ways, and with the right fit, Ive been VERY happy. I listen to bands like Tower of Power, Earth, wind and fire, etc., where bass is very important, but its not like overwhelming bass is needed, like in some rap music. With the right EQ setting on my ipod, the bass with respect to the SPL of other frequencies is fine, and it sounds good. There is some distortion noticed, but what ive found is that with the right fit of the shure headphones in my ears, I play them much lower than I would with other headphones, because so much extra noise is blocked. This tends to negate distortion, as Im not asking for much power, regardless of the impedance of the units. I dont like my headphonemusic too loud one way or another though... but loud airplanes and trains are not an issue, and hose are tough environments.
Like anything, a bit of tuning and modifications are necessary, I guess.
JMH
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Pablo - Inexpensive low tech works much better for me, too.
I'm a cheap bastid. I finally broke down and bought an ipod last year ($30 for a refurb'd shuffle) then got a 20gb Zen Sleek Photo for $79 from Creative (refurb'd but sure looked/works new). Both came as new as could be:
http://us.creative.com/shop/shopcategory.asp?category=84&
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?nclm=Certified
The 20gb holds ALL of my songs I need. No need for photo/videos for me at least.
One large benefit (for me) I can see with an ipod, is that many new cars/stereos that allow ipod hookups, can dock and charge them along with being able to control your ipod through your car's deck or even steering wheel audio controls. I can't use my car's stereo to change songs on my Zen.
I recommend the Logitech mm50 for a good portable speaker setup. Uses Li-ion battery or AC adapter (both included) and can be had on eBay for $40-50 (again refurb'd but like new). Sounds good, good enough bass for a small portable system, and loud enough for its size.
http://us.creative.com/shop/shopcategory.asp?category=84&
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?nclm=Certified
The 20gb holds ALL of my songs I need. No need for photo/videos for me at least.
One large benefit (for me) I can see with an ipod, is that many new cars/stereos that allow ipod hookups, can dock and charge them along with being able to control your ipod through your car's deck or even steering wheel audio controls. I can't use my car's stereo to change songs on my Zen.
I recommend the Logitech mm50 for a good portable speaker setup. Uses Li-ion battery or AC adapter (both included) and can be had on eBay for $40-50 (again refurb'd but like new). Sounds good, good enough bass for a small portable system, and loud enough for its size.
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Yeah, I'm happy with my little sandisk c200. 2gb of internal storage and a little slot on it that accepts microSD cards or something which would allow me to double the memory. Got an FM radio too, which I like. Used it tonight when walking. Sucky headphones, though.
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