ipod vs. other playas

[gohan32]

I've been trying to find something better than an ipod. Is there a better mp3 player? Let's say price is not an issue here.

[kakomu]

I personally will probably buy myself a creative Nomad Jukebox xtra (30 or 40 gb). I chose this mainly because of the combo of price and playability. Everyone raves about the iPod, and i would get one myself, however, they are freaking expensive. On a side note, I am not to fond of the touch-sensitive buttons and would rather just get jog dials and push buttons. The Blue display is rather cool and the player apparently feels a bit more solid. THe battery is also readily available, should you need to replace it after recharge life wears away (unlike the iPod).

I think the other players to look at would be Philips new HDD100 player, iRiver's ihp-120 or 140 and Dell's DJ Jukebox players.

However, I can't see how price isn't an issue, considering these players are typically HELLA-expensive:
20 gig players
Philips $350
iPod: $400
iRiver: $320-$400
Dell: $280
Creative xtra 30gig: $250

That is why I want the creative one. Reviews for it seem to be favorable. Cnet's rating is 7.7, all the newegg reviews are 5 star. THe bad reviews on amazon seem to be from people who are bitter that it broke when they dropped it, or are nitpicking about it. But then again, go to amazon.com and read the lowest rated reviews up to the highest rated ones and you'll see many problems everyone has. I won't dispute that the iPod is a good device, however, I won't say that it is the end-all be-all mp3 player. In the end, I'd say just go to cnet and do a little research with the players that they have, read reviews at places like amazon.com, cnet.com and consumerguide.com.

[ElVaquero]

The iPod's battery dies after 18 months and the replacements ar $99. Oh, and they're ugly little sunuvabitches.

[tsunami]

The same battery die out prob happends to electric razors. Yeah my buddy said his iPod use to give me hours of music now it is down to just a couple of hours. That sucks!

[sanosuke]

i could never cheat on my mini-disc player, oh how i love him so

[kakomu]

I can't stand sony, so, I'd reccomend you stay away.

[Vile]

but MD is such a great medium, ive been considering buying a player for like 3 years, but they just keep makin em better. mp3 players are great, but theres just somethin about throwing together a huge mix on a disc that will be preserved practically forever.

-Vile

[Robojack]

If you want a player with the most functionable remote (LCD displaying ID3 tag, bitrate, and graphic equalizer), I'd fully recommend iRivier products. I own an iRiver SlimX 550 (CD/mp3), and it's fantastic, since it can play OGG also.

[kakomu]

I own a Rio SP250, which is the same thing as an iRiver, just rebranded. I like it, but getting a non-CD player would be so much easier as the mp3 CD players are VERY skippy. I can barely listen to my CD player anymore on a school day since it's so hard to keep it from skipping. However, I do like my in-dash mp3 CD car stereo (The kenwood KDC-MPV619). I bought both of these about 2.5 years ago. THe car stereo is still kicking (and I doubt it will break any time soon), however, considering how much use I got out of my CD player, I doubt it's going to last much longer (hence the need for a replacement).

As for MD, Sony is the only company that supports it anymore, and I don't trust anything sony, however, it may be viable as a cheap device to use for running (i'm rather afraid of running with a large HD mp3 player, and I have been actively searching for a flash mp3 player.)

[BobDoleX]

Originally posted by kakomu
I own a Rio SP250, which is the same thing as an iRiver, just rebranded. I like it, but getting a non-CD player would be so much easier as the mp3 CD players are VERY skippy. I can barely listen to my CD player anymore on a school day since it's so hard to keep it from skipping. However, I do like my in-dash mp3 CD car stereo (The kenwood KDC-MPV619). I bought both of these about 2.5 years ago. THe car stereo is still kicking (and I doubt it will break any time soon), however, considering how much use I got out of my CD player, I doubt it's going to last much longer (hence the need for a replacement).

As for MD, Sony is the only company that supports it anymore, and I don't trust anything sony, however, it may be viable as a cheap device to use for running (i'm rather afraid of running with a large HD mp3 player, and I have been actively searching for a flash mp3 player.)

What mp3 CD players have you been using? My iRiver slimX mp3 CD has never skipped, even on the bumpiest of car trips. Most mp3 CD players have much better anti-shock capabilities than standard portable CD players.

[ElVaquero]

Man, I can't decide which to hate more: Sony or Apple.

[kakomu]

Originally posted by BobDoleX
What mp3 CD players have you been using? My iRiver slimX mp3 CD has never skipped, even on the bumpiest of car trips. Most mp3 CD players have much better anti-shock capabilities than standard portable CD players.

RIO SP250. As said in my post. It's not car rides, but me walking around from class to class. When walking, my arms swing around and the player is held vertical. Which doesn't make the player all too happy. I typically would have to hold the player in front of my horizontal, which becomes a pain in the ass. In the end, I want something small with a large storage. I have around 22 gigs of songs I'd like to throw into a singular player.

After doing some minidisc research, this is what I have to say about it: It can be a viably cheap alternative to flash mp3 players. However, the thing about MD players is that you write to them, and that is all you can do with the audio beyond deleting it (a la CD-RW). it uses sony's proprietary ATRAC and ATRAC3 scheme to record the music to the MD (via a USB port and software). Using the SP mode, you're looking at a CD's worth of music (74-80 minutes) at "CD-like" quality and when using the LP2 mode, you're looking at slightly better than 128kbps mp3 quality (possibly up to 160). With LP4, you're looking at around 128kbps mp3 quality (the real bitrates are 132 and 66 kbps). The players's good qualities are that it has really good skip protection and you can rewrite the discs multiple times. However, I liken this to a flash mp3 player as opposed to a HD mp3 player. The storage time with LP4 is still only 5 hours (at least half as long as I usually achieve on CDs with more bitrate). So it may have a slight more, but it's still way under a gig's worth of mp3s. i'd reccomend spending only as much as you would spend on a flash mp3 player. I see the Sony MZ-NE410 on ebay for quite cheap. Personally, I'd actually probably pick one up, only because I'd want to jog with it (and it comes with a arm strap player holder )

Originally posted by ElVaquero
Man, I can't decide which to hate more: Sony or Apple.

I know what you mean :-\

[Zagatto]

I'm trying to figure out why anyone would hate either Sony or Apple.

Sony has been known to make some bone-headed decisions regarding proprietary technology. Starting back with the Betamax up through the current Memory Sticks I'm not sure why they insist on shooting themselves in the foot. Ignoring that, the Trinitron display tube remains the best CRT on the market and the PS2 is still a great system. To top it off, Sony remains competitive without resorting to mega-corporation bullying of smaller companies.

Hating Apple? I can't even imagine this. Is it because they have violated their contract with Apple records not to get into the music industry? Is it because they make one of the most stable operating systems on the market? Is it because their marketing focuses on aethetics rather than technology (has anyone else here seen the ad for the "iBrator"?)?

When people say they hate MicroSoft, I can understand it because of their business practices and flawed products being released to market. When people say they hate Wal-Mart, I can understand this because of the poor treatment of employees and the marketing that damages small business. Can somebody explain to me why to hate Sony or Apple?

[kakomu]

Originally posted by Zagatto
Can somebody explain to me why to hate Sony or Apple?

why one would hate sony: One of the largest evil coprorations. Their products are usually flawed yet aesthetic looking pieces of crap. While they may have mastered the art of molding attractive plastic and aluminum, their products are junky and they're just living off the name they made for themselves in the 80s. their products typically either fall apart, break or or poorly designed. How many video game companies do you know have made consoles that broke due to their own conception? We all know the NES was susceptible to dust, but the Playstation would actually melt down from it's own overheating, and the PS2 has got to be one of most hit or miss products I've ever heard of (poor quality control). Their money grubbing business practices could be likened to microsoft, and anyone who doesn't think so is obviously overlooking something.

As for apple, their whole business practice is based on trying to get elitest (emo) people to hawk their product. In the same vein as people hating michael moore for being far too preachy and outrageously annoying, apple has just become one of those companies that makes it feel life you're getting slapped in the face every time you watch their commercials since they make it seem like you're a roaring dudnderhead for not buying their products. They're overpriced too. I see no reason in paying twice as much for far less capability. I'd rather get a P3 3 Ghz system for about $1k, then whatever Apple is hawking at that price (which is probably some iMac iteration). As for OSX, I dunno what to say, when ever I fooled around with it, functionality always seemed so much more decreased by having it "aesthetically pleasing"

[ZeroInterrupt]

Decide for yourself gohan. go to a store and play with a few, see which one you like the most. I personally have owned mini disk since it's inception and I have had a fair mix of players (awia, sharp, and sony) and every time a new generation of player comes out the sound quality improves (my series one mini from sony sounded just slightly better than a tape). I like the net-md for the simple reason that you cannot run out of space, just disks. You can cram 4 hours onto one disk, and when you are bored listening to that one you swap it out for another. The wallet the net-md comes with holds a few extra disks so are not fumbling them around and the battery life is awesome, I charge mine about once every other week (I only use it while mowing my lawn or working out at the gym).

Kak - do not get the 410.. you will be very unhappy with it. The interface is clunky and hard to use and the software only downloading/recording sucks. if you can find a n707, 710, 810 or 910, I think you would be happier. Hell they even make a sports model in a shock-proof case but I venture to say it probably has the same internals as the 410. Just keep in mind that if it does not say "net-md" or specify long play times (in the excess of 320 minutes) it may be a standard mini-disk player and cannot record (or convert) MP3's

Check http://www.ubid.com they usually have refurbs or overstocks.

there is also a new standard HI-MD comming out that can store 1 gig on a single disk and is backwards compatable with the current standard.

http://www.minidisct.com/products/sony_mz-nh600d.html

-Zero