MP3 amature looking for help!!!

[admin_exported]

Hi everyone-

I dont know the first thing bout MP3 players but would simply like to buy a decent one to have some music while running outside... Can anyone give me a top 3 op top 5 of (budget) MP3 players worth looking at? I am not planning to spend a fortune on this as it would only be for running, nothing else...

Thanks!

 

[Anonymous]

What is your budget, roughly?

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="rigadig"]
What is your budget, roughly?

[/quote]

I would say max around 80£, unless that is deemed rediculously low... But from what I've seen in stores that should be sufficient, right?

thanks again!

 

[John Duncan]

iPod Shuffle and some new headphones. No question.

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="JohnDuncan"]iPod Shuffle and some new headphones. No question.[/quote]

Thanks. I was looking more at the likes of a Creativ or so, as I thought these were lighter and more compact. Also thought that for an Ipod I would pay a lot for the name/design as opposed to other brands. Not the case apparently? Are there also good MP3 players for 40£ or less?

 

[John Duncan]

Well yes, there are plenty of others cheaper, and you are paying somewhat for the design in the iPod (notwithstanding the quality of their headphones, which are trousers, as they say in America). I use my Shuffle daily and it's great with a pair of Sennheisers - depends on whether you want best quality, or whether you're looking for a bit more functionality, which the others may offer you.

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="JohnDuncan"]Well yes, there are plenty of others cheaper, and you are paying somewhat for the design in the iPod (notwithstanding the quality of their headphones, which are trousers, as they say in America). I use my Shuffle daily and it's great with a pair of Sennheisers - depends on whether you want best quality, or whether you're looking for a bit more functionality, which the others may offer you.[/quote]

Thanks! So any other more functional ones you can suggest? Most important to me is that it's light and easily taken with me while running for a few hours per week... And obviously that it can hold sufficient tracks, althouh I do not need hundreds or thousands of songs!

 

[John Duncan]

Well the next ones I would look at would be the Creative Zens, as you say - you can get a 4gb one (which sounds plenty, from what you say) for about 60 quid. At least they have screens, which you don't get on an iPod until the Nano at around £90.

 

[Anonymous]

I was just taking a look at thr apple site and came across the Ipod Shuffle 2GB. As I will only be using it for music while running, the 500 song capacity seems plenty to me. Someone here just informed me however that the device automatically shuffles the songs, and that you cannot simply play the songs in the order you want or put them on the device. Is this true? If I want to choose the play order, do I need a Nanno or other device instead? apologies in advance for my ignorance

 

[John Duncan]

No, the shuffle can shuffle (as you might expect), or play in the order the songs were in on the playlist you put on. But there's no display so you can't pick a song out of sequence. Or at least that's how the old one worked.

 

[professorhat]

Yes, this is true - consider whether you can get on with iTunes or not before buying an iPod. Personally, I think it's very good, but a lot of people don't. The trouble is, if you have an iPod, you have to use it, whereas other players generally have a lot more options.

 

[Anonymous]

I just read some user reviews of the Creativ 4gb, and saw that quite a few people are dissapointed in the quality. Apparently the screen loses its clarity quickly, the overall strength/durability is low and it is easily damaged, and there are often problems requiring a reset. Can anyone comment on this? Will this not be the case with the Ipod Nano? Pluspoint of the Creativ is apparently that it has FM radio- always handy as well I guess.

Also, if I have a friend bring me the Nano from the USA (much cheaper!!!), will I easily be able to use it here in Europe? I am thinking I would need an adaptor for charging... Any other problems I could encouter regarding compatibility (ie can I plug it into my aux input in the car here)? Any warranty problems?

Thanks again everyone!

 

[Anonymous]

I would forget about ipods, they are vastly overpriced. If using it just for running, then one of the creative zen stone plus with speaker may be a good choice. The 4gb one is only £50 RRP and can be found cheaper. Although you probably have no need of the speaker, the models that do have the speaker can also play AAC (unprotected).

www.morgancomputers.co.uk are curretly selling the older zen v 4gb for £50 which has a better screen than the stone, it is tiny.

Both the zen stone and the zen v use standard mini usb cables and support drag and drop on windows xp and above. Also, the creative players can more than match the ipods for sound quality.

If you only want 2GB, then you should consider the new sandisk sansa clip players, they have had great reiews. The sansa clip I heard had excellent sound quality and it supports drag and drop and uses standard mini usb. the 2gb one is only about £30. If you can wait another month or so, the 4GB version is due out for about £50.

I have also been impressed with sonys B series stick walkmans for sound quality, they support drag and drop, and have the usb plug built in like a usb memory stick. they are only about £25 for the 2GB version. Like all sony players, they have outstanding battery life, and have the quick 3 min charge = 3 hours of playback quick charge which is really handy.

Finally, you might be able to hunt out some older cowon Iaudio flash players like the excellent U3 within your budget. they are more pricey, but have class leading sound quality (shames the ipod) they play loads of codecs such as ogg and even flac, use drag and drop, have very good battery life and use standard usb connectors. They don't tend to be sold on the high street though as they are not common in this country, but they have a reputation for the best sound quality, and not being tied to any proprietry software.

Features and sound wise for the price, the ipods don't even come close to any of these players.

A good place for loads of players is www.advancedmp3players.co.uk

 

[John Duncan]

Previous poster's advice is probably way to go, but if you have to have a nano, they're not *that* much cheaper in the states, having just bought one (8 gig is 200 dollars), but you don't need to worry about charging as it's USB only.

 

[Anonymous]

Well actually a Nano is 189 EUR here in Belgium while it costs 199 $ (or 125 EUR) in the USA.... Add a couple of accessories, and I've easily saved about 80 EUR which I think is worth waiting 2 extra weeks...

So no one can confirm that the Creativs are of more poor quality (endurance and strength wise) than the Ipod, and that it will not be more easily damaged than an Ipod? Also no one encountered software problems?

Thanks everyone for the useful info so far!!!

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="rigadig"]
I would forget about ipods, they are vastly overpriced. If using it just for running, then one of the creative zen stone plus with speaker may be a good choice. The 4gb one is only £50 RRP and can be found cheaper. Although you probably have no need of the speaker, the models that do have the speaker can also play AAC (unprotected).

www.morgancomputers.co.uk are curretly selling the older zen v 4gb for £50 which has a better screen than the stone, it is tiny.

Both the zen stone and the zen v use standard mini usb cables and support drag and drop on windows xp and above. Also, the creative players can more than match the ipods for sound quality.

If you only want 2GB, then you should consider the new sandisk sansa clip players, they have had great reiews. The sansa clip I heard had excellent sound quality and it supports drag and drop and uses standard mini usb. the 2gb one is only about £30. If you can wait another month or so, the 4GB version is due out for about £50.

I have also been impressed with sonys B series stick walkmans for sound quality, they support drag and drop, and have the usb plug built in like a usb memory stick. they are only about £25 for the 2GB version. Like all sony players, they have outstanding battery life, and have the quick 3 min charge = 3 hours of playback quick charge which is really handy.

Finally, you might be able to hunt out some older cowon Iaudio flash players like the excellent U3 within your budget. they are more pricey, but have class leading sound quality (shames the ipod) they play loads of codecs such as ogg and even flac, use drag and drop, have very good battery life and use standard usb connectors. They don't tend to be sold on the high street though as they are not common in this country, but they have a reputation for the best sound quality, and not being tied to any proprietry software.

Features and sound wise for the price, the ipods don't even come close to any of these players.

A good place for loads of players is www.advancedmp3players.co.uk

[/quote]

For the price of the Nano I could get the Cowon iAudio 7 4 GB.... Just looked it up and it is easily available here in Belgium. Dont know anything bout this brand. Is this indeed better than the Ipod? Can I easily use ot to copy CDs onto? And can I easily hook it to my car audio system's aux input with a 3.5mm jack?

thanks!

 

[Anonymous]

Forgot to point out, if your budget is max of £80, as john Duncan said, even if you get a nano from the states, you won't have much change left. but many of the other players i mentioned are only half your budget, so you could spend the rest on a decent set of earphones or an armband to carry the player while you are running.

The whole issue about player sound quality is largely meaningless unless you get some decent headphones to go with it.

Pretty much all modern MP3 players charge from the usb socket now, and don't include a mains adapter, so it should be fine to get one from abroad. The 4GB sansa clip is available in the states at the moment, but won't be out here for a month or so.

 

[Anonymous]

I can also get the Cowon 7 8GB or the Zen V Plus 8GB... So many to choose from... So here goes one last time-

I need an MP3 player to use while running outside (so needs to be fairly light and easy to carry, ie with a armband) and to hook up to my car stereo with a 3.5mm jack...I am a complete rookie when it comes to MP3s, and will likely only copy some CD's onto it, maybe buy some tunes online.

So which one is top of the list for you all, or how would you rank the following which would fit into my budget-

1) Ipod Nano 8 GB

2) Creativ Zen V Plus 8 GB

3) Cowon iAudio 7 8 GB

Thanks!

 

[Anonymous]

Creative players have very good build quality and have long been regarded as having some of the best sound quality.

[quote user="KC1976"]For the price of the Nano I could get the Cowon iAudio 7 4 GB[/quote]

The iAudio 7 is an excellent player, if you have found it within your budget then thats great. For music it is one of the best flash playes there is. Cowon have been around for a long time, but are not that big in europe, and their players are usually fairly pricey. They have good build quality, loads of features, very good battery life (the Iaudio 7 has 60 hours claimed battery life compared to about 24 for the ipods). They are also known for making players with very good sound quality. They play pretty much all of the common formats except for AAC, but they play ogg instead, and importantly even FLAC lossless. They don't need any software and work on pretty much any modern computer. it also has the FM radio you were talking about earlier.

[quote user="KC1976"]Can I easily use ot to copy CDs onto?[/quote]

To put music on it, you would just plug it into your computer, and it will show up as an external drive, then you just drag the music fro your computer onto it like copying files in windows. You could also use a program such as windows media player, or media monkey to syncronise music to it.

[quote user="KC1976"]And can I easily hook it to my car audio system's aux input with a 3.5mm jack[/quote]

Any player that has a standard headphone 3.5mm jack (so pretty much all mp3 players i know of) can be connected up to your car stereo. you just need a 3.5mm - 3.5mm stereo lead which cost about £2 and are easilly available, there is no fancy hardware needed.

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="KC1976"]
So which one is top of the list for you all, or how would you rank the following which would fit into my budget-

1) Ipod Nano 8 GB

2) Creativ Zen V Plus 8 GB

3) Cowon iAudio 7 8 GB

Thanks!

[/quote]

They all have decent sound quality, but the iAudio has almost 3 times the battery of the other 2, it has more customisation options, plays the most formats and is the most hassle free to connect to a pc. The iAudio 7 is deffinitely the best.

One other thing I forgot, the Ipod and the Creative have less power for dirving the headphones in the european models. The Cowon players have a lot of power for the headphones which allows them to deliver a less distorted sound when listening at high volumes, or using hard to drive earphones. This may be of use to you when listening in your car, as the volume on the player will need to be set relatively loud.

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="KC1976"]
I can also get the Cowon 7 8GB or the Zen V Plus 8GB... So many to choose from... So here goes one last time-

I need an MP3 player to use while running outside (so needs to be fairly light and easy to carry, ie with a armband) and to hook up to my car stereo with a 3.5mm jack...I am a complete rookie when it comes to MP3s, and will likely only copy some CD's onto it, maybe buy some tunes online.

So which one is top of the list for you all, or how would you rank the following which would fit into my budget-

1) Ipod Nano 8 GB

2) Creativ Zen V Plus 8 GB

3) Cowon iAudio 7 8 GB

Thanks!

[/quote]Considering your new to mp3 players and out of extensive experience with a previous generation ipod nano I would rank them as follows:
1)Creativ Zen V Plus, better sound than the nano, easy to use, build quality so so
2)Ipod Nano 8 gb, easy to useinterface, however you're can only use itunes to get songs on it. Download itunes (free)to see if it suits you. I would say it's very intuitive for beginners, but sometimes frustrating because it feels like itunes wants to think for you and it does not what you want it to do- this is a major annoyance for advanced users.
3)Cowon Iaudio 7 Allegedly the best sounding, best battery, not so easy to use as a device.

Only reason Cowon's iaudio takes last place with me is that it hasn't got a very intuitive interface. Try the interface in a store to see if you get along with it. Previous ipod nano I own myself and bought to use specifically to use while jogging- I wouldn't buy it anymore. The screen freezes up every now and then and the sound quality is so so compared to the creativ zen V plus. Best sound I've heard is from sony NWZ-A818 (8 gb), also available in 4gb. Plusses: very easy to use as a player and great sound quality out of the box (you don't need to buy extra earbuds because the one's supplied are great- which is a rarety..) Drawbacks? Unfortunately, yes. The cord from the player to the earbuds is very short and what hifi don't rate the sony very highly. Why, you ask? I wouldn't know. I guess it's just a matter of preference. To finish; it's worthwhile to find out if there's any accessories available for the creativ, cowon or sony- like an armband or whristband. Most accessories are ipod only...Conclusion: all players have pluspoints and drawbacks.For absolute beginners, ipod are usually recommended. Personally I would choose the sony because it's fun to listen to, looks good, has great build quality. Although I haven't tried this out myself, others say it's also easy to get mp3 on it by drag and drop (that is selecting the song by holding your mouse button on it and placing it in the window that pops up after you plugged the player to the pc)

 

[Anonymous]

So the Cowon is difficult to use when not familiar with MP3 players? There are some armbands available for this device, which is really all I need for now... And if there is no software that comes with it, how do I copy CD's onto the computer to then place the songs (by dragging folders) onto the MP3? Any other software I should download/use?

I prefer not to go for the Creativ if the build/quality is only so so- I need something that doesnt break too easily!!

 

[Anonymous]

The Cowon will take a couple of days to get used to the interface, but it is just a matter of getting used to it. The build quality of the cowon players is great (but so is the build of creative, ipods and sandisk sansas too).

[quote user="KC1976"]And if there is no software that comes with it, how do I copy CD's onto the computer to then place the songs (by dragging folders) onto the MP3? Any other software I should download/use?[/quote]

The cowon player does come with software to rip music from CD to your computer and syncronise with the device, however it is completely optional. It uses open standards, which mean you can use whatever software you like to rip and transfer music, or you can just copy the music to the device the same way that you copy files to a USB memory stick, the choice is yours.

With Ipods, the software they come with is a requirement , you can't just choose your own software, or just copy music to and from an ipod like a memory stick, it needs Itunes.

The best software to manage your music on your computer, and transfer to your player is Media Monkey, very powerful, but very user friendly, it is a free download, but the gold version has some very nice extra features such as automatically keeping track of your collection, and auto conversion which is well worth the lifetime upgrade fee of $20. The best quality software to rip cds to the computer is EAC which is a free download, however it is not particularly user friendly for a begginer. I would reccomend that you use media monkey to rip the cds, manage your collection and transfer to your player. It will work with any of the players we have talked about, including the ipod.

Getting used to the cowon interface just takes a while, but when you do, it is by far the best player on your list.

[quote user="KC1976"]I prefer not to go for the Creativ if the build/quality is only so so- I need something that doesnt break too easily!![/quote]

All the players we have talked about (Cowon, Sandisk, Ipod, Sony and Creative) have good build quality. Creative players are always solidly built, they can look a bit toy-like though.

The Sony that Solomon mentioned is a good player to by the way, but i thought that it needed the horrible sonic stage software to transfer music to it. Maybe I am wrong on that though.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the advice and info! I guess I will go for either the Cowon or the Ipod then... Will check the accessories and prices.

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="rigadig"]The Sony that Solomon mentioned is a good player to by the way, but i thought
that it needed the horrible sonic stage software to transfer music to it.[/quote]The new sony players don't have sonic stage anymore...