MP3 player recommendations (1 Viewer)

[Dave F]

Anyone have any suggestions for a good mp3 player for the pc? I love the tiny windowshade of Winamp, but the latest version is just so dang slow. Any good alternatives with a view similar to Winamp's windowshade?

-Dave

 

[Camp]

QCD is a fine, albiet odd looking, media player. However, I've since moved on to much more robust players (not only playback but rip, encode, organize, edit, etc.). Media Jukebox (the first link) sounds better than any media player I've used (but I can't figure out why). It has a really cool "DSP Studio" that makes substantial changes to the sound of your music.

Despite the fact that WMP 9 is a Microsoft media player (they've had a rather poor history in this category) this version is excellent. The lossless compression scheme is nice too. We'll see if it catches on though.

http://www.musicex.com/mediajukebox/

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/win...a/players.aspx

 

[Dave F]

Thanks guys - I think QCD fits the bill for me. I found a skin (Sliver) with a tiny mode similar to Winamp's windowshade, and it is much less of a system drain than Winamp.



-Dave

 

[Greg_Y]

.

 

[Dave F]

Greg- Do you know the name of the plug-in? I can't seem to find it...

Thanks,
Dave

 

[Greg_Y]

.

 

[EricSchulz]

OK, I'm reviving this thread...
I am finally joining the portable MP3 revolution (better late than never, huh?) and am in need of recommendations. Here's what features I am looking for and its intended use:

*Using for listening while at the gym
*Using as a secondary music source in my car (along with XM)
*An LCD readout with artist/track info is a bonus, but not neccessary
*Prefer Window Media based; I currently use MSN to download and will be trying MusicMatch and Napster after I upgrade to my new PC next month
*Easy-to-use/understand
*size/styling is not a real issue
*prefer a 512MB+
*does NOT need an FM radio

Just at Target alone I found a bunch that fit the bill, but other than iPods, who really talks about these other players?

Thanks in advance for your suggestions and comments!

Eric

 

[Jason Goodmanson]

Not to be pro Apple - but I believe that Apple has done the whole MP3 experience right. The players are nice, but what really seals the deal for me is iTunes. Everything about it is well thought out and easy to use. I hesitated on getting an iPod because I liked MusicMatch (plus I don't run Windows XP) but finally gave it a shot and got one (had to use the wife's computer for the music) and there's no going back. And since the iPods are designed to work with iTunes, the transfer and usability is top notch.

As far as players go, it just depends on what you want to spend. The Shuffles are really cool since they are so small and lightweight. We have a refurbished 1 gig that cost $100 which is a heck of a deal. There's no LCD which is fine, but some people seem to think that that's the most important part.

The Nanos are cool too - but I think they're a big over priced $250 for 4gigs when you can spend $50 more and get nearly 8 times the storage with a 30 gib iPod with video.

 

[Jeff_CusBlues]

I have had my Creative MuVo for three or four years (maybe more). It is about the size of a bic lighter. It is basically a thumb drive that slips into a battery holder. The thumb drive can also be used as, well, a thumb drive. You just put it in your USB, copy WMAs or MP3s to it and you are ready to go. When I bought mine, 128M was expensive and I think it was $150 or so. I see a 512M on Creative's site for $80. The down side is that there is no display. I mostly use mine to listen to tunes while I mow.

 

[Chris-V]

Enough has been written about the iPods that I won't talk about those; they're very good for some people, and it sounds like they do what you want. If you're looking for something non-Apple....

The more recent Creative flash players (the newer MuVo's, the Micro and the Nano) all have displays. I've used both the MuVo TX-FM and Micro and have liked both. For use in the car, they may be a bit of a bummer b/c of the small display if you decide you want to navigate. If you're just going to load it up and have it play, occasionally skipping over a track, they could be a good bet.

I've also heard good things about iRiver flash players, though they tend to be a bit pricier and I haven't used one.

If you decide to go with a hdd player (not as suitable for the gym, but generally do ok, depending on what you're doing there), check out the iRiver H10 series. I have the new Creative Vision:M, and have also been very happy with it, but it's not widely available yet and is probably more than you're looking for.

 

[Jack Briggs]

Amazing that this 2003 thread ever incubated in the Music area. It is now in the proper location. Carry on.

 

[Thijs]

Iriver H10 (5gb) although there are probably new versions with lots of more gb's. But i got a H10 for like a year now and happy as hell with it, awesome MP3player.

 

[Dave Mack]

Well, I'm REALLY late to the party! I still have my good old Sony portable CD player!
I recently got a part time job where I will be basically alone for hours at a time doing maintenance work and am now looking at getting a player. One thing I didn't like when I heard ipods is how synthetic, tinny, digital and non-bassy the mp3 tracks sounded, (I assume they were 128kps)
I am a bit of an audio sound quality snob so any suggestions guys? For me, best sound quality is most important, second would be ease of loading, use and third would be storage capacity.
Any ideas, guys?

Thanks in advance!

Dave

 

[Ted Todorov]

Hi Dave,

I have an iPod (originally a 2nd generation 20GB which my GF still uses, now a 4th gen. 40GB) and so far as sound quality is concerned:

1) As with everything else, it's all about the speakers/headphones -- with high quality headphones the iPod can produce wonderful results. It does have EQ settings for boosting bass if you feel it is necessary.

2) Encoding: I rip my CDs to 256 kbps AAC (iTunes will let you go up to 320 kbps, and if that isn't enough for you there is always Apple Lossless). I find AAC clearly superior to MP3. A friend of mine who is a music producer/recording engineer and I did a blind test of 256 kbps AAC vs. 256 kbps MP3 and we could tell which was which every time. MP3 muddies the bottom.

So my advice: get an iPod, get good headphones and rip to high bit rate AAC.

Ted

 

[Dave Mack]

Thanks ted! I do record and mix my own music so having them portable at lossless would be ideal.
I looked at the new ipod video but it seems that you can only recharge it by connecting it to a computer?!?!/ Kinda silly if you are say on a road trip, yes? Any models that you can just plug in like a cell phone to charge?
Thanks!

 

[Paul E V]

Dave,

I'm looking at iPod myself, there's an adapter on this page ... http://www.apple.com/ipod/accessories.html

I've also seen something similar at Radio Shack ... not finding it online but I've seen it in stores



Sounds like I should start over with what I started doing .... I've recently started ripping my CDs into MP3s, in preperation for iPod, with thoughts of eliminating tracks I don't care for and burning a new set of CDs for home use which will take less space in the player and also preserve the originals.

 

[Ted Todorov]

As Paul points out, the iPod with video certainly does let you charge from the wall, but you need to get the USB adaptor (charger) separately -- just buy it from wherever you are getting your iPod be it Apple store, Amazon, whatever.

Apple used to include all kinds of accessories when they were selling the 60GB model for $599, but now that it lists for $399 most of the accessories are extra.

Ted