Does a device like this exist?

=adrian=

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Please help. My ancient iPod Classic's (the one with 2 colour screen ;)) battery is pretty much dead. I'm looking for a music player with few things and I would like to ask whether such a device actually exists.

Things I need:
  • large capacity - around 40gb or more, it could be a smaller internal memory device with ability to expand it by micro SD (or other) card (important)
  • very good sound quality (important)
  • reliable (it will be used mostly for mountain biking) (important)
  • ability to play FLAC (important)
  • not expensive (let's say £70 is the top margin) (important)
  • and maybe FM radio (not important)
  • drag-n-drop style of uploading tracks would be nice (not essential though)

Things I don't need:
  • big & amazing screen
  • ability to play videos and show photos
  • access to internet
  • additional apps/features/gizmos
  • funky/modern/cool look

Just looking for a simple reliable music player with lots of storage and ability to play FLAC. I have looked at SanDisk Sansa Clip Zip player which seems to be pretty much perfect for my needs, but many many comments about how unreliable and easy to break it is, have put me off.

Please help :smashin:
 
The sansa clip +? For the budget you have you could get a 2nd if it broke, they age really cheap for what they are

It's the same thing as with Salsa Zip that puts me off. I always tend to sort Amazon reviews to be able to see all the negative reviews first and this is what I got:

Amazon.co.uk: Customer Reviews: SanDisk Sansa Clip+ 8GB MP3 Player with Radio and Expandable MicroSD/SDHC Slot - Black

22 pages of how quickly the device broke.

It does look like a device that I'm after though, so I still keep it in mind, but would also like to know are there any other options for me.
 
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Colorfly C3, discusion thread on head-fi, link below.

Colorfly C3 Appreciation and Discussion Thread

Regards mipmip.

It does look great I admit (well design-wise it looks crap but I don't mind that), but it's double than my original budget. I could get it from HK or US for around £70 but there is also the cost of the delivery plus additional taxes and custom.

Thanks though. I'll keep that in mind
 
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It's the same thing as with Salsa Zip that puts me off. I always tend to sort Amazon reviews to be able to see all the negative reviews first and this is what I got:

Amazon.co.uk: Customer Reviews: SanDisk Sansa Clip+ 8GB MP3 Player with Radio and Expandable MicroSD/SDHC Slot - Black

22 pages of how quickly the device broke.

It does look like a device that I'm after though, so I still keep it in mind, but would also like to know are there any other options for me.

Amazon is not a good place for reviews. If you went by the negative reviews on amazon no-one would buy anything. If it breaks you send it back.

Had mine at least a year, used pretty much every day and no issues what-so-ever.

I've posted this review quite a lot but here goes again NwAvGuy: Sansa Clip+ Measured
 
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Amazon is not a good place for reviews. If you went by the negative reviews on amazon no-one would buy anything. If it breaks you send it back.

Had mine at least a year, used pretty much every day and no issues what-so-ever.

I've posted this review quite a lot but here goes again NwAvGuy: Sansa Clip+ Measured

Yes, I know that this sort of researching a product is a bit strange, but the fact that so many people talk about the same thing, does incline that there must be something in this.

Anyway, I still think that this device is what I'm after so I keep an open mind.

I'll read that review tonight when I'm back home. Thanks
 
Ahhhh what the hell

UOy6PN8.jpg

+ 32 GB micro SD card

If it's crap I'll return it.

I will also need a set of good in-ear headphones at some point, but for now I have some Sony ones. They will have to do for now.

Cheers :smashin:
 
Awesome! Now enjoy :) If you want you can also try rockbox, which I like but the Sansa firmware is perfectly good.
 
I've got a 5th gen iPod Classic with Rockbox on it. Depending on what gen yours is, you may want to replace the battery and give it a go. Excellent SQ for not a lot of money.
 
I've got a 5th gen iPod Classic with Rockbox on it. Depending on what gen yours is, you may want to replace the battery and give it a go. Excellent SQ for not a lot of money.

I don't know which one it is. It must be one of the first generations of the classic ipod. It's got 2 colour screen (blue and black IIRC or blue and white, I dont remember) and it's 40GB. I've not used it for ages but last time I tried it took many many hours to charge the battery and it was dead after a short while after.

I may sell it on eBay as an antique :laugh:
 
That's a one as I have

oXwRZ0k.jpg


Looks like I won't be able to test my new mp3 on my cycling trip today, because I'm leaving in half an hour. I fully charged my iPod yesterday. I'll see how long it will last :)
 
Aside from the using on a bike aspect I'd recommend picking up an old rockboxed iriver h140 or h340 off eBay whilst you still can. If it has an upgraded battery or hard drive all the better.

It does all of what the op was looking for with the added benefit of having optical line in/ outs, excellent recording features and an optional LCD remote.

The h340 goes for a lot less than the h140 as the 140 is regarded as having better sound but I actually prefer it although they both sound superb.

Prices fluctuate but I've seen them go for between £40 - £150 depending on condition and accessories etc.
 
Thanks Roy, but my Clip+ arrived today (not tested it yet though), so I can't see myself buying another mp3 player for a while (unless the Clip+ will fail me miserably) :)
 
If the clip mechanism breaks on the Clip+ then you may drop money on a Clip Zip upgrade like I did ;)
 
Hehe we'll see ;)

So far Ive not even taken it out of the box. Not sure why i paid for saturday delivery :facepalm:
 
I'm having some problems with the device already. 15min into my bicycle ride in the hills yesterday the device switched itself off and I was unable to get it back on (the battery was fully charged). Only when I came back to my car, removed the sd card, reset it, it came back on but everytime Ive put the sd card on, it died again.

Tried it again at home and it worked fine.

It's the second time it happened too, but first time I got it going quicker.

I'm not sure whether I should send it back or see if it improves.
 
Send it back.
 
I think I pinpointed the problem.

The device is happy to play all my FLAC files I uploaded, except for few that sit in "Unknown" folder. There are 4 tracks in this folder (each one from a different artist/lp) and every time I try to play one of those, the device crashes and only way to bring i back to life is to take the SD card out, reset it, put the card back and switch it back on :confused:

What's strange though is that all of those 4 tracks work perfectly fine on my PC.
 
How are you transferring your files? I'd recommend simply dragging and dropping in Windows from your PC, first changing the Clip's USB Mode setting to MSC (mass storage class) rather than auto detect or MTP.

I'd also recommend using tagging software like MP3 Tag to make sure the problem files are properly tagged, if you haven't done so already.

Have you updated the firmware? This may help cure the problem. If not you can get it here (I think that's the latest version):

Sansa Clip+ Firmware Update 01.02.18 - SanDisk Forums.

I always used the manual update method with my clip+ and clip zip.
 
I have updated the firmware, that was the first thing I've done after taking it out of the box. The mode is set to MSC since day one (I just checked to be sure) and I transfer files by a simple drag-and-drop. Didn't even bother checking if there is any additional software (ala iTunes).

Since my last post it died again, this time playing something completely different to the 4 files in the "Unknown" folder, but managed to get it going again even without taking the SD card again.
 
Have you used FlacTester that comes with FLAC to make sure they are actually ok? Also use mp3tag to remove any tags and apply new ones as they might have ID3 tags which aren't valid for FLAC.
 
Have you used FlacTester that comes with FLAC to make sure they are actually ok? Also use mp3tag to remove any tags and apply new ones as they might have ID3 tags which aren't valid for FLAC.

Thanks for the advice. No, never used any testers. I thought that if they play ok on my PC (WinAmp), it means they are ok.

Good point about the tags, but in case of hundreds of files, it is really a mundane work. I'll look into it though, thank you :smashin:
 
I hope you haven't binned your iPod mate - have you thought about replacing the battery?

My girlfriends brother has the same iPod as you, and he replaced the battery AND upgraded the HDD! (And he's just turned 40, so it's not an age thing! ;))

According to him the iPod Classics are a very versatile piece of kit. He says he just keeps it in the car and takes it to work. All bashed and mashed, but he loves it.

I just bought an iPod Classic myself, one of the 160GB models. I was tired of my SGS3 ruining my music.
 

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