I need a new MP3 Player - £200 to spend.

Ruby Eyed Owl

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Hi folks,

My MP3 broke and I have been given a refund on it so I now have to get myself a new player before going back to university in September.

I have £200 to spend and require the following:

  • At least 20GB
  • Good Sound quality
  • Loudness :D

I have been looking into maybe getting an iPod as I recently got a Mac (but i am mainly a PC user) and think it would work really well with it but I have used them before and the battery life isn’t exactly great compared to the 30 hrs my now defunct Sony player gave me.

It would also be good if the player could also be used as a portable Hard Drive as I can them use it for transferring things to Uni etc.

I am really looking for a player with video function etc as it is just something I would not use – any time I need video on the move I have my PSP or portable DVD player.

So folks what do you recommend?

Hope you can help.
s.

:thumbsup:
 
I've been in the same boat for a while and decided on a Zen vision m which i bought today.

£211 from costco, I really like it.

I previously had my music stored on my pc in the previous creative software,took abou 15 mins to transfer it over,(120 cd's worth).

Just for the hell of it i transferred an episode of the Sopranos which was in avi format,an hour long episode took 15 seconds to transfer and is amazing quality.

Also has an fm radio which is crystal clear, only had it for a couple of hours but have to say I'm impressed...
 
I have been looking at this player also, want to actually get my hands on one to have a go of it first.
 
I had an interesting weekend.

I have a Zen Sleek 20gig which cost me around £200. I'm pretty happy with it. I bought a pair of Sony E71 in-ear phones and overall its good.

Now at the weekend, I went to see my brother and was blown away by his set up. He had a Iaudio X520V made by Cowon

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...-6052439?v=glance&n=560798&s=gateway&v=glance

The difference in sound quality both to my brother and me was actually pretty dramatic. The Zen does sound good - clear and a decent base.
But the iaudio was a different league - it had a much more full sound, a deeper bass, and it seemed more rich and revealing.

I'd give the Zen sleek a 8/10 but the Iaudio 9.5/10

I tried the Iaudio with both the standard headphones which sounded good but were uncomfortable, and my brother also had a pair of Shure E5C (which retails for around the £50 mark.). I actually thought both were good, but the Shure seemed a bit more revealing.

If it was me I'd buy the Iaudio and Shure E5c. It would cost you more than £200 but I'd say its worth the extra. You could just buy the iaudio for now and thats £200, and upgrade the headphones later on.

Just my 2 cents. The only downside to the iaudio was the joystick control which I found fidly.
 
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yeah i have been looking at the iaudio also.

you are not the first to reccommend it :D
 
Shure E5c for £50 ??????? I need to know where NOW !!!!!
 
Tesco online are doing the iaudio for £190
http://www.tesco.com/electrical/browse.aspx?Nf=P_HIDDEN_InStockFlag|GTEQ+1&Ntx=mode%20matchall&N=4294965904&Ntk=P_HIDDEN_Special_Id&Nr=91&Ntt=331

They were doing the much better A2 for £210, but seem to have sold out.
 
If you want a good MP3 player with the added bonus of a gtreat screen and video play abck then its the Creative Zen Vision M. I picked one up last week from Amazon for £189.98 excl postage.
 
I ended up with an ipod 60GB which is over your budget but the 30GB would be OK. I have been amazed by the sound quality although that depends on your earphones which could cost as much again, the ones supplied are awful.

I am also using it for backing up and transfering files which is why I splashed out for the bigger hard drive which also has better battery life.

Another factor is that even the 60GB is thinner than most if not all rivals and in any case who else does such a large drive for the size and weight of the package. it fits nicely in my wallet (but not so that the next punter at the bar can see it) which means that I take my precious backups with me all the time.

Loudness? I know what you mean - I was young once (I think); with my etymotic ER4-P I could easily knock a few years of the life of my hearing, (in addition to those lost during those heady days at Art College :beer: when Led Zep, Cream etc etc ruled the sway:rolleyes: ).
 
Ryart,

Can the iPod be used as a portable HD?
 
Yes, the ipod can be used as a portable hard drive. There is a setting in itunes that has to be made to enable this. Once done, as soon as you plug the iPod into your computer via USB the iPod shows up as a hard drive from which you can transfer files or even open up files from the iPod directly. I have just opened up an image file from a file on the iPod (without transferring it first to the PC).

The other feature that is important to me is that I can download files directly to the iPod from my digital camera, out on the road. This is handy if I run out of memory cards on the road and is also useful for making a backup of the days shooting in case of later corruption of the camera's flash card - it has happened!

It was the practicalities that led me to an iPod rather than a style thing. Archos make players with similar capabilities but they are somewhat larger if you want a similar spec.
 
The Zen is a good deal - but you do get what you pay for. Feature-laden but inferior screen, clunky and poor usability IMO. Suit someone who feels the burning need to avoid an iPod but secretly wants one, as it's the closest thing to an iPod if it weren't for the cruddy controls. I was glad to get rid of it even for a low price.

The iAudio X5L is a real tank - you pay for the extended battery life in terms of significant bulk. The standard X5 is more portable, but you're talking iPod 30Gb - level battery life with almost twice the thickness. The (optional) remote is good though, although the sound quality is screwed by using the remote. All told it's definitely a previous-gen machine and nowadays really only worth going for if you do a LOT of OTG stuff. The 'video' is a total joke and generally the screen's pretty poor even when compared to the Zen.

The iPod would be a better machine for a mixed Mac/PC environment. I've lost the will to type much but if you have questions I can answer, having owned virtually all 'mainstream' DAPs til now (when I just gave up and went back to the iPod. Could have saved myself a whole lot of trouble and money instead of getting frustrated with inferior players). If it's mixed, make sure you prep the iPod on a PC first.
 
so if i was to go for an ipod i would run it as a windows ipod and this can be used on both pc and mac?
 
extremelydodgy said:
The Zen is a good deal - but you do get what you pay for. Feature-laden but inferior screen, clunky and poor usability IMO. Suit someone who feels the burning need to avoid an iPod but secretly wants one, as it's the closest thing to an iPod if it weren't for the cruddy controls. I was glad to get rid of it even for a low price.

The iAudio X5L is a real tank - you pay for the extended battery life in terms of significant bulk. The standard X5 is more portable, but you're talking iPod 30Gb - level battery life with almost twice the thickness. The (optional) remote is good though, although the sound quality is screwed by using the remote. All told it's definitely a previous-gen machine and nowadays really only worth going for if you do a LOT of OTG stuff. The 'video' is a total joke and generally the screen's pretty poor even when compared to the Zen.

The iPod would be a better machine for a mixed Mac/PC environment. I've lost the will to type much but if you have questions I can answer, having owned virtually all 'mainstream' DAPs til now (when I just gave up and went back to the iPod. Could have saved myself a whole lot of trouble and money instead of getting frustrated with inferior players). If it's mixed, make sure you prep the iPod on a PC first.

Are you talking about the Zen Vision M ? "Inferior screen" are you joking ? or just another ipod fanboy.

It has the best screen on a mp3 player of the moment period.

clunky ?, Poor Usability hmm well i guess someone who uses a ipod which had been designed for simpletons would say that. It took me 2 mins to work out what does what, by sounds of it i would'nt even have to be alive to use a ipod then.

the burning need to avoid a Ipod is justified, its over-hyped over-advertised over-priced and not built very well.
 
somecoolgeezer said:
so if i was to go for an ipod i would run it as a windows ipod and this can be used on both pc and mac?

If you set up your ipod on a PC it can also be used on a MAC.

By default the ipod is designed to sync with only one itunes music library. You can however set itunes to “Manually manage songs and playlists” in which case you have to drag and drop songs into your ipod via itunes. This means you can use 2 or more music librarys on a PC or MAC.

I don't think I'm a "simpleton" but I have to agree with extremelydodgy. You will find the ipod the best player for your needs. It is the only player for a mixed PC/MAC enviroment. If you ignore the music side you will still be left with a very useful storage device that you can use between a PC and a MAC.
 
Hi Gatecrasher

Fair enough to extol the virtues and highlight defects of equipment you have owned and used, but as you seem to have such an opposite of "fanboy" view of the iPod, why did you buy one or perhaps use one extensively enough to form such an opinion?

Doubtless the Zen Vision M is a good player but with 30 GB it is over 50%thicker than the equivalent iPod and thicker, even, than the iPod 60GB. There are pros and cons of all players which need careful research related to how you intend to use the machine. Having just gone through the process I Know!

Are you maybe an "inverted iPod fanboy"
 
ryart said:
Hi Gatecrasher

Fair enough to extol the virtues and highlight defects of equipment you have owned and used, but as you seem to have such an opposite of "fanboy" view of the iPod, why did you buy one or perhaps use one extensively enough to form such an opinion?

Doubtless the Zen Vision M is a good player but with 30 GB it is over 50%thicker than the equivalent iPod and thicker, even, than the iPod 60GB. There are pros and cons of all players which need careful research related to how you intend to use the machine. Having just gone through the process I Know!

Are you maybe an "inverted iPod fanboy"

i have never brought a Ipod would'nt be stupid enough to waste my money.

Thicker wow so its a little bit bigger, features win over a slight increase in thickness anyday.
 
That's your problem gatecrasher - if you intend to use your player on the tube by sticking it in your shirt pocket. The thickness makes a huge difference.

Horses for courses. I own an ipod, but I have also bought 2 Zen players for my kids. Their needs are different from mine.
 
limegreenzx said:
That's your problem gatecrasher - if you intend to use your player on the tube by sticking it in your shirt pocket. The thickness makes a huge difference.

Horses for courses. I own an ipod, but I have also bought 2 Zen players for my kids. Their needs are different from mine.

I don't have a "problem" i have a opinion.
 
Hmmm

I think that the size of anything that is supposed to be portable is quite an important feature. I think there are pros and cons to be carefully considered. For example, the ability to download pictures from a digital camera whilst on the road was important for me, but perhaps not for others.

You say that you wouldn't be stupid enough to waste your money on an iPod. Just to be clear, does this mean that you think that people who have bought an iPod are stupid? Just for the record I certainly don't think people are stupid for choosing something else!

I still haven't worked out how you arrived at such an anti iPod stance. As far as specs are concerned you need to compare and contrast all the features and take into account how relevant they are for intended use. For such little devices there is a surprising amount to take into account. I personally think one mans sensible choice might be a Zen, another a Sony and another an iPod.

Probably the only stupid thing I am doing is bothering to reply to this... Ah well...
 
ryart said:
Hmmm

I think that the size of anything that is supposed to be portable is quite an important feature. I think there are pros and cons to be carefully considered. For example, the ability to download pictures from a digital camera whilst on the road was important for me, but perhaps not for others.

You say that you wouldn't be stupid enough to waste your money on an iPod. Just to be clear, does this mean that you think that people who have bought an iPod are stupid? Just for the record I certainly don't think people are stupid for choosing something else!

I still haven't worked out how you arrived at such an anti iPod stance. As far as specs are concerned you need to compare and contrast all the features and take into account how relevant they are for intended use. For such little devices there is a surprising amount to take into account. I personally think one mans sensible choice might be a Zen, another a Sony and another an iPod.

Probably the only stupid thing I am doing is bothering to reply to this... Ah well...


Its not the ipod itself that annoys me its the craze, i bet someone will say to me what ipod is that you've got, even the bbc use the term "ipod" to decribe any mp3 player.
 

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