is there anything better than a ipod??

[loopee]

im after something near the 60gig memory, more better haha

looks as nice as a ipod but better

i dont like i tunes i just cant get along with it so something with better software than that

any help appreciated thanks

 

[Maidenpriest]

Personally i prefer Sony, but Ipod's are just made for the masses, virtually most of the big branded mp3 players offer better sound quality IMO

 

[loopee]

i need some exsamples sorry im not up to date on mp3s

and price wise, whats better for value?

 

[philaitman]

Cowon Iaudio X5 is probably the best sounding MP3 player I've ever heard (and I've heard a few)
Followed by the Sony, Iriver and Creative, Apple coming last out of the big manufacturers.

Sony make great sounding a well built players. However a lot of people hate the software so if you don't like Itunes then maybe it's not for you.

Cowon use simple drag and drop removable drive support for loading media. you make a folder structure that suites you and drag and drop away. It also plays unusual formats like OGG and more importantly flac which is like zip for audio, lossless and shrinks the size a bit from the original (Nowehere near mp3 like compression though)

Apples players sound a lot better if you install RockBox an alternative firmware, but even then they're still not up there with the other big players.
You can buy most not available in the shop players from people like advancedmp3players.

 

[loopee]

cowen sounds more down my street drag and drop

bit like my sonos right, accses folders and stuff, nice and easy

also a cown as i aint heard of them can u get accsesories for them and docks and stuff, in car kits?

 

[philaitman]

accesories aren't as ubiquitous as Apple. however you can buy a dock and anything which has a line in or a 3.5mm jack works fine.
If you want to find out more about Cowon/IAudio take a look at http://www.iaudiophile.net

 

[karkus30]

accesories aren't as ubiquitous as Apple. however you can buy a dock and anything which has a line in or a 3.5mm jack works fine.
If you want to find out more about Cowon/IAudio take a look at http://www.iaudiophile.net

Hmmm D2 looks interesting !

 

[Davy]

Simple - No - you can't do better than an iPod. Now there's a sweeping statement that's bound to upset a lot of people; but are they the same ones who knock Bill Gates and Microsoft? Probably! It does what it says on the can, as a famous TV advert once said. Can't get on with iTunes? I couldn't work out some of the excel formulae I needed, so I worked at it and guess what? That works as well. Still this is the right forum for you to get opinions from lots of people, both for and against.

 

[philaitman]

Simple - No - you can't do better than an iPod. Now there's a sweeping statement that's bound to upset a lot of people; but are they the same ones who knock Bill Gates and Microsoft?

Every portable music player I've ever owned from an original Walkman to my latest PMP's has done exactly what they've said on the tin. If they didn't they wouldn't be fit for purpose.
Your statement doesn't upset me, it just shows what Apples marketing can do. It's an average sounding player with an average feature set, with excellent build quality and street cred.
I don't knock Bill Gates either I'm an MSP so I kind of owe him my Career

 

[micks_address]

this is the eternal question.. .. apple versus sony versus cowon versus creative versus microsoft versus everyone and anyone else..

pick the player you like... none are complete disasters.. all with decent phones will produce decent sound.. some prefer the sound of the sony's some say cowon its all just so subjective... some will say the ipod has no bass.. some will say to get the best sound to add a portable headphone amp..

its a personal choice thing.. i went from a 30gb sony to a 4gb sony with fm radio and noise cancelling.. i think 4gb is grand and the radio is nice for commutes.. the noise cancelling actually works.. i think sony could be onto something here is they integrate it into their next high capacity DAP and the oled colour screen is very nice.. much better than the nwa1000/3000 screens

i've always liked sony products.... i'm not saying their the best but i am happy with what i got..

Happy shopping.
Mick

 

[karkus30]

Simple - No - you can't do better than an iPod. Now there's a sweeping statement that's bound to upset a lot of people; but are they the same ones who knock Bill Gates and Microsoft? Probably! It does what it says on the can, as a famous TV advert once said. Can't get on with iTunes? I couldn't work out some of the excel formulae I needed, so I worked at it and guess what? That works as well. Still this is the right forum for you to get opinions from lots of people, both for and against.

Probably true........as true as the statement 'you cant do better than a Cowon, iRiver, Sony, Samsung etc' there really is not a lot of difference between players, most ideosynchrosies you learn to get around or live with, sound quality is very similar amongst the top players. In the end it really depends on what you want from your player.....iTunes, exclusivity, size, complexity..........whatever.........you buy a car to get you to London, but a van will do the same job, maybe the car is more comfortable, but maybe you need to carry a lot of equipment.....which is best ?

 

[loopee]

i just like the idea of drag and drop , prefer that to itunes

 

[micks_address]

not sure if there are any really drag and drop solutions out there.. i have a friend who says he can drag and drop mp3's using windows explorer onto his creative nomad... he can but to do it he has to installed a pluging to windows explorer first! so is it really drag and drop?

For organising playlists/album art etc.. some software will be required...

for portability you need to consider what you are going to rip your cds as...

if you import them into itunes or sonicstage directly.. you will have to re rip if you change from say apple to sony or vice versa..

if you have loads of space the best option would be to rip to lossless WAV and then inport these into your music software library... or maybe high rate mp3..

that way if you move from ipod to sony you wont need to re rip...

 

[Brutos]

I personally prefer ipods myself, tried most of the others and i think the ipods all round package is the best.

Also the new ipod video is probably the best sounding mp3 player i've heard.

 

[karkus30]

not sure if there are any really drag and drop solutions out there.. i have a friend who says he can drag and drop mp3's using windows explorer onto his creative nomad... he can but to do it he has to installed a pluging to windows explorer first! so is it really drag and drop?

...

My Samsung Z5 is drag and drop, just like any USB stick, there is no software required, select UMS on the menu, plug into USB port and thats it.

 

[micks_address]

My Samsung Z5 is drag and drop, just like any USB stick, there is no software required, select UMS on the menu, plug into USB port and thats it.

looks like a nice player karkus... how does it manage album art and playlists? do you have to use a program of id tagging?


Cheers,
Mick

 

[karkus30]

I personally prefer ipods myself, tried most of the others and i think the ipods all round package is the best.

Also the new ipod video is probably the best sounding mp3 player i've heard.

Well I think the Samsung Z5 is, no no I mean the Cowon X5, nope thats not it maybe its the Iriver or the Sony ? No Im sure its one of the iPods or.......

and not one mention of alternative earbuds! The piece of kit that really allows you to tell the difference between players.

Who wants to list iPod negatives and positives..........dont mention the battery (remember all batteries have a finite lifespan of a couple of years maximum and quite often this can be reduced to around 12 months) which is not user replaceable or being forced into using iTunes, which are far from the only de-merits.

I think you can say that the iPod has the most intuitive interface (but its far from perfect....try selecting volume quickly!), it has many of the glitches ironed out as it uses iTunes (but I hear the latest version has been quite buggy), it has the most add on accessories, its one of the nicer looking players.

 

[karkus30]

looks like a nice player karkus... how does it manage album art and playlists? do you have to use a program of id tagging?


Cheers,
Mick

TBH I dont use album art in general as I use EAC and OGG encoding and tend to use it like a CD player ie listen to a full album

You can do all the playlist and album art things easily, it would be worth looking at the Z5 lounge http://www.z5lounge.com/ as it contains loads of info. You can either let WMP download all the tags and and artwork or if your using different encoders and want the artwork, you work in the usual explorer format, make a file for the downloaded album and stick the jpeg into the file with the MP3s or whatever..............thing is, because it is an open style player, you can do whatever you want.

The Z5 gets regular upgrades of the firmware.......it now has gapless playback and a user custom equaliser.

 

[Uridium]

Don't forget MP3 phones.

Used various Sony players in the past and now using a Nokia N91. seperate MP3 controls to the rest of the phone, supports almost every music format going, Drag'n'Drop support with no drivers + WMP & itunes support.

As well as playlists on the fly, album art support, preset and manual audio adjustment and sounds every bit as good as my last Sony player.

downside only 4gb so not huge capacity but 8gb version out anytime now

 

[Tunney]

Am I the only person who doesn't like drag and drop? I find that allowing a programme such as iTunes to organise my collection to be much more convenient. Just put in the CD and sit back as the software rips it, adds the album art, puts it all in the right directory and syncs the music with my device. It also makes creating custom playlists so much easier.

 

[branny]

I like the Sony's - especially the Silver NWA300 . They are the best.

Branny

 

[Brutos]

Well I think the Samsung Z5 is, no no I mean the Cowon X5, nope thats not it maybe its the Iriver or the Sony ? No Im sure its one of the iPods or.......

and not one mention of alternative earbuds! The piece of kit that really allows you to tell the difference between players.

Who wants to list iPod negatives and positives..........dont mention the battery (remember all batteries have a finite lifespan of a couple of years maximum and quite often this can be reduced to around 12 months) which is not user replaceable or being forced into using iTunes, which are far from the only de-merits.

I think you can say that the iPod has the most intuitive interface (but its far from perfect....try selecting volume quickly!), it has many of the glitches ironed out as it uses iTunes (but I hear the latest version has been quite buggy), it has the most add on accessories, its one of the nicer looking players.

Each to there own i suppose, I'd say the Samsung z5 is to small (4GB), the Cowon has a crap UI, Sony i like but it could do with proper screen like the others for artwork etc and of course better software and be abit cheaper, and Iriver i've not used much so i can't comment on.

But yeah the most important thing is buying good earphones.


.