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Looking to buy a flash MP3 player

I

iCe Cube

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 16, 2005
154
0
Near Glasgow, Scotland
Hey there

I have a usb flash 256 mb mp3 player which is starting to get old, and I want to get another flash one at around 1/2GB, as I dont need to listen to my whole music collection at any one since i get sick of the same music very very easily, so im constantly removing/adding new songs. The only ipod I am considering right now is the iPod shuffle, but I don't know if the sound quality (i mainly listen to bass-heavy hip hop) and features are good enough to make it worth the 55 pounds. But I dunno, I think it looks nice and will work well with iTunes etc. I don't really want the iPod Nano because i am not into the new colours...I preferred the old white and black...now you have to get a 8gb just for black.

Does anyone have a non-iPod mp3 player that they could recommend? I've looked at iRiver's and iAudio's...but I have no clue.

thanks a lot :)
 
If you want the older iPods, eBay is your friend. Good deals on new iPod Nanos, too (talking about the older version).

The shuffle sounds good with bass heavy songs, I think. This has more to do with your earphones/headphones than the iPod. The last I checked, the full sized iPods were made with quality audio components (Creative players used the same or similar components, actually), but I forget the company who makes the audio components. Wolfson was the name, I think. Um....anyway, the company who makes these components are supposed to be good. :p

Not sure about the audio encoding/decoding components of the iPod Nano or Shuffle, but I can't imagine them needing to deviate much from the old formula, since the audio quality was never the problem with iPods, even when the battery life was crap. :)

Get decent headphones, and you'll be fine. Not sure about the quality of the components that the competition uses.


My friend uses a Creative mp3 player, but it's not flash --- it's harddrive based. It is a good player though, and the user interface is decent, although not as good to use one-handed, apparently. I'm sure the flash based players are also good.
 
Consider a refurbished 1st Gen Nano. As of this posting, you can get a black 1GB for £73 or a black 4GB for £99 on Apple UK's

Refurb iPods

page.

I just bought one myyself, and aside from the brown cardboard packaging, everything was like new and the iPod was in perfect condition.
 
Thanks for the suggestions to both of you. I am not sure about the refurb route as I would like to have a brand new player without scratches and stuff.

The ebay thing that Abstract mentioned sounds interesting, and I will have a look.

I was actually in a shop today and I was about to buy an ipod shuffle, but I resisted...I have an inability to buy on impulse :p.

Has anyone got a shuffle then, do you think its worth it?

thanks
 
I had a 1G shuffle, and it was a great little player. Sounded good, and could take any and all abuse I heaved at it.

If you want, there's someone selling one for $35 in the Marketplace right now, I'm sure with something that light and small, they'd consider shipping abroad...
 
iCe Cube said:
Thanks for the suggestions to both of you. I am not sure about the refurb route as I would like to have a brand new player without scratches and stuff.

The ebay thing that Abstract mentioned sounds interesting, and I will have a look.

I was actually in a shop today and I was about to buy an ipod shuffle, but I resisted...I have an inability to buy on impulse :p.

Has anyone got a shuffle then, do you think its worth it?

thanks
Click to expand...

My girlfriend smashed the life out of her 5th gen iPod this summer, and ordered a refurb 30gb to replace it. I couldn't believe it. It looked just like brand new, no fingerprints or scratches or anything. It works perfectly to this day.

I will definitely consider refurbs in the future, but I always like to get the newest technology, so it's likely my next iPod will be the next generation one.

As for the shuffle, it rocks. I bought my mother one (yes, my mother) and she actually knows how to use it. She uses it at the gym and while cleaning the house.

My recommendation: Refurb Nano, however it'll be the 'old' generation. Check futureshop or best buy or other retail stores for new-gen nanos since they are often on sale.
 
iaudio g3

i like the iaudio g3 (or cowon, whatev).

AA batteries.....no ipod battery dying out...

yeeeeeap.

iaudio g3!
 
message from the anti-static room:)

I work in the return/refurb department of a giant internet-sales tech-prodcuts company in France, and after handling and testing every imaginable brand and model of mp3 player, I am completely convinced that the Apple line is the best, at both the flash and HD levels. Even with the higher price points, I think it's worth it; they are returned much less frequently, and our customer response is immeasurably better than with any other marque.

I also agree with the members who recommend the refurb route here. In general I fear refurbs, but flash memory devices use a simple, established technology with little user serviceablility and are thus very simple to adequately refurb...and from all I've heard, Apple is very good at re-creating the new-product experience with their refurb program (much better, I have to admit, than ours).
 
iCe Cube said:
I was actually in a shop today and I was about to buy an ipod shuffle, but I resisted...I have an inability to buy on impulse :p.
Click to expand...

wow cherish that quality ... I would probably have like $1000 extra in my life if I could claim this.
 
I am a big fan of Creative's mp3 players, I use a Zen Micro, and it's a really nice player. Contrary to popular belief, i find the controls easy to use compared to an iPod. Although attached to the Zen Micro I have a set of Apple earbuds :D

The Zen Nano and the MuVo are two great choices to consider, excellent sound quality too. But, as was said before, it largely depends on the earphones used to listen with.
 
iCe Cube said:
yeh i saw that and it looks good, does it definitely work with mac? It says PC-only on tthis :S http://www.advancedmp3players.co.uk/shop/product_info.php?products_id=1336&display=specification


thanks everyone for the suggestions :)
Click to expand...

It's USB Mass Storage. So it'll appear as a drive on the Mac.

You can use extensions like iTuneMyWalkman to hook it up to iTunes.

It's not the greatest player, but it's cheap, it's got the most storage for the money and it's not bad in terms of ease of use.
 
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