Which MP3 Player Should I Get? I've Never Owned One Before

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The discussion revolves around selecting an MP3 player, with users sharing experiences about various models like the iPod, Creative Zen, and Zune. Key considerations include storage capacity, sound quality, and additional features such as voice recording for lectures. Users highlight that the 4GB Zen's song capacity is based on low bitrate settings, which may not reflect actual usage for higher quality files. The iPod is favored for its user-friendly software and resale value, while the Sandisk Sansa is noted for its affordability and features. Ultimately, the choice depends on personal needs, including storage, sound quality, and additional functionalities.
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I've never owned an mp3 player before . Now I want to invest in one. But I'm unsure which one to get. So far I've looked at the Ipod, Creative Zen, and Zune players. The zune looks damn pretty with its relatively large screen. Whats your experience with these? I honestly don't think I'd ever need 30GB for over 7000 songs. I have about 40 albums I want to digitize (just over 500 songs; I'll have it mp3 and wma format). According to the specs on the 4GB Zen player, it can hold about 2000 songs. Should I take this limit literally? An average album when ripped or downloaded for me is about 60 - 90MB (approx. 12 songs ea.). According to that, I'd only have enough space for 22 albums. If a 4GB can hold 2000 songs, and a 30BG can hold 7000 songs; something doesn't seem right there. I won't enjoy any movies on that small screen either. Is the 4GB Zen a good investment?

This situation reminds me of the time when I was in the grocery to get some jam. There were like over 40 different kinds. I left the store with nothing.

EDIT - I would also appreciate the convenience of recording lectures in school.

EDIT2 - The zen players have flashed based memory. When compared to other mp3 players, the flash memory is sturdier than hard drive based ones.

EDIT3(OMG!) - the 2000 song claim is based on songs at 64kps! Thats no kind of quality right? Most my mp3s are 128 - 320kps (most of them being either 128 or 192kps). SO I'm only looking at about 1000 at 128kps or just over 650 songs at 192kps.
 
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Hmm, my brother has a zune I think and its pretty good and stylish. I don't really know about the capacity issue. Maybe the Zune means it can hold 2000 video songs, or that applies to the ipod not the zune. I am not sure really I just woke up and my math isn't at its best of peaks. I would get the Ipod in my opinion and get it off ebay. Its half price off ebay brand new, well when I got it it was about £110 instead of £200+ from a shop. And it was definitley brand new. It would be the best option so you can add more later on.

Luke.
 
I used to be anti-ipod, but I give up, just get the ipod, it is the best :-p
 
Yes, flash is sturdier, but as you have found out, it also means less memory. I use a Creative Zen vision with a 30 gig hard drive and a screen for playing video. It is big, but great on a plane or mounted on my dash. One negative - the screen on mine has a poor viewing angle (if you look at it from the side, you can' see it). I don't know if that is fixed on newer versions. A buddy of mine bought a Zune and he's happy with it (and it has a better screen).

And when you start throwing vids on it, the space goes quick...
 
You should check out the sandisk sansa. I have a 4gb version and I'm happy with it. Its basically an Ipod mini for a lot less money and it has a lot of features like a voice recorder and radio. I've used the recorder a couple of times in class and its pretty sensitive. You need to sit at the front though otherwise you collect noise from people in front of you.

Right now I am using 2.9 gigabytes of space and I have 332 songs on there. Plus it comes with an sd memory slot so I have a 2gb memory card if I ever run out of space.

Edit: The only thing that I don't like about the player is the screen seemed to scratch easily. However I am pretty rough on my equipment so its probably just me.
 
russ_watters said:
Yes, flash is sturdier, but as you have found out, it also means less memory. I use a Creative Zen vision with a 30 gig hard drive and a screen for playing video. It is big, but great on a plane or mounted on my dash. One negative - the screen on mine has a poor viewing angle (if you look at it from the side, you can' see it). I don't know if that is fixed on newer versions. A buddy of mine bought a Zune and he's happy with it (and it has a better screen).

And when you start throwing vids on it, the space goes quick...

The Zen V 4GB model has an OLED display. They made the claim that is viable from all angles. But the trade off comes with the difficulty of reading it in sunlight.
trajan22 said:
You should check out the sandisk sansa. I have a 4gb version and I'm happy with it. Its basically an Ipod mini for a lot less money and it has a lot of features like a voice recorder and radio. I've used the recorder a couple of times in class and its pretty sensitive. You need to sit at the front though otherwise you collect noise from people in front of you.

Right now I am using 2.9 gigabytes of space and I have 332 songs on there. Plus it comes with an sd memory slot so I have a 2gb memory card if I ever run out of space.

Edit: The only thing that I don't like about the player is the screen seemed to scratch easily. However I am pretty rough on my equipment so its probably just me.
If we compare the Zen 4GB, it's also a lot cheaper that its nano competitor. It looks like sandisk sansa has very sleek and compact design like the zen. I'll have to read more about this one. But from what I can see, its features are comparable to the zen and has all the requirements that I need.
If you don't mind me asking, what's the bit rate of your songs?
 
A song encoded at 128Kbits (decent quality) is about 1Mb/min

Another thing to consider is battery life, I use mine for listening to audio books when traveling so being able to swap batteries is important.
I just buy which ever of the small 'pill shaped' flash ones are cheapest in the supermarket and use it with a good pair of Sennheiser CX300 headphones.
 
Whilst doing some research, I found that the Ipod nano 4GB model is about $90 more expensive that the Zen V 4Gb model. Is there an issue of quality here? From what I've heard the nano is a very fragile device. This is in contrast to the Zen, which people have claimed to very clumsy with and it still works. I guess one is just paying for the Apple/Ipod name?
 
mgb_phys said:
A song encoded at 128Kbits (decent quality) is about 1Mb/min

Damn European metal songs are over 5mins :smile:
 
  • #10
ranger said:
If you don't mind me asking, what's the bit rate of your songs?

Im not entirely sure, how do you find that out?
Heres what I tried anyway. I opened the player then clicked on a song and clicked properties. Then clicked details and it said bit rate was about 3200kbps for most of the songs I checked. But that number seems really high to me.
 
  • #11
trajan22 said:
Im not entirely sure, how do you find that out?
Heres what I tried anyway. I opened the player then clicked on a song and clicked properties. Then clicked details and it said bit rate was about 3200kbps for most of the songs I checked. But that number seems really high to me.

Its the encoding quality that mgb_phys was talking about. Perhaps I've interchanged two terms unknowingly. But 3200kbps is pretty high. Are you sure its not 320?
 
  • #12
I am an Ipod lover, I absolutely love mine. Itunes is a nice easy software to use to organize your music and the Ipod is a great little player. I have used different players but found that the software wasn't nearly as nice to use and the player itself was missing a lot of features for example I thought the Toshiba gigabeat was just terrible.
 
  • #13
Yeah I checked it twice, it says 3200 for the bit rate. I doubt that's the number we are looking for though. But I know I did it higher than 64kbs
 
  • #14
I have a Creative MuVo TX FM, which serves me well. It's got 256MB (but you can also get a 512MB model), as well as as sound recorder for your lectures, and an FM radio. And since it's an older model, you could probably get it for fairly cheap. The downside is that it isn't exactly loaded with storage space, so you'll probably have to plug it into your computer every few days to change songs.
 
  • #15
Cowon D2

!

http://www.cowonamerica.com/products/cowon/d2

2/8GB versions, expandable up to an additional 16gb. touchscreen, mp3, movie player, radio/voice recorder etc. it has a cool text writer, play flash games, calculator.
 
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