Modern MP3 Players

arty · 28 Feb 2006 at 20:11

I'm in the market for a new MP3 player to replace my vintage 1st Generation iPod (not many of those about these days - it's still in perfect working order too

). I'm looking for the following features:

1. Flash memory. I don't want a hard disk to fail

2. 1GB minimum, 2GB maximum.
3. As small and light as possible.
4. Either AAC or Ogg support. Ogg preferred but not essential
5. No dodgy proprietary software required to dump music on it; I'd like it to function just like a normal flash drive without needing any extra drivers or software.
6. Ideally, a battery rechargable by USB.
7. Good powerful headphone output as I won't be using it with an amp (yet, anyway).
8. Not Creative

Any suggestions at all are welcome. I'm really just starting to weigh up the alternatives - number 5 seems to be the killer at the moment. Cheers!

arty

benjo plz. · 28 Feb 2006 at 20:14

iAudio U3?

Bigsy · 28 Feb 2006 at 20:36

U3 would be a good choice, Crystal CS42L51 codec + 30mw pch, sound doesn't get much better than that. However navigation is poor, and it is overpriced, your paying through the nose for video on a screen which is just not big enough to watch it on. It's priced the same as the iRiver u10 which I would buy in a heart beat over it..............but

A better choice imo would be the monolith MX7000 (comes in 512,1, and 2gb) it has a 24bit Wolfson sigma delta DAC + 28mw pch output, excellent sound quality no current hdd players can match that. Has all the pros on the U3 but with the added bonus of it being cheaper and virtually indestructible!!

arty · 28 Feb 2006 at 20:38

Phnom_Penh said:
iAudio U3?

Funnily enough I'd just come across this one. It looks pretty good, though I prefer the looks of the Monolith MX7000. The Monolith also looks difficult to break, which is always a plus. I'll do some more reading up and see what I can find

Thanks for the suggestion.

[EDIT] Thanks for the suggestions

I'd also just come across the Monolith, which is also cheaper than the U3.[/EDIT]

arty

Bigsy · 28 Feb 2006 at 20:47

Also just to note incase it helps; the monolith has direct encoding at 320kbps, which is pretty nifty if you ask me

arty · 28 Feb 2006 at 20:58

I can't seem to find any info on a) Getting files onto the Monolith b) Its music browsing capabilities. If anyone has one, could they possibly enlighten me as to whether it needs proprietary software (hopefully not) and also whether you can browse by artist and then by album, or at least by album?

Reviews seem thin on the ground.

arty

Bigsy · 28 Feb 2006 at 21:30

It is UMS so no probs there...but, its file tree browsing i'm afraid, it will use tags for titles, but no browsing by artist etc.

Kamakazie! · 1 Mar 2006 at 01:22

iRiver U10? expensive but look pretty damn class. pretty sure they are drag and drop for music files.

arty · 1 Mar 2006 at 19:21

Bigsy said:
It is UMS so no probs there...but, its file tree browsing i'm afraid, it will use tags for titles, but no browsing by artist etc.

Can you get it to play folders? I could organise music into Artist/Album format then, and just select the album folder I want to play

Kamakazie: I'll look into the U10, cheers for the suggestion.

arty

arty · 2 Mar 2006 at 19:00

Cheeky bump - I could do with ordering by this weekend if possible

The U10 doesn't seem to get great reviews, so I think I'll be avoiding it for the time being. Current front runner is the Monolith, if I can play whole albums easily on it...

arty

Le Samourai · 2 Mar 2006 at 20:17

I've got a 1Gb U10... it's very sexy and absolutely tiny but fine enough for 320x240 video.

It has OGG support but you have to browse to the files - they don't synch into the Music menus.

You can use drag and drop or synch in WMP but I'm avoiding WMP at the mo' as it crashes quite a lot.

I've also had to reformat the U10 a couple of times as it can lose from what's manually deleted and what's deleted via WMP - so can leave remnants of track titles in the menus but no tracks on the player.

I think it was 30mW output but I'm sure it's been reduced according to EU regulations, via the latest firmware... it still sounds pretty loud to me though.

I've swapped out the bundled headphones though... pretty poor and currently using the Creative

buds from OcUK... which are pretty good.

The additional dock is class though... looks like a retro TV. :cool:

That monolith looks rather sleek!

james.miller · 2 Mar 2006 at 20:19

that monolith looks awsome. Id gladly have one over my h10

RandomTom · 2 Mar 2006 at 20:27

It maybe against the grain but how about go for an ipod shuffle 1gb, they're pretty cheap now, what do you say about that? (although im not sure on the drag and drop)

arty · 2 Mar 2006 at 21:01

Le Samourai said:
I think it was 30mW output but I'm sure it's been reduced according to EU regulations, via the latest firmware... it still sounds pretty loud to me though.

I doubt 30mW will drive my DT880s

I've swapped out the bundled headphones though... pretty poor and currently using the Creative buds from OcUK... which are pretty good.

See comment above - I might be getting some decent IEMs to use with the MP3 player for pure portability, but even if I do I'll definitely be using the 880s with it when away.

That monolith looks rather sleek!

Yep, it looks sexy. I'm poised here with wallet in hand, I just need to be absolutely certain that it will play per-album before I go for it - and no-one on here seems to have one and able to confirm that unfortunately.

RandomTom said:
It maybe against the grain but how about go for an ipod shuffle 1gb, they're pretty cheap now, what do you say about that? (although im not sure on the drag and drop)

I believe all of the iPod range (including the shuffles) require software in order to maintain the index files which they read. I'm also not that convinced by a player without a screen - how can I choose which album to listen to with no screen?

Thanks for all the responses.

arty

benjo plz. · 2 Mar 2006 at 21:08

Le Samourai said:
I've swapped out the bundled headphones though... pretty poor and currently using the Creative buds from OcUK... which are pretty good.

They're relabled Sharp Md-33s. Nothing sweeter in the price range tbh.