Spec me an mp3 player

QlimaxUK · 11 Sep 2008 at 17:35

ok havn't done a 'spec me' for a while but its now time that i looked for a new mp3 player so heres what im looking for:

*At least 10 GB space (or more 'no limit' but keepin price in mind lets say £50+)
*needs good battery life (very important) would be nice also to have a battery that wont degrade too badly (my last mp3 battery went from 20 hours to about 3 hours within 3 years of 'excessive' usage

) is that good or bad???... average :confused:

*needs to have a metal case design (my mp3 players and anything else in my pockets tend to suffer 'light beating')... hazard of the job i do

*needs to have smallish screen on it... again for safety reasons

the one i have now has a screen about the same size as a standard mobile
*as for mp3/mp4 playback... not fussed this will only be used for music so mp3 only will be fine

i think thats it ill post if i think of anything else
i probly wont buy one from OC so feel free to post the model/make instead of a link to comply with the forum rules

Azagoth · 11 Sep 2008 at 17:50

Shame you specified "at least 10GB", otherwise I'd have recommended the one I have. 8GB Sony Walkman (A818).

The sound quality is immense when compared with similar players, it blows the iPod out of the water altogether.

iraiguana · 11 Sep 2008 at 17:51

I would look at the new ipod nano, sadly not available on ocuk. I think you can guess where you can get it, that or the an touch.

craaaaaig · 11 Sep 2008 at 17:52

iTouch if you want wi-fi
Nano if you dont

QlimaxUK · 11 Sep 2008 at 18:00

ye its a real gutter having a music collection bigger then 8 GB so many doors are closing on me there

EDIT: just had a look and its 8.60 GB so i guess its 'ok' to post those but it would be a last resort for me as i want to allow for future additions

CliffyBiro · 11 Sep 2008 at 18:04

Why do so many people recommend iPods?

The SQ is terrible.

Sony players are much better.

Arjun806 · 11 Sep 2008 at 18:07

I have a Cowon D2 and it's awesome. The battery lasts for around 50 hours and sound quality is great. It's not too big, but you'd need a case for it so you don't damage it I guess. You can get them upto 16gb I think, and it has an SD card slot.

QlimaxUK · 11 Sep 2008 at 18:10

may i add.. i agree with skippi90, i also dislike/distrust ipods and currently own a sony and yes they are VERY good quality (apart from that dam battery)

Hxc · 11 Sep 2008 at 18:13

skippi90 said:
Why do so many people recommend iPods?

The SQ is terrible.

Sony players are much better.

I wouldn't say that's the key reason I'd go against them, most people don't use good enough headphones to notice any difference in players.

The main problem I have with iPods, and one of the reasons I paid a premium to get a zune, is the tie in with iTunes, which is a truely awful piece of software. I suppose all users of iPods with big music collections use 3rd party hacks, as 80gb+ of music in iTunes would be hell, it already lags to hell and back with my 4000 song playlist :/

Greenlizard0 · 11 Sep 2008 at 18:14

Azagoth said:
Shame you specified "at least 10GB", otherwise I'd have recommended the one I have. 8GB Sony Walkman (A818).

[IM G]http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w218/OccultusGladius/Random Images/chip1.jpg[/IM G]

The sound quality is immense when compared with similar players, it blows the iPod out of the water altogether.

Yeap, I have had the 4GB and currently own the 8GB version of this player and the sound quality is excellent.

Margaret · 11 Sep 2008 at 18:15

The Windows version of iTunes is terrible, the Mac version is good though.

CliffyBiro · 11 Sep 2008 at 18:16

I'm absolutely convinced that the only reason the iPod, iTouch, iPhone or any other 'i' you care to mention is held in such regard is because of this fake style reputation its groupies have built up.

QlimaxUK · 11 Sep 2008 at 18:19

Hxc also makes a good point (am i allow to post supermarkets or here) but i own a cheap £5 pair of 'extra bass' headphones and to sound quality is the best i have ever had!!!

Gigi · 11 Sep 2008 at 18:22

iRiver Clix would be my recommendation. Superb sound quality. Simple drag n Drop feature, or can sync via WMP.

Easy to use, but unfortunately it comes under the 10Gb and over the £50 mark

Markus123 · 11 Sep 2008 at 18:22

Definitely would avoid the iPod, I've owned 2 iPods (got them free, I wouldn't pay iTax) but they just aren't very good players. Sound quality is poor, iTunes is poor, and they break... a lot.

Another vote for the Sony A818 if you can slim down your collection slightly. If not, the Zen X-Fi also has good sound quality and superb headphones included. (16GB, ~£95) no metal casing, but mine has taken a beating and is still working perfectly

. Plus, I know you said you're not bothered about videos but the video-playback is great, as an added bonus.

CliffyBiro · 11 Sep 2008 at 18:23

Azagoth said:
Shame you specified "at least 10GB", otherwise I'd have recommended the one I have. 8GB Sony Walkman (A818).

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w218/OccultusGladius/Random%20Images/chip1.jpg[IMG]

The sound quality is immense when compared with similar players, it blows the iPod out of the water altogether. :)[/QUOTE]

How much would one of those set you back?

Do you have any pics of the GUI?

Is it drag and drop?

Greenlizard0 · 11 Sep 2008 at 18:24

skippi90 said:
How much would one of those set you back?

Do you have any pics of the GUI?

Is it drag and drop?

I got the 8GB version for £65inc second hand from the MM.

It is drag and drop. It's PFS as well so I can access it (should I chose) in e.g. Winamp or WMP.

james.miller · 11 Sep 2008 at 18:25

Hxc said:
I wouldn't say that's the key reason I'd go against them, most people don't use good enough headphones to notice any difference in players.

The main problem I have with iPods, and one of the reasons I paid a premium to get a zune, is the tie in with iTunes, which is a truely awful piece of software. I suppose all users of iPods with big music collections use 3rd party hacks, as 80gb+ of music in iTunes would be hell, it already lags to hell and back with my 4000 song playlist :/

well, ordinarily yes. remember the sonys already come with far better earphones though so it doesnt really apply

ive nothing other to add really. other than i dont see the need to fit my entire collection on my mp3 player. which is handy, because its well over 100gb lol

Mansize_tissue · 11 Sep 2008 at 18:33

skippi90 said:
Why do so many people recommend iPods?

The SQ is terrible.

It really isn't. The stock earphones are absolutely awful, though. The reason I got an iPod is because it's easy to amplify the line-out signal by an external amplifier. Does the A818 have a line-out?

Scottland · 11 Sep 2008 at 18:40

The main problem with iPods is iTunes, thankfully however Winamp works fine

The best UI I've used is the Zune one, however I didn't get on with it for everything else and it only works with Zune player, which is awful.

The 2nd best are the iPods. The others I've used aren't anywhere near as good.

I don't want to sound like an iFanboy, but for me it does work out the best player. For others it doesn't - but don't dismiss one just because iTunes is gash.