Which MP3 Player?

Flibster

Flibster

Flibster

Man of Honour
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
42,234
The headphone socket on my used everyday for years Cowon iAudio M3 is dying. Known problem but I can't fix it this time. :(

So... In the market for a new player. :D

30gb+
Lossless would be great.
Not Apple.
Don't really need video playback.
Would prefer a longer battery life.

Currently have in various states of working and not: iRiver H140, Cowon iAudio D2, Cowon iAudio X5L to give you an idea of the sort of players I like.

Any suggestions?

Simon/~Flibster
 
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A budget would be useful mate.;)

You're obviously concerned about sound quality if you want lossless, so I presume you'd be thinking of buying some good phones to go with it, because if you're going to use stock phones, you might as well encode the music at 192+.
 
No real budget in mind.

Already got some Shure E4C's and trying to get some E500's or SE530's at a good price. :D

Have to say, the Zunes are tempting. Shame they're like the iPod - don't want to play nice with drag and drop - and no lossless. :(

Creatives Zen Vision M looked good as well, but no lossless. :(

If I was to drop the lossless, that would open up so many other devices. I can cope with 320kbps Mp3.

Simon/~Flibster
 
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Well I have the 80g 2nd gen Zune and I love it, sounds great with my E500's.;)

The software is easy to use, it looks great, the screen is pretty impressive and if you look around, there have been a couple of threads on them, all good reviews as well.

I don't think you'll notice much, if any, difference between lossless and 320, which I use.
 
My M3 gets used on so many different PC's though. Mainly as an external hdd. Is the Zune2 capable of this as well?

Plus drag and drop is very important due to the sheer number of tracks I have I like being able to create a mix folder and just drag it across.

Hmmmmm....
 
Another vote for the Zune. It also supports WMA lossless (although I find WMA Pro good enough).

There's also a reg edit that apparently opens it up as a HD (I haven't tried this).
 
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Zune has been struck from the list. You have to use the software to get audio onto it and to use it as an external HDD. Too much.

So...the Zen then. Can get a 30gb one for £90.... I also think I've located a couple of the 60gb's - It's also a UMS device :D

Hmmmmmm

Vegetarian - If 8gb was ok, then I still wouldn't have a sony device. I'd go with a newer Cowon D2. I've yet to have a sony device thats lasted more than 6 months. Had a TV that lasted 4 days. Minidisk players failing after weeks, CD players being DoA - I have no faith whatsoever in them anymore.
 
Flibster said:
Zune has been struck from the list. You have to use the software to get audio onto it and to use it as an external HDD. Too much.

So...the Zen then. Can get a 30gb one for £90.... I also think I've located a couple of the 60gb's - It's also a UMS device :D

Hmmmmmm

Vegetarian - If 8gb was ok, then I still wouldn't have a sony device. I'd go with a newer Cowon D2. I've yet to have a sony device thats lasted more than 6 months. Had a TV that lasted 4 days. Minidisk players failing after weeks, CD players being DoA - I have no faith whatsoever in them anymore.
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thats weird, because i have a sony lcd thats been going strong since dec 2006, a ps3 i bough pretty much at launch, a sony nwz-a816 that is faultless....your problems with sony were things happening back in the 90's. dont discount the sony mp3 player because its a sony, because it is by far the better sounding mp3 player next to an iaudio d2.
 
I still have a nwa3000 that works fine. There's a new sony player, the nwza826, which has 16gb being released soon. Good idea to forget the Zune, its battery life is appaling.
 
Flibster said:
Vegetarian - If 8gb was ok, then I still wouldn't have a sony device. I'd go with a newer Cowon D2. I've yet to have a sony device thats lasted more than 6 months. Had a TV that lasted 4 days. Minidisk players failing after weeks, CD players being DoA - I have no faith whatsoever in them anymore.
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Ive owned 2 Sony A8**'s and been superb... I also had a Zen Vision M which really is not that great (poor sound quality).

The sony is all metel - the cowon is all plastic!
 
Given the vast lack of possible players - I've partially repairted my M3 - hardwired in the remote and also pretty much sealed that entire junction up with hot glue... Also replaced the battery and HDD at the same time. Hopefully this will hold a bit better.

I'm going to try and wait until the Cowon X7 or the updated D2 *32gb please? ;)* come out.

However - I have nearly succumb to the temptation of some custom moulded IEM's. :D

Sooo tempting to get a set of ACS T2's - only £500 :eek:
 
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Time has passed... as has my credit card details to a company.

I now have in my grubbies a set of Shure Se530's - got for a massive discount from RRP. :D Also have a set of SE210's on the way as replacements for my old E3C's *other half will be trying these* and the E4C's are to be relegated to Gym work.

Also going to be booked in soon for a set of custom moulds for tips for the SE530's - Only £88 - I'll spend more than that on the foam tips for the SE530's in one year. Will get a set made for the E4C's at the same time - should save a bit of cash.

First impressions of the SE530's with the rejuvinated M3 are extremely good. Very clear. Bass is nice and tight but not overpowering at all. They are extrordinarilly comfortable too. Always had issues with the old orange foam things as they weren't very comfortable - but the new black foam tips are very good.

Currently listenign to a varietyof odd things just to get some impression as a baseline before playing with the EQ. Got some early R.E.M. on, Reel Big Fish, Eric Clapton Unplugged, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Crowded House, Genesis, Jools Holland, Macy Grey, Black Grape *:D* and finally some Queen.

Very happy at the moment. :D
 
Flibster said:
Time has passed... as has my credit card details to a company.

I now have in my grubbies a set of Shure Se530's - got for a massive discount from RRP. :D Also have a set of SE210's on the way as replacements for my old E3C's *other half will be trying these* and the E4C's are to be relegated to Gym work.

Also going to be booked in soon for a set of custom moulds for tips for the SE530's - Only £88 - I'll spend more than that on the foam tips for the SE530's in one year. Will get a set made for the E4C's at the same time - should save a bit of cash.

First impressions of the SE530's with the rejuvinated M3 are extremely good. Very clear. Bass is nice and tight but not overpowering at all. They are extrordinarilly comfortable too. Always had issues with the old orange foam things as they weren't very comfortable - but the new black foam tips are very good.

Currently listenign to a varietyof odd things just to get some impression as a baseline before playing with the EQ. Got some early R.E.M. on, Reel Big Fish, Eric Clapton Unplugged, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Crowded House, Genesis, Jools Holland, Macy Grey, Black Grape *:D* and finally some Queen.

Very happy at the moment. :D
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£88, where the hell did you get them from, that's a serious bargain mate.:eek:

If they came with the new black tips, then you're lucky, they're easily the best on the market and now that I've just got my grubby mitts on my triple.fi's, I've got to try and get them to fit, because they make a difference on all phones according to the good folks at Head.fi and with them being very well made and washable, they should last for quite a while.
 
Big Kev said:
£88, where the hell did you get them from, that's a serious bargain mate.:eek:

If they came with the new black tips, then you're lucky, they're easily the best on the market and now that I've just got my grubby mitts on my triple.fi's, I've got to try and get them to fit, because they make a difference on all phones according to the good folks at Head.fi and with them being very well made and washable, they should last for quite a while.
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They do seem very good indeed. The £88 is for the custom moulds for the tips. Not cheap, but should be very good. The SE530's cost £160 - I got a very good deal on a returned set at my local hifi place. They hadn't been opened. :D

The black ones are washable? Didn't know that. Will have to give them a go on the E4C's then. Sounds ideal for the gym. Shame they cost so much.

manic111 said:
What's wrong with your X5L? Awesome player from what Ive heard!
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Screen has failed *may be just the backlight - difficult to tell* and the battery doesn't charge *even though I've swapped it. :(* Works fine on mains power with a remote connected. Difficult to carry around like that though. ;)
 
Big Kev said:
A budget would be useful mate.;)

You're obviously concerned about sound quality if you want lossless, so I presume you'd be thinking of buying some good phones to go with it, because if you're going to use stock phones, you might as well encode the music at 192+.
Click to expand...

Wanting lossless has nothing to do with sound quality, the only reason to use lossless is for archival reasons, so for example you have total freedom to convert to another format with loss.

Transparency is easily achievable with MP3 and other lossy encoders.
 
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