Best mp3 player out now

[riviera74]

I would like to know what the best MP3 player is right now. I used to have a 6th Generation 120GB iPod Classic because I have at least 35GB of music to play and store. Virtually nothing else stores more than 16GB right now (iPod Touch excepted). If there is a superior alternative right now, let me know by posting here. PS: it should work with car audio too.

Thanks in advance.

[Captain Ned]

I had an HD-based Zune 120 that deteriorated over time into a completely flaky mess. To replace it I bought a Zune HD64 (no HD, all SSD), which has been rock solid. I've had to go from lossless to compressed as a result, but I'll get over that. As for car integration, my Subaru Legacy has but a simple aux-in jack so I manage everything on the Zune's touchscreen. From my perusing of car-makers' options, full Bluetooth remote control exists only in the Apple i-whatever ecosystem.

[Voldenuit]

Honestly, I think the best mp3 player right now is a smartphone.

I have a Nokia N8 with 48 GB of space (16 GB built-in, 32 GB micro-SD card). It estimates over 20h of music playback time and I can stream audio to my car over FM transmitter, USB, headphone jack or bluetooth (and I can use the media controls on the car dashboard to control playback in Bluetooth). Oh, and the built-in speaker is pretty decent, too. Not saying that the N8 is the best audiophile solution out there, just giving an idea of the mdeia capabilities of smartphones.

[just brew it!]

Virtually nothing else stores more than 16GB right now (iPod Touch excepted).

An 8 GB Sansa Clip+ with a 32 GB Micro SDHC card in the expansion slot will get you 40 GB capacity. If you're willing to re-encode your music collection in OGG format (which Sansa's players support), that will effectively gain you another 25% or so versus MP3 since OGG files are smaller for equivalent fidelity.

The one potential gotcha with this is that some Micro SDHC cards are power pigs, and will totally kill the battery life of a small player like the Clip+. So research the Micro SDHC card first, to make sure you get one with low power consumption.

[Blazex]

besides the sansa, which are great for the microsd add-on.
Cowon has the j3 at 16gb or 32gb... i've personally got a 16gb s9 from sept 09 and it's still doing roughly 60 hours of battery life pretty well and sounding great at the same time. also, if your stereo in your car supports it, the j3/s9 have bluetooth a2dp for wireless streaming to compatible products.
besides ipod input for car audio, the best thing you'll end up using is aux in for pretty much anything.

[UberGerbil]

And Sansa also has the Fuse+ available in a 16GB size, giving you 48GB with a 32GB SDHC card. Of course it's larger than the Clip, but has a bigger display to go with it.

[ludi]

And Sansa also has the Fuse+ available in a 16GB size, giving you 48GB with a 32GB SDHC card. Of course it's larger than the Clip, but has a bigger display to go with it.

Cautionary note: Don't know about the Fuze+, but the original Fuze is not Plays For Sure compatible, so if you have any files still DRM'd in MAF (Microsoft Abandonware Format), it won't handle them.

[MadManOriginal]

If you are looking for an alternative high capacity player, especially for music, Cown has the X7 160GB. The screen resolution isn't high so that's why it might not be best for video, but the battery life is insane like most Cowon products.

You could also wait a bit (I know, there's always 'wait a bit') because Apple should be refreshing their lineup fairly soon, ~1 month or so I'd guess. I'm kind of waiting to see if they are going to finally have a true high capacity iPod Touch comparable to HD-based units, even though I don't really like Apple stuff that a 128GB Touch would be sorely tempting even though I know it will cost $400+

[sweatshopking]

I had an HD-based Zune 120 that deteriorated over time into a completely flaky mess. To replace it I bought a Zune HD64 (no HD, all SSD), which has been rock solid. I've had to go from lossless to compressed as a result, but I'll get over that. As for car integration, my Subaru Legacy has but a simple aux-in jack so I manage everything on the Zune's touchscreen. From my perusing of car-makers' options, full Bluetooth remote control exists only in the Apple i-whatever ecosystem.

I'd back up Ned here. Zune hd is an excellent pmp, and the zune software and pass are excellent. It also has a few basic apps.

[kc77]

Honestly, I think the best mp3 player right now is a smartphone.

I have a Nokia N8 with 48 GB of space (16 GB built-in, 32 GB micro-SD card). It estimates over 20h of music playback time and I can stream audio to my car over FM transmitter, USB, headphone jack or bluetooth (and I can use the media controls on the car dashboard to control playback in Bluetooth). Oh, and the built-in speaker is pretty decent, too. Not saying that the N8 is the best audiophile solution out there, just giving an idea of the mdeia capabilities of smartphones.

+10 on this. At this point why anyone would want to sync music is beyond me. Granted the smartphone solution does require one to have enough money to afford a decent cell phone plan. But the options out there to stream to your phone are quite large. You've got pogo drives, cloud services, home built solutions, etc. All of these are far more versatile that carrying around an mp3 player. You can hold more music. Some options allow you to stream video and even if you lose your phone the music doesn't go along with it.... just a thought.

[riviera74]

What are the advantages of this one over the iPod Classic 160GB? I suspect that Apple will update all other iPods excluding the 160GB Classic..... I think.

[Blazex]

just thought you might be interested in Anything But iPod
might have some reviews on items you were looking at

[apertur3]

here's another vote for anything made by Cowon/iAudio.

[nomik]

Lot of products are coming up in market with increased GB capacity. Apart from that as an addition, if required more than what is in it, then we can use the SDcard also, with a great storage capacity to expand our requirement. I would prefer smart phones or Nokia N Series. According to me both are perfect. I prefer to have something which is useful to me instead of spending bucks on purchasing something with more GB.

[MadManOriginal]

This is an odd thread to sort-of-necro with a first post but anyway...I'll just point out that 64GB microSD cards are available. KingMax has had one for a while now, but SanDisk's just became available in channel too. Of course they are pricey in $/GB compared to even 32GB microSD cards but the convenience of not having to swap cards can be worth it, or go hog wild and buy two and have the capacity of a HDD-based player. Many semi-modern phones or PMPs are compatible, you just have to format in the device itself as FAT32.

[yogibbear]

I nabbed a 160GB iPod classic a few months ago when I realised my Creative Zen 32GB from YEARS and years ago was full and it was the 5th time I was wiping it to reorganise my music collection and then realised I had over 100GB of music on my PC. the Ipod is good for plugging into my home surround system, car, work etc. but is not good for a portable media player as it is metal so i wouldn't go running with it. Whereas I would go running with the zen as it is indestructible and plastic.

[--k]

Not an Apple fan, but iPod touch has been the best MP3 player I've owned, and I've owned a few.