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Re: Looking for a good MP3 player

Wed Nov 25, 2009 2:40 am

dustyjamessutton wrote:
If all you are going to do is listen to mp3's and wma's, and apparently Ogg, which I wasn't aware it would play, then the Sandisk Sansa Clip will work great.

I had to flash the firmware to get the Ogg capability. But the firmware was a free download, so I'm not complaining.

potatochobit wrote:
The older sansa clips actually had numerous firmware problems
I dont know about current ones but the one I bought last black friday for someone is still doing great after I patched it from their website

The cardinal rule of embedded devices is, you can cover up a multitude of sins as long as your firmware updater is bulletproof! :lol:

I don't recall any significant issues with the original firmware on mine, other than the lack of Ogg support (and Ogg compatibility was not a feature they advertised, so being able to add it via a firmware update was a bonus).
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Re: Looking for a good MP3 player

Wed Nov 25, 2009 2:48 am

albundy wrote:
The cowon S9 is a nice player

indeed. I highly recommend it.
It's the one I have and verynice.
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Re: Looking for a good MP3 player

Mon Nov 30, 2009 9:15 pm

I had a Sansa Clip. It croaked because I dropped it from my hand to the parking lot and stepped on it before I knew what I was doing. I needed something cheap, so I replaced it with a Philips GoGear Vibe 4GB. For $40 it's surprisingly nice. Plays WMA, AAC, and MP3 - I didn't even have to transcode iTunes Plus (unprotected AAC) files to play them on the device. If you need more space, they come in sizes up to 16GB.

I'm sure the Cowon is a nice device, but you guys have failed to read the thread if you're recommending it that wants something that just plays music.
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Re: Looking for a good MP3 player

Mon Nov 30, 2009 10:01 pm

The Go Gear Vibe is a very tough player. My six year old has one if it can survive him it can live through anything.
 
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Re: Looking for a good MP3 player

Mon Nov 30, 2009 11:45 pm

derFunkenstein wrote:
I'm sure the Cowon is a nice device, but you guys have failed to read the thread if you're recommending it that wants something that just plays music.

I suggested the i9 which is more music player than general media player S9.
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Re: Looking for a good MP3 player

Tue Dec 01, 2009 12:36 am

The COWON (JetAudio?) website occupies odd real estate between English and Engrish.
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Re: Looking for a good MP3 player

Wed Dec 02, 2009 11:07 am

Flying Fox wrote:
I suggested the i9 which is more music player than general media player S9.

No, not you, I meant the other dolts that were still recommending the S9 later in the thread.
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Re: Looking for a good MP3 player

Wed Dec 02, 2009 12:19 pm

I wonder if the OP made the choice and bought something already?
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Re: Looking for a good MP3 player

Wed Dec 02, 2009 12:55 pm

derFunkenstein wrote:
I'm sure the Cowon is a nice device, but you guys have failed to read the thread if you're recommending it that wants something that just plays music.

:roll:

Just because you only use the music functionality doesnt mean you pass up the best player known to man simply becuase it can also do other things.
I only listen to music on my S9. It'd be silly to buy some sub-standard player that doesnt have the sound quality & file format support of the S9 simply because the S9 can also do other things besides play music.
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Re: Looking for a good MP3 player

Wed Dec 02, 2009 2:41 pm

danny e. wrote:
Just because you only use the music functionality doesnt mean you pass up the best player known to man simply becuase it can also do other things.
I only listen to music on my S9. It'd be silly to buy some sub-standard player that doesnt have the sound quality & file format support of the S9 simply because the S9 can also do other things besides play music.

Sansa's players have very good file format support and excellent sound. I don't see how buying one would be "silly" if it has all the features the user needs.
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Re: Looking for a good MP3 player

Wed Dec 02, 2009 5:52 pm

just brew it! wrote:
danny e. wrote:
Just because you only use the music functionality doesnt mean you pass up the best player known to man simply becuase it can also do other things.
I only listen to music on my S9. It'd be silly to buy some sub-standard player that doesnt have the sound quality & file format support of the S9 simply because the S9 can also do other things besides play music.

Sansa's players have very good file format support and excellent sound. I don't see how buying one would be "silly" if it has all the features the user needs.

It wouldnt be silly. I said it would be silly to buy a "sub-standard" player simply because the other option can do more than play music.
ie.. dumb to rule something out because it has more than you will use.

I'm guessing the sound quality on the S9 is still superior... since it is the "best player known to man". How could you really top that?
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Re: Looking for a good MP3 player

Wed Dec 02, 2009 8:27 pm

danny e. wrote:
I'm guessing the sound quality on the S9 is still superior... since it is the "best player known to man". How could you really top that?
By being a lot cheaper? I personally don't hear much difference between most players, especially when using the same earbuds -- and don't really care about that all that much anyway, beyond a basic level -- so that advantage would be lost on me. On the other hand, I don't like having a lot of money tied up in something that can easily be lost / stolen / broken.

But if you're trying to pitch to the OP, based on the criteria set out in that post, you'd make the best case for S9 by talking about its battery life.
 
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Re: Looking for a good MP3 player

Wed Dec 02, 2009 9:04 pm

UberGerbil wrote:
But if you're trying to pitch to the OP, based on the criteria set out in that post, you'd make the best case for S9 by talking about its battery life.

Will be interesting if someone pitches the S9 vs the i9 especially in the battery life department.
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Re: Looking for a good MP3 player

Fri Dec 18, 2009 9:43 pm

I just ordered a beater MP3 player today. Creative Labs Zen Mozaic is what I have on the way. Requirements for this player for me are small, cheap, and with a built in speaker. Basically I wanted something with a built in speaker so that I can clip it to my hat/shirt at work and listen to podcasts. The built in speaker is a must because I need to still be able to hear whats going on around me. Cheap is a must because the odds of it getting broken are pretty high. Its a fairly small form factor also. I hope it works decent if not I am only out a hundred bucks.
 
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Re: Looking for a good MP3 player

Fri Dec 18, 2009 11:42 pm

SecretMaster wrote:
So I'm thinking about getting a MP3 player. The defacto thing to buy nowadays seems to be an iPod, but I know some TR gerbils have other opinions. I have my own issues with the iPods as well. I owned a 30gb model I think it was a few years ago, and lost it in an unfortunate road trip expedition. Ever since then, I've been without portable music which drives me crazy.

I care most about battery life. I was very disappointed with the iPod battery life, I was honestly expecting it to last longer. Completely disabling the LCD screen helped a lot, but I wish I got more time out of it. Part of my problem with poor battery life also was due to what I perceived to be a poor method of turning off one's iPod. Is a power button so freaking hard to ask for? Holding down the center butting and enabling hold never seemed to work as planned for me. I was very frustrated, especially having drained my battery without realizing it.

I also abhorred iTunes. That thing was a POS.

I was additionally miffed by the fact that I couldn't put DVD's I owned onto my iPod, but rather had to purchase them (which I never did). The only DVD's I desire to put on a music player are concert DVD's with renditions of songs that you can't find on audio CD's. Being a huge Pink Floyd/David Gilmour fanatic, I would have loved to been able to listen to the Pompeii version of Echoes on my ipod, but I never could.

Is the iPod my best choice this time around? What are thoughts on the Zune? If there is a better alternative than the iPod I'd be glad to hear it.



You can still get an iPod without using iTunes. I DO. I use Xplay v3 instead: it is a LOT more efficient and takes up far fewer resources than iTunes. http://www.mediafour.com/products/xplay/
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Re: Looking for a good MP3 player

Sun Dec 20, 2009 2:34 am

Flying Fox wrote:
I wonder if the OP made the choice and bought something already?


I have not. I'm extremely indecisive and it takes me awhile to come to a decision. I tend to trust and value TR gerbil input however. I've been mulling a Sansa Clip player for weeks now, especially after Geoff's article. It is especially appealing because a)it's cheap b)I can throw in that memory card so it can hold a staggering amount of GB c)wide format of audio choices. I find spending money on the Cowon S9 hard to justify, especially since around those price points I could just get a regular iPod with a crapton of storage space to boot.
 
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Re: Looking for a good MP3 player

Sun Dec 20, 2009 1:48 pm

SecretMaster wrote:
I have not. I'm extremely indecisive and it takes me awhile to come to a decision. I tend to trust and value TR gerbil input however. I've been mulling a Sansa Clip player for weeks now, especially after Geoff's article. It is especially appealing because a)it's cheap b)I can throw in that memory card so it can hold a staggering amount of GB c)wide format of audio choices. I find spending money on the Cowon S9 hard to justify, especially since around those price points I could just get a regular iPod with a crapton of storage space to boot.


Just to make it more interesting for you I will let you know what I think of the Zen Mozaic when it shows up. I really liked what I read about the clip+ but I had to have an internal speaker on this one.
 
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Re: Looking for a good MP3 player

Mon Dec 21, 2009 2:58 pm

SecretMaster wrote:
Flying Fox wrote:
I wonder if the OP made the choice and bought something already?


I have not. I'm extremely indecisive and it takes me awhile to come to a decision. I tend to trust and value TR gerbil input however. I've been mulling a Sansa Clip player for weeks now, especially after Geoff's article. It is especially appealing because a)it's cheap b)I can throw in that memory card so it can hold a staggering amount of GB c)wide format of audio choices. I find spending money on the Cowon S9 hard to justify, especially since around those price points I could just get a regular iPod with a crapton of storage space to boot.

The Clip will be cheaper, but I think you really should look at the i9.
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Re: Looking for a good MP3 player

Tue Dec 22, 2009 11:41 pm

OK I have been playing with the Creative Mozaic for a couple of hours now. I am loading MP3's, podcasts and a couple of videos on it now just to see how it performs. iTunes has creatives centrale software beat by a LONG LONG ways. Hey creative why do I need two different programs. One for Podcasts and one for everything else ? WTF A quick listen with my mid prices earbuds and the iPod sounds way better to. Its going to work ok for what I bought it for but its no iPod thats for sure.

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