Members Digital Jams Posted August 4, 2005 Members Share Posted August 4, 2005 Originally posted by shredhead666 From what I've heard, Sony Rio Karma iRiver iPod Creative I would have thought Creative would be the top dog here with all the Audigy and EMU stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ratter Posted August 4, 2005 Members Share Posted August 4, 2005 Originally posted by telephant Well for me, its not because its made by apple. Macs kick ass at what they do. My friend has a G5 and its THE {censored}. But for someone who uses a PC, and has their music directory setup a certain way, Itunes seems to just {censored} it all up. Not to mention my brothers and friends update our music every couple months, and if one of us used itunes or a mac it would make that a pain in the ass. I like the Iriver because I can literally copy and paste music and not have to setup an application to do it for me. But, my girlfriend just got a mini Ipod and she wants me to set it up for her. I think you mentioned there is a way to load the music she wants into Itunes without having it {censored} my directory all up...? I mean if I could just copy/paste music from my directory into Itunes, and load that onto her Ipod, that would be cool. Is it possible? It's no problem, just google search on "ipod drag drop" or whatever. There's plenty of ways to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Evan666 Posted August 4, 2005 Members Share Posted August 4, 2005 ive been looking for one too, which has the best sound quality and output? the archos or the iriver 20gig? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members yeagermeister Posted August 4, 2005 Author Members Share Posted August 4, 2005 Creative Zen Touch has a 97dB S/N ratio.... best I have found yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NoirAbattoir Posted August 4, 2005 Members Share Posted August 4, 2005 I have this one and it kicks ass. 30 gigs, $200 bucks. http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=90136224&SearchEngine=Froogle&SearchTerm=90136224&Type=PE&Category=Elec&Gad=0&dcaid=17379 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members shredhead666 Posted August 4, 2005 Members Share Posted August 4, 2005 Originally posted by Digital Jams I would have thought Creative would be the top dog here with all the Audigy and EMU stuff Bah, marketing hype. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members yeagermeister Posted August 4, 2005 Author Members Share Posted August 4, 2005 Well guys I have decided on the Cowon iAudio X5. -20 gigs -No software needed... drag and drop -95dB S/N -20mW per side output -Supports mp3, ogg, asf, flac, wav, mpeg4, jpeg -Lots of EQ options -FM tuner -Line-in recording, FM recording at 128 kbps Only around $300..... {censored} iPod The bad: no iD3-tagging. You browse through folders (which is ok by me, because I have everything organized like that anyway.... besides, a firmware upgrade is going to fix that problem). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members shredhead666 Posted August 4, 2005 Members Share Posted August 4, 2005 Originally posted by yeagermeister Well guys I have decided on the Cowon iAudio X5.-20 gigs-No software needed... drag and drop-95dB S/N-20mW per side output-Supports mp3, ogg, asf, flac, wav, mpeg4, jpeg-Lots of EQ options-FM tuner-Line-in recording, FM recording at 128 kbpsOnly around $300..... {censored} iPodThe bad: no iD3-tagging. You browse through folders (which is ok by me, because I have everything organized like that anyway.... besides, a firmware upgrade is going to fix that problem). I've heard great things about this player too. It's still a little too pricey for me though. If it ever drops to the $200 range, I'd be all over it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ratter Posted August 4, 2005 Members Share Posted August 4, 2005 Originally posted by yeagermeister The bad: no iD3-tagging. You browse through folders (which is ok by me, because I have everything organized like that anyway.... besides, a firmware upgrade is going to fix that problem). Are you serious?? What a joke... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members yeagermeister Posted August 4, 2005 Author Members Share Posted August 4, 2005 Originally posted by ratter Are you serious?? What a joke... They're going to address the problem with the next firmware upgrade, but yeah, unfortunately I am serious. For people who don't have everything organized it could be a real bitch to use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Digital Jams Posted August 4, 2005 Members Share Posted August 4, 2005 Originally posted by shredhead666 Bah, marketing hype. Top dog meaning I thought the Creative would have the best SNL, which is way more important an anything else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ratter Posted August 4, 2005 Members Share Posted August 4, 2005 Originally posted by yeagermeister They're going to address the problem with the next firmware upgrade, but yeah, unfortunately I am serious. For people who don't have everything organized it could be a real bitch to use. Well, hopefully they come through with that fix. That's a major oversight, imo. I'm an iPod user and reading this thread seeing everybody dissing iPods and going on and on about all these other great players, I started thinking hmmm maybe I am missing the boat. So I've been investigating the others and it turns out they aren't all that rosy. Not using the ID tags is a major deal IMO. That's one example. Then I was reading about the Creative players that need their own proprietary software in order to be used as a hdd. So on and so forth. After everything I've read, the iPod and iTunes doesn't deserve nearly the bashing that it gets. The only somewhat legitimate gripes that I can see are that it lacks a radio or recording capabilities (without add-ons). To me those are like cameras on a cell phone. I buy an mp3 player to play mp3s, not cook me breakfast... Oh well, that's neither here nor there. Hope you enjoy your x5! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members shredhead666 Posted August 4, 2005 Members Share Posted August 4, 2005 Originally posted by Digital Jams Top dog meaning I thought the Creative would have the best SNL, which is way more important an anything else. Oh yes, this is true. They do have the highest S/N ratio. Typically mp3 players hover around 90-95 dB. Creative's Zen hits 97-98. However, in listening tests, people still seem to prefer the iRiver for some reason. Most seem to say it's an issue with the EQ'ing of each unit. I guess it's a case of "looks good on paper" kinda thing. All that said, I can't really say I've heard either the Zen or iRiver, only the Karma, iPod, and Sony player. I'm just going by user reviews I've read on the 'net. And I don't know that 2-3 dB of S/N ratio is really worth trading off the added features you'd get from other players - especially when you're in that high of a range to start with anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ratter Posted August 4, 2005 Members Share Posted August 4, 2005 Originally posted by Digital Jams Top dog meaning I thought the Creative would have the best SNL, which is way more important an anything else. It's not for me. I use my iPod primarily in the car, so super-great hi-fi specs would be kinda lost in road noise. The most important things for me are a quick and easy interface, good selection of accessories (chargers, mounts, etc.), and ease of music management. Edit: forgot capacity, which is also one of my major criteria, and why I went with 40GB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members shredhead666 Posted August 4, 2005 Members Share Posted August 4, 2005 Originally posted by ratter After everything I've read, the iPod and iTunes doesn't deserve nearly the bashing that it gets. The only somewhat legitimate gripes that I can see are that it lacks a radio or recording capabilities (without add-ons). To me those are like cameras on a cell phone. I buy an mp3 player to play mp3s, not cook me breakfast... Or the ability to play .wma's which MANY people are starting to use for music playback. It's the standard format windows media player uses for ripping CDs and, like it or not, 90% of computer users are running windows and using windows media player to encode music files. So that alienates a HUGE majority of potential purchasers. And it's definitely a deal-breaker for me among other things as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Digital Jams Posted August 4, 2005 Members Share Posted August 4, 2005 I have to agree with the both of you on the SNL and not being able to hear a 2 point difference, being a hifi guy that is one of the first things I think of Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ratter Posted August 4, 2005 Members Share Posted August 4, 2005 Originally posted by shredhead666 Or the ability to play .wma's which MANY people are starting to use for music playback. It's the standard format windows media player uses for ripping CDs and, like it or not, 90% of computer users are running windows and using windows media player to encode music files. So that alienates a HUGE majority of potential purchasers. And it's definitely a deal-breaker for me among other things as well. Well, iTunes will convert your WMA's on the fly for you when you import them into your iTunes library, so it's not like you're totally SOL. It would be nicer if it just left them as WMA, yes, but it does work. Apple is pushing their own format just like MS pushes theirs...can't really blame them for that... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nrarocks Posted August 4, 2005 Members Share Posted August 4, 2005 Does anybody have the Creative Zen Touch Micro??? I'm really interested in these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members yeagermeister Posted August 4, 2005 Author Members Share Posted August 4, 2005 Well upon some careful consideration, I decided to pull the trigger on a Rio Karma instead. Perfect feature list, but I am a little worried about reliability... I bought a factory refurb since they are discontinued now. -20gb-Supports every file imaginable, including ogg and FLAC-Gapless playback.... awesome for live stuff or concept albums-iD3 tagging... unlike the iAudio-Nothing fancy.... just an audiophile's dream come true -$180 with 2nd day air shipping (I'm about to go on a trip and couldn't wait) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ChS Posted August 4, 2005 Members Share Posted August 4, 2005 Originally posted by ratter Apple is pushing their own format just like MS pushes theirs...can't really blame them for that... There is a difference, WMA is Microsoft's closed proprietary format. Apple supports AAC which is the MPEG4 audio stream, AAC isn't Apple's format (though their iTunes Music Store downloads do use a proprietary DRM to lock them) it's essentially the successor to MP3. AAC support is NICE to have, that would be a big plus for me if I had an iPod. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ratter Posted August 4, 2005 Members Share Posted August 4, 2005 Originally posted by yeagermeister Well upon some careful consideration, I decided to pull the trigger on a Rio Karma instead. Perfect feature list, but I am a little worried about reliability... I bought a factory refurb since they are discontinued now. -20gb -Supports every file imaginable, including ogg and FLAC -Gapless playback.... awesome for live stuff or concept albums -iD3 tagging... unlike the iAudio -Nothing fancy.... just an audiophile's dream come true -$180 with 2nd day air shipping (I'm about to go on a trip and couldn't wait) Is there anywhere where you can buy a service plan? Even though I've never had a problem, I bought my wife's and my latest iPods at Best Buy specifically so I could get their replacement plan for like $20. You never know what'll happen with portable stuff, drops, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members yeagermeister Posted August 4, 2005 Author Members Share Posted August 4, 2005 Originally posted by ratter Is there anywhere where you can buy a service plan? Even though I've never had a problem, I bought my wife's and my latest iPods at Best Buy specifically so I could get their replacement plan for like $20. You never know what'll happen with portable stuff, drops, etc. I could hardly find this thing anywhere.... I searched about 10 internet sites and everyone is sold out. I bought one without simply because I couldn't find one with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ratter Posted August 4, 2005 Members Share Posted August 4, 2005 Originally posted by ChS There is a difference, WMA is Microsoft's closed proprietary format. Apple supports AAC which is the MPEG4 audio stream, AAC isn't Apple's format (though their iTunes Music Store downloads do use a proprietary DRM to lock them) it's essentially the successor to MP3. AAC support is NICE to have, that would be a big plus for me if I had an iPod. Good point. But AAC is "their format" in the sense that that's what they've adopted and it's what they endorse. I haven't tried their lossless format yet, but I might - see if I even notice any difference in the car... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Def_Pearl_Pilot Posted August 4, 2005 Members Share Posted August 4, 2005 I have the Sony HD3. I just read that they came out with the HD5 already. Either way, I love it. Originally had an HD1 that I dropped. I couldn't live without this thing for however long it would take to repair so I just bought a new one. The HD3 is definitely improved over the HD1. It's a little slimmer and obviously supports MP3s natively. I still convert everything from WMA or MP3 to ATRAC for space reasons. I think ATRAC sounds great anyway. The player itself has pretty much all that I want. I don't need pictures or radio. Why do I need radio if I've got 20GBs of music on it? They've also improved their SonicStage software. It's MUCH more stable and a bit faster. The most annoying thing is that you can transfer the same album over as many times as you want. SUPER annoying!! Other then that, it organizes your entire music collection with ID3 tags so it doesn't matter where you have them on your harddrive. You can also modify the tags of whatever you import and it will reorganize for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thedrew Posted August 4, 2005 Members Share Posted August 4, 2005 I have one of the 20 gig Iriver players but I have a love/hate relationship with it. The price was good and it has a million more features than a comparable ipod, but it lacks the user friendly-ness of the ipod. Plus the ipod has a hell of a lot better navigation system. My iriver also sometimes has problems with transfering songs to it, but from what I hear the ipods have a lot of problems too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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