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Good non Ipod mp3 players

Hitman HartHitman Hart
edited May 2007 in Technology
In your experience, what are some good ones? I have a very cheap Sansa 512 meg player at the moment, but it's pretty clearly busted and I will be looking for a replacement. I don't need gigs and gigs of space, 1 or 2 would be more than enough for my podcasting ways. The Creative Zens look nice and are priced well, but if anyone has had good experiences, I'd appreciate it if you'd share

Comments

  • AprecheApreche
    Sansas are pretty much the awesome from what I've seen. I say just get a newer better Sansa. They have all the features, they work as normal USB storage devices, they aren't cheap pieces of crap, they can take memory cards, and they are the right price.
  • tuttle88tuttle88
    How about the Zoon
  • tuttle88tuttle88
    Ah I crack myself up.
  • AprecheApreche
    It's the Zune. Zoon is a crappy card game.
  • HMTKSteveHMTKSteve
    Zune - the player with the fake click-wheel.
  • navelfluffnavelfluff
    If you don't need multimedia, just mp3, most of the smaller Creative players are great. The sound quality is above average, the menu system is easy and practical, and they are built on sturdy KISS philosophy.

    I personally have a Creative MuVo V200 1GB that I'm very pleased with. It's pretty ancient now, but it still works perfectly (after soldering a bad contact to the USB plug because of abuse - twice). The V200 uses an AAA battery. It becomes expensive if you don't have rechargeable batteries, but is perfect for me because I'm sometimes away from civilisation and electricity for a week or two.

    My next mp3 player will have at least 2GB, probably 4 or 8.
  • KilarneyKilarney
    If you listen to podcasts, IPod is the way to go. I had a nice new Sansa, but the podcast integration just isn't nearly as good as with ITunes and an IPod. I returned the Sansa, and have no regrets. (It was a great player, though... just took a little tech savvy to get it do do what you want.)
  • AprecheApreche
    If you listen to podcasts, IPod is the way to go. I had a nice new Sansa, but the podcast integration just isn't nearly as good as with ITunes and an IPod. I returned the Sansa, and have no regrets. (It was a great player, though... just took a little tech savvy to get it do do what you want.)
    Yes, this is true. For as awesome as the Sansa is, there is still nothing that beats iTunes/iPod for podcasting. Until there is a DAP with wi-fi that can subscribe to and download podcasts without syncing to a computer, iTunes/iPod will still be the way to go for podcast listeners.
  • Hitman HartHitman Hart
    See, I don't mind finding and dragging files to synch them over. I'm actually using Windows Media Player for something, it's about the only thing it does beter than anything I have, Winamp just crashes trying to synch. Also, I HATE the look of the shuffle, and the smaller ones that actually have a screen are more expensive than I want to pay, I basically want to go $120 and under. I'm vaguely intrigued by the Insignia video playing things about that range, but I don't know if I will actually be able to see a God forsaken thing on a 2 inch screen, plus Insignia is, from my experience as a person who works in a Best Buy, inconsistent in quality. The other thing I'd love to have is the USB rechargable thing, since I go through at least one AAA battery a week right now(long commutes). Those seem to be more common now, thankfully...I'm thinking I need to do more research after finals
  • mkg12mkg12
    edited May 2007
    For around $120 or under you could get a 2GB Cowon U3. It has a 1.2" screen, supports UMS/MSC(can drag and drop files, don't need any drivers/software). The Meizu M6 or M3 may also be worth checking out. I have the 4GB Meizu M6, which I have been happy with.

    Cowon players at NewEgg
    Meizu players at House of DAP
    Post edited by mkg12 on
  • AprecheApreche
    Oh yeah, I forgot about the Cowon. They are very pouplar with the Linux users and very comparable to the Sansa.
  • tuttle88tuttle88
    It's the Zune. Zoon is a crappy card game.
    I appologise for my ignorance.
  • Josh BytesJosh Bytes
    edited May 2007
    Those Cowon players are fucking sweet. I wish I had know about them before I bought my Ipod. I found this review blog that covers new mp3 players coming out that are not Ipods. It's pretty good the Cowon review had a short google video going through the menus and stuff.

    Anything But Ipod
    Post edited by Josh Bytes on
  • rhinocerorhinocero
    I've had two Sansa players. They've both worked great until I broke them through my own stupidity - cracked the screen on one, ran the other through the washer (it worked for a good while after, too - it just recently gave out). They work really really REALLY well, from my use of them anyway.
  • HMTKSteveHMTKSteve
    I hate my iPod. I have had more trouble with it than any other media player.
  • Hitman HartHitman Hart
    My Sansa, and mind you this is the dirt cheap blue one that sold for $40 or $50, does work, but it's having more and more trouble receiving files of late and the lock slider no longer works
  • rhinocerorhinocero
    edited May 2007
    It's good to see so many Sansa owners. I am the only person I know who has ever owned a Sansa - everyone else just gets an iPod.
    Post edited by rhinocero on
  • JekkioJekkio
    I purchased a Zune and have had no real problems with it at all. A friend of mine purchased one of those Zen MP3 players and that too seems like a good purchase, It was a replacement for his friggin $400 I-Pod that crashed and would never work again...
  • bunnikunbunnikun
    edited May 2007
    I have a 80g iPod video and it perfectly suits my needs. Never crashed, and it's surprisingly portable. I have a lot of music (1000 songs), and a TON of anime on it, and I've only used up 17g. But that's if your a big music/video user.

    Since you're looking for a smaller, and more convenient pod-casting device, I would suggest the iPod nano. Small, convenient, and definitely worth the extra price. Apparently they can hold 10g now, so you can hold all the geeknights you desire. I just stick with iPods because I love iTunes, but if your willing to do the extra conversion work, feel free to browse different brands.
    Post edited by Rym on
  • AprecheApreche
    I just stick with iPods because I love iTunes, but if your willing to do the extra conversion work, feel free to browse different brands.
    Conversion work? You don't have to do any sort of "conversion" to use a non-iPod. mp3s play on everything. Unless you foolishly purchased DRM music from the iTunes music store, there is no music or podcast that requires conversion to play on a Sansa or a Cowon. Well, except oggs, but seriously.
  • Hitman HartHitman Hart
    speaking of conversions, can anyone think of a reason why the Daizenshu EX podcasts would refuse to synch to my player? I end up converting them to wmas and they work fine like that, but I just find it terribly odd that I have never once gotten those files to synch in the form I downloaded them in
  • AprecheApreche
    speaking of conversions, can anyone think of a reason why theDaizenshu EXpodcasts would refuse to synch to my player? I end up converting them to wmas and they work fine like that, but I just find it terribly odd that I have never once gotten those files to synch in the form I downloaded them in
    Probably bad or weird encoding. mp3s can be encoded in many different ways with many different bitrates. One advantage of the iPod is that it is pretty much guaranteed to be able to play any mp3 encoded in any fashion. This can not be said for all other players. A lot of those cheap AAA battery players can only play mp3s encoded with the most popular settings. If someone uses VBR, it won't work.
  • bunnikunbunnikun
    I just stick with iPods because I love iTunes, but if your willing to do the extra conversion work, feel free to browse different brands.
    Conversion work? You don't have to do any sort of "conversion" to use a non-iPod. mp3s play on everything. Unless you foolishly purchased DRM music from the iTunes music store, there is no music or podcast that requires conversion to play on a Sansa or a Cowon. Well, except oggs, but seriously.
    Just meaning what you said in the last post, iTunes can play all types of music and movies, not limiting you to the standard mp3. ^.^

    Some other music players won't play mp4's or other forms of the mp3, but iTunes will, and will convert it to the standard mp3 format for you.

    I don't actually buy any music from the iTunes store. ^^
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