portable MP3 player advice requested

freelunch · Post by **freelunch** » Tue Oct 19, 2004 9:26 pm

I need to replace my broken Discman and I'm thinking of going with an MP3 player. I know nothing about them and I can get a Creative CDPMX-200 cheap at the moment. if anyone here knows anything at all about portable MP3 players I'd appreciate your opinions on this model, or recommendations for any alternative product.

specific questions:
- should it come with its own specific software, or will I have to use a freeware ripper?
- it holds 8 hours WMA or 4 hours MP3 music, is there a big quality trade-off with WMA files?

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changed thread title

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Raug · Post by **Raug** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 2:19 am

My Google skillz are suffering because it's past bedtime and I'm in a sleepy haze, but I can't find any info on this player: Creative CDPMX-200. So I'm not sure if it's a disc based MP3 player or a solid state one that you're looking for. If it's disc based then I can heartily recommend the iRiver SlimX iMP-350 which is apparently discontinued, but this model is the successor: iRiver SlimX iMP 450. I've had mine for a couple years now and it's holding up well. Battery life is still good, although I usually have mine plugged into an outlet. I love the remote and overall it's a nicely engineered item with an attractive design.

I can't remember if it came with CD ripping software, but I've always used CDex so I didn't pay attention.

Song quality wise the biggest factor will be the bitrate at which you decide to rip your cds. I use 192 KBps as it's a good compromise between quality and space consumed. The higher the bitrate you use the higher the quality of sound, but also the more space it will take. You may already know all that but I'm sleepy and the sound of key hitting is soothing. WMA vs MP3...IIRC WMA simply uses a more efficient encoding method so no, there shouldn't be any sound quality loss between the two as long as you are comparing them at the same bitrate. [/url]

freelunch · Post by **freelunch** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 2:37 am

thanks Raug.

there is some info on the player I'm considering on this page, though the site doesn't belong to the retailer I'd be buying from.

unfortuately I don't currently have a burner so a disc-based player isn't an option.

Napoleon · Post by **Napoleon** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 2:41 am

This is not entirely useful for you, Andy, but I felt I just had to drop this here.

This is probably the SEXIEST yet overpriced MP3-harddisk player I've ever seen:
Sony NW-HD1 20gb

hitbyambulance · Post by **hitbyambulance** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 5:26 am

i ordered a Creative Labs MP3 disc-based player (don't remember the model number), and it looked like the hinge would break off at any moment - it was *really flimsy looking/feeling. also, on any CDs i played where the tracks segued into each other (say, on a mix disc or on a live album), there'd be a small gap of silence.. i returned it the next day.

freelunch · Post by **freelunch** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 5:50 am

YIKES!

doesn't sound promising.

inserting spaces between tracks isn't an uncommon oddity - my DVD player does the same thing with audio CDs - but it isn't good either.

freelunch · Post by **freelunch** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 9:45 pm

well after reading a bunch of online reviews I'm now considering a Creative MuVo2 1.5GB - if anyone has experience with it I'd appreciate any impressions.

Mr. Sparkle · Post by **Mr. Sparkle** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 9:55 pm

I'm curious as to why you aren't interested in the Rio players?

I got a Creative Nomad Zen Xtra... and I'm wishing I waited for the Rio Carbon.

freelunch · Post by **freelunch** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 10:47 pm

primarily because Rio players are only available from specialist stores in my area, so I'd pay top dollar for one. Creative players are everywhere and are easy to find discounted.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 11:12 pm

I got a 20GB Philips for $160. The software is kind of unintuitive, ditto with the hardware controls. It looks nice, but it could be louder.

Mr. Sparkle · Post by **Mr. Sparkle** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 11:22 pm

Andrew wrote:primarily because Rio players are only available from specialist stores in my area, so I'd pay top dollar for one. Creative players are everywhere and are easy to find discounted.

Hmmm... well that's reasonable.

If you need a WMA oriented player, and Rio's are impractical, then I guess Creative is the best way to go.

Hopefully somebody can come by with specific advice regarding your specific choice... all I can say is that in my experience, Creative doesn't do the most sturdy body work... so be careful with it.

freelunch · Post by **freelunch** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 11:36 pm

thanks for the tip. I read one review that reported dropping a Creative MuVo three feet onto a hard surface with no discernable ill result, but I guess that kind of thing comes down to luck.

I don't need a WMA player, but WMA files being smaller than MP3 files sounds like a big advantage.

Mr. Sparkle · Post by **Mr. Sparkle** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 11:59 pm

Andrew wrote:thanks for the tip. I read one review that reported dropping a Creative MuVo three feet onto a hard surface with no discernable ill result, but I guess that kind of thing comes down to luck.

I don't need a WMA player, but WMA files being smaller than MP3 files sounds like a big advantage.

The player you're talking about is "next gen" vs. mine.... you're looking at the iPod mini competitor, whereas I posses the basic iPod clone... so they very well may have learned their lessons.

WMA is only an issue if you want secure WMAs... the mainstream MP3 pay services (other than iTunes, natch) like Napster and MSN Music use secure WMA's.

If you planning on simply turning your own CD collection into MP3's, then it's really about bitrate, more than it is about MP3 vs. WMA in my eyes...

It's a tough call... but if I dind't already have a subscription service (Napster) that used secure WMA's (and I also think that new music will be most readily available in this format... though that remains to be seen... iTunes seems to be doing great)... I would have gotten an iPod mini, with no questions asked.

Definately the superior player... but Micro$oft beats me into submission, as per usual.

naednek · Post by **naednek** » Thu Oct 21, 2004 12:30 am

iPod out of the question?

Napoleon · Post by **Napoleon** » Thu Oct 21, 2004 2:03 am

Andy,

we sell that particular Muvo at the store I work at, and I don't particularly like it much. Sound quality is pretty good, but the display is way too small for my liking and especially that control button on the front is REALLY small and flimsy. I felt like you had to grow your nails long to be able to change songs

Audio-speaking, there's nothing wrong with it, but I don't like the build quality. (Although it might very well be incredibly sturdy, we don't regularly drop our display models

)

[Edit:
Furthermore, it's only about EUR40 more for an IPOD Mini over here, which has 4 gb, a larger display, easier to use control interface and it looks just a heck of a lot sweeter

freelunch · Post by **freelunch** » Thu Oct 21, 2004 2:26 am

a "regular" iPod is too expensive for my budget.

I've never heard of an iPod Mini - sounds like I have more research to do. thanks.

freelunch · Post by **freelunch** » Thu Oct 21, 2004 2:41 am

no iPod for me - I'm still running Win98 and acording to http://www.apple.com.au/ipod/ they require a later version of Windows.

RookieCAF · Post by **RookieCAF** » Thu Oct 21, 2004 8:18 am

I really like my Creative Labs Zen Xtra..

Mr. Sparkle · Post by **Mr. Sparkle** » Thu Oct 21, 2004 7:02 pm

Andrew wrote: - should it come with its own specific software, or will I have to use a freeware ripper?

I just checked "Creative Media Source", which came bundled with my Nomad, and apparently comes with the MuVo2 as well...

It can rip and burn CD's... has all the paticulars. MP3's or WMA's... bitrates up to 320...

I've never used it, but it seems pretty solid...

In fact, I just found out that I can have it automatically convert my WAV files to to MP3/WMA's when I transfer them to my Nomad... which is handy for someone with a lot of albums on vinly.

Dirt · Post by **Dirt** » Thu Oct 21, 2004 7:05 pm

iPods are 'da bomb.

Coskesh · Post by **Coskesh** » Thu Oct 21, 2004 8:28 pm

I own a MuVo2 2GO or whatever the memorydisk/sport model is. It's only got 512MB of storage, and I didn't anticipate that being much of a problem, but it is

(specically for my workout music which tends to be trance/dance/house remix stuff 10megs a song usually). Nap is right, the display is way small, and the the controls are very very basic and small. I've dropped it a few times and no problems, which is the nice thing.

I haven't bothered using the software, I just plug the sucker in a USB port and drag and drop music in. It's very light and fits nicely on the armband it comes with, though the armband case looks cheap as hell.

I just ordered a IPod Mini for my bro's birthday (4 gig). I kinda wish I got one of those instead since they seems to fit nicely on an armband and are pretty damn cool all around with some very nifty accessories available. I definitly wouldn't want to risk dropping it though.

If you are still looking when it gets here next week, I'll try to compare the two.

Octopus Overlords

portable MP3 player advice requested

portable MP3 player advice requested

Re: portable MP3 player advice requested