MP3 Players and DAPs

[hewantstolurkatad]

It probably is but most people seem to install Rockbox (a custom OS) on them from my experience, stability varies across each sansa device (and doesn't work at all on the sansa jam and sansa sport).



I'll be sticking with sansa clip zips until an android smartwatch comes out that I can easily repurpose as a heavy duty mp3 player.

[BritishHobo]

I miss Creative. The Zen Vision M is the best audio player I've ever owned. I bought a used one off eBay a couple of years ago, having tried so many shitty substitutes in the years since mine breaking (and them being discontinued). It was the second used one I'd bought, because the first was broken and wouldn't actually play any audio. Bought it, got it, spent days building up my library again, painstakingly, finally filled it, got it perfectly how I wanted it, I used it for three hours and then I accidentally dropped it in the toilet. Fucked. Completely fucked.

[MojoJojo]

Can't be having a phone to play music on. Main reason being I use my iPod while at work. Where I work, security is a thing. Can't have a phone or anything with a camera on it in the office.

Yeah, that's a legitimate reason.

[Eis Nein]

I miss Creative. The Zen Vision M is the best audio player I've ever owned. I bought a used one off eBay a couple of years ago, having tried so many shitty substitutes in the years since mine breaking (and them being discontinued). It was the second used one I'd bought, because the first was broken and wouldn't actually play any audio. Bought it, got it, spent days building up my library again, painstakingly, finally filled it, got it perfectly how I wanted it, I used it for three hours and then I accidentally dropped it in the toilet. Fucked. Completely fucked.

A beautiful machine. Tunes, video and a radio to boot. I sold mine on eBay a few years ago, and still regret it. So good it almost made up for Creative buying out Aureal and killing A3D to clear the market for their shitty EAX, destroying the greatest ever advance in PC game audio, greater even than the Soundblaster which merely achieved parity with the Amiga and was worse than the Gravis equivalent. Never forgive.

[Bazooka]

It was a sad day when Creative stopped manufacturing the Zen, still the best MP3 manufacturer.

[BritishHobo]

A beautiful machine. Tunes, video and a radio to boot. I sold mine on eBay a few years ago, and still regret it. So good it almost made up for Creative buying out Aureal and killing A3D to clear the market for their shitty EAX, destroying the greatest ever advance in PC game audio, greater even than the Soundblaster which merely achieved parity with the Amiga and was worse than the Gravis equivalent. Never forgive.

If I'm the one who bought it, I'm sorry for dropping your Vision M in a toilet.

[Shit Good Nose]

For those frustrated by volume restrictions on EU players, if there is no Rockbox port, just install the American or Korean firmware for your player.

[Eis Nein]

If I'm the one who bought it, I'm sorry for dropping your Vision M in a toilet.

I have adumbrated my policy on forgiveness above.

[Cuntbeaks]

Cowon arrived today,  first impressions are very favourable.  Great solid sound,  plenty of authority and control.

[Neville Chamberlain]

Took my iPod Classic down to my nearest Apple shop and asked if there was any chance they might possibly be able to replace the battery (I couldn't get more than 15 minutes of play out of it once "undocked"). They looked at it, checked the serial number and what-not, and there was lots of shaking of heads and tutting and sharp intakes of breath. Anyway, after lots of to-ing and fro-ing with an unseen person in the back room, the upshot is: they're replacing my old, knackered iPod Classic with a brand-new one for €75. Seeing as they don't make them any more, I guess it's just some old, unused one that's been sitting on a shelf for a couple of years. Seems like a good deal to me and I'm really chuffed as I could quite happily use an iPod Classic for another few years - or have I been somehow thoroughly rogered?!?

[Shit Good Nose]

or have I been somehow thoroughly rogered?!?

That.

They are shit.

Never understood why people hold them in such high regard, as they have long been among the worst sounding portable audio players on the market.

Yes, I get that the firmware is great and simple and, even to this day, it has few rivals.  But you have a portable audio player to listen to music, not fiddle about with easy controls.

It's the Apple fanboyism I guess.

For 75 of them euros, you could have done a lot better.

[Neville Chamberlain]

Blimey.

And I'm anything but an Apple fanboy - the iPod Classic is the only piece of Apple tech I own (and will ever own)!

[Shit Good Nose]

I did mean the fanboyism in general explaining why iPods were/are so popular.  It's a bit like that clever Samsung ad from a couple of years ago where you had all those hipsters and comfortably well off middle aged types waiting in that long queue to buy the new Apple product.  Regardless of whether or not you like Samsung, that ad was spot on.

[Roy*Mallard]

I've tried various players and yes, there are those with much better sound quality. However, the iPod classic is, to me, a work of art and i would be very happy to get the deal that Neville got. The sound quality is not anywhere near as shit as you and others have made out - it's just not as good as other brands. I'm in no way an apple fan-boy either, but the classic is a thing of beauty to me and many others.

[Roy*Mallard]

Cowon arrived today,  first impressions are very favourable.  Great solid sound,  plenty of authority and control.

Would that be the Plenue D? Looks nice, that.

[Shit Good Nose]

"Would you look at that Lamborghini!!!!"
"Yeah, but it's a rubbish car and will break in about a week."
"But LOOK at it!!!!!!!!!!"
"Yeah yeah, nice, but here's a Toyota which is a fifth of the price, still looks quite nice and is actually a half decent car."
"...I think I want to fuck that Lambo..."


etc.

[Shit Good Nose]

it's just not as good as other brands.

That's its main problem - there were MUCH better sounding DAPs over a decade ago.  Now, almost every single brand sounds better.

The iPoo is the single worst sounding player I've heard since about 2004 (nice tag).

Granted, they are absolutely fine for casual listeners who only have about 10 albums to their name, and a pair of Apple's own buds or, if they've pushed the boat out to treat themselves and their new stylish Apple product, a pair of Beats.

Anyone else even half serious about their music listening should avoid like the plague.

[Neville Chamberlain]

I'll have you know I'm an avid listener of music, with 1,500 albums on my iPod and an excellent pair of Sennheiser headphones, which more than easily make up for any audio shortcomings of the iPod itself ;-)

To be honest, though, I was perfectly prepared to ditch my iPod in favour of something else, but whatever its replacement would be would have to be really, really good[nb]If you've got any specific tips, Shit Good Nose, I'd be happy to hear them![/nb]. My taking it down the shop to see if they could rescue it was a sort of last-ditch effort to save money! I'm just surprised at the good deal I got!

[Roy*Mallard]

Granted, they are absolutely fine for casual listeners.....

That's how i started out, but in the last few years I have realised that i want improved sound. With a bit of digging about 10 years back, i could have got something better, but still being a technophobe at that time, i wasn't really aware of the alternatives (i will give you that mass marketing was a help in this area).

However, there are worse brands out there and i stick to the point that the iPod really isn't THAT bad sound-wise. In fact, it's ok. Now that i'm more savvy though, and the fact that Apple's other products are genuinely crap (2gb shuffle??????), i look elsewhere. 

[Roy*Mallard]

My taking it down the shop to see if they could rescue it was a sort of last-ditch effort to save money! I'm just surprised at the good deal I got!

It's an amazing deal and i'm incredibly jealous!!!! 75 euros for an ipod classic, shame on you, you lucky bugger!

[Shit Good Nose]

whatever its replacement would be would have to be really, really good[nb]If you've got any specific tips, Shit Good Nose, I'd be happy to hear them![/nb].

Nearly every single DAP currently available at least sounds better than the iPod, and will be a very noticeable marked improvement if you've not had anything else.

Look over my other posts in this very thread.

Basically if you have limited budget - Sansa with Rockbox installed.  Already a monumental improvement over an iPod[nb]mind you, you can Rockbox the iPod as well, which improves it no end[/nb].

If your wallet can stretch a bit more, look to get a high-res player.  ALL of them sound good, so it's a case of what you can afford and what you want in terms of functionality which will decide it for you.

[Roy*Mallard]

I've also never understood the problem people have with iTunes. Always been a piece of piss for me. Also, the iPod classic has an incredibly simplistic UI, long battery life, can save the place you left off from on audio books/comedy etc, which is a huge boon for me.

Other options - Fiio - i love Fiio, and if they offered longer battery life (regulation between 9-12 hours) plus saving the last position you left off from on non-music, then i would never need another iPod.

[Shit Good Nose]

I've also never understood the problem people have with iTunes. Always been a piece of piss for me. Also, the iPod classic has an incredibly simplistic UI, long battery life, can save the place you left off from on audio books/comedy etc, which is a huge boon for me.

Other options - Fiio - i love Fiio, and if they offered longer battery life (regulation between 9-12 hours) plus saving the last position you left off from on non-music, then i would never need another iPod.

iTunes is another thread altogether...

Most other makes of DAP have been able to play where you last left it for ages (although it does seem to be something that high-res manufacturers have forgotten or aren't bothered about).  Plus decent battery life was not unique to iPods - most Cowons were legendary for their seemingly infinite battery life.  The X5 and X7 batteries both lasted for up to 30hrs, whilst the old iRivers lasted around 20.

Unfortunately, nearly all players' batteries now will only last about 10 hours, because of all the extra stuff they do and power they need to run the improved hardware and play high-res audio.  Unfortunate, but that's the way it's gone, exactly as it has with mobile phones as well.

[Neville Chamberlain]

iTunes is another thread altogether...

My contribution to the thread would be: well I've been using it for years and never had any trouble :-)

No, I hear you about other DAPs, honestly I do. Like I said upthread, audio problems with the iPod have not been a problem for me because I've got such good headphones, but I will upgrade at some point. I'm just glad I can put that off for a while with this iPod bargain I've got going on...

[Roy*Mallard]

iTunes is another thread altogether...

Most other makes of DAP have been able to play where you last left it for ages (although it does seem to be something that high-res manufacturers have forgotten or aren't bothered about).  Plus decent battery life was not unique to iPods - most Cowons were legendary for their seemingly infinite battery life.  The X5 and X7 batteries both lasted for up to 30hrs, whilst the old iRivers lasted around 20.

Unfortunately, nearly all players' batteries now will only last about 10 hours, because of all the extra stuff they do and power they need to run the improved hardware and play high-res audio.  Unfortunate, but that's the way it's gone, exactly as it has with mobile phones as well.

What i mean is, you can listen to comedy or whatever, go and listen to something else, and then return to the comedy and it will be in the same place as you exited. I have players that will save the place when you switch it off (Fiio, Cowon etc), but not when you have listened to something else. This feature only seems to be unique to the iPod, but if there is another option that can do that, then please let me know.

I have the Cowon x9 - it claims 110 hours of playback, i get about 22hrs on 320 mp3. never mind FLAC/WAV etc. I have 2 iPod classics that give me 25+ each. The Fiio M3 is pretty good at over 20 hours - bit of a bargain the M3, despite the UI probs.

[Cuntbeaks]

Would that be the Plenue D? Looks nice, that.

Sure is.  Been running it in over weekend,  trying it with different headphones,  Minirig 2.1, full hifi etc.  It comes up trumps everytime.  Solid sounding with plenty of muscle.  Very happy with it.

[Uncle TechTip]

Rockbox maintains bookmarks across files and power cycles. That's one of the things that makes it great.

[Roy*Mallard]

So, Rockbox. Have found a couple of links for converting an iPod Classic 6th/7th gen.....

https://www.freemyipod.org/wiki/EmCORE_Installation/iPodClassic/UMSboot

https://files.freemyipod.org/~user890104/bootloader-ipodclassic.html?utm_campaign=website&utm_source=sendgrid.com&utm_medium=email

Is it really THAT easy? I'd like to give it a go - is it really worthwhile?

[hewantstolurkatad]

Rockbox maintains bookmarks across files and power cycles. That's one of the things that makes it great.

Is there a way for sansa clip rockbox firmware to do that automatically? It's fucking annoying when I play music without realising I had a 7 hour podcast paused at some uncertain point in the middle and then I have to find it all.

[Neville Chamberlain]

So, Rockbox. Have found a couple of links for converting an iPod Classic 6th/7th gen.....

https://www.freemyipod.org/wiki/EmCORE_Installation/iPodClassic/UMSboot

https://files.freemyipod.org/~user890104/bootloader-ipodclassic.html?utm_campaign=website&utm_source=sendgrid.com&utm_medium=email

Is it really THAT easy? I'd like to give it a go - is it really worthwhile?

Interesting, thanks! So, yes, is it really worthwhile? Will it, as Shit Good Nose suggested, lead to improved sound quality, too?