So, who makes the best MP3 players these days?

[K2]

I've got a Zune 8GB, which is about enough space for me. It has better audio quality and is cheaper than an iPod. If you just want something small and cheap, get a Sansa Clip. I've heard good things, and you can get an 8GB one off Amazon for 50 bucks.

[zaneyard]

is it really the player that influences the audio quality, or is it a combination of your music files and headphones?

[Mission Difficult]

is it really the player that influences the audio quality, or is it a combination of your music files and headphones?

If the player uses shitty DACs then it won't sound as good as a player that uses good ones. If you're using shitty headphones with mp3s encoded at a low bitrate then you probably won't notice the difference between good and bad converters.

[Ianki]

my six year old ipod is days from a complete harddrive failure.

Thinking about having family members pitch in for an ipod classic for christmas

[Geoff]

my six year old ipod is days from a complete harddrive failure.

Thinking about having family members pitch in for an ipod classic for christmas

zune 80 is the superior choice

[HeK]

I was thinking about replacing my 1st gen iPod Nano as the battery is failing.... but I'm just going to get a battery kit instead.

[Didzo]

Sansa Clip+ 8GB for $50 on Amazon.

Worth it?

[MasterGH]

Sansa Clip+ 8GB for $50 on Amazon.

Worth it?

It's what I have and I love it Check out installing Rockbox, though, because it just makes it tons better. Increases the battery life (especially on non-mp3 codecs, some of which go from draining it very quickly in the original firmware to often lasting longer than mp3), gives you all sorts of extra options (particularly audio), and complete theme customization. You can always start the original firmware again by holding down the left button when you power it on, or remove it by 'upgrading' to the normal firmware, but I think you'll find Rockbox much cooler to use. Here's the lovely manual and the download you'll want to use. The forum here is great for both normal and Rockbox use of the player.

[Didzo]

How about those Cowon music players?

How do they stack up?

[MasterGH]

How about those Cowon music players?

How do they stack up?

I haven't ever owned one, but from what I've heard/read, it really depends on the model and your budget. For instance, their J3 is apparently one of the best high end players, and I'm pretty sure the HDD-based X7 is also meant to be good, but their 'media player' line (like the O2 and V5) aren't so great. Oldish players like the D2+ are alright but lack, in my view, important features like gapless playback. I don't seem to remember them making a player with physical buttons in a while, either, if that's important to you.

[at0m]

I've had my iPod Classic for years, I love it.

[KarthXLR]

Parents just got my sister an ipod touch. It's real nice, but the battery life is a lot shorter than the ipod's I think.

[Turtle]

Parents just got my sister an ipod touch. It's real nice, but the battery life is a lot shorter than the ipod's I think.

Does she have apps yet? because those drain the shit out of it.

[loldollas]

I have a Sony 16GB Walkman...works amazingly, and the noise cancelling headphones that come with it sound like heaven.

[Cloud_9ine]

Cowon J3 hands down. Used to have an S9 (Basically a J3 without SD card capacity and less battery life) Sure the J3 is a bit on the pricy side but it totally makes up for it with an epic 3.3" AMOLED. Has great sound that can be nicely driven by BBE+. Not to mention, it has some flash support for older versions to the point that the UI is essentially flash. No seriously, you can make your own UI in flash. (And even the defaults are really nice if you like the whole Korean approach to menus). All with this, you get full file support including FLAC (and when driven right by BBE+ or Jet Effect, the result is orgasmic).

On top of that you get all of this with over 60 hours of music battery life (10+ of high def video) and that is in practice, not crappy benchmark. Sure there are some bumps to get over (such as a slightly hefty price tag in comparison to other iPod alternatives but when put against a compatible iTouch or even a nano it isn't bad) but the S9 was godly already and the J3 basically took the S9 and polished the hell out of it.

So if you want pure capacity, go somewhere else. But if you want a feature filled product with amazing screen/touch, battery, and file support, buy the smallest one and get a giant micro SD card and be happy for the rest of your life.

http://www.cowonglobal.com/product_wide/...page_1.php

[Didzo]

4GB Sansa Clip Zip for $40 (with promo code) on Newegg... I still don't have a music player.

What does BRBU have to say?

[Trace]

I love my 3rd gen Ipod touch. Battery lasts pretty long for music, but if you use apps and shit it drains pretty fast.

[zaneyard]

honestly i just ended up buying an sd card for my phone and I use that as a media player

this thread can go on to be a general media player discussion though i suppose.

[Didzo]

Phone is too fat and bulky for me to use as a media player, and I can't just toss it into the center console when I'm driving.

[KorJax]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002MAP...nvihand-20

$10 cheaper on amazon. Thank you invisible hand plugin 8)

Sansa's are great little mp3 players if you are on a budget. Don't expect anything amazing as far as sound or build quality goes but for the price they are more than adiquite and they def aren't as bad as Chinese knock offs.