any suggestions for an MP3 Player?

docholly · 2003-12-20, 07:13 AM

one of the things on my son's wish list is an MP3 player and while i don't mind spending a few bucks to get a decent one i think for a 13 yr old that 300-400 is a tad excessive.

I found a few on bestbuy.com *no iPod is not an option* that are in the 150-200 range but i'm clueless about them and my husband is in route somewhere between the Gulf of Oman and Naples so i can't ask him..

anyone have an opinion on: NOMAD MuVo NX 256MB with removable HD

or an iRiver 256?

or weigh in with an opinion?? bear in mind he's 13 not 23 and is happy just to toddle off to school and home again listening to music and will probably Lose this sometime between now and the summer.

Thanks for the opinions. Gawd it's hard to be an "old" mother...LMAO

Cleo · 2003-12-20, 07:27 AM

I've owned 3 MPs players now. The first two sucked green donkey dicks, but I bought them because they were cheaper then the iPod.

First one was one with a memory chip in it, can't remember the brand. It had 256k of memory which was never enough and I always ended up not have the music with me that I wanted plus it was a pain to use.

Then I had the 5 gig Nomad one. It crashed a lot, ate batteries like nothing that I have ever seen and was slow as hell when using its menus, but what really made me change is it didn't play the ACC format files that are sold at the iTunes store.

I have the top of the line iPod now and absolutely love it. Battery lasts all day and charges in one hour, has super fast and easy to use menus, but most of all plays the ACC format music that is sold at the iTunes store.

You can find the 10 gig models for under $200 if you shop around.

docholly · 2003-12-20, 07:51 AM

Well Dumb shit that i am, didn't realize that i could use the iPod with a PC.. DUH.. so click click click and i have one on the way.. NOW i have to say.. i've heard nothing but great things about the iPod just never looked cuz of the fruit thing.. but certainly 10G was worth a look, So thanks Cleo.

219. including shipping and it's winging its way to me by tuesday!!

oh the power of the net as my son in Atlanta after a quick ICQ click click click and he also has a subscription to the iTunes store as well.

Thanks MUCHO cleo, i'd of never looked again if it weren't for your rave review.

Cleo · 2003-12-20, 08:01 AM

Yeah there is no other player out there that can play the ACC format that is sold through the iTunes store.

When I had my Nomad player I would first burn a CD from my ACC files and then have to RIP the CD back to MP3 and then transfer the MP3 files to my Normad player, what a pain. All that to then have it crash in the middle of a workout or have the batteries go dead.

If your PC does not have a FireWire port you will need to pickup the $20 USB2 cable for the iPod. They sell them local at the BestBuy, CompUSA, Etc. where I live so I guess they sell them everywhere.

Boogie · 2003-12-20, 04:49 PM

If your kid is pretty good at computers, let me suggest one of sony's Atrac players.

I payed 90 bucks for this little bugger here

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....oryId=cat03058

I love it like nothing else. I was able to fit 500 songs on one CD using their atrac burning program, which was suprisingly easy to use. I'd imagine you good folks would have no problem with it.

You can either choose to burn them as mp3's and only get about 100 or so songs on there, or you can burn them as ATRAC which is sony's own compression system, and you can fit about 500 songs on one cd. Of course, it'll only play in an ATRAC player then.

My deciding factor in this was that, at the time, it was impossible to change a battery in a iPod, and i was nervous about purchasing one. AFter about 2 years or so the iPod battery dies and you're stuck with a dead iPod... Of course, now apple sells battery replacements for 99 bucks so its not such a big deal. They also offer a nicer extended warranty that covers a dead battery.

Ultimately though I fell in love with my ATRAC Player. I burned my entire music collection, + some comedy routines I got from kazaa, + some books on tape.... and that's the only 3 ATRAC cd's I ever made. Fit everything i owned on 3 discs

Overall its a nice inexpensive alternative to the iPod, Nomad, iRiver or the like

If ya dont mind spending a bit more, go for the iPod. if you're a cheapskate like me the sony Atrac/mp3 player is a nice alternative. I dont mind carrying it around with 3 discs

Boogie · 2003-12-20, 05:24 PM

wow, after reading cleo's review though, i almost want to try a 10gig iPod

Freeway · 2003-12-20, 07:10 PM

This one is no brainer.
iPod for sure.
http://www.apple.com/ipod/

and the music store kicks ass

XPorn · 2003-12-20, 08:03 PM

iPod rocks...

I just had ARS buy me the 20 Gig iPod....got it 3 days ago....very very cool....very small....I recommend!!

XPorn

Cleo · 2003-12-20, 08:43 PM

iPod batteries $49 with replacement instructions.
http://www.ipodbattery.com/

The battery in an iPod powers the device for over 5 hours on a charge and is good for about 5000 recharges.

It is basically like the battery in your cell phone but being a little harder to change out. It was actually one of the selling points for me since my other players used AA batteries and they always seem to not last a long time and the connections come loose over time with me jumping up and down while working out.

At night I put my iPod in its cradle where it syncs my playlists in iTunes and charges it battery. I have 17 gigs of digitized music mostly from my CDs but most of the newer stuff is from the iTunes store. I'm hooked on being able to pickup a couple of songs a few times a week while reading the boards and listening to samples in the background as I'm surfing.

The ease of moving my playlists to and from my ipod was another strong selling point for me. Sometimes I'll just have it play random from the 17 gigs of music that is on it and if I hear a song that I really like I just need to hold down the big button in the middle of the dial for 3 seconds and it ads it to a special playlist that is called "On The Go."

I'll often quickly drag and drop and few songs that catch my interest for that day into a new playlist and then just right click update on the ipod icon and in under one minute my ipod is a duplicate of my desktop computer.

It also, at least on a Mac, mounts on the desktop so I can use it as a removable drive. Plus it syncs my address book and calender which is viewable on the ipod screen so I no longer carry a Palm pilot. My calender and address book are also synced with my Sony T610 cell phone, another product that I highly recommend.

The ipods that are being sold now are what is known as G3 ipods for 3rd generation. The earlier ones do not have 4 buttons right under the screen and do a bit less, but are still decent players. Also the earlier ones needed to be formatted Mac or PC and the newer ones don't, they just work on both platforms.

Cleo · 2003-12-22, 10:40 PM

Here is reviews on the online music stores for after you have ripped all your CDs and go shopping for more music to fill up your player.
http://www.bbspot.com/News/2003/12/d...reviews_1.html

It may be a bit slow in loading at the time I'm posting this since it is getting Slashdoted pretty bad right now.

finnbear · 2003-12-23, 09:39 AM

Little bit of off topic, but if you want to burn mp3s to CDs, try:

http://www.musicmatch.com/

Musicmatch MP3 Jukebox. You can play MP3s in your computer, you can burn CDs - real CDs and MP3 Cds - it will change your MP3s back to .wav and burn you a CD.

Basic version is free. Burning version is paid, but cheap.

I have use it years.

Once my wife wanted to play old Beatles songs in car. Our Alfa Romeo have normal CD player. She choosed the songs she wanted (they were MP3s), burned normal CD and played it in car. Easy.

Cleo · 2003-12-23, 09:57 AM

iTunes also does this. This is how I make CDs for my car, but mostly now I'm using my iPod in the car since I bought a FM transmitter for it.
http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/itrip/

It looks like it is going to be a war of formats all over again with Apple pushing AAC and Microsoft pushing WMA.

For those that don't know CDs are AIFF format so either way you need to convert your music to this format if you are going to play your music in a regular CD player.

Damn wasn't it just like yesterday that I was shopping for a new 8 track player?

2003-12-20, 07:13 AM	#1
docholly Nothing funnier than the ridiculous faces you people make mid-coitus Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Sin-City USA Posts: 4,973	any suggestions for an MP3 Player? one of the things on my son's wish list is an MP3 player and while i don't mind spending a few bucks to get a decent one i think for a 13 yr old that 300-400 is a tad excessive. I found a few on bestbuy.com no iPod is not an option that are in the 150-200 range but i'm clueless about them and my husband is in route somewhere between the Gulf of Oman and Naples so i can't ask him.. anyone have an opinion on: NOMAD MuVo NX 256MB with removable HD or an iRiver 256? or weigh in with an opinion?? bear in mind he's 13 not 23 and is happy just to toddle off to school and home again listening to music and will probably Lose this sometime between now and the summer. Thanks for the opinions. Gawd it's hard to be an "old" mother...LMAO __________________ Support Indie Porn Sites OMGoddess You know you need some Bling!!

2003-12-20, 07:27 AM	#2
Cleo Subversive filth of the hedonistic decadent West Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Southeast Florida Posts: 27,936	I've owned 3 MPs players now. The first two sucked green donkey dicks, but I bought them because they were cheaper then the iPod. First one was one with a memory chip in it, can't remember the brand. It had 256k of memory which was never enough and I always ended up not have the music with me that I wanted plus it was a pain to use. Then I had the 5 gig Nomad one. It crashed a lot, ate batteries like nothing that I have ever seen and was slow as hell when using its menus, but what really made me change is it didn't play the ACC format files that are sold at the iTunes store. I have the top of the line iPod now and absolutely love it. Battery lasts all day and charges in one hour, has super fast and easy to use menus, but most of all plays the ACC format music that is sold at the iTunes store. You can find the 10 gig models for under $200 if you shop around. __________________ Free Rides on Uber and Lyft Uber Car: uberTzTerri Lyft Car: TZ896289

2003-12-20, 07:51 AM	#3
docholly Nothing funnier than the ridiculous faces you people make mid-coitus Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Sin-City USA Posts: 4,973	Well Dumb shit that i am, didn't realize that i could use the iPod with a PC.. DUH.. so click click click and i have one on the way.. NOW i have to say.. i've heard nothing but great things about the iPod just never looked cuz of the fruit thing.. but certainly 10G was worth a look, So thanks Cleo. 219. including shipping and it's winging its way to me by tuesday!! oh the power of the net as my son in Atlanta after a quick ICQ click click click and he also has a subscription to the iTunes store as well. Thanks MUCHO cleo, i'd of never looked again if it weren't for your rave review. __________________ Support Indie Porn Sites OMGoddess You know you need some Bling!!

2003-12-20, 08:01 AM	#4
Cleo Subversive filth of the hedonistic decadent West Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Southeast Florida Posts: 27,936	Yeah there is no other player out there that can play the ACC format that is sold through the iTunes store. When I had my Nomad player I would first burn a CD from my ACC files and then have to RIP the CD back to MP3 and then transfer the MP3 files to my Normad player, what a pain. All that to then have it crash in the middle of a workout or have the batteries go dead. If your PC does not have a FireWire port you will need to pickup the $20 USB2 cable for the iPod. They sell them local at the BestBuy, CompUSA, Etc. where I live so I guess they sell them everywhere. __________________ Free Rides on Uber and Lyft Uber Car: uberTzTerri Lyft Car: TZ896289

2003-12-20, 04:49 PM	#5
Boogie I like to blog :) Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 1,050	If your kid is pretty good at computers, let me suggest one of sony's Atrac players. I payed 90 bucks for this little bugger here http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....oryId=cat03058 I love it like nothing else. I was able to fit 500 songs on one CD using their atrac burning program, which was suprisingly easy to use. I'd imagine you good folks would have no problem with it. You can either choose to burn them as mp3's and only get about 100 or so songs on there, or you can burn them as ATRAC which is sony's own compression system, and you can fit about 500 songs on one cd. Of course, it'll only play in an ATRAC player then. My deciding factor in this was that, at the time, it was impossible to change a battery in a iPod, and i was nervous about purchasing one. AFter about 2 years or so the iPod battery dies and you're stuck with a dead iPod... Of course, now apple sells battery replacements for 99 bucks so its not such a big deal. They also offer a nicer extended warranty that covers a dead battery. Ultimately though I fell in love with my ATRAC Player. I burned my entire music collection, + some comedy routines I got from kazaa, + some books on tape.... and that's the only 3 ATRAC cd's I ever made. Fit everything i owned on 3 discs Overall its a nice inexpensive alternative to the iPod, Nomad, iRiver or the like If ya dont mind spending a bit more, go for the iPod. if you're a cheapskate like me the sony Atrac/mp3 player is a nice alternative. I dont mind carrying it around with 3 discs Last edited by Boogie; 2003-12-20 at 04:52 PM..

2003-12-20, 05:24 PM	#6
Boogie I like to blog :) Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 1,050	wow, after reading cleo's review though, i almost want to try a 10gig iPod

2003-12-20, 07:10 PM	#7
Freeway Lord help me, I'm just not that bright Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 107	This one is no brainer. iPod for sure. http://www.apple.com/ipod/ and the music store kicks ass

2003-12-20, 08:03 PM	#8
XPorn Selling a LL? Text site? PM me Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: MI Posts: 661	iPod rocks... I just had ARS buy me the 20 Gig iPod....got it 3 days ago....very very cool....very small....I recommend!! XPorn __________________ Free Sites? -> Free Site XXX Smut Links Gay Pervs

2003-12-20, 08:43 PM	#9
Cleo Subversive filth of the hedonistic decadent West Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Southeast Florida Posts: 27,936	iPod batteries $49 with replacement instructions. http://www.ipodbattery.com/ The battery in an iPod powers the device for over 5 hours on a charge and is good for about 5000 recharges. It is basically like the battery in your cell phone but being a little harder to change out. It was actually one of the selling points for me since my other players used AA batteries and they always seem to not last a long time and the connections come loose over time with me jumping up and down while working out. At night I put my iPod in its cradle where it syncs my playlists in iTunes and charges it battery. I have 17 gigs of digitized music mostly from my CDs but most of the newer stuff is from the iTunes store. I'm hooked on being able to pickup a couple of songs a few times a week while reading the boards and listening to samples in the background as I'm surfing. The ease of moving my playlists to and from my ipod was another strong selling point for me. Sometimes I'll just have it play random from the 17 gigs of music that is on it and if I hear a song that I really like I just need to hold down the big button in the middle of the dial for 3 seconds and it ads it to a special playlist that is called "On The Go." I'll often quickly drag and drop and few songs that catch my interest for that day into a new playlist and then just right click update on the ipod icon and in under one minute my ipod is a duplicate of my desktop computer. It also, at least on a Mac, mounts on the desktop so I can use it as a removable drive. Plus it syncs my address book and calender which is viewable on the ipod screen so I no longer carry a Palm pilot. My calender and address book are also synced with my Sony T610 cell phone, another product that I highly recommend. The ipods that are being sold now are what is known as G3 ipods for 3rd generation. The earlier ones do not have 4 buttons right under the screen and do a bit less, but are still decent players. Also the earlier ones needed to be formatted Mac or PC and the newer ones don't, they just work on both platforms. __________________ Free Rides on Uber and Lyft Uber Car: uberTzTerri Lyft Car: TZ896289

2003-12-22, 10:40 PM	#10
Cleo Subversive filth of the hedonistic decadent West Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Southeast Florida Posts: 27,936	Here is reviews on the online music stores for after you have ripped all your CDs and go shopping for more music to fill up your player. http://www.bbspot.com/News/2003/12/d...reviews_1.html It may be a bit slow in loading at the time I'm posting this since it is getting Slashdoted pretty bad right now. __________________ Free Rides on Uber and Lyft Uber Car: uberTzTerri Lyft Car: TZ896289

2003-12-23, 09:39 AM	#11
finnbear You can now put whatever you want in this space :) Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Finland Posts: 534	Little bit of off topic, but if you want to burn mp3s to CDs, try: http://www.musicmatch.com/ Musicmatch MP3 Jukebox. You can play MP3s in your computer, you can burn CDs - real CDs and MP3 Cds - it will change your MP3s back to .wav and burn you a CD. Basic version is free. Burning version is paid, but cheap. I have use it years. Once my wife wanted to play old Beatles songs in car. Our Alfa Romeo have normal CD player. She choosed the songs she wanted (they were MP3s), burned normal CD and played it in car. Easy. __________________ My free porn sites

2003-12-23, 09:57 AM	#12
Cleo Subversive filth of the hedonistic decadent West Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Southeast Florida Posts: 27,936	iTunes also does this. This is how I make CDs for my car, but mostly now I'm using my iPod in the car since I bought a FM transmitter for it. http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/itrip/ It looks like it is going to be a war of formats all over again with Apple pushing AAC and Microsoft pushing WMA. For those that don't know CDs are AIFF format so either way you need to convert your music to this format if you are going to play your music in a regular CD player. Damn wasn't it just like yesterday that I was shopping for a new 8 track player? __________________ Free Rides on Uber and Lyft Uber Car: uberTzTerri Lyft Car: TZ896289