[WTB] MP3 player/Portable media player

[Mussels]

Looking for a new MP3 player, open to suggestions/offers with more modern features like video playback, bluetooth and so on.


Do want/Must have:
MP3/FLAC playback.
3 hours + battery life
FM radio
Driverless use on windows. I want it to work as a flash drive and not need fancy software to get files on and off.
3.5mm headphone jack
Mini-USB for the connection would be greatly preferred.


Maybe want:
Bluetooth support. housemate has bluetooth headphones on his MP3 player, its cool beans.
Video playback - not worth it if the screen is really small.
Drag n drop transcoding: I've noticed ATI have hardware accelerated transcoding for "PMP" devices that windows 7 recognises as such. That would be cool if the device supported this.


Do not want:
No background noise - no hissing or electronic noise (many cheap ebay units suffer from this)
Apple products. If you send it to me for free, maybe. Otherwise? no.


If you know of a good model but don't have one for sale, feel free to recommend it to me.

Budget is ~$100 Au, but i can up that for fancy features.

Heatware is under Mussels.

 

[Fourstaff]

Might as well get a smartphone like the HTC legend with that massive list of requirements

 

[PVTCaboose1337]

How much music do you have? I have somewhere around 5.5gb, not alot, so I can use the Sansa Clip+ (8gb model). There is also a slot for microsd making the max space 24gb. Has FM radio, is small, good battery life, but no bluetooth. It is also driverless. It will play back any format you throw at it. I am keeping mine, but it really is an amazing player. I paired my with a Fiio amp, and Grado SR-60 headphones, and it sounds great!

 

[Mussels]

2GB is enough really, as i can always swap whats on there when i get bored of it. I dont need my entire collection on there.

oh and i'll be pairing it with sennheiser CX II 300 precision headphones primarily, but also my HD555's and Z5500's.


around town here they charge $70 for generic 4GB pieces of chinese crap, so you can see why i'm up for ideas

 

[PVTCaboose1337]

2GB is enough really, as i can always swap whats on there when i get bored of it. I dont need my entire collection on there.

Mussels, I have an old Sony 2gb MP3 player at home I don't use at all. It has an FM radio, but it does require software to upload songs. I would have no problem shipping that to you (as long as you pay shipping) if you don't find something here. PM if interested.

This is what it is.

 

[PaulieG]

How much music do you have? I have somewhere around 5.5gb, not alot, so I can use the Sansa Clip+ (8gb model). There is also a slot for microsd making the max space 24gb. Has FM radio, is small, good battery life, but no bluetooth. It is also driverless. It will play back any format you throw at it. I am keeping mine, but it really is an amazing player. I paired my with a Fiio amp, and Grado SR-60 headphones, and it sounds great!

+1 here. It's my backup player behind my Meizu m6. It's a great little player without proprietary software. It would also be cheap to ship from the states, since it weighs next to nothing.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001H9O6QW/?tag=tec06d-20

 

[Mussels]

'sansa clip plus' 4GB is available online for $80 Au, i'll keep that in mind.

It does fit all the requirements i have, just that the price is a bit higher than i'd hoped for, for its 'simple' feature list. (that said, quality is better than features... and 15 hour battery life is awesome, let alone the micro SDHC slot)


only concern there: i saw some headphones designed for it that include a mic, thats not a requirement is it? standard 3.5mm headphones are good to go?


edit: shit, how many varieties are there?

those are all 4GB models, only the ugly one is 'plus'

 

[PVTCaboose1337]

'sansa clip plus' 4GB is available online for $80 Au, i'll keep that in mind.

It does fit all the requirements i have, just that the price is a bit higher than i'd hoped for, for its 'simple' feature list. (that said, quality is better than features... and 15 hour battery life is awesome, let alone the micro SDHC slot)


only concern there: i saw some headphones designed for it that include a mic, thats not a requirement is it? standard 3.5mm headphones are good to go?

Standard 3.5mm headphones work fine. Same design as the iPhone adapter, you can use a mic headphone combo as well, not sure why you would want to.

 

[PaulieG]

'sansa clip plus' 4GB is available online for $80 Au, i'll keep that in mind.

It does fit all the requirements i have, just that the price is a bit higher than i'd hoped for, for its 'simple' feature list. (that said, quality is better than features... and 15 hour battery life is awesome, let alone the micro SDHC slot)


only concern there: i saw some headphones designed for it that include a mic, thats not a requirement is it? standard 3.5mm headphones are good to go?

All 3.5mm headphones will work. My Bose and Vmoda's work perfect.

 

[PVTCaboose1337]

You want the one with the square button Mussels. The square is the new CLIP+ variety. The old CLIP is close, but has less features.

EDIT: Also, 80 AU is pretty steep. Roughly 74 USD for the 4gb version? I got my 8gb for $55.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002MAPS6W/?tag=tec06d-20

 

[Mussels]

You want the one with the square button Mussels. The square is the new CLIP+ variety. The old CLIP is close, but has less features.

right, the ugly one


features are good, its on the short list.

Any other suggestions? what about Zune/zen etc?

 

[PaulieG]

Meizu M6. Best sounding player I've ever owned, other than my old Cowon. Reasonably priced, and good features.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000MD4B0A/?tag=tec06d-20

 

[WhiteLotus]

right, the ugly one


features are good, its on the short list.

Any other suggestions? what about Zune/zen etc?

I have A Zune HD, damn good player. Little big mind, but loads of great features. HOWEVER only available in the states... <cough>ebay<cough>

 

[PVTCaboose1337]

Regarding the Creative Zen: Lots of people have had some issues with it. Creative is not so friendly about tech support either... The Zune is amazing looking, great sounding, but a bit out of your price range.

 

[PaulieG]

I have A Zune HD, damn good player. Little big mind, but loads of great features. HOWEVER only available in the states... <cough>ebay<cough>

I thought sound quality was lacking on my Zune. Here is another shop that sells worldwide. There is an awesome community that knows their stuff, especially regarding inexpensive but high quality players:

http://www.mp4nation.net/catalog/

 

[Mussels]

zune HD is actually available in australia, just not very easily (a few rare online stores stock them)... however $300 for the 16GB is just too much, and there doesnt seem to be cheaper models.

 

[PVTCaboose1337]

Mussels, check out: http://www.head-fi.org/

They know their stuff, although they are all addicted to audio.

Also, a member here is a regular over there, Fredrick_S I think his name is... He is an audiophile and might be able to help you out some.

 

[WhiteLotus]

I thought sound quality was lacking on my Zune. Here is another shop that sells worldwide. There is an awesome community that knows their stuff, especially regarding inexpensive but high quality players:

http://www.mp4nation.net/catalog/

hmmm, mine sounded awesome, however that could most likely be because I was using a Sony one before hand.

 

[Mussels]

i found a creative zen 8GB for $82 Au.

http://www.digitan.com.au/product.php?productid=70996&cat=1076&page=1


are they any good? expandable memory + 30 hour battery life does sound good...

 

[PaulieG]

i found a creative zen 8GB for $82 Au.

http://www.digitan.com.au/product.php?productid=70996&cat=1076&page=1


are they any good? expandable memory + 30 hour battery life does sound good...

Decent feature set, but they sound like crap once you pump up the volume. Very flat.

 

[PVTCaboose1337]

i found a creative zen 8GB for $82 Au.

http://www.digitan.com.au/product.php?productid=70996&cat=1076&page=1


are they any good? expandable memory + 30 hour battery life does sound good...

The UI is no so great, loading time is a bit long, but otherwise, they are quite good according to the 2 people I know who have them. However, I refuse to buy Creative products.

 

[Mussels]

reviews said the UI is poopy, and its a real pain to use with expandable cards (the UI doesnt work well with them)

also, proprietary software needed, at least for video.

 

[PVTCaboose1337]

reviews said the UI is poopy, and its a real pain to use with expandable cards (the UI doesnt work well with them)

also, proprietary software needed, at least for video.

Have you decided on the size of the player? Also, do you care about video? If you are not going to use that feature, don't get it with the player.

 

[Mussels]

Have you decided on the size of the player? Also, do you care about video? If you are not going to use that feature, don't get it with the player.

2GB+

video is not important really.

 

[xBruce88x]

i'd have to go with sony walkman on this... my old one...

this thing has excellent audio quality, can be used as a flash drive, has video playback (came with a trailer for the movie surf's up on it), no fancy software needed (but does come with it, optional imo)... and its TOUGH.

here's the story... i dropped it somewhere in my friend's RV in about nov of 08... couldn't find it... one day he sweeps it out the door not seeing it (he has his moments...), and in the mud it goes... next couple months its in the 20's, even a snowstorm with 10+ inches... Oh, and meanwhile i'm constantly running the thing over in my '81 Dodge ram... it happened to be where i park. so sometime in Feb of '09 he finds it while raking. well... the screen is cracked (but the video chip and w/e still works b/c i can still read some text in the corner of the screen) and it plays audio just like it always has... i just had to memorize the menus lol.... did i mention i ran the thing over countless times? with this...

so yea... i'd say the walkmans are pretty good.