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Choosing an MP3 Player


TomoHawk

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I would like some suggestions for an MP3 player...

 

the Ipod mini & nano are very nice. I'd go with the mini because the display is bigger (easier to read while driving). Others I'm aware of are the Creative Zen, and RCA Lyra 2300 series.

 

My criteria:

  • PLAYLISTS (up to 20 tracks, minimum, EACH)
  • 1 Gb memory MAX (keeps price relatively low)
  • replaceable and/or rechargeable battery (internal-type)
  • Runs on Alkaline, MiMH, or NiCd cells (instead of rechargeable)
  • "big", easy to read display (while bouncing around in a car)
  • easy-to-use controls(for menu navigation)
  • 1/8 inch mini-jack for connection to radio (or portable amp/speakers)
  • FM tuner (option- nice for portability)
  • Adjustable output volume
  • Equilizer settings (ex., Rock, classical, Jazz, Flat)
  • USB connector (obviously)

 

A rechargeable battery pack is nice, although you have to carry a charging adapter, so I kinda lean towards Alkaline cells, because you can just throw a few in the armrest/ashtray).

 

I think the Playlists, memory, and battery are the top 3 criteria, respectively.

 

I'm using a basic one (RCA Lyra) with 638 Mb,and I only use 3 of 8 buttons(Play/pause, Next, prev) while driving, but only 1 playlist :(

 

thx

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You know, with the incredible availability of inexpensive accessories for it, proven durability, and ease of use it's tough to beat the ipod. They've got great in-car accessories for it, where you just slip it into a cradle and it automatically integrates with some car stereos. Charges it at the same time, too.

 

I've got a couple of MP3 players already (Creative Labs Nomad, Woodi flash player, the one built into my phone) and I don't think I'd care to use any of them into the car. I prefer a built-in solution that uses MP3's burned onto a standard CD, like my Kenwood CD/MP3 deck. It's tough to beat 150 songs burned onto a standard 50 cent CD-ROM, and there are no messy cables running through your cabin, no FM interference issues, no battery problems, no "Oh crap - it slid down beside the seat again...".

 

Just my opinion - I could be wrong.

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Well I think when it comes down to cords it just depends on how custom you want to go. In mine custom truck I have the iPod dock station customized into my dash, i select a playlist and set it in there plays straight through my stereo with the same quality as a CD. FM transmitters SUCK!!! They claim they can operate within 10ft with "CD quality" however this is not true they have to be close to 2-3ft away to get a semi-good connection. I'm not big on the Alkaline batteries because their batter life time is often shorter than the rechargable. The money spent on the car charger is going to be more cost effective in the long run instead of buying $5 worth of batteries at a gas station to get your MP3 player to work. I'm a Mac guy so I'm limited to iPods, however my brother greatly enjoys his Dell Jukebox. I know that this does put you into the higher price range however IMO I think when you're paying a $150 for 1GB why not spend the extra money and get 15-20GB instead. Then you are able to constanlty expand. Also another benifit of having a larger GB one is if you need to transfer files, programs, etc from one computer to the other the MP3 can turn into a portable hard drive. Just my $.02

 

Tyson

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I see the point you all are making, but as for me,ory, I can tell you 1Gb is more than enough for any amount of songs I would want to carry with me. Plus, I always store any data I need on USB flash drives.

 

The Ipod is truly a remarkale machine, but at $200+, I'd rather burn (cheap) CDs, then copy to cassettes, and carry those in the car, along with my collection of 100+ cassettes. I can mix the songs to suit the situation or event which is also important to me. If I wanted random music, I'd play the radio.

 

As for using alkalines- I always have a good supply of them in the house, and it'sa no problem grabbing a one or two on the way out the door. I'm a new-millenium-type guy, but I grew up with alkalines, and they are still good friends of mine: sometimes they are BETTER than rechargeables.

 

I have no problems with all the cordage, but I really hope the Ipod people get smart and create a cradle/dock that has ALL the cords on it, or at least plugs on it so you can go from cradle to cigarrette lighter, or to radio head, as you see fit.

 

$200 can buy some good tires instead.

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The Ipod is truly a remarkale machine' date=' but at $200+, I'd rather burn (cheap) CDs, then copy to cassettes, and carry those in the car, along with my collection of 100+ cassettes. I can mix the songs to suit the situation or event which is also important to me. If I wanted random music, I'd play the radio.

[/quote']

TAPES????? What are those?? jkjk. Okay from what I gathered so far your current radio setup is a tape deck. You burn cds then copy them to tapes correct? Now, a question I have is why go to the MP3 setup if you can just install a tape/CD deck and solve both your problems. I'm all for the MP3 player, but I don't really see it as being practical for just car use only. I don't know what type of car you are dealing with, so that limits what type of head units you use. IMO I think you need to look into the CD/Tape deck combo.

 

Tyson

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Wow.... Don't want to use CDs? CDs are MUCH more reliable than tapes will ever be. The skipping issue is realative to the deck & the mounting of the deck. A good player will never skip. And if stored CORRECTLY (do you ever store a tape with the tape coming out of the case?) then they don't get scratched either. AND they're cheeper. You can get cd's bulk for less than $.13 a cd. Each cd will hold at least 5 albums maybe as many as 12 albums depending on size of album and mp3 quality.

 

 

Now... I plan to go a totally different route. I'm basically going to put a small comuter in my car with a SATA hard drive. SATA hard drives are hot swapable, so I don't really have to worry about pulling it out while the car is on or turning the car on without the hard drive then inserting it later with the car running. It'll have a small LCD, but any size LCD could be used. The best part it that all if it will weight less than 10 pounds.

 

Although it won't be cheep, it will be MUCH cheeper per GB than any mp3 player on the market. It will also be fairly large, unless I go with a laptop hard drive (wich defeats the purpose IMHO beucase it will double the price). 300 GB and will be around $500 for the complete setup. Granted there will be a bit of fabrication & programing required on my end.

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Guest Battle Pope

The guy you talked to was kinda dumb.

 

I've got a really nice deck I'm trying to get rid of.

 

Pioneer DEH9600MP

 

plays MP3 CDs flawlessly, and looks dang cool while doing it!

 

http://www.sounddomain.com/item/PIODEHP9600MP

 

as you can see, retails for 430. It won't work in my new car due to the shape of the dash so I'm letting it go for 250.

 

/shamelessplug :)

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I used a muvo slim, shaped exactly like a credit carb but .27" thick. USB 2 compatible. FM tuner and mic built in. 15-17 hours of bettery life recharged through the USB but also replaceable (removeable). Has equalizer, shuffle, all that. Can also make .wma's from the radio, it records them for you and saves em. Only down side is that it doesnt have a big screen but the titles will come out pretty large, atleast enough for me to see while driving. 128, 256, 512, and 1 gb capacities. Cost is $79.88 for 256mb, $119.88 for 512mb on amazon.com

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I doubt all in-dash DVD players would play MP3s. It needs to be MP3-capable, like the CD/MP3 players are.

 

You'd be surprised. DVD's are MPEG-4 encoded, so playing MPEG-3 sound files are cake to them. It's like opening a Word v4.0 file in Word v5.0.

 

I've been considering a DVD head unit for just this reason, but I haven't seen one yet that I like the looks of.

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