StarDestroyer.Net BBS

I'm a mobile DJ on the side, and as my business is growing I'm looking into adding more backup devices to my stash of equipment. Since I use a laptop as my primary audio device into my mixer, I figured getting some sort of MP3 player in case the laptop ever fails would be a good plan.

I've been perusing the internet now and again for the last six months, but most reviews and feature descriptions don't anticipate the type of use I'm looking for, so it's difficult to judge how good a fit any of them would be. Still, I've been looking largely at Creative Labs, Archos, and Microsoft.

My requirements follow:

- Must have at least 40 gigs storage - I want to still have a fairly versatile collection if the laptop dies mid-gig.

- Must have a thorough enough menu system that I can set up the next song to play quickly and easily. Ideally, I'd be able to quickly add tracks to a playlist while the first track on the playlist is playing.

- I would like quick load times for songs, and optional track cross-fading would be nice. The whole goal here is to not make it look like I'm running off an MP3 Player.

- Must have a strong, clear output, free of jitter, skips, and noise/distortion

- Must be capable of playing MP3, WMA, and WAV, at a minimum.

- I'd prefer not an iPod (personal vendetta).

While looking around, I did run into this. It's pretty much exactly what I would want, except it's so loaded down with features and so new that it's about twice what I was looking to spend. I don't want to spend over $500 on this.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Creative has some nice players, your storage requirements queer the deal since I know lots of good 30 gig players(Including the 300$ 32 Gig Flash based Creative Zen)
As far as players go, I've never seen an Archos in person but I know my Zune's and I know my Creatives.

The Zen file system is highly versatile and easy to get around, I've never used a play-list list in my life, but I can tell you the Flash based player are instant access. Flip side your paying a lot more and it does not meet your storage requirements.

Zune has all the issues with being bastards and having DRM built into the player compared to Creative which plays pretty much everything except Itunes store music, except some of the stuff it does.

So by this I recommend you find one of the Zen W's which come in 60 gigs for under 340$ unless it's playlist thing is an issue in which case buy the Archos or at least find one to try it out.

For DJing, you're much better off getting an MP3 capable DJ deck and burning your songs to DVDs. It doesn't sound glamourous, and can be a major pain in the ass carrying all the gear around, but you'll get better sound (I would say an order of magnitude better), and better crossfades (DJ decks usually have 2 cd trays). In addition, you'll be able to play regular CDs and audio DVDs. Unfortunately for you, this is a rather expensive solution (CD versions aren't cheap, so DVD versions will only be that much more expensive).

A little more down to earth, you're probably just as well off picking up a cheap second hand computer and turning it into a dedicated Linux music box. It doesn't take much: 330MHz, 256MB RAM, 60GB HDD, integrated video and a decent sound card. Hell, you can get that for under $100 if you search hard enough, which is less than what you'd pay for a decent MP3 player.

If you're dead set on an MP3 player, than any player you can afford will have at least one major flaw that will make it unsuitable for DJing with. Most don't have a queue feature, and many have menu systems that will keep your eyes glued to the tiny screen instead of paying attention to the music that's playing and your audience.