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I'm considering purchasing an MP3 player very soon (preferably tomorrow). I'm looking to spend about $150-$200 on it, though I suppose I could go a bit over. Video is not necessary; I would like it but I'm not going to spend another hundred bucks for it. I'd like one that doesn't break and has about 15-20 GB of capacity. I need a screen, also. Most importantly, I have to be able to exercise with it.

Joe wrote:I'm considering purchasing an MP3 player very soon (preferably tomorrow). I'm looking to spend about $150-$200 on it, though I suppose I could go a bit over. Video is not necessary; I would like it but I'm not going to spend another hundred bucks for it. I'd like one that doesn't break and has about 15-20 GB of capacity. I need a screen, also. Most importantly, I have to be able to exercise with it.

That's going to be tough. Hard drives and exercise are usually not a winning combination, since the HDD actually has moving parts. Meanwhile, there are flash players that can be used for exercise but they tend to have smaller capacities. You may want to buy an inexpensive flash player that can hold 512MB or 1GB and then buy a separate HDD player to store the bulk of your music collection, but I'm afraid that the ideal product for you has yet to be created. Good luck, though.

Good to know that before dropping $200 for an MP3 that would break with the first workout. I suppose I can settle for a player with less memory. Let's say 2-4 GB instead, what would be my best choice?

Joe wrote:Good to know that before dropping $200 for an MP3 that would break with the first workout. I suppose I can settle for a player with less memory. Let's say 2-4 GB instead, what would be my best choice?

Check to make sure that it's a flash player and not a HDD one. I believe that the iPod Nano is the best option in the 2-4GB flash player lineup. The Creative MuVo series is generally preferred for its easier interface with the computer (ie. drag and drop, without proprietary software), but none of its models offer such large capacities and you have to balance that anyway with the Nano's generally preferred aesthetics and more manageable size.

How much songs could each iPod nano probably hold in implementation (I don't really trust the advertisements claiming X amount of songs)?

Joe wrote:How much songs could each iPod nano probably hold in implementation (I don't really trust the advertisements claiming X amount of songs)?

The usual formula advertisers use is 1GB=250 songs, but that's based on some crappy 128kbps encoding, at 4 minutes/song. Assuming that you've got 256kbps, it'll of course be roughly half that assuming that each of your songs lasts for about 4 minutes.

The degree to which you discern crappy 128kbps songs from decent 200-300kbps songs depends heavily on your audio equipment and partly to ear training.

Ypoknons wrote:The degree to which you discern crappy 128kbps songs from decent 200-300kbps songs depends heavily on your audio equipment and partly to ear training.

WTF, noes. A 128kbps CBR mp3 is noticably worse than 192kbps and up, easily discernable with my not-so-great Koss headphones.

That can depend on codec. I have many 128 kbps tracks that sound just as good as the the MP4 AAC version at 192 kbps, the one media format you should avoid no matter what bitrate is WMA or similar proprietary systems.

Master of Ossus wrote:

Joe wrote:How much songs could each iPod nano probably hold in implementation (I don't really trust the advertisements claiming X amount of songs)?

The usual formula advertisers use is 1GB=250 songs, but that's based on some crappy 128kbps encoding, at 4 minutes/song. Assuming that you've got 256kbps, it'll of course be roughly half that assuming that each of your songs lasts for about 4 minutes.

The formula the advertisers use isn't necessarily accurate though. I've got several hundred mp3s on my laptop right now, at encode rates of 128kbps to 320, and they take up less than 5 gigs. At present, I've got some 800+ odd mp3s altogether.

As far as players, I'd personally recommend an Archos Jukebox. It's similar in ease of use to a MuVo, and can hold a reasonable capacity. The quality is fairly decent, and you don't need any messy proprietary software to put the audio onto the player itself.

I would recommend the Sony HD5 my brother has, but it's HDD and so will likely suffer from excessive physical duress.

Yeah, if I can't take it running I may as well not buy it.

Sandisk Sansa e140

1 gig of built in memory plus an SD card slot for up to 2 gigs of additional memory.
Buy it and a couple of $80 2 gig SD cards and you'll be set.
Or if you can wait until the end of March, Sandisk has their Nano clone set to come out, though they use a built in battery instead of AAA's

For me, Apple's offerings lack appeal because of a combination of higher price, no FM radio and a proprietary built in battery instead of a common AAA battery.
If I'm using the player and the battery dies, it's easier to pop into a drugstore and buy an 8 pack of AAA's than it is to plug the charger into the wall.

EDIT: WTF is up with the links?

Yeah, I was looking at the Sandisk too. They actually have a 4 GB player for less than the 2 GB Nano, which is pretty cool.

The FM radio is important to me because I need it to listen to the audio from the TV's hanging from the ceiling at the gym.
The sansa I got was a 1 gig model that doesn't have a card slot, but it was only $70 so I'm not complaining.
The sansas certainly aren't the last word in hipness, but it's a music player, not an iFashion accessory.

Slight damper on my plans; the cost of the armband. 30 bucks for velcro, are you fucking kidding me? Looks like I'll have to wait a week or two.

Joe wrote:Slight damper on my plans; the cost of the armband. 30 bucks for velcro, are you fucking kidding me? Looks like I'll have to wait a week or two.

I recall an article saying that for every $3 spent on a player, one dollar is also spent on accessories. It's nuts.

Hey, Joe which player have you decided on?

I have one with an armband that uses velcro. It can fit my Zen Micro which has dimensions of 2" x 3.3" x 0.7" snugly.

I'll send it over if you'd like. It came with my Zen Micro but I have no use for it as I keep it in my pocket.

Here's what it looks like.

Hamel wrote:WTF, noes. A 128kbps CBR mp3 is noticably worse than 192kbps and up, easily discernable with my not-so-great Koss headphones.

Play around with the LAME MP3 encoder with some of the settings here - you can get quite reasonable quality at around 128kbit VBR.

The usual 128kbit CBR MP3 codecs are pretty bad.

I'll probably get the iPod Nano 2 GB (probably later tonight, turns out I've been able to put some money together). The Sandisk would probably be a bit awkward for running, and I don't want a battery-powered player anyway, as I have no problem with charging.

You can get the 2 gig sansa for $129 from newegg, and it comes with an armband.
The player itself weights practically nothing and instead of using the armband, I secure it in my watchband (I wear a casio with a velcro band) while exercising on the bike and I hardly notice it's even there.

Will the Sansa e200 also feature an FM radio?

Loner wrote:Will the Sansa e200 also feature an FM radio?

Check their website.