Please help me decide...

[slvr_phoenix]

Decisions, decisions...

I've been wanting to get a nice mp3 player for ... well ... years. And now I may actually bother spending the money. But the question is, which one should I buy? :O

God save me, but when I saw the new iPod Nano, damn was I temped. Everyone raves about how well iPods navigate, and that color screen would come in handy. But hell if I want to deal with Apple's software. I have no interest in downloading music, <i>especially</i> from iTunes. I have plenty of old MP3s and more CDs to rip from than I know what to do with. So I don't want to fight proprietary formats, DRM, etc. And 4GB max <i>is</i> kind of tiny. My collection is larger than that, especially if I start ripping from my CDs again, and hell if I want to constantly be hooking it up to my PC to shift files around. And I've never really be a big fan of Apple. :O

So then I started considering the iRiver H10 20GB. It too has a color screen. The storage space is good. And the FM tuner would be a really big plus to me as well. (I wish the iPod Nano had one dammit!) But I can't seem to find info on if it uses proprietary file management software, or just Windows explorer. It doesn't say if it accepts VBR MP3s, Ogg Vorbis, etc. (You know, <i>anything</i> better than standard MP3s.) It just mentions MP3 and (yuck)WMA. I've also heard bad stories about HD-based players dying if they get dropped.

So on the one hand I have a nice package, small storage, nasty software, and no FM. On the other hand I have a clumsier package, good storage, unknown software, and FM. Neither is really stunningly perfect IMHO. :\

So your thoughts and suggestions are appreciated. What do you think of iTunes? How good is Apple's sound quality? How annoying is it to deal with an iPod when you have existing MP3s (and CDs to rip from)? Are hard drive based players an expensive accident waiting to happen, or do they survive the occasional drop? Why do I get the strong impression that the iRiver H10 20's file support is significantly worse than the earlier iRiver H120's? And does anyone know of any better players with color screens, FM, are not hindered by proprietary software, and have better file support than just standard MP3 (or worse, forced proprietary conversions)?

Thanks in advance for any responses.

(And I wonder when these devices will <i>finally</i> come standard with a wireless network built in to transfer files over. Maybe the MPAssA threatens anyone who dares mention the concept of wirelessly sharing files with friends over ad-hoc device to device networks?)

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<font color=red><i>Deal with the Devil. He buys in bulk.</i></font color=red>
@ 197K of 200K!

 

[darn]

one thing i hate about the spec of all these players...
they dont say what HD protection they use or the make of the hard drive...
for the Sony from memory its a Toshiba 20gb HD

iriver have a pretty cool forum page:
http/www.misticriver.net/boards/archive/index.php/
i just found it tonight and it seems pretty cool, so you can post some q's up there

what ever you do, dont get the Sony HD5, or anything sony for that matter...they're useless, the software that comes with it is a pain in the arse if you want to copy mp3s off your com to the player.

i'm in a similar position to you, although i never wanted a colour screen as i didnt' want to pay for something that i wouldnt be using; my player would sit in my pocket and play music, it'd only come out to recharge the battery.
but after reading all night and looking around. the Iriver is looking like the strongest option, but it still got a dman internal battery and i'm not sure about the HD specs

 

[Amistad]

Hi slver_phoenix

I will try to answers some of your questions. FYO I have a iPod Mini and use it on a daily basis for the last 6 months.

How annoying is it to deal with an iPod when you have existing MP3s (and CDs to rip from)?

There is no problem with iTunes/iPod and existing MP3s. You just add them to iTunes, no problem. The only files that have DMR are the one you bought on iTunes Music Store. Every time I bought a new CD, I just ripp it with iTunes (any others ripper will do the job even WMP) and I have MP3s (you can chose an other format, but i like to have only one type of file for all my music). The is no DRM when you rip your own CD and my friends just go to my ftp and grabb all the music that they want.

IMO the sound quality of Apple is good but the use of good earphones is very important too. And this is true for all MP3 player.

I hope this help you a bit.
Amistad

P.S. Sorry for the errors, but english isn't my primary language.