My iPod, i-Pood...

[Nightshade]

So, I've been putting up with iPods for a while now, and its just not cutting it.  Anyone got any suggestions on a good quality MP3 player?  I found an affinity for higher quality music, so I don't want some MP3 player with some BS file format either.

Thanks,

-Night

[schild]

I love the look of the new iRiver stuff.

Edit: Also, I like the Cowon stuff.

[Engels]

SanDisk players in the last 4 years have been most satisfactory to me.

[Moaner]

I've been very happy with both my Creative Zen and my Zune. 

[Trippy]

So, I've been putting up with iPods for a while now, and its just not cutting it.  Anyone got any suggestions on a good quality MP3 player?  I found an affinity for higher quality music, so I don't want some MP3 player with some BS file format either.

Thanks,

-Night

Umm...it might help if you tell us more about what you want in an MP3 player. E.g. thumbstick size? Color screen? Can play videos? Can do your laundry? That sort of thing.

[Nightshade]

So, I've been putting up with iPods for a while now, and its just not cutting it.  Anyone got any suggestions on a good quality MP3 player?  I found an affinity for higher quality music, so I don't want some MP3 player with some BS file format either.

Thanks,

-Night

Umm...it might help if you tell us more about what you want in an MP3 player. E.g. thumbstick size? Color screen? Can play videos? Can do your laundry? That sort of thing.

Not really a concern with the size, I am going to be working out with it, quite often, and basically using it for transportation purposes to University in the near future.  I don't really care about Videos, but it is a plus.  I just want a high quality sound out of it - and using the MP3 format.

I already have NiX to do my laundry.

[Samwise]

What part of that doesn't the iPod do?

[Trippy]

I have a Zen V Plus and it's decent enough though I wouldn't recommend trying to play videos on it (the screen resolution is too low and the screen size is small). You can get an armband for it too for workout purposes. If that's too large there's the Zen Stone Plus (also has optional armband), though I'm not sure how good the sound quality is out of something that small.

[Righ]

I just want a high quality sound out of it - and using the MP3 format.

The current generation of HDD portable music players have pretty similar sound quality. Apple's iPod was known for having one of the poorer amplifier circuits, but the 6th generation is now ahead of most of its competitors for amplifier sound quality. The downside is that they changed the DAC in the 6th generation iPod to an inferior one. The differences are quite slight however, and replacing the garbage earbuds that come with all players will make bigger difference than you'll hear between devices. Add a headphone amplifier such as the Headroom Total Bithead and you'll get a massive increase in sound quality. But now you have double the junk to carry around. If you want the sound quality in the dorm room, and you're rich, you could buy a Wadia dock that bypasses the DAC in the iPod and use an expensive external DAC and power supplies. Now you're into serious money, serious sounds, and you should probably consider a more serious solution than a portable device. :)

You're best off picking (1) a music player that has the features that you want (2) a nice pear of headphones or in-ear monitors.

1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_portable_media_players
2) http://www.head-fi.org/

[NiX]

I already have NiX to do my laundry.

Oh no you di'int!

[Margalis]

I pod plays MP3s of high quality, you just can't get them throug the iTunes store.

[MahrinSkel]

Frankly, for straight-up self-contained MP3/MP4 players, SanDisk is probably offering the best bang for the buck right now (although there are a lot of phones with SD Micro card capability that can top them).  If you want an MP3 player that serves as the centerpiece of a high-end A/V system, iPod is your only real option.  You're also an idiot with more money than sense (unless you actually make heavy use of portable video, in which case iTunes offers a turnkey solution it takes a lot of knowledge and effort to equal).

--Dave

[Moaner]

If you want an MP3 player that serves as the centerpiece of a high-end A/V system, iPod is your only real option. 

Why?  Honest question.  Is the audio quality that much better than say a Zune?  I've looked at the comparison charts and I don't see it.  Am I missing something?

After fighting iTunes for 2 years, it'd take quite a bit for me to buy another iPod.  I haven't hated a device as much as I hated my iPod (fucking stupid wheel can kiss my fat ass).

[Trippy]

If you want an MP3 player that serves as the centerpiece of a high-end A/V system, iPod is your only real option. 

Why?  Honest question.  Is the audio quality that much better than say a Zune?  I've looked at the comparison charts and I don't see it.  Am I missing something?

After fighting iTunes for 2 years, it'd take quite a bit for me to buy another iPod.  I haven't hated a device as much as I hated my iPod (fucking stupid wheel can kiss my fat ass).

As Righ said above you can grab the actual digital stream from an iPod if you have the appropriate dock instead of passing the information through all sorts of converters. If the Zune has a similar thing then the quality would be the same (assuming the same format).

[Moaner]

Ahh, sorry, I missed that post somehow.  That is quite nice.  I'm unsure as to why you'd build a high end A/V system and not use an actual computer as the player, but hey.

[Quinton]

I'd love something around the size of the second-gen ipod nano that has somewhere between 8 and 16GB of flash, just plays music and plays it well (no need for video, fm radio, voice recording, games, or any other crap), and doesn't require some craptacular proprietary software to sync.  Support for ogg/vorbis a plus, but I already had to encode everything as mp3 for the nano so it's not a complete deal-breaker.

[MahrinSkel]

8gig Sansa Clip.  Hits between the Shuffle and Nano (smaller screen than a Nano, but the Shuffle has none, about twice the size of a Shuffle).  8gig is the current maximum.  No Ogg Vorbis support, but it does MP3 and WMA, and has both an FM tuner and a dictation microphone.  Apparently only available in Black right now, but the smaller capacity versions also come in red and blue, and the 8 will probably follow shortly.  Just above the Nano in size is the Sansa E280, similar size but a much larger screen and better battery life.  Also an 8gig max, but supports expansion with a Micro-SD card.  Sansa Fuze is slightly smaller than the E280 (same sized screen, but no Micro SD slot).

All of them simply connect as USB devices, support the Windows Music Device standards for playlists and synchronization, I didn't need any drivers for the Clip I bought as a gift this last Christmas, and it charges fine off of an old Motorola RAZR wall wart I had around (recipient rarely has access to a computer).

--Dave

[Trippy]

The Clip and Fuze (3G Nano size) both Support Ogg (and FLAC). The 8 GB Clip isn't available yet.

iRiver has a lot of models that support Ogg as well:

http://wiki.xiph.org/index.php/PortablePlayers

[Phire]

Go buy a Zune.

Case closed.

[Trippy]

Go buy a Zune.

Case closed.

The flash memory Zune is a bit of an overkill (read: more expensive) since he doesn't care about video, and it doesn't support Ogg. It is the right size, though.

[NiX]

Go buy a Zune.

Case closed.

He doesn't like the Zune. Next time he comes over, you can argue this with him

[Samwise]

We still haven't heard why exactly the iPod isn't cutting it, much less why he doesn't like Zunes.

[Phire]

Go buy a Zune.

Case closed.

He doesn't like the Zune. Next time he comes over, you can argue this with him

Well if he doesn't like it then buy another iPod, there really is not much else that is quality.

Really the only way to find out what you like is go in to Best Buy and play around with each one. Some feel cheap, some have crappy interfaces but in the end it is your preference not ours.

[Soulflame]

What headphones are people using?  I admit, I am a bit amused by the idea of using headphones that are larger than the device that's actually playing the music...

Having said that, these look mighty tempting.

[Sky]

I need to upgrade my earbuds someday when I have money again (4 years, 10 months and counting). I just use the stock buds  for most casual usage, like working outside. For more serious usage like listening (sans other activity) or playing guitar, I use the Sennies you linked.

Or when playing guitar /and/ singing, I have to use both, since the Sennies are my mixer monitors. Ear buds from ipod with the cans from the mixer over them. I could line into the mixer with the ipod, but I prefer pocketing it.

The bass isn't the greatest, but they sound great. A little bit of isolation, just enough that I can hear a full volume ipod while drumming. Which is guaranteed to make my fiancee yell at me.

[Sky]

Good sale on Shure buds over at musiciansfriend. Normally $150, get a MIR on the white ones to bring it down to $60. If I had any money, I'd be on this one to replace my stock buds.

[Soulflame]

The wifely one is buying me the senns I linked, thanks!  I think I'll stick with the earbuds I have for now for casual use, maybe look for an upgrade come later in the year.  Those ones you linked do look good though.

[Yegolev]

What to do if you have tiny earholes?  I can't remotely purchase buds unless I know they will fit.

[Sky]

Apparently the Shures ship with a variety of ear thingies in different sizes and materials. From the product info:

# Interchangeable sleeves for a comfortable, personalized fit
# Included "Fit Kit" contains foam, soft flex and triple flange sleeves plus a cleaning tool

[Engels]

I've bought a pair of Shures that were very good. A cheaper model, but they were still pretty nifty. A bit light on bass, but that's to be expected with aural canal phones.

[Quinton]

The Clip and Fuze (3G Nano size) both Support Ogg (and FLAC). The 8 GB Clip isn't available yet.

I picked up a 2GB Fuze ($49 on Amazon) and threw an 8GB micro sdcard in it ($15).  Some quick commentary on the Fuze:

Things I liked:
   - Solid construction.  Metal body, plastic faceplate.  Not quite ipod-nano-gen-2 quality, but not cheap/flimsy as I feared it might be.
   - The mechanical scroll wheel feels good.  Reminds me of the 1st-gen ipod.
   - Audio quality seems perfectly fine with my favorite headphones.

- Problems that went away after I installed the latest firmware update:
   - Linux couldn't see the sdcard, only the built-in 2GB storage, when using USB Mass Storage
   - You could add songs but not albums to the on-the-fly-playlist
   - You couldn't remove songs from the on the fly playlist

- Solved problems
   - Japanese text in tags being manged -> save tags as id3v2.3 utf16 encoding and all is fine.  The win32 mp3tag program will do this.  I need to update my python convert-and-tag scripts on linux to do the right thing.

- Annoyances that continue to exist but are not dealbreakers:
   - The over a minute it takes to rebuild its database when you unplug usb or plug in the sdcard
   (it's possible I have some specific content that pisses it off, but argh!)
   - The font they use is eye-bleedingly bad.  You get used to it, but come on, there are decent free and commercial fonts available for stuff like this.
   - dumb proprietary cable instead of standard mini-usb, but hey, no worse than ipod