On the hunt for a new mp3 player: Recommendations welcome

Greetings Watchers

My most recent player was a cheapie Ipod clone (under $100) and has recently died in a bad way. So I'm looking for another, but with the following general pre-requisites:

1) It can't be a phone. Call me old fashioned, but I detest these all-in-one-I'm-so-freaking-smart so buy me type devices...

2) It's not made by Apple. I like to get under the hood and do things myself with the player; I'm not fond of I-tunes nor its filetype and trappings. I'm also unlikely to buy Sony again either, after having one of these (black, up top)
http://technical-tejash.blogspot.com.au/2009/06/sony-zappin-mp3-player.html
and have it stop working after barely a few months.

3) Storage size? I'm not overly fussed, but 16 gig and above would do me fine. A randomiser/shuffle function would be a bonus.

4) Not too bulky (I use it whilst cycling...) and with an efficiently designed interface for those moments where you crave an album change...

5) Price range? Mmmm...yeah, good question. I think I'll lash out with this one...$100+

Feel free to use the thread to show off what you're all using to listen to your tunes with and make any recommendations!

Cheers

Pessimeister said:

5) Price range? Mmmm…yeah, good question. I think I'll lash out with this one…$100+

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How about 900 USD? :lol: That's what I payed for my mp3 player + earplugs. Best investment I ever did!

There's a dedicated forum for this kind of equipment at head-fi.org. Maybe you can find something in your price range there?

hmmm, $900 for a MP3 player... let me guess you are from Norway ?

I am digging using my iPhone 4S as an mp3 player. It's great. oooops...

GothicGothicness said:

hmmm, $900 for a MP3 player… let me guess you are from Norway ?

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Whaaa? It's actually not more expensive than buying, say, an iPhone (which is useless to me). Listing price abroad is probably about -250$ cheaper. Now, I actually spend a considerable amount of time each day listening to music so its important to me to have good sound quality. In addition, the earplugs are noise-cancelling, which is ideal for work.

If someone is interested, the mp3 play is this thing. Only 8 hours of playtime (due to power-drain of earplugs) and UI is a bit awkward. And here is a chart of dedicated earplugs.

I can totally relate to hishadow. I listen to music all the time and quality is of the utmost importance.

First thing I normally do when buying an MP3 player, or discman in the old days, is to throw away the crappy earplugs. Good in-ear phones can be expensive but they are really worth it.

I am currently using the Sennheiser IE8, which I bought for a very good price at Amazon.de several years ago and I am still happy with them. But I was thinking of upgrading to new ones.

hishadow said:

Whaaa? It's actually not more expensive than buying, say, an iPhone (which is useless to me). Listing price abroad is probably about -250$ cheaper. Now, I actually spend a considerable amount of time each day listening to music so its important to me to have good sound quality. In addition, the earplugs are noise-cancelling, which is ideal for work.

If someone is interested, the mp3 play is this thing. Only 8 hours of playtime (due to power-drain of earplugs) and UI is a bit awkward. And here is a chart of dedicated earplugs.

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Haha, does that mean you are indeed from Norway ? I totally understand that you'd spend that kind of money on an mp3 player and earphones when you listen to music the quality really matters.

On the other hand a lot of people don't easily spend that kind of money on something they'll just use to listen to music on the move…. of course I couldn't help to think you must be from Norway the way you said it and we swedes always like to make fun of the rich norwegians so……. sorry couldn't resist

GothicGothicness said:

of course I couldn't help to think you must be from Norway the way you said it and we swedes always like to make fun of the rich norwegians so……. sorry couldn't resist

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I noticed we're are actually well off when I visited Stockholm this June, but it's mostly due to price differences. Granted, I was the happy recipient of excess income tax of last year (which was a really stressful & crappy year), so I've been trying to compensate for last year.

Asdraguuhl said:

First thing I normally do when buying an MP3 player, or discman in the old days, is to throw away the crappy earplugs. Good in-ear phones can be expensive but they are really worth it.

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I can't stand in-ear phones. My wife gave me a set of Bose headphones for christmas a few years back. Very expensive and I was upset with her at first for spending so much on headphones. But damn do they sound incredible. You really do get what you pay for when it comes to music.

I have Sennheiser earphones for 10 years now, and I use them almost exclusively for gaming. Sennheiser is usually a good sourcee, too, as far as I know - but I know only very little about earphones, I must say.

Icefire said:

I can't stand in-ear phones.

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I suspect that it is due to the use of the wrong rubber tips that did not fit your ear. In-ear phones have removable rubber tips and it is imperative that you choose the ones with the right shape and size for maximum comfort.

In-ear phones often come with several rubber tips and the ones I have came with a large set of varying shapes and sizes (see attached picture).

I understand that if they do not adapt well to your ear, that the lack of comfort may be a deal breaker.

Asdraguuhl said:

I suspect that it is due to the use of the wrong rubber tips that did not fit your ear. In-ear phones have removable rubber tips and it is imperative that you choose the ones with the right shape and size for maximum comfort.

In-ear phones often come with several rubber tips and the ones I have came with a large set of varying shapes and sizes (see attached picture).

I understand that if they do not adapt well to your ear, that the lack of comfort may be a deal breaker.

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The rubber tips that accompanied my earplugs are really comforable. Soft rubber at three different sizes.

Asdraguuhl said:

I suspect that it is due to the use of the wrong rubber tips that did not fit your ear.

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Not at all. I just prefer over-the-ear headphones. i simply hate in-ear phones. Has nothing to do with comfort. I think over-the-ear sound much better.

Icefire said:

Not at all. I just prefer over-the-ear headphones. i simply hate in-ear phones. Has nothing to do with comfort. I think over-the-ear sound much better.

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OK, different reason then. It is just that your use of the word "hate" led me to suspect it was a discomfort issue that pissed you off to infuriating extremes .

But don't underestimate the sound quality of high end in-ear phones.

"Despise" is the word I use when I am pissed off to infuriating extremes. But yes "hate" was too strong a word. "Prefer" would have been a better choice.
Seriously, there is simply no way an in-ear phone can match the sound of over the ear. I am sure there are some high-end in earphones that sound incredible. But they simply cannot compete with over the ear. Maybe someday with technology the way it is I woudnt be surprised if they do. But not yet. And to be fair, I never said that in-ear sound crappy or anything like that. I simply stated over the ear sound better.
And Alrik, I have personally never listened through any Sennheiser phones, but I have also heard they are top-notch.