OT: Finally...A Worthwhile MP3 Player (really long)

Nozzleman_216 · Post by **Nozzleman_216** » Sat Dec 24, 2005 12:21 pm

yea, that would be awesome is thats all I intended to use it for, but its not. I am planning to dump my Satelite radio and use my player in my truck also. So I need atleast 4-6 gb of space. I did find on Philips site that their player can be used for data. There is actually a dedicated space for it already on the HD. SO the Walmart site was wrong. The really ONLY negative for me with the Creative Micros is there is NO dedicated volume buttons. That for some reason really bothers me.

Nozzleman_216 · Post by **Nozzleman_216** » Mon Dec 26, 2005 11:07 pm

anyone have experience with the Zen Micros and their lack of dedicated volum control?

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Mon Dec 26, 2005 11:35 pm

SEMINOLE wrote:anyone have experience with the Zen Micros and their lack of dedicated volum control?

What the heck are you talking about? All you do is slide your finger up or down on the touch pad. Sounds pretty dedicated to me. Now if you mean actual buttons...then I don't know what to tell you. It works fine how it's implemented.

Nozzleman_216 · Post by **Nozzleman_216** » Tue Dec 27, 2005 3:27 am

sorry DB, I knew that u could control the volume that way, BUT I was under the impression that you had to go through some menu options first. I guess I just need to drive an hour or so to a BB or CC and hope they have some I can look at and get a feel for.

Sorry again man for all the ?'s

Sasha · Post by **Sasha** » Tue Dec 27, 2005 4:33 pm

Get an iPod, easy to use and the software is much better then Creative. Use WMP 10 if you do get a Creative Labs MP3 player, works better. My Creative Zen just went out last month after having it a year. The hardrive wacked out, my iPod is still going, got it in 2003. Good Luck!

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Dec 27, 2005 6:17 pm

My nephew got a 2GB iPod Nano for Christmas, and I listened to it Sunday night. With the stock iPod earbuds, the sound quality was distinctly less than when using my Creative Zen Xtra with its stock earbuds. The Nano had tinny highs and almost no bass whatsoever.

I don't recall the regular iPods having such crap sound compared to other units. In fact, the difference between the Creative and the regular iPod when I bought my Creative two years ago was fairly negligible.

DB, are the Nano's supposed to have sound as good as the regular iPods? Sound issues aside, it's ridiculous how small the Nanos are. Very impressive engineering.

P.S. to Sasha: Red Chair Software's Notmad Explorer makes music transfer with any Creative unit absolute money. Best $25 you'll ever spend.

Take care,
PK

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Tue Dec 27, 2005 6:22 pm

The Nanos use the same sound processing chip as the 4th Gen and the Video Ipods...which is not a good thing to MY ears (or yours apparently). They are not even close to as nice as the Creative players from a sound processing standpoint. That's one of the main reasons the Nano was a disappointment in my eyes. I loved the design and interface...I just couldn't get over the sound. Apple will still sell a ton of them because people just don't know any better...even if their product is technologically inferior. Oh well.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Dec 27, 2005 6:24 pm

dbdynsty25 wrote:The Nanos use the same sound processing chip as the 4th Gen and the Video Ipods...which is not a good thing to MY ears (or yours apparently). They are not even close to as nice as the Creative players from a sound processing standpoint. That's one of the main reasons the Nano was a disappointment in my eyes. I loved the design and interface...I just couldn't get over the sound. Apple will still sell a ton of them because people just don't know any better...even if their product is technologically inferior. Oh well.

I was stunned at how tinny and lacking in bass it was, especially since I remember the original iPod sound as being pretty damn close to the quality of the Creative Zen Xtra.

Take care,
PK

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Tue Dec 27, 2005 6:26 pm

pk500 wrote:
dbdynsty25 wrote:The Nanos use the same sound processing chip as the 4th Gen and the Video Ipods...which is not a good thing to MY ears (or yours apparently). They are not even close to as nice as the Creative players from a sound processing standpoint. That's one of the main reasons the Nano was a disappointment in my eyes. I loved the design and interface...I just couldn't get over the sound. Apple will still sell a ton of them because people just don't know any better...even if their product is technologically inferior. Oh well.
I was stunned at how bad it was, especially since I remember the original iPod sound as being pretty damn close to the quality of the Creative Zen Xtra.

Take care,
PK

It also doesn't help that they give you next to no control over the equalizer. It's almost pathetic how weak it is. Hell, if they just put in a decent one that allowed us to tweak more, it might be passable. But as it stands, I will not even touch another Ipod product until they redesign that sound chip.

Sasha · Post by **Sasha** » Wed Dec 28, 2005 3:39 pm

I found that tweeking the sound in itunes makes a world of difference. Example would be Edgar Winters Free Ride, that song sounds way to low and muddy. I boost the volume level set the the EQ, balance, etc. in itunes and then transfer the MP3 file over to the iPod. Has anyone notice a difference between WMA 160 and WMA 64 sound wise? I swear the sound quality is about the same.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Dec 28, 2005 5:20 pm

Sasha wrote:I found that tweeking the sound in itunes makes a world of difference. Example would be Edgar Winters Free Ride, that song sounds way to low and muddy. I boost the volume level set the the EQ, balance, etc. in itunes and then transfer the MP3 file over to the iPod. Has anyone notice a difference between WMA 160 and WMA 64 sound wise? I swear the sound quality is about the same.

And if you're not an iTunes user? Guess you're sh*t out of luck with that shiny new iPod Nano if you want good sound. As I said, the regular iPods have pretty good sound compared to the Creative. But the Creative sounded like Carnegie Hall compared to the Nano.

Take care,
PK

Nozzleman_216 · Post by **Nozzleman_216** » Thu Dec 29, 2005 9:16 pm

Just an update for those of you that provided me with advice: My wife bought me a Zen Micro today. It's the 5gb version as thats all the local Walmart had. It was a good price (under 170) and it beats having to drive over an hour to BestBuy or CC. I don't have too much to say about it, as it is charging right now.

First impression of my first Mp3 player is WOW! This little thing is SWEET! It came with a wall charger (I wasn't expecting), a nice little belt clip/ stand combo. It is smaller then I thought it would be also. Its the black one, but only the face of it is, the rest is white (not a bad thing, looks pretry damn nice) The instruction manual leaves something to be desired as its a little bare. The good thing is there seems to be a wealth of info and help out there for this player. I was mislead a little in that it advertises holding up tp 2500 songs, then I found that is in WMA format. Not a killer by far as I do not have anywhere near that much media as of yet.

I will post some more impressions once I get some media on it and have some time to fiddle with it. I also got an audio cable for the AUX in on my trucks cd player

I may also get another of these for my home receiver, allthough my 360 has been doing a WONDERFUL job streaming from my PC.

Thanks EVERYONE (DB) for the advice. I think I will be very happy with this. Only downfall is my wife wants one already LMAO!! I guess an ugrade may look good in my future LOL!

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Thu Dec 29, 2005 9:21 pm

Good choice...

Check out www.nomadness.net for a grip of info regarding the player. Also, as PK mentioned, it is worth the $25 to get the Red Chair Software for it called Notmad Explorer. It really dominates the software that came with the player. Go here for more info on it:

http://www.redchairsoftware.com/notmad/

Nozzleman_216 · Post by **Nozzleman_216** » Thu Dec 29, 2005 9:30 pm

thanks DB (again), I already discoved Nomadness and I saw the redchair software advertised there (checked the link and my player is on the front page

) I guess I need to read up on it. I am totally clueless as to what I need to do with this thing next (upgrade firmware or what LOL)

Diablo25 · Post by **Diablo25** » Sat Dec 31, 2005 4:34 pm

I'm in the market for an MP3 player. I'm looking at the Creative one below. Any advice on it?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp ... 8845062170

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Sat Dec 31, 2005 4:39 pm

The Zen Sleek is alright. It's not really "sleek" though. If you're looking to get a 20 gb player, I recommend the Sony I reviewed in this thread. VERY small and very good sound quality. It's literally half the size of the Sleek and it's the same price approx.

Diablo25 · Post by **Diablo25** » Sat Dec 31, 2005 4:50 pm

I'm also looking at this one. Looks nice.
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product. ... id=3182242

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Sat Dec 31, 2005 4:57 pm

Would still go with the Sony.

Diablo25 · Post by **Diablo25** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 8:51 am

Apple's iTunes software, which runs on PC's and Macs, for example, automatically "rips," or converts, music from CD's into compressed AAC files for loading onto a computer or portable player. But users who want to convert tracks to MP3 files have to change the settings.

And downloads from Apple's iTunes Music Store come exclusively in a version of AAC that includes FairPlay, Apple's digital rights management technology, to prevent illegal copying and sharing of music. "One of the problems I see a lot is that people who are using iTunes-iPods have ripped their entire CD collection to the AAC format because that is the default setting in iTunes," said Grahm Skee, who runs the Web site AnythingButiPod.com, in an e-mail interview. "Now they are stuck with a format that can only be played on iPods."

Sorry for harping on this but I'm still considering an iPod....quick question about the above info. Do the Apple settings give me the option to rip CDs to my hard drive in MP3 format? I realize that by default they will be in Apple's AAC format but I'd prefer MP3s. Also, when downloading music with iTunes, are all the songs in AAC format? I can't download MP3s from iTunes? And if that is the case, can I just purchase and download music using Rhapsody, MSN Music or any other vendor in MP3 format and upload those to an iPod? My point is I don't want to be locked into the AAC format. Thanks.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 9:29 am

Yes, you can import in the MP3 format. But anything bought from the store will be a DRM-protected AAC file. You can get around it by burning to a CD and then re-ripping it as an MP3, but you end up with a compromised sound quality MP3 file. but it is DRM-free.

I'd assume you can't play an MP3 downloaded from another online music store due to DRM constraints.

Diablo25 · Post by **Diablo25** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 3:15 pm

Just an update...I just purchased the Creative Zen Micro - 5GB. It has plenty of memory for me and I got it for under $200 so I'm happy.

DivotMaker · Post by **DivotMaker** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 3:25 pm

Congrats on the purchase! I almost purchased one, but CompUSA and most retailers where I am were out of them when I bought my iPod video. I am also hopeful you won't have anyone try to make you feel stupid for buying one...

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 3:52 pm

Enjoy it, Diablo! I'm more than pleased with my Creative Zen Xtra 40 GB. In fact, I was just working on transferring some more songs to the player that I "obtained" recently.

Take care,
PK

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 4:01 pm

DivotMaker wrote:Congrats on the purchase! I almost purchased one, but CompUSA and most retailers where I am were out of them when I bought my iPod video. I am also hopeful you won't have anyone try to make you feel stupid for buying one...

There is no need to when someone buys a good player. Congrats Diablo...good choice. Listen to that player for a while then go listen to someone's iPod...I trust you will be very happy with your decision.

DivotMaker · Post by **DivotMaker** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 4:40 pm

dbdynsty25 wrote:Listen to that player for a while then go listen to someone's iPod...I trust you will be very happy with your decision.

I have done just that and I am quite happy with my decision...thanks!