[MUSIC] Which MP3 player to buy, choose for me plz

[Chronictank]

No luck in general so thought i would try here

My mp3 player (creative zen xtra) got stolen so i figured since i need to get a replacement anyway i may aswell go for a fancy video playing jobby too
Digging around the internet i have come up with a short list but i cant decide between them so i put it to you guys (particularly those who have expereince with them) which one should i buy?

Sony Walkman NWZ-A828 8Gb- £170
------------------------------
Size & Weight: 93.6mm x 50.2mm x 9.3mm 58g
Battery Life: 8 hrs video, 33hrs Audio
Screen Size: 2.4in
Res: 240 x 320
Audio Quality: Very Good (if not best)
Audio Codec Support: MP3, WMA, AAC
Video Codec Support: MPEG-4, H.264
Extra Features:
PLays up to VGA resolution
Bluetooth
Free bluetooth headphones (pretty good ones)
Problems:
Proprietary USB connector
Expensive compared to competitors (poor price/performance)
No FM Tuner

Samsung YP-P2 8GB - £130
----------------------------------------------
Size & Weight: 100mm x 52mm x 9.9mm 85g
Battery Life: 5 hrs video, 35-hours audio (12 hrs with bluetooth)
Screen Size: 3in
Res: 480 x 272 LCD
Audio Quality: Good
Audio Codec Support: MP3, WMA
Video Codec Support: SVI (MPEG4), WMV
Extra Features:
Bluetooth
FM Tuner
Problems:
Proprietary USB connector
No native divx and xvid support

Cowan iaudio D2 8Gb - £130
--------------------------------------
Size & Weight:
Battery Life: 10 hours video, 50 hours Audio
Screen Size: 2.5in
Res: 320 x 240
Audio Quality: Very Good
Audio Codec Support: MP3, WMA, OGG, FLAC, APE
Video Codec Support: ? cant seem to find info on this
Extra Features:
Expandable memory via SD card
DAB & FM radio
Very good screen @30fps 24bit
Voice Recording
Problems:
Radio a bit flakey
UI not intuiative

Disclaimer: Above arent competitor prices, simply taken off the review sites

I am leaning towards the Cowan iaudio D2 but the lack of bluetooth means no convient wireless headphones when training and no pairing with my phone. Also it is a fair bit thicker so not sure how much of an issue this is.

Samsung as it seems to have the best price/performance and frequent firmware updates but the format support is pretty dire, although it looks damn good

choices choices

[soze]

I have owned a few Sony MP3 players and they tend to be easy to use and decent. When sound stage was ditched in favor of drag and drop they get even better.

The Samsug i had for about 3 months i did not like the battery was no where near advertised and the software you had to use was shockingly bad.

[Roaken]

Amazon.co.uk: Archos 604 - 30GB Ultra Slim Portable Multimedia Player: ARCHOS: Electronics & Photo

• Product Description: Archos 604 - digital AV player
• Device Type: Digital AV player
• Dimensions (WxDxH): 13 cm x 1.7 cm x 7.6 cm
• Weight: 255 g
• Key Features: Digital audio player, voice recorder, digital photo viewer, external HDD function, digital video player
• Hard Drive: 30 GB
• Display Type: 4.3" TFT
• Supported Still Images Formats: BMP, JPEG, PNG
• Supported Audio Formats: WAV, WMA, AAC, MP3, AC-3
• Video Playback Formats: MPEG-4, MPEG-2, WMV
• PC Interfaces: Hi-Speed USB
• Battery: Internal rechargeable - lithium polymer
• Included Accessories: Stereo headphones, USB cable, carrying pouch

Although bigger than your current MP3 players, you can still put this in your pocket and use it as a portable HDD. Store Video's, Pictures, Files, Music. . .the lot!

USB use for downloading and uploading, very handy for work / college / uni / home use. Big screen to watch movies on the bus / train / plane. Beautiful bright screen, you have to have it.

Its the future, it's Archos.

[Chronictank]

Archos is far too big for my liking, so the Cowon is a good compromise

[Lethul]

Sony looks best on paper atleast imo

[Chronictank]

The D2 is best on paper

But i thought about it and it was a choice between which has the better video and which has the better screen
Seeing as it is first and foremost a mp3 player i went with the Sony

[gohan]

i have a creative zen (the new one) 2.5 inch screen 8gb and was only £100

no complaints atall the screen is so clear watched the whole of robin hood series 1 and 2, so easy to use aswell with your PC for maving files ect



its the same size as a credit card and the whole think is basicly a screen

4, 8 and 16GB Capacities
Dimensions: 55 x 83 x 12mm
Battery life: 25 hours of Audio playback or 5 hours of Video playback
SD Card (SD and SDHC) slot for memory upgrades
AAC (.M4A) support along with MP3, WMA, WAVE and Audible
WMV and DivX/XviD support (320x240)
2.5" Colour LCD screen
FM Radio and Microphone
16.7m Colour Photo Viewer

definatly my recomendation

Creative ZEN | MP3 Players

[Chronictank]

Problem i have with the zen is that it may not be wide but it is fat and is fairly heavy
You definitely wouldnt go running etc with it
Sound quality also isnt amazing on it, i thought the bass was pretty weak even with a good pair of headphones

Either way ordered the Sony , i tarrived today will have play and write up a review when i get time

[confused]

Originally Posted by Chronictank

The D2 is best on paper

+1

has the best SQ, though you'll have to get some decent headphones/earphones to get the best of them.
The sony is also a good choice as it comes with good earphones.

edit: bit late, iirc the sony comes with the ex85's so you've saved quite abit on getting earphones..

[confused]

And I've just noticed the same thing was said when asked the same thing on OCuk forums anyways ;p

[Chronictank]

My review

My Review: Sony NWZ-A828K - Overclockers UK Forums



Ordered a D2 and am returning the Sony, no playlist creation on the player is just too annoying for me as i dont like sitting down and making them at home
Damn shame as it is a VERY good player, and amazing value for money considering you get £100 of headphones with it

[gohan]

Originally Posted by Chronictank

Problem i have with the zen is that it may not be wide but it is fat and is fairly heavy
You definitely wouldnt go running etc with it
Sound quality also isnt amazing on it, i thought the bass was pretty weak even with a good pair of headphones

Either way ordered the Sony , i tarrived today will have play and write up a review when i get time

maybe the older model. the one i have is very light less that 1cm thick and is the size of a credit card frontaly

[Ctuchik]

Originally Posted by Roaken

Its the future, it's Archos.

i'm sorry but thats not an MP3 player. its a crap pocket pc.

[Vodkai]

It's nothing like a pocket pc, however it is one of the best portable media players about in regards to screen size and memory. I do agree that it isn't as compact as other players but they don't offer the same memory for the price.

[Chronictank]

Originally Posted by Vodkai

It's nothing like a pocket pc, however it is one of the best portable media players about in regards to screen size and memory. I do agree that it isn't as compact as other players but they don't offer the same memory for the price.

you get all you get on the archos on the cowon, with the addition of:
better sound
smaller player
better battery life
free codecs for most formats
lossless audio
Potentionaly limitless expansion of memory (via SD card)

Yes its more expensive, but its not worse value for money by any means because of the increased quality of both sound and video.

Thats why i didnt include it

The sound quality on the creative was ok, but nowhere near that on any of the above
I also found the lack of bass even with bass heavy seinheisers unacceptable personally