Looking into buying a MP3 player

I want to get some opinions on which MP3 player I should get. I want a small MP3 player, with a capacity of at least 4GB. What's important is good audio quality, easy to user interface, and easy to transfer files. I don't care for video and image functionally. And I'm not interested in an iPod.

Let's see what we have here:

iRiver E10 - I had a look at it in stores and liked the weight and feel of it. But I am curious about iriver plus 2 software. Everywhere I've read says it's terrible, and transfering files can be troublesome.

Zen Microphoto - I'm really interested in this, but cannot try it in stores as they don't carry it anymore (can still get it online). And the 8GB capacity is awesome. Does anyone have one? What's the user interface like- is it tag or folder-tree navigation? And I can't imagine the software being as bad as the iRiver.

Others that I may be interested in are:
Zen V Plus
Zen Neeon 2 (although I prefer buttons over a wheel scroll)
Zen Micro (no point as Microphoto is better)


Thanks.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

First off think twice about the creative players if you want hassle free / software free music transfer. I love their hardware though, the sound quality is amazing, so if you can deal with non UMS then go for it.

I personally picked up a Samsung YP-Z5 (maybe a slightly different model number in your country)

Here is my personal review on it: ichigolemons.blogjapan.jp/1094759/

The unit is great and it is UMS out of the box as long as you don’t have media player 10 or better installed. If you do then UMS can be enabled by firmware. The interface rocks even though some reviewers say the input is touchy, you need to use it with you finger tip not a huge part of you finger. Great battery life, best sounding player I have had so far (also have a clix which is good also but not quite as good). The thing I like most about the Samsung is its all metal casing and a scratch resistant lcd cover. It is like a mini tank ^^. You can get it up to a 4gb model, it is flash so uber rugged.

Now I think the e10 uses the same audio dac and very similar processor to the clix so I am guessing this unit rocks also (I do like my clix a lot also ^^). The e10 is HDD based so not as rugged, but it is iriver (no complaints about their quality, have an h10 for a HDD player from them also).

Remember UMS is you friend !!! ^^ and the samsung supports it and the iriver should with an update

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Thanks for that.

See, I'm not familiar with MP3 players. I've never had one. Yeah, I'm behind the times. What is UMS (USB Mass Storage)? I gather it allows you drag and drop files using Window Explorer, and use WMP 10 as well. Right?

Samsung YP-Z5 - what's the user interface like- is it tag or folder-tree navigation?

The E10 will get UMS support with the November update.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Ums basically allows your player to play files that have been uploaded with out management software (so true drag and drop). In most cases media player 10 and 11 will work with ums only players. The Samsung is a ums and mtp player (option in menu). Iriver player are either one or the other (you cannot switch them in menu, must update the firmware to the function you want). Don’t let this deter you from Iriver as they still are great, plus choosing one or the other isn’t a big deal as I use UMS only except on my clix which has no update as of yet -_-.

The interface to the z5 is tag based and folder tree based (though the extension is not shown in the gui of the file type). You can browse and sort my tag specifics like album, artists, etc or you can just go folder view.

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I'd go with the Zen series. I've heard that they're really good performers (at least the Zen Micro, haven't heard much on the photo counterpart.)

Haven't heard as much on the iRiver either...

I was speaking idiomatically.

You might also want to checkout this before making a final choice. It's a opensource firmware replacement that adds a lot of cool features to a number of popular brands of mp3-players. There is no support for Creative sadly but I guess something similar must be somewhere on the interweb.

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Originally Posted by Chairman Kaga

I want to get some opinions on which MP3 player I should get. I want a small MP3 player, with a capacity of at least 4GB. What's important is good audio quality, easy to user interface, and easy to transfer files. I don't care for video and image functionally. And I'm not interested in an iPod.

Let's see what we have here:

iRiver E10 - I had a look at it in stores and liked the weight and feel of it. But I am curious about iriver plus 2 software. Everywhere I've read says it's terrible, and transfering files can be troublesome.

Zen Microphoto - I'm really interested in this, but cannot try it in stores as they don't carry it anymore (can still get it online). And the 8GB capacity is awesome. Does anyone have one? What's the user interface like- is it tag or folder-tree navigation? And I can't imagine the software being as bad as the iRiver.

Others that I may be interested in are:
Zen V Plus
Zen Neeon 2 (although I prefer buttons over a wheel scroll)
Zen Micro (no point as Microphoto is better)


Thanks.

The Zen Micro/Photo are pretty much the same, just with added photo viewer and color OLED display. The quality I can say without a doubt is better than the latest iPod as I found out unfortunately. The iPod definitely has the looks but the quality isn't the same when you've been a Zen user for 6+ years like I have. The software bundled with it is simple for anyone to follow, not out of the ordinary syncing every time it's connected. Point, click, drag and drop. Feel free to compare the Zen Micro Photo, Zen V & Zen V Plus.

http://www.creative.com/products/com...lect.asp?cat=3

FELIPE NO

I've been pretty happy with my Sandisk unit. It works as an all-in-one kind of unit, so it has video, photo, mp3, and even a mic for voice recording. It comes in a 2 or 6 gig model as well, and it has an expansion slot so you can add up to another 6 gigs if you need.

It's flash, obviously, but a curious thing that I noticed was that before I downloaded the Sansa updater program on my computer and it updated my firmware, the unit was functioning like an everyday flash drive. It had folder options, file properties, and I could basically just drag and drop anything I wanted to into the unit. Of course, this could have unexpected results, so I wouldn't necessarily recommend trying to use it as a flash drive.

As for complaints, the unit stores files differently after the firmware update. You can't create folders, so organizing your mp3s can be a pain, and since it doesn't function like a flash drive anymore, I can't simply right-click and check properties to see how much space is left, and I can't seem to find a way to check it in the unit's options.

Also, the interface is great, but I can't seem to find a way to create a playlist other than the one that it comes with, called "Go List." I can add tracks to it, but I can't create a different one, which is annoying, to say the least.

Finally, I came to the conclusion that the mic for voice recording is a little bit wimpy as well, after I figured out that it was pretty much useless for recording lectures. For recording your own speech, or someone sitting right next to you, it's perfectly acceptable.

It's a great value, I think, for everything that comes with it, and it maintains some of that sleek and stylish appeal that you might be looking for in a personal player.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Thanks for the sugggestion, folks.

I bought the Zen Microphoto. The 8GB capacity was a big selling point for me. Plus since it was an old model, I got it at a discount price. I'm happy with it (will have to get used to the scroll wheel thingy) - the audio quality is really good, and the software is easy to use.

Jam it back in, in the dark.