Best MP3 player?

Tav

So, my creative zen mx just had a fight with the washing machine and lost, so I'm on the look out for a good MP3 player with 16GB in and around $150. At the moment I'm thinking iPod nano, but the 6th gen ones are absolutely tiny and look rather fragile. I'd be really worried about losing it on a night out... are there any better alternatives around?

Skoal Cat

I really like my Sansa Clip. Bonus? FM radio!

dobi

I really love my Zune HD. It's got a pretty unique looking interface and it oozes with style. While it's not for everyone, if you're used to mp3 players that aren't iPods, then the Zune might be right up your alley.

ceres

I have a Sansa Fuze that I love, but I've had some trouble getting it to interact properly with my computer. It has a microSD slot so I've been getting around this with a microSD reader.

So while I love the thing in every other way (beautiful screen, plays nicely, good controls, easily expandable via microSD), this is something about the Sansa Fuze that you should be aware of as a possibility.

Skoal Cat

The Sansas are also spectacularly affordable

Kate of Lokys

Thirding the Sansa recommendation. I've been using this old thing for more than five years now, which is a short eternity for electronics, and it still works like a charm. The sound quality kicks the shit out of my iPhone 3, too.

Something like an 8 GB Clip+ will set you back about $60, then throw in an 8 GB microSD card for $10, and end up paying half the cost of an 8 GB iPod nano.

saltiness

I'd recommend Zune but only if you want to use ZunePass which is $15/mo.

Skoal Cat

Kate of Lokys wrote: »

Thirding the Sansa recommendation. I've been using this old thing for more than five years now, which is a short eternity for electronics, and it still works like a charm. The sound quality kicks the shit out of my iPhone 3, too.

Something like an 8 GB Clip+ will set you back about $60, then throw in an 8 GB microSD card for $10, and end up paying half the cost of an 8 GB iPod nano.

NewEgg regularly has Clips on sale in their e-mail promotions. Here you go, Memorial Day sale.
Clip+8gb MicroSD for ~$40.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16855125126&nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL052711&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL052711-_-EMC-052711-Index-_-MP3MP4Players-_-55125126-L017B
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220493&nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL052711&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL052711-_-EMC-052711-Index-_-FlashMemory-_-20220493-L015A

The only problem I've had is when a really poorly soldered switch came off inside my unit and I wasn't able to turn it on or off any more. However, it was a simple fix with a fine point soldering iron.

Elin

We've also got a Sansa Fuze. It's a 2 gig model that I picked up on sale for 20 bucks a few years ago. It has a micro SD slot so space isn't an issue at all. It's also sturdy as hell because my husband and I just toss it around and it's still kicking.

Beck

I would consider a previous iPod Nano Generation. I have one that I use when I just want an MP3 player and because of its small size I find it really accessible. Great for working out and all that and it's well built so you won't have to worry about anything being too fragile. Plus, you could find one on the cheap now that the new Nano is out. For my purposes it's almost a bit too big, so I'm really looking into those new Nanos but, you might find them older ones to be perfect.

You might find it's difficult to lose a MP3 player if you make sure to never remove the headphones, though. That's my little trick. When it's small and light it's so easy to never remove it. I had more issues with larger ones.

th3thirdman

I love my zune. and I love my android phone.

aioua

You... you want to buy my 80GB zune? I only use my phone nowadays.

Quid

saltiness wrote: »

I'd recommend Zune but only if you want to use ZunePass which is $15/mo.

I'd second this. I mostly use my iPhone for my music nowadays but for straight up MP3 player my Zune 8 (I believe the 16 is the same size) was my absolute favorite when combined with the Zune Pass.

DaltonCarl

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Tav

Thanks for the suggestions folks! However, I think I might just grab this and stick it into my phone and use Winamp.

th3thirdman

that works too

Tav

I'm kinda worried about it destroying the battery in my X8, but ah sure can see. Won't be an issue come college when I'll have my laptop on my at all times, so I guess I'll just have to be a bit careful about battery life during the summer.

th3thirdman

Well the sony phones do tend to be not as well made as other brands. now I maybe wrong but I think when I was trained on the x8 the max memery card it could hanle was 16gb but was a year ago so my memory might be off.

Skoal Cat

Tav wrote: »

I'm kinda worried about it destroying the battery in my X8, but ah sure can see. Won't be an issue come college when I'll have my laptop on my at all times, so I guess I'll just have to be a bit careful about battery life during the summer.

I dunno man, the Clip's battery life is like... 15 hours. I don't think I could rely on my phone like that.

noir_blood

Another one that recommends the Zune HD along with the zune pass.

The machine itself is just the right size, and like others have mentioned, the screen/interferance is just wonderful.

Plus is always nice to go in with the pass and pick up the latest releases.

Tav

Skoal Cat wrote: »

Tav wrote: »

I'm kinda worried about it destroying the battery in my X8, but ah sure can see. Won't be an issue come college when I'll have my laptop on my at all times, so I guess I'll just have to be a bit careful about battery life during the summer.

I dunno man, the Clip's battery life is like... 15 hours. I don't think I could rely on my phone like that.

Custom roms. Running Cyanogenmod with a few tweaks an no wifi, I get about 60 hours out of my x8. I'm hoping that with that, even running Winamp for like, 4 hours a day will only bring me down to needing to charge once a day and not more.

And yeah, I'm just after seeing there that it only supports upto 16GB. Will just grab a different SD instead. Maybe go up a class seeing as how it's going to be a boatload cheaper anyway.