# Best MP3 player?



## Lukar (May 3, 2009)

I'm in need of a new MP3 player. My iPod shuffle is seriously failing me due to it not having a screen, so I have to recognize the song order. Plus, it's TOO small.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a replacement? My only requirements are:

- Must have a screen
- Must have good music playback
- Must not be too small
- Must be around or less than $100


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## â„¢-Daley Leungsangnam475-â„¢ (May 3, 2009)

Sansa 8GB MP3 Player + Radio

It's got 75%/100% of your requirements

sure It can only hold around 2,000 songs (I've got 2,016 on mine) but it's pretty good ... It's got a Radio transmitter aswell, so you can listen to the radio if you want ^.^


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## Lukar (May 3, 2009)

â„¢-Daley Leungsangnam475-â„¢ said:


> Sansa 8GB MP3 Player + Radio
> 
> It's got 75%/100% of your requirements
> 
> sure It can only hold around 2,000 songs (I've got 2,016 on mine) but it's pretty good ... It's got a Radio transmitter aswell, so you can listen to the radio if you want ^.^



Hmm... Looks pretty good, and $80 is probably in my budget, lol. Are the included earphones good?


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## ToeClaws (May 4, 2009)

Lukar said:


> Hmm... Looks pretty good, and $80 is probably in my budget, lol. Are the included earphones good?



I second the Sansa recommendation.  But no - included headphones are NEVER good.  I'd suggest getting good headphones to properly enjoy the music.  I use both in-ear and over-ear types with my e280, and both work well.  It even has enough strength by far to drive a pair of Sennheiser HD500s.


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## â„¢-Daley Leungsangnam475-â„¢ (May 4, 2009)

The earphones aren't that good ... but I'd keep them just in case

I'd use the $20 left to buy some decent earphones


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## Lowblock (May 5, 2009)

Get an iPod Touch

THey're worth the shitload of money you have to spend, but they'll almos tnever fail, and the battery life is epic.


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## ToeClaws (May 5, 2009)

Lowblock said:


> Get an iPod Touch
> 
> THey're worth the shitload of money you have to spend, but they'll almos tnever fail, and the battery life is epic.



That would fail the $100 or less requirement.


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## Runefox (May 5, 2009)

> battery life is epic


They must have done something to the iPod Touch then, since the iPhone 3G has atrociously low battery life, and I'm sure the cellular radio doesn't cause that kind of discrepancy on its own.

Aaanyway, I'm not totally up to date on MP3 players, but I'll second that the bundled headphones are universally not good. Even a $20 pair of Sennheiser or Sony ear buds will probably outperform them in quality and durability, regardless of the brand, so I'd recommend springing the extra for a decent set of headphones as well. Obviously, you can survive with the included ones for a while, but they won't be comfortable nor sound very good.


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## Tewin Follow (May 5, 2009)

I had a Creative Zen Micro back in college.
It was badass back in 2004 (or whenever it was).

Then I stopped having to take the bus and didn't use it. Pretty sure it's a relic now...

You damn kids and your new-fangled kajibbers!


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## Shino (May 5, 2009)

If you want cheap and simple, get a Sansa. You can always add more memory via the MicroSD slot.
If you want something decent but a slight budget breaker, get a flash-based Zune. Yeah, they're flamed upon by almost everyone, but I've used them and loved them. Plus, you're not tied down to iTunes.

Head over to NewEgg or BestBuy.com and use their power search modes to give you an assortment with your requirements.


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## Arcadium (May 5, 2009)

I HAZ AN IDEA!!!

Here's an idea that you could consider. If your on a flexible network like AT&T, you could pick up a music phone, like the Sonny Erickson. Good phone, and Walkman quality music.

If your not looking for a phone, i'd check out some Samsung, Sony, or Sana players, if your not checking out the iPods. They are cheap, but also very good. Me personally, i'm a tad bit of an audiophile, and needs that 80 gigs of storage.

I second the zune option. I've owned the original as well as the 2nd Gen flash version. Great players. Issue is, is there up on the price of the Nano's for the flash versions, and the price of the Classic for the 120 gig version.

Seriously, go look at samsung. Great players. I adore the S5, and the old T5. There beast players.


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## â„¢-Daley Leungsangnam475-â„¢ (May 5, 2009)

I've had a few MP3 Player's before I got my Sansa ^^

the Sansa 8GB + Radio is probably one of the best out there for an 8GB MP3 Player IMO


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## Lukar (May 5, 2009)

Arcadium said:


> I HAZ AN IDEA!!!
> 
> Here's an idea that you could consider. If your on a flexible network like AT&T, you could pick up a music phone, like the Sonny Erickson. Good phone, and Walkman quality music.
> 
> ...



Eh. Sadly, I'm stuck with Sprint... Also, my French teacher despises Walkmans for some reason, lol. Or would it be Walkmen?

The Zune... Hmm... Possibly. I've never found them all that attractive, but they apparently are good.

Anyways, I'll more than likely go with the Sansa, lol. Thanks for the tips!

Now, to find out if ANY store around here sells The Final Riot! now... IT'S BEEN OUT SINCE NOVEMBER OF LAST YEAR, AND NONE OF MY LOCAL STORES SELL THE DAMN ALBUM.


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## Arcadium (May 5, 2009)

Lukar said:


> Eh. Sadly, I'm stuck with Sprint... Also, my French teacher despises Walkmans for some reason, lol. Or would it be Walkmen?
> 
> The Zune... Hmm... Possibly. I've never found them all that attractive, but they apparently are good.
> 
> ...



Lulz. No problem dude.

I have had bad experiences with Sansa's older players, so i won't be buying a new one soon. But i haven't really used there newer ones, so i don't know really.

Zune, is, upsetting. They burst out on the scene, with this slick, rubber, cool player, but crippled with really bad software. Then the 2nd gen comes out. Better software, but still mediocre, and the Design was completely revamped, something i didn't like. No double shot, it got this weird top overlay, and it lost the solid color look. Now the 3rd gen. It's glossy, which i liked the first for no glossy. Droped all double-shot, and zune-pad is still weird to me. Click-wheel, touch screen, or D pad is all i can use without getting really mad.

But they sound superior compared to iPod Nano's. The Classic and the Zune 120, the Zune wins hands down. It's useablity that kills the zune.

Sansa isn't me. I never really could use it. Another company, which used to have awesome players was Creative Labs. Those, were really sick.


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## valkura (May 5, 2009)

Lukar said:


> Eh. Sadly, I'm stuck with Sprint...


If you get a new phone you just go into the Sprint store and ask them to put it on.  You might be able to do it over phone too, not sure. (That reminds me, I have to sell off my Sprint phones D: )


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## Arcadium (May 5, 2009)

valkura said:


> If you get a new phone you just go into the Sprint store and ask them to put it on.  You might be able to do it over phone too, not sure. (That reminds me, I have to sell off my Sprint phones D: )



I know for sure Verizon works that way. The issue is snagging a phone, while in a contract. Can't be retail, since you would need to buy it with a contract then.


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## Sulfide (May 5, 2009)

PSP (if you can find one for cheap. My freind got his used for $10, yes ten, IDK how, he knew someone)

OR

Get an MP4, I got a 2 gig that plays videos and stores pictures in common formats, .txt files, FM radio, set up in 8 languages, takes SD card, 40 bucks at Frys Comp store on sale


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## Runefox (May 5, 2009)

JuggaloTheRolla said:


> PSP



Well, that's what I use. It's useful, not very compact (especially with the Sony carry case), but I usually don't mind that. Not everyone's cup of tea, though, and not quite under $100.


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## valkura (May 5, 2009)

Arcadium said:


> I know for sure Verizon works that way. The issue is snagging a phone, while in a contract. Can't be retail, since you would need to buy it with a contract then.



Craigslist is where I got my Muziq \o/  (My dogs kind of ate the phone I had, so I was forced to get another...)  They're all over ebay too.


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## PriestRevan (May 5, 2009)

iPod.


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## Sinister Exaggerator (May 5, 2009)

I feel naked if I don't have ALL of my music with me.

I use a 120Gb iPod Classic with a Griffin iTrip.


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## PriestRevan (May 6, 2009)

Bathos said:


> I *feel naked* if I don't have ALL of my music with me.
> 
> I use a 120Gb iPod Classic with a Griffin iTrip.


 
Hawt.

Anyways, good man. iPod Classics are sweet.


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## MattyK (May 6, 2009)

Ipod Nano 8gb.
Cost us 'bout Â£60, you can get one nowadays on eBay for about $40. Been using it ever since. Don't ask me about Headsets, I've been breaking em ever since their Warranties went invalid, at a rate of once every two months.


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## Arcadium (May 6, 2009)

JuggaloTheRolla said:


> PSP (if you can find one for cheap. My freind got his used for $10, yes ten, IDK how, he knew someone)
> 
> OR
> 
> Get an MP4, I got a 2 gig that plays videos and stores pictures in common formats, .txt files, FM radio, set up in 8 languages, takes SD card, 40 bucks at Frys Comp store on sale



Oh yea! PSP makes for a great media player. You can get 8 gig cards of ebay for like $23 (What i payed). A friend of mine picked up a PSP-3000, so i gave him my DS lite in return for a Phat 1000. Video playback is awesome, and music playback is pretty good. It's got a mean photo viewer too, which i find most of the time messing with. Just seeing all my portait and landscape anthro art in that BIG screen is very cool.

Also, it has a speaker, and of course the game console built in. Makes a good PMP to carry around.


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## Lukar (May 6, 2009)

I *technically* have a PSP, although it has been in unauthorized possession by some other person for several months.

My PSP was stolen, in short.


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## Arcadium (May 6, 2009)

Lukar said:


> I *technically* have a PSP, although it has been in unauthorized possession by some other person for several months.
> 
> My PSP was stolen, in short.



O noes!

That sucks. Would of solved this whole dilemma.


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## Digitalpotato (May 7, 2009)

I'd look for a cheap SanDisk or Xansa or whatever. It's more or less what everyone else mentioned in this thread so yeah. ^^;


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## Ceuper (May 7, 2009)

I have a 30GB iPod classic. I got it free from a friend, and it's awesome. Probably wouldn't be more than $100 used somewhere by now. 

My friend had this thing playing a lot. Like, a *lot*. He plugged it in at work so that's like 8 hours a day, 3 or 4 days a week for about a year. And the battery life is still pretty damn good.


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## Sulfide (May 7, 2009)

Arcadium said:


> Oh yea! PSP makes for a great media player. You can get 8 gig cards of ebay for like $23 (What i payed). A friend of mine picked up a PSP-3000, so i gave him my DS lite in return for a Phat 1000. Video playback is awesome, and music playback is pretty good. It's got a mean photo viewer too, which i find most of the time messing with. Just seeing all my portait and landscape anthro art in that BIG screen is very cool.
> 
> Also, it has a speaker, and of course the game console built in. Makes a good PMP to carry around.


 THANK YOU! All Hail PSP!


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## Lukar (May 7, 2009)

Arcadium said:


> O noes!
> 
> That sucks. Would of solved this whole dilemma.



A-yup. And the thing is, I'm 99% sure it was one of my best friends who stole it.


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## iBolt! (May 9, 2009)

I had a Creative Zen V-Plus. It worked great for a year, but I would have preferred the 16GB version. The included headphones were amazing, but the grippers fell off and they became utterly useless within a week. Recently, it has been glitching up and the battery life has been decreasing, but it was a good little MP3 player for $50.

The biggest issue with it was the video player. The file type required has to be converted by the software, and the output file will be substantially larger than the original. I tried to put a full length copy of The Crucible on it. The 704MB file almost tripled to 2.012GB and would not fit the 2GB MP3 player.

Another issue is the random play all. To be on the shuffle, it had to have an artist and album name or it would not appear. So, I would have to label many songs with "Unknown Album" just to get them working.


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## Wuffie (May 10, 2009)

I umpteenth the sanza and Eh... The Zen isn't all bad, as Creative MP3 players have way better sound than 90% of the market in my humble opinion. Their software is crap, don't get me wrong, but the frontend of the MP3 player itself is simple enough for me (I have a normal Zen). And, I mean... I got a 4 gig for 50 bucks from their refurb shop, so it is all good for me.


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