I've looked at the iRiver, Rio, and a few others.  What do you recommend?

Also, what site do you prefer for comparisons based on user/customer ratings?

-kill-9

I do not know the current models but I did do a lot of research on the older units.
Things you should look for are.

1.Hard drive based. If the players use flash mem you will never get enough songs on it for a good price.

2. USB2 or firewire interface.  You will go nuts waiting wile the mp3 player uploads the songs from your pc if you get USB 1.

3. A good LCD screen.  Have you ever tried to sort 10,000 mp3's on a 4 line LCD screen?  I have and it really is not fun.  Never try to do it wile driving.

4. Good desktop software that lets your sort the mp3's before you leave home and make play lists.  

5. Battery run time.  If you are going to use this all the time make sure the battery has a good long play time and maybe even the ability to swap batters out with a spare.

The best unit I have found so far is the Apple IPOD.  It offers almost every thing I wanted in a mp3 player. IE hard drive based, great screen, Firewire input,  Good software.  Now if they could only make them cheap. [>]:)]

Hope this helps
NoKarma

Ipod, no other choice comes close!

It depends on what you're going to use it for.  If you're going to use it for exercising, you might want to go with a solid state device (something that uses a card for storage) instead of a hard drive device since that relies on fast moving parts that are sensitive to rapid movements and drops.  There are CD mp3 players out there too, but they hold so few songs, and are subject to the same moving parts problems as the HDD's that I think they're just not worth investigating.

Hard drives definitely have an advantage in storage space, though.  If you go with a hard drive, get the Ipod, especially if you have a Mac since they integrate together very well.  the Ipod can also act as a regular external/portable hard drive for data other than MP3's too.  The RioRiot is another choice for a hard drive unit.  It's got a nice LCD screen, but no remote control like the Ipod.

If you go solid-state, I like Rio's line.  I think the only difference among those is the size of integrated memory and the type of removable media.

For research, you might want to check out [url=http://www.techtv.com] Tech TV[/url] and [url=http://www.epinions.com/elec-Audio-Portable-All-MP3] Epinions[/url].  Here's a [url=http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=site:techtv%2Ecom+mp3+players+] Google search[/url] for MP3 player on Tech TV's site, since their site's search engine is difficult to use.

Also, for pricing just about any kind of hardware, I like to use [url=http://www.pricewatch.com] Pricewatch[/url].

I'm with hielo.  If you can afford it, go with the Ipod.  I pretty sure you need a firewire port on your computer though for file transfer.   I May be wrong.

USPC40


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iPod.

I use mine every day at work.

[img]http://webpages.charter.net/jeff.hoeft/pics/iPod.jpg[/img]

[b]USPC40[/b] is [url=http://www.apple.com/ipod/specs.html] absolutly right[/url].  The Ipod only uses FireWire.

A FireWire card will probably run $30-45 dollars.  You might also want to think about getting a new [url=http://www.soundblaster.com/products/audigy2/] sound card[/url] instead, since many come with an integrated FireWire port. The sound card will probably be around $60-80.


Edited to say that you won't need a FireWire card if you're using a Mac since there's already a port built into the system.

I ordered a Muvo 128MB made by Creative. It is a little bigger than a pack of gum and natively plugs into a USB port (no cables). Plays MP3 and WMA. Cost is around $138.

This is a very simple player and does not have many play options. It is perfect for the jogger or active user.

http://www.muvo.com/products/muvo/

I also have the muvo, but can't really recommend it. It's expensive for the capacity, and (at least in win98, I haven't tried 2k or XP), the playlist is uneditable - it's based on the order you put the tracks in. It's a good option if you want a compact player with few options and quite good battery life, but man, the iPod rocks - I wished I'd spend the extra money for one.

Epinions(.com) is usually pretty useful.
Tom's hardware(tomshardware.com) has a section on consumer electronics, they have reviews of the muvo, ipod, archos, and a few others. Very reliable site.

My fiancee got the MPIO-DMG - and then she lost it on a business trip and I had to buy her another one because I felt bad for her [:(]

[url]http://www.mp3factorydirect.com/index.mv?Product_Code=100256&Page=mpio[/url]

I am really impressed with it and think it is one of the better ones out there if you are interested in small size/low weight and good features.  She uses it for exercising, so small and compact was imporantant.  It's got 128 internal and she added a 128 card - which is all the room she needs.

You might want to wait a month or 2 before you buy a IPod, there are several IPod like players due out before or shortly after the end of the year that will be a good deal cheaper than IPods. I believe one of them was from Toshiba the other maker I do not remember.

Get an I pod. They come in 5, 10, and 20 gigabytes. The 5 gig model is $300 for WIN and MAC. If the cost is prohibitive, buy a minidisc player for $150.

I bought my wife an iPod a year ago (the 5Gb version) and could never pry her away from it.  I have a small folder on it with my music, but the rest of the space is hers.

I've looked at other models and they all have some compromise to their design in order to not infringe on copyrights.  Are the compromises worth the $50?  Not for me (e.g. you charge the iPod with the same cable you hook it up to the computer with, how cool is that).

You wouldn't go wrong with an iPod.

Just like you couldn't go wrong with an AR [:D]

Have you seen this one?
[url]http://www.audiobooksforfree.com/kalashnikov/ak-mp3.asp[/url]
Just don't mix it up in a firefight..


BISHOP

Bishop
I would not want to try and get that on a plane.
I wonder if that mp3 player holds more then 10 rounds if its baned in Ca.

Another vote for the iPod. I decided a few months back to ditch my minidisc player. Loved the unit, but the storage capacity was getting to be a pain. Went with one of the 20GB Windows iPods, and have been VERY happy. Got myself set up with a Marware Sportsuit Convertible case, and I use the armband to have it at the gym and have NEVER had a problem, either lifting or on the treadmill. An absolute kickass piece of hardware.

Of note - I'd STRONGLY recommend downloading a copy of EphPod to use as software....Multimedia Jukebox blows goats big time.

If you're not in a hurry you might want to wait a bit. There are rumors of a new revision to the iPod coming up within 2 months.

However, these are only rumors.

The other benefit to waiting is that, if you don't like the features of the new one (or the price they command), you can be sure the 'older' ones will sell for cheaper ...

I got my 5Gb one when they introduced the 10Gb.  We still haven't used up all 5Gb so that worked out for us!

[url]http://www.iodata.com/products/AudioDevices/AudioDevices.html[/url] This is what I have.
I bought it for under 50 bux.  Sound quality is decent.  Small and light.  I have the one pictured on the left.

Ipod all the way.

One of the new players has been released: Creative Labs “Nomad Jukebox Zen”, 30GB hard drive, FireWire (IEEE 1394) and USB port, about the same size an IPod, $350 street price.

The iPod sounds good, but I only have USB on my PC; it's firewire only, right?

-kill-9

Yes, but you can buy a firewire card from amazon for about $25. It's not hard to install at all. The minidisc uses USB.

I bought a Creative Nomad Jukebox when it came out with the 6GB drive. It was the shit then, especially so when I upgraded the harddrive to 40GB a year ago when they became available.

Compared to the iPod, the nomad screen is small and poor, the interface is a pain and you can imagine what a bitch it is to scroll through 4000 songs on a four-line LCD. And USB is sooo slow.

Do you guys know whether the iPod can have its harddisk user upgraded? I'd love to be able to buy a second hand 5gig iPod and swap harddrives with my Nomads.