Wanted: Replacement for iPod

[SailMaine]

Hello,

I currently own a 8gb ipod touch and I am looking for something to replace it. I do not need wifi, apps as I rarely use those features. I have not ruled out having video and picture storing as long as it is at the right price. What I really want is a easy to use player with good sound quality and at a decent price. I have come across a few that have caught my eye, but nothing so far has inspired me to switch from apple to another brand.

[CrowdAds]

[lestatar]

Hey, am sure folks here will be glad to try and help [and welcome to ABi]...

Big relevant question though: define "decent price".

This will help you get better recommendations from people...

[SailMaine]

I want to stay under $200 for sure but I am mostly looking for "bang for the buck". In other words i would be wiling to pay more for a superb player if it stands out from the rest by a lot, but if there is something cheaper that does the job just as well or nearly as well and costs considerably less I would go with that.

[JK98]

If you are serious about video, you might want to consider the Cowon J3. It has a micro SDHC card slot so you can expand the memory. It has 60 hour battery life for music. If you don't need as much battery life and aren't that serious about video, you might want to consider the new Sandisk Fuze+. If you can do without video, you might want to consider the Sandisk Fuze. While the Fuze has video, the video is low quality, and many think video on it is not worthwhile. The Fuze is good for photos though. These two Sandisk players both have a micro SDHC card slot. Imo having a card slot is the most important feature a player should have.

[The DarkSide]

Also check out the Cowon S9 - it lack the microSD slot, but it's almost the same (performance wise) as the J3. Plus, it's a bit cheaper for the 32gb model.

[SailMaine]

I have also come across the cowon i9, the samsung p3 and the sandisk sansa clip+. My biggest thing with the cowon product is the cost. From what I have read with rockbox i can get good sound from the sandisk players and spend a lot less, is this true?

[EggyCuppy]

the sansa players sound good already the fuze and clip just gain alot of tweakability when you rockbox them.

the fuze+ dosnt have rockbox but has a better built in EQ then past sandisk models and its got a larger screen, it also has better video support.

[deadohiosky]

as i said in another thread, the s9 is pretty much a buck banger... now wait... best bang for the buck.

it's a high quality player and the 32 gb version costs around $200 ( e.g. $209 at amazon) ,the p3 32 gb costs about $260. (16 gb version $180, vs. $195)


if you want a no nonsense player, consider the clip+ or the fuze(+).

if you want better battery life you might want to have a look at the sony s-series.

all those players are sub $100 (8 gb)


edit: i think that the i9 makes too many compromises and is rather costly for things it does.
but the form factor is something to consider and battery life is good.

[JK98]

The Clip+ is good if you want a tiny player, and don't mind the lack of video or photos, and only around 12 hours of battery life. The Fuze or Fuze+ will give around 20 hours of battery life.

[Confuseling]

Though you will get a little more out of a Clip+ if you rockbox it. I haven't measured myself, but 15 hours sounds realistic - depends on the file formats.

http://www.rockbox.org/wiki/SansaRuntime

[SailMaine]

Well as a broke college student the SanDisk players are sounding and looking more and more appealing after everything I see and read, any thoughts on which model?

[fdavid]

This is my old one! I got it three months ago from Everbuying! Good sound fits you! But it is Chinese brand!

[EggyCuppy]

SainMaine: clip+ or fuze, of if you want better video support fuze+

[SailMaine]

I am going to place an order for one of the SanDisk products this weekend. I am hoping to get the best sound quality, video is not a requirement but i will take what i get depending on which one of The SanDisks (Fuze, Fuze+, or Clip+) has the best Sound Quality. What are your thoughts?

[dgb52]

the clip+ and the fuze have the same sound quality , i have not heard the Fuze+ so i can not tell you about that

[SailMaine]

The main key here is to get something that sounds better than the ipod touch i had for the past few years.

[deadohiosky]

the problem with ipods is not so much the sound quality but rather their eq. there is practically none, other than some presets.


about fuze+: i think no one at this moment can say too much about the sound quality of the fuze+ as it was released a bit over a week ago, but one can expect that it's not going to differ much if at all from the fuze.
oh and btw, imo, at least atm the fuze+ is not the best bang for the buck, especially in the 16 gb version. 16 gb sony walkman s- and e- series are well under $100 (but no msd slot) and have much better battery life.

the clip+ is ultra portable and super cheap while being a quality player but also limited in terms of battery.

the original fuze is bigger in size but also has a "multi"-color screen, which means you can watch tiny videos, in my experience not much fun. with bigger size also comes higher battery life, about 20 hours, which ofc depends on the audio format you are using, flac for example will drop that down to under 10 hours, iirc.

if however, you want video and photo i strongly recommend the s9... along with formidable battery life.

you have to ask yourself... do you want an ipod touch replacement (e.g. s9) or a low budget high quality player (clip+, fuze(+), sony s/e).

[SailMaine]

I am looking for the lower budget player for sure, i rarely use the video or the wifi on the touch.

[SailMaine]

The sony players are looking good as well, are they compatible with windows 7? I am seeing conflicting reports.

[The DarkSide]

The Sony players ARE compatible w/Windows 7. There's a few owners here who love the automatic video conversion that Win7 does for them during transfers. And, budget wise, you can't go wrong w/a Sony E Series player. 16gb can be had for around $90.00, and that's great for the college student.