Need a new mp3 player

[Ragnatz]

Okay, so I just tried tossing in the 4 players into here: http://mp3-players.findthebest.com/c...COWON-iAUDIO-9

And I think I'm now leaning towards the Sony. The battery life seems good, I think I have Mp4s, so AAC seems important, it sounds like the playlists will work well for me, and I have to admit, the karaoke mode intrigues me.

I'm a little worried about the size, since it seems to be 16GB flat, but that may still last me a while. Never-the-less, it sounds like the players that use external cards sometimes have oddities when trying to play internal and external songs together from the reviews that I've been reading on this site.

Anything else I should be aware of regarding the E475 before I go out and buy this?

[skip252]

The actual storage on any of them won't be the quoted size. On the Sony E475 the real capacity is 13.9 GB. Check the tech section on the link I provided.

Some of that may be the software that's included, idk. Most of it is the fancy dancing that all manufacturers use. See Gigabyte vs Gibibyte. It essentially the difference between a binary vs. a decimal counting of the bytes available.

BTW, it's undocumented but Cowons play AAC files just fine. All the metadata isn't properly displayed but the files work just fine. Better than the Clip Zip. That won't play AAC files longer than ~10 minutes at all without Rockbox.

BTW, there are multiple inaccuracies like that on the comparison site you used. That's why people wind up here to find the real story.

Like the Sony E475. If you can find the E465 you may find it's the better deal. Sony slimmed down the E465 for style reasons. In doing that they lost 14 hours of rated battery life. It went from 50 to 36 hours. I'd rather the player be a little larger and have the longer battery life.

[Ragnatz]

So the 465 is identical to the 475 but 14 hours longer battery?

Apparently BestBuy sells the 475 and Walmart sells the 465.

[skip252]

There may be differences in some features. You can get the ownersE465 manual here http://esupport.sony.com/US/p/model-...ls#/manualsTab. The tech specs for the E475 are in the link in my first post in this thread. You can compare and see if there's any differences other than the battery life and size that will be important to your decision.

[FreeZ5]

Originally Posted by Ragnatz

Never-the-less, it sounds like the players that use external cards sometimes have oddities when trying to play internal and external songs together from the reviews that I've been reading on this site.

You can't easily create a playlist on the Clip+ and Clip Zip using both memories (can't recall if you can with Rockbox). However, buy a 2GB Clip+, and a 32gb microSDHC card and then forget about the internal memory.

Steve

[Tapeworm]

Originally Posted by Ragnatz

Never-the-less, it sounds like the players that use external cards sometimes have oddities when trying to play internal and external songs together from the reviews that I've been reading on this site.

The Clip+ will play songs/files from both memory locations seamlessly. For example, if Shuffle is turned on, it may play 1 (or more) from the internal memory and then 1 (or more) from the external card with no hiccups.

Originally Posted by FreeZ5

You can't easily create a playlist on the Clip+ and Clip Zip using both memories (can't recall if you can with Rockbox). However, buy a 2GB Clip+, and a 32gb microSDHC card and then forget about the internal memory.

Steve

Playlists are a bit trickier. PLA format playlists can combine music from both memory locations, but M3U playlists are limited to one or the other in a single playlist.

However, there is the on-board GoList one can use and combine music from both the internal and external memory sources with the original firmware (no Rockbox needed). While convenient and you can populate this list on the player itself without the need to be hooked up to a computer (in fact, it is the only way), there is unfortunately only one of these available. You can add or delete any time you want though, so it could be more or less an "evolving" playlist.

[Ragnatz]

Gah! I'm back to not knowing which to choose again! Why can't this be easy?

[IDvsEGO]

lol...good news is any of those will be great players.

[The DarkSide]

The Sony's would be the EASIEST of the choices, since my Cowon sux with playlists, same as my clipzip.

[FreeZ5]

Originally Posted by The DarkSide

The Sony's would be the EASIEST of the choices, since my Cowon sux with playlists, same as my clipzip.

Even with Rockbox? (the cure-all to end all cure-alls? )

Steve

[skip252]

Unless you expect your library to grow or really feel the need to carry every file with you the Sony is what I would get. They're drop dead simple, reliable and playlists a really simple using Windows.

My Sony players really are the ones I prefer without Rockbox. I've been test driving my Clip Zip without Rockbox and the database refresh can be frustrating beyond belief. It's not life changing but I have a DAP for it to work the way I prefer. Waiting on database refreshes isn't at the top of my list of preferences.

The database doesn't refresh if I use a wall charger but if I connect to any PC it refreshes. It's not that long, 8-10 minutes. The problem is when you're used to no database refresh it can be irritating. I find myself not wanting to change anything because I might forget to remove it from the PC and have deal with it when I'm on the way out the door. I like to have my music rolling as I step out.

It's been my experience that combined memory .pla playlists can break during a database refresh. Not every time, but often enough where I stopped trying to use them.

The GoList is much more durable. I've found that as long as the files are in place it remains intact. If you're someone that likes on the go playlists it's nice to have but with just the one, it's limiting.

Rockbox uses playlists that include both memories. You can make them on the player or with PC software. If you make them at the PC and save them to the root of the external card you don't need to do any editing.

Bottom line. Get the Sony first. You said you prefer not to spend more than $200. After you have the Sony you may decide to add a Clip+ or Clip Zip to extend your storage. A 4 GB Clip player and a 16 GB card shouldn't run more than $60. That would leave you enough to buy yourself a beer as you enjoy the music.

[Ragnatz]

Okay, I think I'm going to try getting an E465 through Walmart. Worst case scenario, they have a 15-day return policy. I'll let you know how it goes. It has to be shipped to store, so it won't be for another week or so.

[Marvin the Martian]

Originally Posted by The DarkSide

The Sony's would be the EASIEST of the choices, since my Cowon sux with playlists, same as my clipzip.

I still say playlists suck!
Listen to an album, shuffle one artist, or shuffle all.....that's all I need to do. Much simpler than worrying about playlists.

[IDvsEGO]

Originally Posted by Marvin the Martian

I still say playlists suck!
Listen to an album, shuffle one artist, or shuffle all.....that's all I need to do. Much simpler than worrying about playlists.

thats what I do but since getting poweramp I have actually started building playlists. I do shuffle all and wen a song comes up that I think may be particularly great for an activity...working out, driving, stupid ass paperwork, playing for other people so they know how cool I am...I dump it on a playlist. So while I don't sit at my desk making playlits to synch to my phone etc etc, I am coming around to them.


OP, let us know how that sony works out for you.

[The DarkSide]

Originally Posted by Marvin the Martian

I still say playlists suck!
Listen to an album, shuffle one artist, or shuffle all.....that's all I need to do. Much simpler than worrying about playlists.

KMA, you traitor!!! I listen to albums, but why just shuffle or shuffle an artist when I can have playlists that suit my usage or mood?!?!?!

I'm telling ya', your gonna get a box of poop delivered!!!

[FreeZ5]

Personally I like playlists, since I tend not to listen to one album.

To some degree, I dedicate a player to a task. For example, the Clip that lives in my car contains mostly "driving" songs, and is usually used to "Shuffle All". However, there are a couple of playlists on there. One is a bunch of my personal favourite driving songs.

My personal player has a few playlists, eg quiet songs for bedtime or relaxing, another for activities (like walking or soon snow shovelling). But it is often used in Shuffle All mode.

Steve

[Marvin the Martian]

Originally Posted by The DarkSide

KMA, you traitor!!! I listen to albums, but why just shuffle or shuffle an artist when I can have playlists that suit my usage or mood?!?!?!

I'm telling ya', your gonna get a box of poop delivered!!!

At which point I would do this.....

[The DarkSide]

Originally Posted by Marvin the Martian

At which point I would do this.....

But, the best part would be that you had to open it FIRST!!!

[IDvsEGO]

at which point it would be...



Its official, this thread has gone to shit.

[skip252]

There's not an album in existence I want to hear all of it every time I play it. None. Using playlists is the best way I know to deal with that.

Once you learn playlists basics they're really easy to make. Most of the "I can't make a playlist" complaints are from people who haven't picked up on the basic idea or make it much more complex than it needs to be.

Good music library software makes it easy make playlists. All of them that work in MTP I've tried make them on a Sony easily. The OP (remember him?) should have a easy time of it making playlist on the PC. I'm not sure how easy using the bookmark playlists are but the directions seem simple enough.