ipods/Mp3 players

[LJazz]

I'm thinking about replacing my almost 5 years old iriver ihp-120 (20 gb) player with something more recent and maybe smaller and lighter. For those of you with mp3 players do you prefer the flash memory players which tend to be smaller but have less memory (largest at this point seems to be 32 gb ... at a price), or do you go for the hard drive players so you can carry around all (or most) of your music at one time? The ipod Classic and Microsoft Zune come in 120 gb models.

[kh1958]

I prefer a large harddrive filled with my complete itunes library--I have the 120 gb Ipod Classic.

[jazzbo]

I have a 60 iPod but I really only use about 30 at a time and I'm always taking things on and off. . . .

[Harold_Z]

I have the shuffle and the old 30 gig "classic". I use both A LOT. For everyday listening on the run the Shuffle is incredibly convenient. For more relaxed times and for traveling the 30 gig fits the bill, but it will soon be replaced by the 120. I have 27 gigs in Itunes and as soon as I exceed 30 I will get the 120 model. I have TONS of music I haven't yet loaded so it's just a matter of taking the time to put things on Itunes.

[A Lark Ascending]

I bought an 80gb ipod in July - it's still only 1/3rd full and has a vast amount of music on it. I'd probably say go as high as you can afford - I like the luxury of putting things you 'might' want to listen to rather than just the things you know you like. Just like at home, sometimes you want to be surprised.

Edited January 10, 2009 by Bev Stapleton

[LJazz]

I have the shuffle and the old 30 gig "classic". I use both A LOT. For everyday listening on the run the Shuffle is incredibly convenient. For more relaxed times and for traveling the 30 gig fits the bill, but it will soon be replaced by the 120. I have 27 gigs in Itunes and as soon as I exceed 30 I will get the 120 model. I have TONS of music I haven't yet loaded so it's just a matter of taking the time to put things on Itunes.

Do you have a daily work commute on public transportation? If so, which do you tend to take with you?

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Thanks for the responses. I have over 150 gb of music currently on my computer (mostly FLAC files of my CDs) and I have a reasonable amount to rip yet (those box sets take a while!). My intention is to separately convert all of the FLAC files to high quality mp3s for use on the portable (the FLAC files are used for wireless streaming to my home stereo). I'm leaning toward a large hard drive player so I can have everything with me, but as I commute by train to work, a really small player has its benefits too. On the other hand, we are talking about relative size here. A 120 gb player is still pretty small (probably smaller than my current 20 gb player) -- especially when I think about all of those years carrying a portable CD player around.

As a side question, how is the sound quality of the Ipod? Any one have a comparison to the Zune?

Thanks again.

Edited January 10, 2009 by LJazz

[GregK]

get the biggest capacity hard drive you can afford. My 30GB iPod is jammed full and it's a bit of a pain to have to change albums out every few days

[rockefeller center]

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Thanks for the responses. I have over 150 gb of music currently on my computer (mostly FLAC files of my CDs) and I have a reasonable amount to rip yet (those box sets take a while!). My intention is to separately convert all of the FLAC files to high quality mp3s for use on the portable (the FLAC files are used for wireless streaming to my home stereo). I'm leaning toward a large hard drive player so I can have everything with me, but as I commute by train to work, a really small player has its benefits too. On the other hand, we are talking about relative size here. A 120 gb player is still pretty small (probably smaller than my current 20 gb player) -- especially when I think about all of those years carrying a portable CD player around.

I have the Cowon D2 (a flash player with a slot for an additional SD card) which can playback FLAC, ogg vorbis, mp3, wav, wma, etc. Like you, I mostly use FLAC. The thing also has mic/line-in recording (adapter for line-in recording/external mic not included), radio and video playback.

http://www.cowonglobal.com/product_wide/pr..._D2_feature.php

Edited January 10, 2009 by rockefeller center

[BeBop]

I've got four 30GB Zunes* and a 30GB Creative xTra. (After having too many Creatives die, I've sworn off the brand. And I won't buy Apple. Or Starbucks.) Thought seriously about that Cowan, since I'm not a Microsoft fan either, but the Zunes have served me well. (Server-ed me?) Built in radio and wireless.

Never really considered flash drives. They were too small when I last shopped, and my players haven't ever skipped. I've had a couple 'drop and die', though.

* They frequently get confiscated at international borders.