Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler Need some advice about MP3 players

I'm planning on getting an mp3 player for Christmas and I've narrowed down my choices to the following 3:

• Zune
  
• Toshiba Gigabeat S60
  
• video IPod 80GB
  

I'm pretty sure I won't get the Zune, it's too boxy for my taste and it doesn't really have anything over the other two.

The Ipod is kind of expensive and I don't really care for it's interface, also I know that ITunes is supposed to be really good but I usually buy CD's and rip them so it's very unlikely I'll buy songs online.

Now I think the Toshiba seems to be a good compromise between features and price. Its main drawback is battery life.

Now one thing that bugs me with all those mp3 player reviews is that the sound quality is seldom discussed beyond a "sounds good!" type of statement. Is there any axiomite that could give me their opinion on sound quality for any of those players? What's the point of getting a fancy piece of equipment if it sounds like crap right?

Anyway any help would be appreciated!

Have you considered the Creative Zen Vision:M ?

The MP3 player won't dictate your sound quality, its the level of compression.

Generally anything below 120 compression sounds pretty bad. I don't really care for MP3s, I usually buy CDs...although I too am thinking about an MP3 player.

I would go with Ipod, check out ebay, they have awsome deals on Ipods with warranties.

They have an established iTunes store and lots of experience.

Not sure if I agree 100% with ya hutt. The equipment, including the "ear buds" or a better pair of "buds" can make a world of distance. To me the stock Creative had much better sound than the new Ipods, but that is just me. They don't distort at higher levels like the Ipods, especially in the bass category.

You are right that the level of compression is important. My only concern is that most of the players I've used in the past have poor sound quality or low volume no matter how good headphones I used. I currently have an old creative CDRW mp3 player and the sound is lacking in dynamics and volume though the files sound great on my pc.

I have considered Creative products and I actually own an old Creative mp3 player and I wasn't impressed by it. Now I understand that the Creative Zen Vision line is way better than anything Creative made in the past but I every review and customer reports I have seen seem to give the advantage to the Toshiba Gigabeat S when they're pit against one another.
Do you know how good the Creative Zen Vision:M sounds compared to the Toshiba or the Ipod?
The Ipod sounds ok to me, definitely better when using better headphones than the ones provided with it; I'm not sold on the GUI though, I like the click wheel but I don't like the Apple look much.

Interesting. I haven't really been looking at anything, but my impression was that Creative's UI was pretty darn similar to the iPod UI.

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Not sure if I agree 100% with ya hutt. The equipment, including the "ear buds" or a better pair of "buds" can make a world of distance. To me the stock Creative had much better sound than the new Ipods, but that is just me. They don't distort at higher levels like the Ipods, especially in the bass category.

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Exactly! That's my main concern. The Ipod hasn't impressed me with its sound quality and I couldn't care less for its interface, which means there's not much left for me to consider purchasing it at the price they sell.

I've only got a 1st gen shuffle and a 3rd gen full size iPod, but I've never had problems with distortion at higher sound levels--which I have to use when I plug them into the car stereo. Another thing to note is that the higher price also gives higher capacity--although at those sizes, I don't know that it really matters...

That said, if the Tosh is a better fit for you, go for it!

I have been impressed with the Sandisk series of MP3 players. Good price and sound quality, for an MP3 any way. My wife has the E series 512MB and it works great. My niece has a different Sandisk, can't remember the series but it too sounds good and was inexpensive.