mp3 players

[Anubis]

does anyone make these anymore besides apple? i need a new one.

more storage the better 64+ GB. ideally 200+
no touch screen
no aps
no wifi
USB drag/drop interface
small

the last one i had was a creative Zen and i loved it.

do these exist anymore or is everyone being stupid and using thier phones?

 

[VashHT]

The sansa clip series is pretty nice, I got the newer clip zip and put rockbox on it and that made it a lot better. It only comes in 4 or 8Gb I think but it has microsd slot so I just threw a 64Gb card in it.

 

[QueBert]

I know you said not Apple, but I just picked up an iPod Classic 160gb. I wanted the most space in the smallest size. And this was the best I best I found. No wifi, no touch screen, no apps and fits nicely in my pocket. I'm sure Acronis has a 200+ gig one, but I found it will be small. One thing I really like about the Classic is it can normalize audio. I couldn't find many other players that did this. They just released Rockbox for the Classic 160, pretty bad ass with it imho.

 

[Zaap]

The sansa clip series is pretty nice, I got the newer clip zip and put rockbox on it and that made it a lot better. It only comes in 4 or 8Gb I think but it has microsd slot so I just threw a 64Gb card in it.

Same, just using discarded 32GB cards from my old phones. Haven't installed Rockbox, I'm gonna have to try that! I love hacking stuff.

I was weary, but my wife and I both wanted something small for the gym, solo hikes, etc. where phones make no sense. Had to have a usable screen, but not touch. We tried a couple of no-name makes and were severely let down. (Yeah, should have known.)

Took a chance on the 8GB Sansa Clip. Been using ours about 6 months and loving them. Great audio quality. Good features. MicroSD is a huge plus. Drag and drop works perfectly with both Mac and PC. Never even used the FM radio or voice recorder functions, but doesn't hurt having them.

 

[Anubis]

I know you said not Apple, but I just picked up an iPod Classic 160gb. I wanted the most space in the smallest size. And this was the best I best I found. No wifi, no touch screen, no apps and fits nicely in my pocket. I'm sure Acronis has a 200+ gig one, but I found it will be small. One thing I really like about the Classic is it can normalize audio. I couldn't find many other players that did this. They just released Rockbox for the Classic 160, pretty bad ass with it imho.

TBH main issues with the classic are itunes and the wheel. im that one dude that hates the wheel

itunes is something i never wish to install ever again

also what is rockbox?

 

[Anubis]

ill look into the sansa. to those that have one can it treat its internal 8 GB of storage and the SD card as 1? the zen i had would not let you playlist stuff that was on the player itself with stuff on the SD card. it was 1 or the other. really stupid limitation

also whats the difference between the clip and zip. they seem to be almost the same thing

 

[VashHT]

Same, just using discarded 32GB cards from my old phones. Haven't installed Rockbox, I'm gonna have to try that! I love hacking stuff.

I was weary, but my wife and I both wanted something small for the gym, solo hikes, etc. where phones make no sense. Had to have a usable screen, but not touch. We tried a couple of no-name makes and were severely let down. (Yeah, should have known.)

Took a chance on the 8GB Sansa Clip. Been using ours about 6 months and loving them. Great audio quality. Good features. MicroSD is a huge plus. Drag and drop works perfectly with both Mac and PC. Never even used the FM radio or voice recorder functions, but doesn't hurt having them.

Yeah installing rockbox was worth it just for the better UI. I'm also pretty happy with the sound output of the clip, it's a lot better than my phone and sounds great with my better headphones.

 

[Zaap]

also what is rockbox?

http://www.rockbox.org/
Alternative open source OS/firmware for MP3 players.

I used to use it years ago on a 2nd gen iPod Nano and it was awesome since it saved me from the hell of iTunes. It dual-booted the original Apple firmware anyway, so there was no downside.

to those that have one can it treat its internal 8 GB of storage and the SD card as 1? the zen i had would not let you playlist stuff that was on the player itself with stuff on the SD card. it was 1 or the other. really stupid limitation

also whats the difference between the clip and zip. they seem to be almost the same thing

I have the clip zip, I think the main difference is the zip has a larger screen. If there are other differences, I don't know.

With the zip clip, as soon as I add files, it does refresh of its database (says so on screen) and then everything is playable/playlistable as if from one location.

 

[Crono]

I wish Microsoft was still manufacturing the original 30GB Zunes and the Zune 120GB. The Zune HD was the best mp3 player overall, though, still better than anything Apple makes, in my opinion.

Right now I have a Sansa Fuze+, but I can't recommend it since the controls are too easy to accidentally press and not very responsive when you actually want to use the device. I prefer physical buttons on mp3 players.

EDT: The Zune 120GB is still selling on ebay for around $200. But they don't do drag and drop. I think Sansa is probably still your best bet for those.

 

[olds]

I've had my Sansa clip for about 3 years. Still going strong.
I've had two different Creative players, both junk.
My latest Creative sound card? Junk.

 

[Eruditass]

I love clip and rockbox. A while ago I compiled for someone of why I use rockbox:

Audiobooks:
- faster speed playing, including correcting the pitch
- auto stop/start with device power / headphone unplug.
- bookmarks, autobookmark on stop, recent bookmarks
- auto-rewind on playback
- dynamic range compression (good for noisy environments, in the car, etc)

I just leave it in the car and plugged in to the charger. When I turn on the car, it rewinds it a set amount and begins playing.

Other:
- advanced parametric equalizer
- fast forward tweaks (accelerate faster, slow down near beginning/end)
- ease of playlist manipulation (add this album / folder to end of my playlist, shuffle just this album or whole playlist)
- advanced crossfeed
- last.fm log support
- displaying more information, customizing the display
- recording customization (bitrate, stereo, etc)
- reading menu options / artist/song names so I can use it in the car without looking
- balance (with certain headphones, the balance is off for my ears)
- karaoke mode (for getting rid of some crappy metal vocals with otherwise good music)
- games (ok, now that I have a smartphone, I don't use this anymore)

 

[smitbret]

With the exception of the Fuze+, Sansa mp3 players are just generally good.