Lesbian Students - review by Danielmayu33216| Author | Post |
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| greg Member  Thinking real hard about Katsirk 793 Posts 12/06 |  Posted - Dec 20 2007 : 1:00PMIt needs to be: -cheap -simple use Important: I don't use the traditional internet, I only use with my mobile phone , so... I want to load if applicable without a net connection. I do have a PC , so I can load from Hard drive only.  [Link] |
| conquistador Deactivated User Hellhamster. 2947 Posts 10/03 | Posted - Dec 20 2007 : 1:53PM I also say skip the iPod and get a Creative Zen Stone. It feels a lot nicer to be carrying around something that is less then 40 bucks then a shiny new iPod. But that is just me. I have dropped my zen 7 storied. that would have killed an ipod. just saying.  [Link] |
| RandomPrecision Senior Member Enjoy! 8175 Posts 3/06 | Posted - Dec 20 2007 : 6:42PM First of all. How much space do you need? You need to ask yourself a few questions. How much music do you own and how much do you think you might buy in the next 3 years or so? Next question. How important is sound quality? If you like for the sound quality to be virtually indistinguishable from CD, you're going to need to rip your music at higher bit rates. I would say at least 200 kbps to be on the safe side. I rip all my stuff at 320 but that's because I just want to rip it at the highest bit rate MP3 can give me. I can't really usually tell the difference starting at about 192 kbps. 128 kbps is probably the lower threshold unless you just don't care about sound quality at all. And even then, you can hear some very noticeable artifacts in the high frequency areas if you're listening for them. Obviously, the higher the bit rate, the more space you need on your player. My player has 4 gigs. It was enough for me at first but it's getting a little cramped. I can, sort of offset this by just deleting some of it that I rarely listen to but it's just nicer if you have plenty of room to spare in the first place so you're not constantly trying to manage your collection. You may not hardly ever listen to it but it's nice to know it's there when you want it and you won't have to dock with your computer to get it. If you're any kind of music lover at all, I would recommend a lower limit of 8 gigs. And that's probably a minimum that a music lover would eventually find confining. This is the problem with flash based players. They tend to be more reliable than hard drive based players (since there are no moving parts) but flash chips are expensive compared to hard drives. I prefer chip-based so I'm stuck with limited storage. Unfortunately, MP3 players are hot right now and they sell themselves so they have no incentive to sell them cheap. You can get a cheap one and it might actually be decent but there are no guarantees. You almost can't go wrong with an entry level Nano but it's probably gonna cost upwards of $100. I have a Sandisk Sansa 4 gig model that I like. It has some limitations and isn't the nicest player around. Circuit City has the 8 gig model of the same player for $129. Admittedly, that's expensive but it's a decent player. The headphones it comes with are junk though so if you like good sound, plan on spending about $20-$40 extra for better ones. That's pretty much standard. The headphones that come with most of them are garbage that I wouldn't pay $10 for. Koss has a couple of decent headphones in the $20-$40 range. As does Sennheiser. They're not the bud type though. Good earbuds are quite expensive. And they don't always fit in your ears well. Poor fit = poor sound and comfort. The headband ones look a little dorky if you have to wear them in public but they offer better sound, fit and comfort. I bought a pair of Shure canal phones that cost $100 and took them back a week later. The sound was OK but the fit was terrible and they made my ears ring even at low volume. Not worth the money. Anyway, the cool thing about the Sansa that I have is that it has drag and drop file transfer capability (not sure if that's the case with an iPod). You don't necessarily need any additional software but you have to make sure your files are tagged correctly or trying to find what you want to play is just a mess. If it isn't tagged properly, chances are the Sansa firmware will just label it "Unknown File" and you'll have to play it to know what it is. I use Media Monkey to tag my files. It's freeware and works pretty good. The battery can be replaced in the Sansa with an eyeglass screwdriver. The replacement battery costs around $20. But you probably won't have to replace it for at least a year (depending on how much you use it). Probably longer. It will last about 15 hours on a charge and charges in about 3 hours connected to USB. The Creative Zen also looks like a decent player. But I've never used one. It gets mixed reviews. But then, most things do. Whatever you get, I would try and resist the temptation to go as cheap as humanly possible. I've almost never been fully satisfied when I did that. I always end up wishing I'd just bit the bullet and laid down the cash to start with. If you like music as much as I do, you won't regret buying a nice player. You'll feel the sting in your wallet initially but the enjoyment you'll get out of it will more than justify it. Of course, as CQ says, if you tend to mistreat things, it's a PITA to have something that expensive and always be worrying you're gonna break it. I'm very gentle with my electronics so if I buy something and it lasts longer than a week, it'll probably last me years. [Link] |
| conquistador Deactivated User Hellhamster. 2947 Posts 10/03 | Posted - Dec 20 2007 : 7:09PM It charges via USB and doesn't need batteries, the charge lasts give or take 10 hours. But the best thing for me is that I can treat it like a gorilla and not worry about scratching up a screen or anything. And yes, like almost all stock mp3 player earbuds they do suck for bass response. I have seriously accidently gotten my player covered with acetone and aside from being a bit solvent smelly it still worked. And I won't care if it gets lost or damaged at 40 bucks. and the file structure is nice, I can use it as a flash drive, it has a copy of firefox portable on it right now and lots of metal. just my recommendation. I like to leave my valuables at home. [Link] |
| greg Member Thinking real hard about Katsirk 793 Posts 12/06 | Posted - Dec 20 2007 : 7:40PM Actually this is a gift for Christmas. My brother is wanting to get one for my son, but he knows less than I do about the subject. From reading other threads of mine you most likely already know my son is a special needs child. Anything with complexity will not work for him . He is also rough on the equipment. I would love to be able to pick something that could store without being limited to the PC. Not sure it is possible , but I have a satellite and would love to save his music there from a music channel . Otherwise I will be pulling stuff from my CDs to the PC , and then the ipod or whatever. But he just wants something to call an IPod it can be almost anything that he can listen to music with. I am so ignorant of this stuff , and just haven't kept up with the technology . It seems like the best thing , in comparison to buying a CD every week , so I want to learn with this , and try some of RPs ideas later with a system I could take care of for my own use. [Link] |
| conquistador Deactivated User Hellhamster. 2947 Posts 10/03 | Posted - Dec 20 2007 : 7:50PM It is a directory all your own except you must navigate with buttons blindly. There is a version with a screen but I don't know anything about your boy's reading and so on. So if it is just for your kid unless you want to help him till he gets used to it (he will, plus a good thing is it has built in volume limiting software so you can set all your music to play at say 80% of max, saves your hearing for later in life) the zen stone might be aggrivating. Though he might like the idea of memorizing a file structure....? [Link] |
| RandomPrecision Senior Member Enjoy! 8175 Posts 3/06 | Posted - Dec 20 2007 : 9:57PM What you're looking for is probably completely different from what I assumed. You might be able to do it for about $40. Plus, maybe $20 for some nicer headphones. But I think you're right. I think your son would probably do better with something simple. Unfortunately, I can't make a recommendation because that wasn't what I was looking for when I bought mine. I know there are some very simple and affordable players on the market but I don't know much about them beyond that. The Ipod Shuffle is a simple, relatively affordable player but I don't think it has a screen. That might turn out to be more difficult than a more complex player with a screen. I also don't know anything about satellite. I suppose it's feasible that there might be some way that you could do it but I don't know how. Anyway, given what you've said, maybe you can play around with some display models somewhere and see if you think they might be too complicated. They often do have displays at places like Best Buy. Most models with a screen are relatively straightforward once you get them set up. You might have to transfer the files for him but once you do, assuming everything is properly tagged, it's pretty easy to scroll through and pick what you want to listen to. I can recommend the models with scroll wheels. They're much easier to use than a bunch of buttons. Does your son have any problems navigating folders on a computer? If not, that's pretty much what it is. [Link] |
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