Mac but no iPod?

[wgjones3]

I've been looking for a way to automatically sync podcasts to my Panasonic mp3 player from my Mac for a while now. I finally found it!

http://www.nesfield.co.uk/synctunes/

This thing works great.

[Ransom v. Unman]

Most people I know have the opposite problem – iPod, but no Mac.

That's quickly changing, however. >.<

[wgjones3]

I had planned on getting an iPod after graduation, but now I think my next mp3 player might be a Cowon iAudio I7 - native support for flac and ogg, rated by cNet as having one of the lowest signal-to-noise ratios on the market, 60 hour battery life, plus one of the best frequency ranges of any mp3 player out. As a music player, it certainly seems more attractive to me than anything Apple's got to offer.

Now, if I were looking for a video player, a 32 gig iPod Touch woud be hard to beat.

[Ransom v. Unman]

I really know close to nothing about the subject of personal audio, as it's a hobbie that's always been far outside of my price-range, though the appeal of having a portable MP3 player grows stronger and stronger.

So, Mr. Jones, would you be so kind as to inform me (and others) on some things that would be good selling points/things to look for in an MP3 player?

[wgjones3]

A buyer's guide for mp3 players. Well, the first thing you need to know is that there are two basic types of mp3 players. Flash players or hard disk players. Hard disk players have huge storage capacity. For example, the current iPod classic has an 80 GB disk as it's entry-level point. Hard drive players are more fragile than flash players, so if you drop one while the disk is spinning, it may damage the disk and brick your player. Also, the disk uses more energy which means shorter battery life.

Flash players are solid state, you can bounce them off the floor and the music won't skip. That's what you want if you're going to be doing any kind of exercise with your payer, or if you've got a rough commute. Plus, flash player are generally cheaper.

That said, there three things you want to look for in whichever type of mp3 player you chose. You want good battery life, low singal-to-noise ratio (or is a high ratio better--I always forget), and support for the kind of files you use most.

For example, if you're into audio books, most players now support Audible.com files. However, since this has to be licensed, a lot of cheaper players don't. Same goes for Plays-For-Sure wma files from a music subscription service. If you've bought music from a Plays-For-Sure service (such as the URGE store), you won't be able to play it on an iPod. If you've already bought music from iTunes, then you're pretty much forced into either a) buying an iPod, or b) burning every song you've purchased onto a CD, then re-ripping those songs from the CD into a format your new player will handle. Big pain.

Battery life is a huge issue for me because I'm cheap and I don't like the idea of buying a $100+ device that will be useless whenever the built-in rechargeable battery dies because that battery is non-replaceable. However, with iPods and some non-Apple players, an aftermarket is springing up to provide replacement batteries. This is nice. And the aftermarket batteries usually last longer per charge than the OEM. Bad part is installing them.

Most user-replaceable batteries are AAA. I don't like AAA because you're looking at twenty hours or so of play time per battery. An efficient AA battery-powered player can last four times as long. But the market seems to hate AA battery-powered players because they're slightly bigger and heavier.

When I got my Panasonic, the #1 thing I was concerned with was battery life. I didn't want a device with a built-in battery that had to be charged up via usb on my computer or through a 3rd party adapter. So I got the Panasonic SV-MP020 last Christmas. 80 hours of battery life on a single AA battery--in fact, I'm only on my fifth battery since receiving the device. I use it almost every day.

The problem with it is the signal-to-noise ratio, which is not good. Basically, it's a static hiss that's present the whole time the device is on. You'll notice the same hiss is just about any electronic device, and it usually doesn't interfere with the audio quality because the music is so much louder than the hiss. But with a personal mp3 player, it can be an issue.

When I got my Panasonic, I had a pair of twenty-year-old Sony earbuds that didn't really conduct the noise, so I didn't notice it. But the earbuds didn't like being wrapped around the player and shoved in my pocket, so I went back to using the crappy earbuds that came with the device. Not only were they uncomfortable AND ugly, they transmitted quite a bit of that signal noise. Granted, the signal noise isn't bad when music is actually playing and when the music is loud, but for soft pieces, such as classical or jazz, or anytime there's a break between tracks, you get this steady hiss. It wasn't too bad though until I got a pair of Skull Candy in-ear headphones. Skull Candies are great. They have a massive frequency range--you hear quite a lot of bass, but you also get crystal-clear highs. Impressive for headphones. But they make the hiss even worse because they're too efficient. I only have to turn my player up to volume level 3 (of 25) for regular listening and that's just not enough to drown out the hiss.

So, if you're looking for an entry-level mp3 player and don't want to spend a lot on it, I'd recommend the SanDisk Sansa Clip player. It comes in 1, 2, & 4 GB versions--1 GB is a LOT of storage for music, plus the Clip has a screen so you can navigate menus, and it's a tiny device. Around Christmas, the 2 GB versions were selling locally for $50. The 1 GB version was around $30. In my mind, the built-in rechargeable battery is a drawback, but the device is cheap enough that you should get your money's worth before the battery goes completely flat. It recharges via USB, has built-in FM radio, and supports mp3, wma, and Audible. Sound quality? Eh, I haven't heard one, can't really say. But I suspect you'll get a signal hiss with it at that price.

Some of the more reputable names to look for are Apple, Creative, Sony, SanDisk, iRiver, and Cowon. You'll find hundreds of different brands of mp3 players at cut-rate prices but the quality of build and sound quality aren't that great. Before you buy, be sure to check out C|net for a comprehensive review--they look at just about every player worth having before it hits the market, and their reviews are usually spot-on.

And a word about file formats:

As for file support, FLAC is a lossless, open-source compressions scheme that retains all the original sound quality in a file that's about half the size of the original CD data. Great for classical or anything where you want the best sound quality possible.

AAC is basically the next generation of mp3. A good AAC encoding is technically superior to mp3 in that the frequency range is much better. However, I have a hard time telling the difference between an AAC file encoded at 128 kbps and 256 kbps (the new iTunes Plus encoding standard). And yes, I've listened to the same song (an iTunes free single compared to the same song in the album I purchased from iTunes plus). AAC files can be protected using DRM. Most iTunes music does contain DRM, which means the player must be synced to a user account on your computer so the music provider can track who is playing what. iTunes Plus music does not contain DRM.

MP3 is the format most people are familiar with. Using a high bitrate, you can capture some great sound in an MP3. Most of my MP3s are ripped from CDs using CD-EX, which is a LAME front-end. I usually set all the quality settings to their highest and encode at variable bitrate, and end up with just under 10 mb per song and around 100 mb per album.

WMA is Windows Media proprietary format. It's more advanced than mp3 and the smaller files sound as good as, if not better than, higher bitrate mp3s. Problem is, it's a Microsoft proprietary format. WMA files can also contain DRM.

OGG is an open-source audio compression standard that's technically superior to mp3 but few players support OGG. In theory, though, you get better sounding music from smaller files using OGG. OGG is used a lot in video games and on Linux applications.

All that said, the Cowon has a built-in rechargeable battery, but all the other specs are so great I'm willing to ignore that. I know a lot of the big-box stores have mp3 players loaded with music you can try out if you take your own headphones.

[Ransom v. Unman]

Thanks for the information, WG.

Now I know why so many of my friends are all up-and-up on the movement to standardise electronic music formats. These vested corporate interests are a bloody headache! It especially irks me with iTunes, because I hate the iTunes player, but none of my other mp3 player programmes are compatible with their format. :mad:

Anyway, i'll keep this in mind if I manage to scrounge up the money to be in the market.