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mp3 players revisited
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I remember some discussion a while ago about mp3 players good for running, but back then I wasn't in the market for one so I ignored it. But now I am and i did a search thru the archives and found nothing.

So I'm hoping y'all wouldn't mind and let me know which mp3 player you think works best for running. I'm hoping to keep the price under $200. Thanks in advance.

Earl.
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Re: mp3 players revisited [earl] [ In reply to ]
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I got the Nike 128MB version several months ago. I probably use it about 4-5 hrs/week. Twice I've had it lock up during playback, both times on the same song, at the exact same place. However, that is the only problem that I have had with it. Everything else is great.
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Re: mp3 players revisited [earl] [ In reply to ]
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$299 - IPOD.
10Gigs, 2500 songs, 8hrs of battery life. Not even the athletes on this site can run far enough to outlast that amount of music.
go to apple.com - works with PCs as well.
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Re: mp3 players revisited [earl] [ In reply to ]
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I don't own one myself (yet), but of all the portable flash-based music players available, iRiver is my favourite. The top-of-the-line models with 512mb are a little over your target price range, but the smaller capacity models fit the bill.


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Re: mp3 players revisited [earl] [ In reply to ]
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The nike's aren't memory expandable and the Rio sport is kinda big and chunky, but they both can get nice and sweaty and not miss beat! Other models, IRiver, ipod look pretty nice too. there are lots of cool models from asia if you look around on line
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Re: mp3 players revisited [Tai] [ In reply to ]
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Tai brings up a good point I should have mentioned before. I'd like to be able to expand the memory later on, and with all the rain we have been having lately i'd like something water resistant or even water proof (if that's possible). other functions like shuffle and FM tuner would be nice as well. Any other suggestions? Thanks. Earl.
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Re: mp3 players revisited [earl] [ In reply to ]
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Although its 50% outside your price target, iPod wins hands down over any other player out there. 2500 songs. Best sound. Best support. Works w/Macs or PCs. Smaller than many. Nearly bombproof. Save your pennies for another month and get the iPod. Save two months worth and get the middle range iPod with 3700 songs and an included synch cradle with USB and Firewire support. Great product.
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Re: mp3 players revisited [earl] [ In reply to ]
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Costco has the 64 meg Rio Sport on sale for I think $100. They also sell the 256 meg SD chips for $70 - so you are at 320 Mb of music for less than $200. Unit is durable, but the headphones are marginal.
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Re: mp3 players revisited [JohnA] [ In reply to ]
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{Costco has the 64 meg Rio Sport on sale for I think $100. They also sell the 256 meg SD chips for $70 - so you are at 320 Mb of music for less than $200. Unit is durable, but the headphones are marginal.}

I don't understand. 64 megs gives you about 12 songs. 320m megs at $200 is still pathetic compared to 10GIGS for only $99 more.

Get the IPOD!
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Re: mp3 players revisited [Herschel34] [ In reply to ]
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I do the mac thing. How do you carry the ipod when running. I have a mini disk that I don't like it to run with ,skipping problem. How is the ipod for skipping ? thanks Dirt
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Re: mp3 players revisited [dirtball!] [ In reply to ]
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I have an older iPod which is a little heavy, but the new ones are lighter and smaller. They use electronic files so no skipping at all unless your track was skipping when you saved it to your computer.
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Re: mp3 players revisited [earl] [ In reply to ]
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I have the Panasonic SV-SD80. It's tiny, takes SD cards so very expandable and runs 18hours off the internal battery. It also comes with a waterproof (ok, showerproof) case with a beltclip and can hold an additional battery for up to 50 hours playback. I've verified those times btw.

About $250 so a little higher than your upper limit but you might be able to find it cheaper.
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Re: mp3 players revisited [earl] [ In reply to ]
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Earl,

I just broke down and bought an MP3 player as well. I went with a 15GB iPOD last week. I know it is outside of your price range, but so far, so great! I went on a 3 hour ride and never had to touch it once. Super light and super thin so don't even feel it i.e, - no draft and light as my pedals. : )

Buuut. If you have a PC like some of us who haven't found the extra $$$$ for an Apple Gn, be prepared for trials and tribulations and some extra $$$. If your PC has firewire (check your sound card) or you have USB 2.0, you should be ok except for the extra $ for a USB 2.0 cable.

Otherwise, be prepared to spend about $50 on a firewire card or USB 2.0 card. Getting the Ipod to work on a PC can be character building. My suggestion is to go with an Adaptec 4300 if you need/want firewire.

For more useful information than my $0.02 on the ipod, check out www.ipodlounge.com. Good luck!
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Re: mp3 players revisited [Herschel34] [ In reply to ]
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Don't get me wrong here - iPod's are cool as hell and I dig the integration with iTunes (which my rio also does). I am a mac freak with a dual g4 desktop and a g4 notebook, and generally love all things apple - including the iPod.

The iPod, in my opinion, is not the ideal product for this application for a few reasons:

1) It is heavy. While this is not such a big deal on the bike (not that you should use one on the bike...), compared to my little rio that weighs close to nothing, the iPod is a brick that can only fit in a hydration or other running belt - and only ones with large enough pockets, meaning that my current belt wouldn't work. My Rio, on the other hand, fits perfectly in my running belt and also has an arm strap that I can use for shorter runs.

2) It has moving parts. The rio has no moving parts and a rubber coated case. I can toss this thing in my gym bag without worrying about screwing the disk drive up or anything like that.

3) It is too pretty. The iPod is a beautiful piece of equipment, but the damn things scratch easily. My little Rio is designed to handle this stuff with the rubberized case.

4) The stupid battery thing. Last time I checked (just prior to the new iPod coming out) the iPod had a rechargable battery that could not be replaced. Granted, the life expectancy is something like five years, but once the battery was dead, the machine became a paperweight unless you sent it off to Apple for repair.

5) It is expensive. I have the Rio with 128meg - paid $139 for it at The Good Guys. It holds an hour and a half of CD quality music - more than enough to get me through a long run. If I decide to invest in a 256 upgrade I will still be in at just over $200, with enough music to get me through three long workouts a week without listening to the same track twice.
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Re: mp3 players revisited [earl] [ In reply to ]
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I've just bought myself an iPod and love it. Weighs about 170g holds 30Gb of music (500-600 CDs worth) and battery lasts about 8 hours.

I haven't tried it with running/cycling etc. yet so I can't offer an opinion in that regard, but it's a beautiful piece of equipment. Excellent sound from the included headphones too.

Not waterproof etc., but there are plenty of after-market cases available for it, so you might be able to find a splashproof cover on the net.
Last edited by: WebSwim: Aug 4, 03 18:26
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Re: mp3 players revisited [earl] [ In reply to ]
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I have had the Rio S35S for about 9 months now, and absolutely love it. As one of the other posters said, it is lightweight, straps to the arm, and seems durable. Mine has 128MB internal, and I have a 128MB SD card installed, which together hold 55 mp3s. I also have seen a Sandisk 256MB card at Costco for $70. It has an FM tuner, but I've never used it. I run with mine all the time, and recommend different headphones than the junk it comes with.

I've never used an Ipod, and I hear it is an AWESOME machine, but it is larger, and it is a hard-drive based player. This means that is has moving parts, and could potentially skip while running, though I don't know if that is likely. I used to run with a Sony minidisc player that they called "virtually unshockable" due to its 40-second anti-skip memory buffer, and it skipped plenty when I was cruising on the trails. I know that a minidisc is much different than an mp3 player, but because of the skipping, I elected to stick with a flash memory player (absolutely no moving parts) and chose the Rio. I've been very satisfied.
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THE PERFECT MP3 [earl] [ In reply to ]
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OK, I have had the Nike (both with Rio and Philips), and the IPOD-the Nike has crapped out on me a few times from rain (although they say you can run in the rain with it) and sweat. The IPOD is not water resistant, and has less battery life then the Nike (WHICH ALSO SUCKS). Then I found this sony-

Its a quarter of the size of the IPOD, a quarter of the weight, holds internally about 165 songs, and has a ridiculous battery life over 30 hours (a sony lithium internal battery). This is from my experience, not what Sony says (which I put below from their website). You can also add another chip that would hold another 90 songs or so. THE BEST PRODUCT OUT THERE BAR NONE!!!. the only problem (and this is with every player) is that it is not waterproof-but since it is so small, I discovered how to water proof it. Just wrap it in 2 layers of cellaphane and tape the end with electrical tape-works perfectly.

From the website:

Sony Network Walkman® Digital Music Player
NW-MS70D
Sony’s NW-MS70D Network Walkman® Digital Music Player is the latest solution from Sony for listening to digital music on the go. Small enough to carry in your pocket or purse, this titanium device comes equipped with 256MB of embedded memory allowing you to store 178 songs. The Internal Battery provides up to 33 hours of continuous Playback (ATRAC3 Playback), and the Magic Gate Memory Stick® Duo™ expansion slot allows you to take along even more music! The NW-MS70D also plays back ATRAC3™ Audio, supports MP3, WMA and WAV, and is supplied with Music Management Software for creating music mixes for transfer at super fast speed. Plus - our Skip-Proof Design (No Moving Parts) keeps your music playing smoothly despite your active lifestyle. Take your digital music to go with the NW-MS70D.

THE LINK: http://www.sonystyle.com/...0s0buNFy&Dept=pa
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Re: mp3 players revisited [earl] [ In reply to ]
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I use a Sony Minidisc player. I like it because I can load MP3s on it or record discs or even radio programs. The media is removeable (the discs) so I can pick different music to listen to without reloading from the computer. The discs also hold around 7 albums in compressed mode. There is a sports version which is water resistant, not waterproof. The only moving part is the disc and I have never had it skip. I use it at the gym, and in my car, I dont run with it. You can get it for under $200.



Email me if you have any questions.




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Re: mp3 players revisited [earl] [ In reply to ]
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I've had a Samsung yepp' for 2 years now and really like it.I wanted to get my wife one but they don't make it anymore. So I got her a Creative Labs Nomad.It's really small almost to small.But don't get one! The battery lasts only 2 or 3 workouts and I had 2 stop working. The last time they wouldn't replace it because it had been to long since I bought it. I e-mail Creative Labs but they didn't even reply.When I get another it'll probably be a a differnt model from Samsung or maybe the Ipod.

Dave
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Re: mp3 players revisited [baddog590] [ In reply to ]
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I have a couple of MP3 players including an iRiver CD/MP3 player and a NEX IIe. I bought this one from and e-bay store (some guy imports them from HK). It's $99 and takes FlashCards. I like how I can run a variety of flash cards. I have one for training (with only good training songs). I've only had it lock up because of dead batteries. It gets good batt life, is small and came with a clip case. It's also uses non-SDMI compliant upgradeable flashware software. I was nervous about buying from ebay, but had no complaints and received good customer support. The headphones that come with it suck, but who cares.

search for NEX IIE on ebay. I see they're even cheaper ($109 including 128mb flashcard!)

GB
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Re: mp3 players revisited [grabujosmi] [ In reply to ]
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NEX IIE

This product interests me as does the Rio. Although I have 2 concerns. first, can this unit be strapped onto my arm? I did not see this anywhere in browsing the net for this product. Just the belt clip. And second, does the belt clip a 'pouch' or does it attach to the unit directly. If it's a pouch,does it offer any water protection? Thanks for your reply. John.
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Re: mp3 players revisited [earl] [ In reply to ]
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I love my iPod (5GB) as I can create playlists...(fast run) (med-jog) etc...so I just click on the pace I am going for and play those songs! They even make an arm band (mareware) for it in a hard shell neoprene so you can sweat all you want. I use the Sony ear buds($50) as they are rubbery and stick in your ears and don't slip out.

The only problem I ever have it find enough songs for each pace!

-Trisha
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Classic [ In reply to ]
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I'm doing just fine with my "Classic" "thats the name of the company) mp3 player. I don't remember whether it's from Circuit City or Best Buy but you can get it in 64mb (expandable to 128mb) for less than fifty bucks. I like it because it is wickedly lite and runs cheaply. It uses one AA battery and that lasts for ten- twenty hours. I don't know for sure what it weighs in grams, but I do know it weighs even less than the AA battery. My advice, go cheaper, spend the rest on your bike.
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