mp3 player for my girlfriend

[capt_cornflake]

I've heard about the Sony software being a PITA, but the new ones (x18 instead of x08) have drag and drop using windows explorer I thought??

Is there anyway to flash the older Sony's to use drag and drop? As at the moment the 8gb Sony one (which her sis has got) is reduced at Argos.

My missus just got a Sony NWZA818W (in girly pink), and while the manual does try and push you down the route of using WMP, it does also allow you to use drag and drop.

It's not something I would even consider using myself, but she is delighted with it.

[TooNice]

To be honest, I think that a lot of 'techie' overlook the 'iPods' for the same reason why many get iPods (it's association with being a fashion accessory). I wouldn't say that all iPods are amazing MP3 players, but there are a few deserve to be on most people's short list for reasons other than being a fashion accessory at least at some point in time.

If I was given the choice of any MP3 players I could get hold of, I would probably lean toward a Rockboxed, iModded, 5.5G iPod.

That said, given the budget and 8GB requirement, I think that a player from the Sandisk Sansa line would best fit the bill (to be fair I've only tried one of them for less than an hour, but it delivers especially for the price). A Nano is almost twice the £60 budget unless I am looking at the wrong places, and even the iAudio 7 (good alternative) is a good £40 dearer.

[Marcos]

To be honest, I think that a lot of 'techie' overlook the 'iPods' for the same reason why many get iPods (it's association with being a fashion accessory). I wouldn't say that all iPods are amazing MP3 players, but there are a few deserve to be on most people's short list for reasons other than being a fashion accessory at least at some point in time.

If I was given the choice of any MP3 players I could get hold of, I would probably lean toward a Rockboxed, iModded, 5.5G iPod.

That said, given the budget and 8GB requirement, I think that a player from the Sandisk Sansa line would best fit the bill (to be fair I've only tried one of them for less than an hour, but it delivers especially for the price). A Nano is almost twice the £60 budget unless I am looking at the wrong places, and even the iAudio 7 (good alternative) is a good £40 dearer.

what is imodded?

[TooNice]

Red Wine Audio iMod.

It's not cheap, and it's not going to make the iPod's screen better at video playback than the Creative M:Vision, add a radio or double the battery capacity. I doubt that the mod will make night and day level of difference, and people probably should get an upper-end pair of IEM and/or headphones before considering it. But I also think it's the techie in me that's making me rather interested about the player.

Sound quality is my top priority when picking an MP3 player, and it just so happened that some iPod are worthy contestants. Pretty much the only feature that I would like to see added to the iPod 5.5G (I know nothing about the 'Classic') is an optical line-out.

[capt_cornflake]

Red Wine Audio iMod.

It's not cheap, and it's not going to make the iPod's screen better at video playback than the Creative M:Vision, add a radio or double the battery capacity. I doubt that the mod will make night and day level of difference, and people probably should get an upper-end pair of IEM and/or headphones before considering it. But I also think it's the techie in me that's making me rather interested about the player.

Sound quality is my top priority when picking an MP3 player, and it just so happened that some iPod are worthy contestants. Pretty much the only feature that I would like to see added to the iPod 5.5G (I know nothing about the 'Classic') is an optical line-out.

So you recommended the iPod 5.5g for sound quality, but need to make a mod to the internal circuitry to improve the sound quality? Hmmm....

iRiver and Cowan used to make a variety of players suitable for high end audio (and my old iRiver H140 even had optical in/out), but unfortunately obviously didn't sell enough and decided to chase the iPod market instead.
If you were serious about sound quality being your main concern, I'd look into trying to find one of those old school players. By todays standards the screens are pretty rubbish, and they might be a bit bulkier, but I've not seen any models available in the last couple of years that look like they could beat my old H140 for sound quality (just a shame I killed the battery ). Oh and you can still stick Rockbox on it as well.

[lstt]

welcome back!

[Betty_Swallocks]

Am I the only one who saw the thread title and thought that we'd need to see a photo of her to know whether it would be a fair swap?

[TooNice]

^

So you recommended the iPod 5.5g for sound quality, but need to make a mod to the internal circuitry to improve the sound quality?

[...]

I've not seen any models available in the last couple of years that look like they could beat my old H140 for sound quality (just a shame I killed the battery ).

Nothing can't be improved upon. It's akin as saying that the Westone UM2 are very good, but a custom mould might be able to take it even further. But even at stock, the 5G hold do own against what was available (I compared it next to the iAudio X5, and Creative M:Vision) and probably older players too (I don't want to comment too strongly since such comparisons would be from memory with significant time lapse).

I liked the iRiver H140 for it's optical out (more so than the default headphone out) but it died (followed by a Rio Karma), and both are too difficult to replace. The ones listed on Ebay tend to be well used, so who knows how long they'll last. And to be fair, optical out is only useful if you invest in an external DAC superior to what is found in other MP3 players. So there is also an added cost here, and it is a significantly less portable solution.