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Topic: Best MP3 player for ~$140 (Read 7383 times) previous topic - next topic
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Best MP3 player for ~$140

I have about $140 dollars to spend on an MP3 player.

I am planning on buying this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16855102035

My question is, does anybody know a better mp3 player for the same price that I should go for?  Or is this the best I can get?

Best MP3 player for ~$140

Reply #1 –
Quote from: Nuthen on
I have about $140 dollars to spend on an MP3 player.

I am planning on buying this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16855102035

My question is, does anybody know a better mp3 player for the same price that I should go for?  Or is this the best I can get?


In your price range a player worth considering is the Cowon D2, also available at NewEgg.

I own one and love it: plays MP3, Flac, OGG, WAV, WMA. Also AVI video, JPG images, Flash games, skinnable, views TXT files, has a stylus-driven notepad, and more. Expandable SDHC slot has boosted my player from 4GB to 12GB. USB connect, drag-and-drop or use Windows Media Player to synchronize your files.

Best MP3 player for ~$140

Reply #2 –
It has only 4GB.  I know it has more audio support and a few more features, but my main needs are good sound quality (I know the Cowon has good audio as well) and a bigger hard drive.  Maybe I should have mentioned that.

Best MP3 player for ~$140

Reply #3 –
Both are excellent players, but personally I'd choose the cowon over the creative. And is the small size such a problem when you can put 8 or even 16GB SDHC cards in? How much space do you need?

Best MP3 player for ~$140

Reply #4 –
The Zen's are nice but I hear that they are little lacking in build quality.  I have had many different players over the years and the new Sony that I got @ Best Buy for $149: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?ku...d=1200702543108
The sound quality on this thing is absolutely the best that I have come accross.  It is built solid and you can just drop and drag.  Not as much memory as the Zen, but sound quality is truly worth a listen.  By the way if you buy this @ Best Buy and pay for the 2 yr. replacement garuntee &19.99 you have peice of mind.

Best MP3 player for ~$140

Reply #5 –
Quote from: AliL on
Both are excellent players, but personally I'd choose the cowon over the creative. And is the small size such a problem when you can put 8 or even 16GB SDHC cards in? How much space do you need?

I have about 17GB in my music library.  But I probably have about 4-5GB that I don't really listen to

I'm just asking for  a compelling reason to get the Cowon over the Zen if my main priorities are sound quality and HD size.  If I get the 4GB version, I will have to pay another $50 for a 16GB SDHC card

Best MP3 player for ~$140

Reply #6 –
Well you now have to decide which is more important, the cost or the sound quality. The cowon is more expensive for the memory size, but is second to none in the sound quality stakes. Assuming you have a decent set of headphones that is. They'll all sound average with the stock earbuds. Then again I've heard good things about the headphones with the sony that was posted above, it's meant to have some of the best bundled headphones that you can get. But of course nothing beats buying a set of better 'phones as well.

Personally If you can stretch the budget, I'd recommend the cowon, but the zen is a perfectly good player in its own right. However if you want to add extra memory later by means of an SD card, the songs won't integrate themselves into the main memory's library. You can't even view the songs on the SD card via ID3 tags, it's back to good old folder structure browsing. So, it treats the SD card as a seperate entity.

Are you after any other functions such as video playback, or is it just music you're interested in?

Best MP3 player for ~$140

Reply #7 –
Just music.  I won't bother trying to watch movies on those screens.

But I think I'm going to get the Cowon, actually, since I've had time to think about it.  Maybe when those 32GB SDHC cards reduce in price I'll get me one of those.

BTW, I'm actually going to use this player with a pair of speakers, also.  If I use my mp3 player instead of my integrated sound card on my laptop, will it sound any better?  I'm assuming it does

Best MP3 player for ~$140

Reply #8 –
Be warned if you go the Creative route, I've currently worn out 2 of their players, (a MuVo and a Stone) each averaging about 3-4 months of heavy use. To be fair the MuVo was designed pretty poorly (you essentially have to break the thing in half to connect to the USB,) but the stone seemed pretty solid... guess it wasn't. The Sony I had before that lasted closer to a year.

I'm thinking my next player will be a Cowon.

Best MP3 player for ~$140

Reply #9 –
Nuthen, I think you've made a wise choice.

I see no reason why it wouldn't be better than your laptop's audio as it's supposed to be a VERY high (sound) quality player.

If I wasn't totally broke I'd buy one as well, but I guess I'll have to wait till I have some more money.

Enjoy your new DAP.

Best MP3 player for ~$140

Reply #10 –
Quote
BTW, I'm actually going to use this player with a pair of speakers, also. If I use my mp3 player instead of my integrated sound card on my laptop, will it sound any better? I'm assuming it does


Depending on what you actually have in your laptop, plus the electrical interference, then yes, your mp3 player could sound better if you hooked your speakers up to it.  Only thing is mp3 players usually don't have a strong amp so it may not be able to send a strong enough impulse to the speakers if they require a lot of power.
foobar 0.9.6.8
FLAC -5
LAME 3.98 -V3

Best MP3 player for ~$140

Reply #11 –
Is there any way for someone to determine whether it would be strong enough?  I'm using a set of M-Audio Studiophile AV40 speakers.

Best MP3 player for ~$140

Reply #12 –
Ok, I am a bit undecided.  On amazon, I can get a 4GB Cowon D2 for $145 brand new, but I could also get a 8GB version for about the same price, but it is refurbished. 

Do you think I should just go for the refurbished one?

Best MP3 player for ~$140

Reply #13 –
Quote from: Nuthen on
Ok, I am a bit undecided.  On amazon, I can get a 4GB Cowon D2 for $145 brand new, but I could also get a 8GB version for about the same price, but it is refurbished. 

Do you think I should just go for the refurbished one?

The general consensus on Woot's forums is that refurbished = sucks.
I, on the other hand, believe refurbished products (being the only modern electronic items which actually get a hands-on inspection) are more likely than new products to not be D.O.A.
Creature of habit.

Best MP3 player for ~$140

Reply #14 –
Quote
Is there any way for someone to determine whether it would be strong enough? I'm using a set of M-Audio Studiophile AV40 speakers.


See what the mW output per channel is on the player.  18mW was like the old irivers and they could go loud.  Anything less probably won't cut it....but then they weren't designed with that in mind.

Quote
Do you think I should just go for the refurbished one?


No go on refurbished electronics...especially if you're spending over $100 on it.
foobar 0.9.6.8
FLAC -5
LAME 3.98 -V3

Best MP3 player for ~$140

Reply #15 –
I look and the D2 has 37mW per channel

Best MP3 player for ~$140

Reply #16 –
Sounds like that's plenty then. I know this seems a silly question now, but no-one else brought it up. Are these speakers powered by the stereo jack connection, or do they use power from the mains as well?

Personally, I don't see any problem with refurbished electronics as long as you get a warranty with it. As soap said, a new product might no ever be touched or tested by a person, whereas a refurbished product will have been and all of the parts will have been checked that they are ni perfect working order.

I've got a netgear router that was refurbished and it's served me well over the last 2 years.

Best MP3 player for ~$140

Reply #17 –
If the speakers are powered, you should use lineout anyway.  In that case the output power is irrelevant.

Best MP3 player for ~$140

Reply #18 –
Quote from: AliL on
Sounds like that's plenty then. I know this seems a silly question now, but no-one else brought it up. Are these speakers powered by the stereo jack connection, or do they use power from the mains as well

They are powered through an outlet, if that's what you were asking

Best MP3 player for ~$140

Reply #19 –
Then as the speakers are what you call "active", because they are actively powered from elsewhere you really don't need to worry about the output of the player as it will be "amplified" by the speakers anyway. In this case, you might only need to worry about the power output if you are trying to power some really power thirsty headphones, like some Sennheiser HD650's.