MP3 advice

[SEJ]

My tunes are shot, need to buy some new ones. I mean, this poor thing, last time I did a yard sale, (a couple of years ago), it was a doosie. Found the player and one battery, but never found the battery door. Some of the buttons have never worked again. Been using rubber bands ever since to keep the batteries in.

I'm looking for something cheap, simple, and LOUD. Don't need a ton of storage and I don't want to spend a week trying to figure out how to use it.

I'm running a Giro tune up helmet, which might be part of the volume problem. Thor, if I remember right, you said the ear buds you have gave much better volume than the tune up does, it's just whether the buds fit your ears. I know some will advise not to ride with loud music, but I find I carve more aggressively if I've got some hard rock blasting away. Obviously, this is not for crowded runs.

Open for suggestions.

Scott

[Jack M]

Tinnitus is forever. I know. :(

[Gecko]

1gb shuffles are $49 I've been riding with one for 2 years and can't say enough good about both it's playing/battery time and it's reliability

[utahcarver]

SEJ: I skate and board with a 1G Shuffle ($49 dollars) and Bose earbuds with the silicone ear-thingy's ($99 dollars). If I run the volume at 60-70% I cannot hear anything else around me.

Upside: Shuffle: lowcost and I use multiple playlists to change things up a bit; VERY lightweight and VERY simple to use through a shell in winter (no GD screens); if I lose the Shuffle I go buy another one next time I have overtime at my job. Bose earbuds: Good fidelity for an economical price. Bass is better than most earbuds. Some distortion at higher volumes. I've been told to checkout SkullCandy buds instead.

Downside: Shuffle: only holds 240 songs (about 7.5 hours) of 'radioplay' trash. 200 songs of the good stuff. Bose Earbuds: I've gone through umpteen sets of the silicone earbud add-ons (but, they are free from Bose.com). The silicone buds are easy to lose and even harder to find.

Next stop for me is a 8G Nano for Christmas.

Mark

[SEJ]

Yea Jack, this is true, know it myself. Between shotguns, two stroke dirt bikes with no silencers, and standing in front of 8-12s playing guitar, I've already hosed my hearing. Probably why I'm looking for volume.

But, back to the thread. This is sounding like what I want. Who makes the shuffle? Is it an Ipod, and if so, do I need an apple to download music?

[utahcarver]

Yes, the iPod Shuffle is made by Apple. As far as I know, you need iTunes to use any iPod. I could be wrong. I was wrong once before, on my wedding day. An iPod is an MP3 player and there are many brands of MP3 players that are very nice and may suit your needs, too.

iTunes is available for both Mac and PC platforms and is free (as in free like drug dealer free). Go to apple.com and click on related iPod or iTunes icons for more information. BTW, the earbuds that come with an iPod should not be used by anyone who cares about music.

Also, please don't leave your iPod laying around the skatepark (or anywhere else) like some guy did today while he went to get a Big Gulp at 7-11. When he got back, it was gone and he kept saying he was going to hurt whoever took his iPod. Uhhhh, shouldn't you first beat up the dummy who left it to be stolen?

Mark

[SEJ]

This is sounding pretty cool. So I can download music from CDs on a PC as long as I have the free software? I didn't know if I could do that, or have to buy the tunes on line.

[Gecko]

yup all it takes it time to rip all your CD's

[SEJ]

What kind of battery does it use?

[Gecko]

I think lithium Ion rechargeable and as long as you let it run and not start/stop/ff/rev it will run for 10-12 hours min

[xxguitarist]

I got a non-apple made ipod shuffle clone from my internship this summer. Best part of it is that it doesn't require itunes, just drag & drop files.

You may be able to find something similar on ebay.

[anewell]

iPods are essentially disposable - the internal, not-designed-for-replacement battery is rechargeable a finite number of times, and that's it. However, my iPod Nano is still going strong after nearly 2 years of daily use, and I go into withdrawal without it. Also, because the modern-generation devices under 16 Gb use flash memory - no moving parts means long run times.

You can play Mp3s gotten from anywhere, or you can "buy" (rent) the tracks from Apple in their locked format. I've never bothered w/ that.

Apple makes you use iTunes to load the music onto the device - and it's horrible quality software. However, the iPod hardware is good enough that I put up with the hassle of iTunes.

Also note that while the uploading happens in iTunes, you needn't do any other functions - Ripping, tagging, organizing, etc. all can be done better by other software, all of which is Free. I like a program called "Exact Audio Copy" to rip my CDs.

I've owned other non-Apple players - a Rio and a samsung; neither were as well-polished as the Apple product.

[SEJ]

Damn, rechargeable. Is this the one you plug into your computer to re-charge? My friend has one and was telling me how cool it was, but it kept going dead mid-day on her. This is my problem with hybrid vehicles. If you could see how many Makita batteries we throw away at work each week it would blow your mind. Re-chargeable means you will be throwing the battery away eventually. I'd rather just load another AAA in and be on my way.

Thanks for all the responses, I got a feeling I'm looking for some old school stuff that is no longer available. I want replaceable batteries, not something I have to remember to charge.

[anewell]

For me, the recharging isn't a bother at all. My Nano goes 4 or 5 days between recharges w/ a 2-3 hours of use per day. Recharge generally takes under 30 minutes. Folks having troubles recharging off computer USB ports - I'd wonder if the USB port was supplying the full milliamperage that it was supposed to.

Here's my concern w/ finding an older player that takes AAA batteries - The mp3 player industry gave up on replaceables a long time ago (for good reason, I'd argue) Therefore, even if you find something from the AAA days, if it's flash-memory based, it'll have tiny capacity - maybe less than a full day's worth of listening on the mountain. More likely than flash, it'll use a very small harddrive to achive a few Gigs of space - but the power requirements for spinning that disk will eat up your batteries in no time flat. Neither outcome seems all that good to me.

Contrast that with an iPod which I charge fully before heading up the hill for the weekend, and which goes the entire trip without repeating a song.

[Gecko]

Recharge does not require a computer just a USB plug

[shawndoggy]

You DO NOT need to use iTunes to upload to an ipod. There are third party applications that can take control of the ipod. Media Monkey comes to mind, but I believe there are others.

None do it as well as iTunes IMHO, but that's another thread.

Regarding the non-replaceability of iPod batteries, yes they are rechargeable, but once they start to go dead you can generally get replacements from ebay for $10 or so that will render your iPod as good as (or in some cases better than) new. I've got a 3rd Gen iPod (2004) that's still running strong after a battery replacement.

All that said, what kind of cell phone are you using? My daughter has one of the cheap "free" samsung phones and it has a really nice drag and drop player and it will support a microsd card up to 4 gb (about $10 on ebay).

[willywhit]

1gb shuffles are $49 I've been riding with one for 2 years and can't say enough good about both it's playing/battery time and it's reliability

shuffles are almost impossible to break, downside is no display screen so you have to just fast forward thru tunes. I usually carry a spare set of headphones and a 2-1 splitter so I can say "check out this tune" and double up on the ipod rock out on the chair with a buddy.

I'm working on dialing in blutooth for my burton helmet with Audex motorola headphones built in.

http://www.gadgetmadness.com/archives/20070805-burton_red_tantrum_g1_bluetooth_audex_helmet_for_snowboarders.php

It'll go wireless to a cell phone , too.

I'm gonna need something like this.

http://www.buy.com/prod/panasonic-rp-bt10wht-bluetooth-stereo-earbuds-w-ipod-adapter-remote/q/loc/101/204222987.html

Bordy said he got a sirius(XM ?) sat radio unit to play in his helmet, that's pretty sweet.

anyone know where I can get the chrome visor for this helmet, let me know.

[willywhit]

Recharge does not require a computer just a USB plug

really handy is the ipod usb to cig lighter adapter

http://www.mygearstore.com/2-Port-USB-Car-Cigarette-Lighter-Adapter-Dual-Plug-for-iPod-MP3-Players-Charger-Color-White?leadsource=3

http://www.amazon.com/Cigarette-Lighter-Adapter-Charger-Technology/dp/B000JLC3PK

I use a 2 into 1 for running GPS or charging a cell phone and an inverter is handy too.

http://www.amazon.com/Maxell-Universal-Adapter-AUTO-DC-2/dp/B00009XNUU/ref=pd_bxgy_e_img_b

http://www.amazon.com/Xantrex-Technologies-851-0178-175-Watt-Inverter/dp/B000157TNA/ref=cm_cr_pr_sims_t

[Erik J]

I have an 8G nano Ipod. It holds plenty of music, sounds pretty good. I have Shure in-ear buds that sound, amazing. I keep them in even when not listening to music - cuts down on wind noise and that east coast ice skating sound when it's "firm" on the slopes. Battery life is awesome!

[Justin A.]

Second plug for the Shure headphones. I have two pairs actually, the _2_ model and then I was so impressed that I got the _3_ model, and they sound every bit as good as my home stereo setup, but I can wear them-it's just amazing.

I've got an 80GB Video iPod that I use almost daily, and also an old 20GB 3rd Gen ipod that I use for riding. I've had the 20GB one for almost 5 years now, and it's still on its first battery, and performs as well as the day I got it. Yeah, it doesn't have a color screen, but I'm sure as hell not going to ride up the lift when it's 10 degrees out with my gloves off so I can watch a movie or something on my 80GB, so what does it matter?

The new iPod Nano is the best bet for a full-featured MP3 player these days. 8GB capacity, video support, no moving parts (long runtime), and they're $150...the fact that they have a screen means that you can pick the music that you want to listen to without having to listen to the first few notes of 30 songs before you find the right one. They're also damn tough, as my fiancee ripped hers out of our alarm clock and threw it at a wall radiator one morning, and it's still working just fine. For the $100 on top of the shuffle price, I'll take the ability to see what I'm going to play.

Don't worry about the battery life, it isn't anywhere near as bad as you may think it is. Those makita batteries that you throw out are being discharged and charged at an incredible rate as far as batteries go. You'll spend a small fortune in alkaline batteries over the life of the device vs. having the rechargeable. You don't wish that your cell phone or laptop took disposable batteries, do you?

[Thor VonRippington]

I'm running an ipod 8g Nano with Sony MDR-EX71 earbuds and it kicks arse.

Batteries are for chumps... change your habits with new technology my man. You manage to keep your phone charged and I know you used to dial a rotary.

Random thoughts:

I tried the after market blue tooth thingy in my helmet.. good sound at low volumes but cracks when turned up to "riding level" (still have it in the box if someone wants to give it a spin). Plowed through dozens of earbuds before I found the Sony buds which are cheapest through Amazon ($40ish online.. $100 in a store). Spend the extra cash for flash drive player if you plan to use it for any physical activities. The disc drives I've had did not hold up near as long. Get one with a screen... just do. I like the apple software... keeps things organized and easy to use... plus some good radio stations. I'm sure there is better software out there but I don't use the application enough to care... just need my pod to run all day every day as I work alone and have a very boring job... and I can't seem to make a solid turn on my board if my ears aren't bleeding.

Edit: and another thing... yes you can get chargers for your player that use a 110 outlet, cig lighter in a car, or usb on your puter

[bobdea]

my player of choice is my iphone.

if you're in the market for a new phone then this might kill two birds with one stone.

The ipod touch is great too, for me both devices are great because they perform many of the functions a PC can.

[Thor VonRippington]

my player of choice is my iphone.

I like this idea, but is anyone making a good earbud headphone that can also be used to talk on the phone?

[scotts.Scheinman]

i love the shuffle b/c you just set a playlist and you dont have to mess around with shuffling thru music.

[Terryw]

+1 for the iphone. I use mine with a pair of Shure headphones. Amazing sound. My only complaint is that I can't get my entire library on only 16G! It is also nice that I can answer my phone without taking off my helmet. When the phone is connected to headphones, you can listen through them, and talk to the phone like a speaker phone. Shure also makes an attachment that goes between the phone and the ear buds that contains a mic so you don't even have to break the phone out of your pocket to talk on it. Gotta love technology!