[the.elephant]

all im looking for is 512mb or 1 gig of a flash type player with a good sound quality

i would consider iriver t10 but after my h10 malfunction im reluctant to buy iriver again

lower the price the better but i guess my range is 50 - 130 dollars

[xkrndreamer]

i love my creative nano plus. it's 512 mb (more than enough memory for me) and perfect for working out (running, tennis, basketball, etc) with.

[BishieAddict]

i have the iriver t10. it still works for me (been a month or so).
love it cuz of playlists. (you can also organize them in folders if you want.. just drop and drag) and it has a huge battery life

Check the mp3 player thread

[n4n45h1]

the cowon iaudios have really really nice sound quality, supposedly the best under the karma for dap sound quality
i suggest the u3 since it has really nice features and a color screen
if youre looking a bit cheaper they have the u2 and some other models
take a look at iaudiophile, they have some nice reviews and can probably answer all your questions

[the.elephant]

hey the cowon U2 looks pretty good but the screen is ugly
and it's been out since 2004

i was wondering if there would be a new model for the U2 anytime soon you think??

[NASRI22]

i own a Samsung YP-T8Z 1GB flash player. plays videos and is a nice small size. i'm going to sell it to get a fatter YP-D1Z with a 2.0MP camera =)
incase you dont know what mp3player i'm talking about
YP-D1Z

YP-T8Z

[Godotology]

I have the BenQ Joybee. i love it because it's compact.. got a retractable USB connector (no wires or cables), and uses a rechargeable lithium battery

[darkmafiaguy]

Most audio products by Cowon or Creative have great sound quality.

Samsung products DO NOT, there are very few exceptions.

You can numerically judge sound quality by its SNR Ratio (Signal to Noise). If its in the high 80s its average. Anything in the 90s is pretty good. (I guess it depends how you think of it)
Cowon & Creatives products range in the upper 90s usually so those are really good.

Oh and you WILL NOT get the sound quality you want if you have crappy headphones (aka ones that come with the mp3 player or any ones under 15 bucks.)
You should invest in a pair of decent headphones if you want even average sound quality.

[the.elephant]

what do you guys think about the iaudio 5??? compared to iaudio u2

im leaning towards the 5 because it looks better but the u2 has lithium battery so i wont need to buy new battery all the time
and for some reason i hear more good things about the u2 than i do of the 5... even tho they seem almost identical in specs

which would you prefer??

IAUDIO 5 series

or

IAUDIO U2 series

thanks you guys for posting it really helps me a lot
and yeah, im thinking about buying Sennheiser CX 300 for my earbuds

[DaRkViEt73]

some people hate hearing this answer but "it depends on you." That's why Iaudio has the U2, I5 AND the G3. Each has nearly identical features. The U2 is just slightly bigger than a pack of gum. And like you said it's got a built-in battery that can be charged by connecting it directly to a USB port. No need to buy batteries, however you always need access to a charger or USB port to recharge it.

The I5 and the G3, on the other hand, uses AA (G3) and AAA (I5) batteries. So you don't need to worry about being next to a charger or USB port to recharge. The I5's battery life is about the same as the U2 if you use regular batteries or about 10-12hrs on rechargables. I use the G3 myself and with 1 AA rechargable I get about 25-30 hrs of playback on rechargables and 45+ hrs on a regular AA. Obviously the G3 is geared for maximum battery life at the expense of being the biggest out of the 3 players (it's exactly the same size as 3 AA batteries next to each other which is still small).

So the question is, do you want to use normal and/or rechargable batteries? Or do you want the battery built-in? Keep in mind, like iPods and others with built-in batteries, that you'll eventually need to replace the expensive built-in battery but that normally doesn't happen until 1 1/2 to 2 years. But you can't beat the small size, convience and BEAUTY of the U2 compared to the I5 and G3. The right model for you depends on what you care most about in an mp3 player.

I can see myself going for either one. I like using AAA batteries instead so that I'll never run out of juice, just simply carry an extra AAA NiMH battery with you. I also think the 1000 background colors option is cool. But compared to the U2, the I5 and the G3 just feels bulky in comparison.

[sonhyangel]

i like my iriver ... ifp 795? or something like that...
i did have a problem with the buttons not working after 9 months, but i emailed them and they sent me a new one within a few weeks, so that wasn't a big deal.....
but yeah, it seems to last for a long time without changing the battery, that's why i like it..

[MajaFlavaz]

honestly,

as much as i hate it for not having a screen...

the shuffle is supposed to have amazing sound quality, and it's pretty darn cheap.

so just throwing it in there to consider.

[DaRkViEt73]

^ yeah I agree. I think the general consensus is Apple's mp3 players have the best sound quality and they're the benchmark that other mp3 players are compared against for listening tests. Any of Cowon's iAudio products and Creative's iRiver lines are the ones that come closest to Apple in terms of sound quality. They all sound very close to each other, but I'd give the nod to Cowon for sounding nearly identical to Apple's best. Of course, the headphones will make the biggest difference.

[Godotology]

So the question is, do you want to use normal and/or rechargable batteries? Or do you want the battery built-in? Keep in mind, like iPods and others with built-in batteries, that you'll eventually need to replace the expensive built-in battery but that normally doesn't happen until 1 1/2 to 2 years. But you can't beat the small size, convience and BEAUTY of the U2 compared to the I5 and G3. The right model for you depends on what you care most about in an mp3 player.

that's true.. but I think for most people.. they'll end up buying a new mp3 player by the time the lithium battery starts going bad.

[DaRkViEt73]

that's true.. but I think for most people.. they'll end up buying a new mp3 player by the time the lithium battery starts going bad.

True. For me though, I can't imagine myself getting rid of something just cuz of the battery especially if it still runs great otherwise. MP3 players can make great hand-me-downs for others like family members or friends.

[saera]

please refer to the pinned thread.