Portable HD based MP3 players

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mikec

Experienced Member
Joined
23 November 2001
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730
Location
Lancaster, PA USA
I'm looking for a portable MP3 player that I can load with lots of tunes and take to the gym, airplane, and car via FM modulator (sold seperatly).

I'm looking at iRIVER iHP 120
iPOD 20Gig,
iPOD mini.

The iRIVER looks great, but i'm concerned thats its too big and bulky to wear at the gym.

The iPOD mini is small, but is only 4GB and short batter life.

Does anyone have any real experience with this type of device? Are they OK for jogging/workout, or are they best for sitting on a desk.

Thanks
Mike Clemens
 
Mike,

I've owned a 20GB and 40GB iPod. My better half now has my 20GB.

I've been extremely happy with both units. No skipping or problems.

I use my 40GB for exercise, in all my cars and for backup of my laptop.

Most of that other thread compared less costly flash memory players against the iPods. IMHO, when you compare HD-based players the advantage is even more in the iPod favor.

One thing to consider is the plethora of 3rd party products for the iPod family....

http://www.apple.com/ipod/accessories.html

http://www.everythingipod.com/

http://www.seidioonline.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=357

http://www.xtrememac.com/

http://www.pidrus.com/ipod.html

http://icelink.densionusa.com/
 
Well.. The iRIVER looks good because it has a 15 hour battery life, but i'm concerned it may be too large to wear during workouts.

The iPOD mini is small enough, but its 6 hour rated battery life is short. When Apple rated the iPOD battery life, I read that they did it by putting the machine on repeat to play the same song again and again. Since the song was held in memory, they hard drive never turned on. In actual use, i've read that its battery life is much shorter.
 
Mike, I have a 15G iPod. Never had a problem (even after dropping it). The battery life is not an issue for me, rarely do I play it longer than 4 hours at a time. The iTrip FM transmitter is really handy, while sound quality is not as good as a cassette adapter it's an option that adds a lot of flexiblity. Every rental has a FM radio, same for boating, etc.

Jim
 
I just got the Ipod mini this weekend and it fits pretty well by the shifter. (see attached pic) The 4 gig space was a little of a concern but I think its plenty for the road. I haven't really seen what actual battery life was like on the ipod min yet though.. but I'm sure its enough for most road trips. As for using it during workouts and stuff.. Well I'm not too sure how well the mini will fare but I'll let you know if it craps out. It does feel pretty solid from the feel of it though..

-Kaz
 
Looks real nice Kaz.

I REALLY like the iPod Mini track pad. Combining the switches with the track pad was genius. The UI is one area where the iPod really shines.

That's the location where I put my 40GB iPod. It fits perfectly in the width of that coin tray and the top edge just sticks out a bit more that your mini.

The 4GB size would be OK for my music. The main reason I got the 40 was for a backup to my laptop. Having Firewire (and USB 2.0) is a big plus too.

If battery life is a problem for long trips, it would be very easy for you to hook up a charger.

-Jim
 
I ordered the iRiver iHP 120

After much gnashing of teeth and researching, I ordered the iRiver instead of the iPod mini for the following reasons:

1. Battery issues of mini. Battery life is going to be an issue on longer trips. Even shorter use will demand that it return to the charger more often. What really torks me is that the battery is sealed and cannot be replaced even by the factory. That means every $250 mini is a throw away product. Apple does offer a 'battery replacement' program for the iPod, not sure if it extends to the mini' for $99 they will replace the whole unit if the battery fails. What will they do in a few years if they no longer make that model?

2. The mini is small, but is it small enough? And to go with with small size you get small storage and small battery life. The iRiver is larger and heavier but has features that I will use such as FM radio, voice recorder, 20GB storage, and 17 hour battery.

3. I preferred to support a member of the NSX community.

Bottom line is that I think the iRiver will satisfy most of my needs. If it proves too large at the gym, then i'll buy the smallest lightest flash player I can find for that purpose. While the mini is smaller than the iPod or iRiver, it is still huge and heavy compaired to mini flash players.

Did I make the right decision? Without buying both players and using them I can't say for sure. If it turns out to be a turkey, well.... there is always eBay.

Speaking of turkeys, anyone want to buy a like new Philips Pronto Pro 6000 color touch screen remote? Every home theatre needs one to impress your friends.
 
What really torks me is that the battery is sealed and cannot be replaced even by the factory.
Click to expand...

Mike,

That's not actually true, Apple and 3rd parties can change the batteries.

But best of luck with your iRiver unit regardless.

-J
 
How do they sound compared to CD ?? in the Bose ? are u using a cassette adaptor..

I'm thinking this option or Alpine Mp3 stacker..
 
A tad offtopic, but I heard some people are getting the iPod mini for their 4 gig microdrives. A typical IBM 1 gig microdrive can go for everywhere from $160~$400. The iPod mini has a 4 gig Hitachi microdrive for $250==>> Cheap microdrive for other purposes.
 
Has anyone tried the RF modulator accessory for these devices? Does it have as good fidelity as a cassette adaptor?

Theoretically, it should sound as good as an FM radio station. Do they?

Thanks
 
mikec said:
Has anyone tried the RF modulator accessory for these devices? Does it have as good fidelity as a cassette adaptor?

Theoretically, it should sound as good as an FM radio station. Do they?

Thanks
Click to expand...

The FCC really limits the power that these FM transmitters can
put out so.. IMHO they don't sound all that great. Some of my friends have the RF transmitters for their Ipods and they are junk. The Itrip is terrible, The Belkin model isn't much better.
I've heard good things about the Monstercable transmitter, but that could be just hype.

I would just go wired. The RF transmitters are a cool idea but the FCC power restriction just makes them sound terrible.
 
Kaz said:
The RF transmitters are a cool idea but the FCC power restriction just makes them sound terrible.
Click to expand...
They sound bad, not so much because of power limitations imposed by the FCC, but because of the noise introduced in the additional modulation/demodulation of the signal and the limited frequency response of our FM system.
 
Ojas said:
They sound bad, not so much because of power limitations imposed by the FCC, but because of the noise introduced in the additional modulation/demodulation of the signal and the limited frequency response of our FM system.
Click to expand...

True, in an ideal setting Wired (tape adapter) is still better than FM from a frequecy response stand point. But I do believe that the reason they sound so bad is because some of these portable FM transmitters are just plain weak. The signals from these transmitters sound like your listening to a real weak station. (weaker signal requires more gain in the receiver to stay locked on the frequency.. more gain=more noise)
 
I got the iRiver. Now I need headphones

I've had the iHP 120 for several days now and have it almost filled with music. I already know the 4G of storage and short battery life of the iPod mini would be issues for me if I would have gotten one. Now I need a quality set of headphones for the gym and on the go. The problem is, the cheaper 'walkman' type are not available for listening. you have to buy them first. I have an old pair of sony MDR A10 and like them, but i'd like to do better. Any suggestions?

For listening at the office, i'm considering spending a bit more. Does anyone have experience with the following?

Bose quietcomfort 2? I fly occasionally, but not that often. I'd be looking to use them for general listening.

Grado RS1. I have Grado SR 80's now and they sound great but are uncomfortable to wear longer than 30 minutes. The RS1's are expensive, but i've read that they are more comfortable.

Thanks for all your help and opinions
 
Hey Mike, glad the iHP120 is going well.

I posted a similiar question <A HREF="http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=29604">on this thread</A> about headphones.

I bought these sony street-style phones; excellent quality sound, comfortable to wear, don't fall off on the treadmill or even when boxing, and they don't mess up the hair. :D hey, the hair's important... :p

<IMG SRC="http://www.sony.com.au/objects/200x133/image1345.jpg">

I've been using them 5-6 times a week for the past three weeks; beautiful. The best feature for me was they even fold up so you can put them in your pocket! In some ways i still wish i had earbuds, but those kept falling out.
 
I've settled on headphones. Only one regret.

For home I got the Grado RS-1. They sound great, but are really no more comfortable than the SR-80. I just love the quality look of the wood and just had to have them. Now I keep hearing about headphone amps. Do I need one? Do they really make a big difference These don't sound bad plugged into the iRiver. Is a headphone amp going to make a difference?


For the road I got the Sure E3. In a word... WOW... It's like I got some sort of music implant in my brain. Forget noise cancelling headphones, these things seal out the noise. However, there are many places that I would not wear them because I would need to hear background noise. I'm taking them on the plane to Vegas in two weeks. That should prove their worth.

Oh.. I almost forgot.. the regret. I should have bought the 40 Gig iRiver instead of the 20 :)
 
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