Saturday, August 13, 2005
Chosing a portable digital audio player
Me, with sharp eyes for nice look gadget and highly sensitive ears have changed the portable players i used over the years many many times. I have a tape player, 3 mp3 players, 3 discmans and a HI-MD player. Here, i'll provide a simple guide on what to look out for when buying a new portable audio player.
Battery Life
The amount of batter life the player has is very very important. It depends how often you will have to recharge it or spend money on getting new batteries. Generally, for flash based mp3 players with rechargable batteries, look for those above 12hours.(Because in actual fact, what they claimed to be 12 hours only last an average user for 2~3 days). For those that uses AA or AAA akaline batteries, look for players that can last 30++hrs using a single cell. Any more than that, that particular player sucks.
Also, ensure that the player you buy has REPLACEABLE batteries. If the battery cannot be replaced, there is no point in buying it, as rechargable batteries normally last 1~5 years(depending on the type), before it goes dead. Buying a player without changeable batteries is as good as buying a "disposal" player. It is simply not value for money as you will have to dump your player after the battery goes dead.
Players with changeable batteries also means that you can take your players on long trips and vacations without having to look for ways and means to recharge them.
Sound Quality
When buying an AUDIO player, sound quality is most important. There is no point in buying overpriced players that are lousy in this aspect. Players from sony, iaudio, iriver and creative are known for their excellent sound quality.
The most popular player of all time, the iPod, has the worst sound quality for players in that price range. It is costly because of its looks(which is plain and cowardly neutral), and not because of its technology (it practically has none) or its sound quality.
I did own an iPod Shuffle that comes with my singtel plan. The sound quality is OK. However, iPod is really overpriced with audio of that kind of quality. Cheap brands from china like Wee!Waa! has players that sounds identical to iPod shuffle, and comes with fm radio, voice recorder and OLED(Much better than LCD display!) screen for roughly half the price.
Ya, and the Signature White Earbuds sounds like a radio gurgling in my toilet bowl. Luckily, it attained enlightment 3 weeks later when it broke down.
Is it worth it?
Buying a portable audio player is about sound quality. If it fails in this aspect, should it even qualify to be an audio player? iPod is an example of an overpriced toy that claims to be an audio player.
Another thing to take into consideration is the technology involved. While flash based players are small and harddrive-based players can store tonnes of songs, i generally do not recommend people to buy them. Technologies like flash-storage and harddrive disks progressed fast and within 9months you see audio players of the same model at the same price but at twice the amount of memory as 9 mnths ago. Hence, it is a lose-lose situation to purchase players based on such technologies. IT IS NOT WORTH IT!
So what other digital audio player that does not rely on the amount of memory it has to decide its price? Well, the answer is obvious.
SONY HI-MD Players.
They can be used for:
-recording ultra high quality sound(recordings done on mp3 players are junk compared to this)
-Line in recording (Record from anywhere! Your friends ipod, your tv, yr gameboyadvance, your discman, backup your tapes... anything! Without a use of computer!)
-File Storage. A 1GB Hi-MD cost 12.50bucks. A 1GB SD card costs 100++bucks. No nid to say more. And ya, a 70min normal MD that costs around 2 bucks can be used to stored 280mb of files.
-Ultra high sound quality. Remember your walkmans? Those are all made by Sony! Sony is known for their high quality sound. Hi-MD too.
-Forget MP3! Sony's new atrac3plus audio format allows you to store files at 64kbps (half of mp3's 128kbps) with virtually the same sound quality! I've tested this myself with my high-end 80++bucks earphone and spotted little or no difference. This means that 1GB Hi-MD can store 2GB worth of your collection of MP3s.. WOW!
-Quality is key! For those who has super sensitive ears like me who puke when listening to iPod, you can have ultra high quality music on Hi-MD! 256kbps atrac3plus audio sounds as if you are listening directly from your discman. If you still feel its not good enough, you can always record music UNCOMPRESSED directly from anywhere! This means you can getup your CDs without any lost of sound quality!
-It is worth it. The price of the player seldom drops, as the price does not depends on the amount of memory it comes with! Remember! Hi-MD Players uses removeable MD sold seperately.! Buy as much as you want! Its really cheap!
-Easy to use transfering software. Unlike iTunes that forces you to use its library in order to transfer music to your ipod (music on your iPod gets deleted AUTOMATICALLY if the original files are no longer in iTunes library or on your computer harddisk. I kept losing music everytime i use iTunes to transfer files to and fro my iPod Shuffle) Sony digital audio players uses sony stage. It has much better interface and doesn't have sneaky programs like ipodservice.exe running without you knowing whenever you turn on your computer. Although converting from mp3 to atrac3plus takes time, it is definitely worth the wait as you get to fit twice the amount of music in 1Gb as compared to using mp3 format. Also, audio files converted to atrac3plus format that are stored on your computer can be automatically deleted by SonicStage to save harddisk space. iTunes only know how to waste your RAM(ipodservice.exe) and harddisk space(you MUST HAVE A COPY OF FILES THAT YOU PLACE IN YOUR IPOD ON YOUR HARDDRIVE EVERYTIME YOU CONNECT YOUR IPOD! OTHERWISE, iTunes will delete them from you iPod AUTOMATICALLY!!!!)
Well.. so the verdict is out. iPod can burn in hell with its claimed 12hours(but actually more like 6hrs) battery life, be dumped within 1~5 years due to dead batteries, get corrupted or spoilt when dropped on to the floor (Harddrive based players spoils easily as the reading/recording needle on the harddrive can scratch the disk surface accidentally during drops. Sony's harddrive players prevent this by having a motion sensor that moves the needle away when it sense that the device is dropping onto the floor. HI-MD don't need such protection. You can even wash a MD disc inside a washing machine and still use it!) and get frustrated everytime you plug your ipod into the computer and discover iTunes slowly deleting all your songs just because you have moved the original copies somewhere else.
Just in case, for those who loves the idea of having scroll wheels, look at the picture of my Hi-MD player below. That should make you happy.
Be Smart! Be High! Go Hi-MD!
(Yeah.. i'm too sleepy when i'm typing this... so bad english pardon me please thank you. :P)
Battery Life
The amount of batter life the player has is very very important. It depends how often you will have to recharge it or spend money on getting new batteries. Generally, for flash based mp3 players with rechargable batteries, look for those above 12hours.(Because in actual fact, what they claimed to be 12 hours only last an average user for 2~3 days). For those that uses AA or AAA akaline batteries, look for players that can last 30++hrs using a single cell. Any more than that, that particular player sucks.
Also, ensure that the player you buy has REPLACEABLE batteries. If the battery cannot be replaced, there is no point in buying it, as rechargable batteries normally last 1~5 years(depending on the type), before it goes dead. Buying a player without changeable batteries is as good as buying a "disposal" player. It is simply not value for money as you will have to dump your player after the battery goes dead.
Players with changeable batteries also means that you can take your players on long trips and vacations without having to look for ways and means to recharge them.
Sound Quality
When buying an AUDIO player, sound quality is most important. There is no point in buying overpriced players that are lousy in this aspect. Players from sony, iaudio, iriver and creative are known for their excellent sound quality.
The most popular player of all time, the iPod, has the worst sound quality for players in that price range. It is costly because of its looks(which is plain and cowardly neutral), and not because of its technology (it practically has none) or its sound quality.
I did own an iPod Shuffle that comes with my singtel plan. The sound quality is OK. However, iPod is really overpriced with audio of that kind of quality. Cheap brands from china like Wee!Waa! has players that sounds identical to iPod shuffle, and comes with fm radio, voice recorder and OLED(Much better than LCD display!) screen for roughly half the price.
Ya, and the Signature White Earbuds sounds like a radio gurgling in my toilet bowl. Luckily, it attained enlightment 3 weeks later when it broke down.
Is it worth it?
Buying a portable audio player is about sound quality. If it fails in this aspect, should it even qualify to be an audio player? iPod is an example of an overpriced toy that claims to be an audio player.
Another thing to take into consideration is the technology involved. While flash based players are small and harddrive-based players can store tonnes of songs, i generally do not recommend people to buy them. Technologies like flash-storage and harddrive disks progressed fast and within 9months you see audio players of the same model at the same price but at twice the amount of memory as 9 mnths ago. Hence, it is a lose-lose situation to purchase players based on such technologies. IT IS NOT WORTH IT!
So what other digital audio player that does not rely on the amount of memory it has to decide its price? Well, the answer is obvious.
SONY HI-MD Players.
They can be used for:
-recording ultra high quality sound(recordings done on mp3 players are junk compared to this)
-Line in recording (Record from anywhere! Your friends ipod, your tv, yr gameboyadvance, your discman, backup your tapes... anything! Without a use of computer!)
-File Storage. A 1GB Hi-MD cost 12.50bucks. A 1GB SD card costs 100++bucks. No nid to say more. And ya, a 70min normal MD that costs around 2 bucks can be used to stored 280mb of files.
-Ultra high sound quality. Remember your walkmans? Those are all made by Sony! Sony is known for their high quality sound. Hi-MD too.
-Forget MP3! Sony's new atrac3plus audio format allows you to store files at 64kbps (half of mp3's 128kbps) with virtually the same sound quality! I've tested this myself with my high-end 80++bucks earphone and spotted little or no difference. This means that 1GB Hi-MD can store 2GB worth of your collection of MP3s.. WOW!
-Quality is key! For those who has super sensitive ears like me who puke when listening to iPod, you can have ultra high quality music on Hi-MD! 256kbps atrac3plus audio sounds as if you are listening directly from your discman. If you still feel its not good enough, you can always record music UNCOMPRESSED directly from anywhere! This means you can getup your CDs without any lost of sound quality!
-It is worth it. The price of the player seldom drops, as the price does not depends on the amount of memory it comes with! Remember! Hi-MD Players uses removeable MD sold seperately.! Buy as much as you want! Its really cheap!
-Easy to use transfering software. Unlike iTunes that forces you to use its library in order to transfer music to your ipod (music on your iPod gets deleted AUTOMATICALLY if the original files are no longer in iTunes library or on your computer harddisk. I kept losing music everytime i use iTunes to transfer files to and fro my iPod Shuffle) Sony digital audio players uses sony stage. It has much better interface and doesn't have sneaky programs like ipodservice.exe running without you knowing whenever you turn on your computer. Although converting from mp3 to atrac3plus takes time, it is definitely worth the wait as you get to fit twice the amount of music in 1Gb as compared to using mp3 format. Also, audio files converted to atrac3plus format that are stored on your computer can be automatically deleted by SonicStage to save harddisk space. iTunes only know how to waste your RAM(ipodservice.exe) and harddisk space(you MUST HAVE A COPY OF FILES THAT YOU PLACE IN YOUR IPOD ON YOUR HARDDRIVE EVERYTIME YOU CONNECT YOUR IPOD! OTHERWISE, iTunes will delete them from you iPod AUTOMATICALLY!!!!)
Well.. so the verdict is out. iPod can burn in hell with its claimed 12hours(but actually more like 6hrs) battery life, be dumped within 1~5 years due to dead batteries, get corrupted or spoilt when dropped on to the floor (Harddrive based players spoils easily as the reading/recording needle on the harddrive can scratch the disk surface accidentally during drops. Sony's harddrive players prevent this by having a motion sensor that moves the needle away when it sense that the device is dropping onto the floor. HI-MD don't need such protection. You can even wash a MD disc inside a washing machine and still use it!) and get frustrated everytime you plug your ipod into the computer and discover iTunes slowly deleting all your songs just because you have moved the original copies somewhere else.
Just in case, for those who loves the idea of having scroll wheels, look at the picture of my Hi-MD player below. That should make you happy.
Be Smart! Be High! Go Hi-MD!
(Yeah.. i'm too sleepy when i'm typing this... so bad english pardon me please thank you. :P)
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