Quote:
Originally posted by tarentinos
1. I own a 10gb 3rd gen. iPod. I have carried it many places, never having trouble with bumping, although mine is carried in a rubberized skin. Bumping, I can see that. Yet you can "bump" mechanical buttons too. That's why there's a "hold" button.
Many people don't use carrying cases. Also, the Zen has recessed buttons with a 'tighter' feel to prevent accidental volume adjustments and so forth.
Quote:
2. If you're looking for audiophile sound quality, why are you listening to mp3's? If you want to listen to high-quality mp3's, encode them at a higher bitrate. I understand that LAME has a higher quality sound than AAC--but I'm a Windows user, so I only deal with mp3 formats (for now :D).
Most people use 196 bitrates in LAME, which supposedly parallels CD's easily, without any noticable difference. This would be considered audiophile approved SQ with compression.
Quote:
3. Many new ones do. You will not find many old players that have high speed connections though, unlike the iPod which has used 1394 since the beginning.
NJB3 has had 1394 and USB 2.0 since the beginning. It's a bit large (about the size of a CD player) but has plenty of more options than most all mp3 players.
Quote:
What mp3 player has the design and interface the iPod has? Which has clean, more configurable sound with 23 EQ settings?
Creative Labs Nomad Jukebox Zen and Zen NX for the design and interface. Both the Zen and Zen NX come with a 4 band user-adjustable equalizer, which offers more flexibility than 23 presets.
Quote:
It has smooth syncing with Windows PC's and Mac's, optional remote and cradle; contact list; games; firewire and USB 2.0 connectivity; and can also function as an external hard drive.
Obviously an Apple item would contain Mac support, that's a no-brainer. The optional remote and cradle come with most any high-quality mp3 player. The Zen series come standard with them. The remote is an optional item which can be purchased. Contact lists are great but unneccessary. It seems to me that Apple tried to compensate for the lacking sound with excessive nonsense features and games.
USB 2.0 and 1394 comes in most any 'current' mp3 player. As for external hard drive space, any hard drive player will come with this. Current two that come to mind being the Zen NX and Zen. Hell, the Zen's you can even manually replace the HDD's with and format them, to allow more space.
Quote:
Plus the size and weight of the iPod is unparalleled. Plus, it just plain looks cool. Everything is backlit when needed in red's and blues, and you can't deny that being touch-sensitive is a prodigy among mp3 players.
Again, Zen and Zen NX are backlight with LCD screens varying in sizes. The NX has a slightly larger screen area but comes in a green back-light LCD screen, while the regular Zen comes in a blue back-light LCD with a slightly smaller size.
The difference in weight with the NX vs the iPod is roughly 2oz. Considering the NX and Zen are made of aluminum, the weight difference is obvious.
Quote:
Most mp3 players are playing catch up to the iPod. You will be hard pressed to find an mp3 player with the same features.
Contrary, most are playing catch-up with the obesely large (and obesely featureful) NJB3.