RunningAHEAD - Topic: MP3 Player Recommendations?

Holly S.

Marathon Maniac #957

posted: 1/13/2009 at 9:10 AM

My Mp3 player seems to have died, after 2.5 years of loyal service, through rain, cold, snow, sleet, and sweat....and I'm right in the middle of an excellent audio book - DRAT! This was a Cowan iAudio U2, if anyone knows what that is, but it got great reviews from the tech sites when I was shopping for one, and is very easy to use. I just move songs or books from the My Music folder to the player via Windows Explorer - a simple drag-and-drop. Any of you have recommendations for another player, hopefully one that is extremely simple and user-friendly, without lots of complicated software to learn to use? My DS has an IPod that grandpa gave him, but he barely knows how to use it, so would be no help to me in learning that one.

Life is a headlong rush into the unknown. We can hunker down and hope nothing hits us or we can stand tall, lean into the wind and say, "Bring it on, darlin', and don't be stingy with the jalapenos."

breger1

posted: 1/13/2009 at 9:22 AM

In my opinion, anything but an iPod. I have a Sansa E280 and love it. The Sansa E series is an older model at this point (replaced by the Sansa Clip a year or so ago) but you can really find them cheap if you look around. They have the advantage of appearing to your PC to be a hard drive. All you have to do is copy/paste MP3 on/off of it. Bill

"Some are the strong, silent type. You can't put your finger on exactly what it is they bring to the table until you run without them and then you realize that their steadiness fills a hole that leaks energy in their absence." - Kristin Armstrong

Tramps

posted: 1/13/2009 at 9:27 AM

I got an Ipod Shuffle as a present this Fall and--somewhat to my surprise--love it. Couldn't be simpler to use. I haven't used it in harsh conditions but so far, so good.

Be safe. Be kind.

Jlynne

posted: 1/13/2009 at 9:38 AM

I have an IPod Nano, which I really like. I've had it over 2 years and it holds tons of stuff. Plus, I got a case with a clip you can hook on to running shorts which frees up your hands and stays in place really well. It does act a little goofy when you run outside in really cold temps, though.

xor

posted: 1/13/2009 at 11:24 AM

I have a Sansa m250 that I've used for a couple years. It doesn't feel like it would be particularly sturdy, but it certainly has been. One thing - it eats batteries like I eat pop tarts (with gusto). And when it gets to a particular juice level, it'll just report "Low Battery - Powering Down" and that's that. Then I can take this supposedly low battery and run other stuff with it for a long time. I've noticed that a dead Sansa battery can then power various clocks for almost a year... so far. Low Battery indeed. It'll let you drag and drop files OR utilize Windows Media Player to move stuff. And it was cheap.

jdmom3

posted: 1/13/2009 at 11:47 AM

I have an IPod Shuffle that I love. I can clip it to my hat or stow it in a pocket and it weighs next to nothing. I can also recommend a Sansa. My kids all have Sansa MP3 players and they are great.

Once a runner . . .

WillRunForBeer

posted: 1/13/2009 at 11:56 AM

I love my sansa clip. It is about $60 at best buy (and it was the same price at costco). It's very small and 4G is large enough for me. I "sync" it in a way that shuffles the songs from my PC based library, so I do get to hear all my music.

Lou, (aka Mr. predawnrunner), MD, USA | Lou's Brews | lking@pobox.com

umwb

posted: 1/13/2009 at 12:12 PM

My DW bought me an I pod along with the arm band for carrying it while running, for my birthday last year. Big grin

The problem I had with it though is that after about 30 minutes of running it would freeze up, Sad

after a couple of runs I took it back and exchanged it, and the new one did the exact same thing. Angry

I finally narrowed it down to the fact it was simply building up to much heat in the arm band, even though the arm band was ventilated. I tried the sansa with the same arm band and have not had any problems at all.

When I'm not running I'm on my Triumph Rocket 3 !

evryday

posted: 1/13/2009 at 12:36 PM

shuffle

Quit being so damn serious! When we change the way we look at things, the things we look at change. "Ya just gotta let it go." OM

Holly S.

Marathon Maniac #957

posted: 1/13/2009 at 2:37 PM

WRFB and SrLopez - does the Sansa recharge via USB cable? If so, does it still need regular battary changes?

Life is a headlong rush into the unknown. We can hunker down and hope nothing hits us or we can stand tall, lean into the wind and say, "Bring it on, darlin', and don't be stingy with the jalapenos."

breger1

posted: 1/13/2009 at 2:44 PM

My Sansa recharges from the USB.

"Some are the strong, silent type. You can't put your finger on exactly what it is they bring to the table until you run without them and then you realize that their steadiness fills a hole that leaks energy in their absence." - Kristin Armstrong

xor

posted: 1/13/2009 at 2:54 PM
modified: 1/13/2009 at 2:55 PM

Huh. That's something my 2 year old player doesn't do. It only uses an aaa battery. I can use a rechargeable one, of course, but it isn't smart enough to juice it up via usb. I like that idea. It removes the ONLY real irritation I have with my player. I look for it when I consider my next one.

Holly S.

Marathon Maniac #957

posted: 1/13/2009 at 2:55 PM
modified: 1/13/2009 at 2:57 PM

I have always plugged in my player to the USB (as soon as I download my Garmin data) and just leave it there until I use it again, so it's always recharged. I just saw online that the Sansa clip 4GB is on sale at Best Buy for $49.00. The 2GB is on sale for $39.00, but I may as well toss out $10 more for the extra 2GB. I might have to swing by there on the way home from work...

Life is a headlong rush into the unknown. We can hunker down and hope nothing hits us or we can stand tall, lean into the wind and say, "Bring it on, darlin', and don't be stingy with the jalapenos."

breger1

posted: 1/13/2009 at 3:06 PM
modified: 1/13/2009 at 3:07 PM

Accidental post.

"Some are the strong, silent type. You can't put your finger on exactly what it is they bring to the table until you run without them and then you realize that their steadiness fills a hole that leaks energy in their absence." - Kristin Armstrong

SLOjim

posted: 1/13/2009 at 3:45 PM
modified: 1/13/2009 at 3:58 PM

I just buy the cheapest I can find at Fry's. Usually under $20 .... the last one I bought was $9.99 with 2 GB. I figure if they break I can just throw it away and get a new one without getting depressed. I usually have 3 or 4 of them at a time and create different playlists for myself and my DW. We have a stereo we can plug them into, as well as our car stereo and a boom box. I use to get the "AAA" battery ones but it was irritating when the batteries run out half way into a run, so now I only buy the rechargeable ones..... usually with the built in USB connections. I've used Sansa, Klegg, Coby, IVO-Sound and a few others. Lately...... it's been the IVO-Sound 100..... they're real cheap and they only have 2 buttons (dual function) ...real easy to use drag and drop loading and 5 hours of music on a charge. My kids think I'm crazy... they love their I-pods..... but when I ask how much did they cost, I show them a handful of my MP3 players and tell them I'd have $50 in change.

Masters Running

MP3 Player Recommendations? (Read 305 times)