Looking for good portable MP3 player

[starwood]

I'm looking for a portable MP3 that I can attach an external microphone too so I can record the attractions next trip to WDW. Anyone have any experience/favorites?

 

[battricia]

I'd suggest maybe getting a minidisc player. Some of them have microphone plugs or even mics attatched if you get a better model. You can buy a few tapes, I think they hold like 5 hours each, and they are extremely decent quality. We used them for production at my school (I went to school for film/video/media).

also belkin makes a portable 'voice recorder' for the iPod (regular, not mini), that claims to record hundreds of hours of voice recording, depending on the size of your iPod (gigs), but I'd be willing to bet the quality on a minidisc recorder would be much better.
hope this helps,

tricia.

 

[MiraDawl]

I have had an Mp3 player for a few years now. I have a RCA Lyra, and have loved every minute of it! I find it far more convenient at the gym, it is so small that it can clip onto my hip, and stays comfortable, even when running long distances on a treadmill. It had a large amount of storage space for a lot cheaper than models offered by Apple (iPod) or Sony, who makes a version in conjunction with Nike. My model also has an option for memory cards, so you could make up some playlists for your trip.
I always had Walkmans, and than Discmans after those, and I think an Mp3 player is far more convenient. Downloads take a few seconds, and there is no additional cost for CD's or Tapes. Batteries last quite a while too.
Go For it!!


~Mira

 

[RickNWendy]

Archos Jukebox recorder 15 - mine has 15gigs of storage, and a built in mic to record sounds. I think they are discontinued now, but you may check Best Buy, Circuit City, Sears and.... EBay

 

[TEK224]

Mira,

I bought the RCA Lyra about 23 weeks ago. Have yet to figure out how it works. I've read the directions, but for some reason, they don't make sense (or I can't figure them out

I've downloaded songs to the internal memory, but when I try to play them back I get no sound and from looking at the LCD display they seem to be going at warp speed.

Any suggestions?

Terri

 

[mad4themouse]

DS12 bought an Archos Gmini 120 a few weeks ago with his birthday/confirmation money. It's an awesome little mp3 but at 0.54 lbs, it's somewhat heavy for its size. It has a built-in microphone (very good quality) as well as an inline port and a 20-GB hard drive. You can download upgrades and plug-ins directly to it from the Archos website.

It works like another storage drive when you connect it to your computer, so it uses convenient "drag and drop" technology (no need to convert files or "rip" them to the mp3). It also has the capacity to accept compact flash cards for the transfer of data (great for downloading pictures off of my digital camera). And if you use some other storage media for your camera, you can get a card reader adapter that accepts most conventional media cards. We really love the rechargeable Li-ion battery, which has an advertised operating life of 11 hours (but in practice is actually closer to 6 hours).

You can create different files for your music, making it easier to locate exact songs. I like the fact that I don't have to search thru all DS's music in order to find mine. I just locate the "Mom's Music" file and they're all there in one spot.

When DS bought it, CircuitCity.com was selling it for $179.99 as a web-only special. I used GCs that I purchased from Hotwire Savings Club to buy it for him, which brought his actual cost down to about $150. The current cost is not $199.99 at Circuit City but that's still about ½ the cost of an Apple i-Pod.

 

[MiraDawl]

Terri-
I'm not quite sure why they won't play for you. I know I've downloaded some songs on mine a few times that apparently were of such high quality that they weren't able to play on the Lyra. Are you using MusicMatch Jukebox as the means of transfering songs to the Lyra? Also, it requires a Plug-in, I think there is a link for this on the initial start up screen on the disc they gave you with the Lyra.
If this isn't it, let me know. I can pick the mind of the BF, computers and the like are his passion (and employment )


~Mira

 

[TEK224]

Hi Mira,

Yes I'm using MusicMatch and I did download the plug-in on initial start-up. usually I can figure these things out, but right now this has me stumped.

Terri

 

[MiraDawl]

Terri-
I asked the BF why your player may not be working. He of course had some ideas:

My Lyra is older, what model type is yours? Some model types, like mine, will not play Mp3's that are encoded in over 128 kbps (bit rate) Newer models support up to 320 kbps. If your model is older, some of the newer pay sites for mp3s have higher quality mp3s as compared to older methods of mp3 aquisition For example, BF just download a Doors song at 320, and I won't be able to play the song. I can download it, but it won't play.

If you use WinAmp there is a box in the main display that will tell you the kbps of that particular song.

Lyra's are able to hold all types of files! You could save word file to it, and transfer it to another computer if you really needed to.

Hope this helps!

~Mira



We're going to WDW!

 

[RickNWendy]

My wife's Lyra had a problem like that- I tried to just drag and drop it for you (who needs instructions) since that is how my Archos worked... but it would not work that way. You must transfer via musicmatch (for some reason) or it will not work.

Hope that helps/ reinforces

 

[TEK224]

Thanks Mira and RickandWendy.

I'm gonna try to see what kbps the songs were that I downloaded. I think my lyra is an older model, too.

Terri