ISO: Best Portable CD player on the market

[rockphantom]

Howdy,


I am in the market for a new portable CD player as my trusty Sony CD
Walkman D-FJ65 purchased in late 2000, recently died.

I am looking to spend $100-$130 and am leaning towards checking out Sony's 2005 line.

Definitely want a player with an adjustable equalizer, and optional
digital signal processing effects.

Not big on mp3s, but I wouldn't mind having the choice to play MP3 CDR
if I so desired.

I use my portable around 3-4 hours a day during the work week, and
want to get the most bang for my buck.


Perhaps I should wait until the spring when the next generation hits
the stores?

Any advice or information would be greatly appreciated!


Thanks!

Milan

[paul_pci]

Just out of curiosity, is there a reason why you are not considering a portable mp3 player? I, myself, found the Sony CD portables to be crappy and breakdown easily. At the time I couldn't afford an iPod, so I put up with the portable CD player, but now, I'll never go back.

[rockphantom]

I have an archive of hundreds of CDs, and I prefer lossless redbook audio.
Not a fan of lossy audio. On top of that, IMHO the iPod is ridiculously over priced for what it does.

Milan

[topspeed]

You do realize you can burn lossless onto an iPod or similar device, right? It takes up a fair amount of space, but geez they make these things with 40 gigs of storage now. When my Sony portable bit the dust, I followed the advice of people like Paul and moved to an iPod Shuffle. I'm a diehard rbcd guy too but to be honest, for my application I'm more than satisfied with the AAC compressed format. Think about it, unless you've got some Sennheiser or Grado hp's hooked up to your portable cd player, you're not going to be doing any critical listening. Even if you do use otherwordly hp's, the DAC's in portable cd players suck. Don't believe me? Hook your Sony into your main rig and compare it with your dedicated cd player. This was my first clue that not all dac's are created equal.

Are iPod's overpriced? Some are. Look into Dell's Pocket DJ, Rio, or some other manufacturer. How much is it worth to you to carry a majority of your collection with you (as opposed to the 20 or so stuffed into your carrying case) in an incredibly small, convenient, rechargeable, skip-free module?

[Shwamdoo]

If these guys convince you to go the way of the MP3 player...I would just like to add that iRiver makes some fantastic ones. I bought one after some carefull research and I have been pleasently suprised ever since.

[rockphantom]

Well I had considered an iPod last December after I had purchased the AWFUL Panasonic Shockwave 965 CD player. However, I still believe that $300-$400 is too much for me to spend on a portable music device.

I am enjoying this thread and and grateful for the information that has been provided.

Can anyone reccommend a good portable audio player that can play flac?


Thanks Again!

Milan

[paul_pci]

I like redbook CDs too, and I'm still uneasy about the 300 I dropped on the iPod, but on the other hand, I listen to it when I'm out walking about tooling around, namely when I'm not doing any serious listening or appreciating of sound, etc. I save that for when I'm at home.

[rockphantom]

I am rarely at home, and when I do have free time at home, I like to watch dvds. So, the only time that I get to listen to CDs is when I am traveling or during the my breaks at work. That is why I want to stick with a cd player. I do all of my 'serious' listening on the run.

Milan

[rockphantom]

Alright,

Thanks to my friends and research that I have done, I am leaning towards an MP3 player. Considering the recent iPod price drops, I am looking into a 60 iPod photo. The knock off players have some interesting features, but I am not sure if I can trust some of the lesser known brands. I prefer to stick with something that will last for a long while.

I would love to have my entire collection, in the palm of my hand, and I am sure that MP3 portable listening will be music to my ears :D

Please help me make an informed purchase.
I am tired of flushing good money down the toilet!

Thanks!
Milan

[topspeed]

I chose iPod over the Dell Pocket DJ, iRiver, Rio,and others simply because it has the most peripherals (by far), it's a known quantity, there's tons of support, and iTunes was purported to be the best interface. I never messed around with any other interface, but I will say iTunes is extremely intuitive and I was able to use it after only a few minutes of goofing around. This is actually saying a lot as I'm pretty close to completely incompetent regarding computer stuff.

Keep in mind, you can choose the bit rate and format on how you burn your cd collection to the iPod. I was very surprised how good AAC 128 bit sounds and for what I use it for, it's very satisfactory while not chewing up a ton of space. If it sounds bad to you, simply increase the bit rate or burn lossless for true cd quality. You're on the run so much tho, I doubt you'll need to use lossless.

Hope this helps.

[rockphantom]

Well, I took the plunge and ordered a 60GB Photo iPod from Buy.com
Buy.com is having a sale on all in stock iPods to make way for the new stripped down spring 2005 models. I was able to get the 60GB with all of the extra attachments for $429! :D

Looking forward to the day my iPod arrives!

Thanks again everyone for their input.


Milan

[ciscokid1970]

I have two different items:

Creative labs nuvo 256MbTX mp3player / usb jump drive / FM radio / armband mount player.
cost $80, sounds great, holds 4 hours of music, can use it as data storage, tiny can mount on armband, only uses 1aaa battery and has FM radio, I run and ride my bike with this.

Sony DNF600 cdplayer / mp3player
cost $99 plays regular and burned CDs, also plays cds with MP3s or ATRACs also has AM FM and TV tuner, came with its own software

I am one of those guys who STILL OWNS AND BUYS CDS. Not to mention my record collection. I like the smaller storage of mp3s but they are NO replacement for CD quality.

[Geoffcin]

Well, I took the plunge and ordered a 60GB Photo iPod from Buy.com
Buy.com is having a sale on all in stock iPods to make way for the new stripped down spring 2005 models. I was able to get the 60GB with all of the extra attachments for $429! :D

Looking forward to the day my iPod arrives!

Thanks again everyone for their input.


Milan

Once you have all your music stored on the Ipod you'll never have to fumble with disks again.

[ciscokid1970]

again the purpose is find a portable CD player.

Yes I understand thay you can rip and store music to ipod but that still takes time. I do not want or have the time to rip cds.

Not to mention that my sony cd player can also play MP3s.

Another nice bonus is that I can leave my cd player on my desk and it will not disappear. Ipods are very popular among thieves.

By the way I use a creative Nomad MP3 player when exercise and travel and love it. 1GB with armband and FM radio size of lighter and only cost $120 !!!!