To iPod or not to iPod, that is the question.

[topspeed]

What about a cd-player with MP3 capabilities?

Thanks, but I'm trying to get something smaller that I won't have strapped around my waist like my previous cd player.

I just noticed the Dell Pocket DJ which is $199 and has a 5 gig memory. This looks interesting as well. The Shuffle isn't due to hit the stores for another month or two so if any of you have any experience or opinions on the Dell, please chime in.

[plextor guy]

I'd still go with a solid state player for what you want it for but if you're looking at the Dell, I'd recommend the Rio Carbon instead. You can get it for the same price as the Dell (Amazon has the Carbon right now for 188 after a rebate) but the form factor is much better for portable use. It uses the same (I'm guessing) Seagate 5GB, 1" hard drive from Seagate. The Seagate drive is significantly more robust than the Cornice drives in earlier players. Functionally, the Rio has everything you could want. Audible compatibility, voice recording, mp3/wma playback, you can set hard bookmarks (a Rio exclusive I think)) and astounding battery life. I'm getting very close to the advertised 20 hours. If you want something that will impress the vapid blonde on the treadmill next to you, the iPod mini is good and soon to be available with the 5GB Seagate drive. I'm not a big fan of the Apple Shuffle. I haven't tried one or even seen one yet but anything that doesn't let you control and view what your content is would be laughed out of the market place if it wasn't an Apple product.

[umapet97]

I have the IPOD 40 GB;and I absolutely love it.
Customizable bitrates,good battery life,very easy to use,ton of accessories,great support by Apple(havent needed for Pod,,done wonders for some Mac issues).
Paired with a set of Etymotics=bliss.
Love it playback in shuffle,making your own playlists on the fly are added benefits.
I do like ITunes as well,but I wont get into all that.

[BillB]

topspeed,

Hope you don't mind me chiming in but I've been wondering about whether I should iPod as well and this is a good thread because most people here do care about sound quality.

A question for those out there that topspeed might find meaningful as I'm in the same boat as him (as far as not downloading MP3's, only ripping from our CD collections):

How long does it take to rip the average CD to your hard drive, convert it to MP3, and download to a player?

I'm actually considering Slim Devices Squeezebox to use with a wireless network in my house to broadcast my 600+ CD collection to a secondary (background music) system. 128kps would suffice for this and it would then likely lead to purchasing poratble MP3 players for my wife and I to use at the gym, in the car, and at work.

The thought of transferring that many CDs to my computer is daunting and the only thing holding me back from the MP3 revolution.

BillB

[plextor guy]

you're going to pay about a buck a cd last time I checked. If you're going to do it yourself, it will take about 20 minutes per cd all things considered. 20 X 600 / 60= 200 hours or 8.3 days of your life. If 600 dollars is worth 8.3 days of time to do other things then it's a no brainer.

[umapet97]

I can burn straight off my ITunes playlist a cd of 16-18 songs at max rate in about 5 minutes;burning a song to the IPod is very instantaneous at max bit rate.
Burning your personal cds to ITunes personal list takes about 6-10 minutes at max rate.
Ive had no issues with quality playback sound,etc.