MP3 player with line-in recording

I have been recording a classical radio station using an IRiver T30, which has line-in recording and 1 GB

I am looking for something equally convenient to record with, but with more memory (2 GB) and some kind of AC so I do not need to rely on the battery charge.

This would allow me to make longer recordings ..

I know a laptop would fit the bill, but hoping for something easier ..

Thx,

Bill Clark
Windham, VT

A few I can vouch for:

RadioYourWay from Pogo worked well for me for a while. I had an older version of what is availalble now. Not sure how the new version stacks up.

I really like the Cowon iAudio7. I'd buy one if not for a lack of Audible compatibility. Cowon is on par with iRiver in terms of functionality and quality. Amazing battery life and high quality line in recording. Other Cowon products have similar functionality so take a look at their product range to see what meets your needs.

Anything iRiver is going to be good to excellent.

Lastly, the 'best' mp3 player no one's heard of - the Insignia Pilot. It's Best Buy's house brand. I was skeptical but bought one on a whim. Functionality that is second to none, top shelf reliability and good to great sound quality compared to class leaders Cowon and iRiver. It has line in recording with almost limitless storage. It comes with 4GB or 8 GB of internal storage with an sd/sdhc slot for expansion. It doesn't have the same high quality feel as iRiver and Cowon players but has proven to be extremely durable.

A couple last thoughts: I record a lot of radio and internet audio. Unless you have a specific reason for wanting to record radio to a mobile device, recording to a computer is a lot more convenient. I use a mac mini with AudioHijack and Radioshift. The Mini is a low power computer so leaving it on all the time isn't much of a $$ problem.

Also: check to see if the radio station you record streams over the internet. If so, you can use a program such as Total recorder (for the pc) for Radioshift for the Mac.

Powering these externally is no problem as all will come with wall warts for charging. The Pilot for example is a mini usb device so any usb wall wart will work.

Good luck.

THANK YOU !

I knew abt the cowan, but not Best Buy ...

I use total recorder (standard version) to manage the files, sometimes large, that wind up on the IRiver.

I am in the mountains of VT, and we have no high speed Internet here (I am using a 28.8 dialup) so Internet radio is not possible. If it were , I know I would be shopping for a larger hard drive !

I will need to goto the Best Buy website to check this item out ..

I have gone a bit extreme with outdoor mounted FM antenna on rotator ... I get a very good signal, and will soon be going HD, so not too frustrated abt the Internet for recording.

Running Windows here ... used to have a Mac, back when a 1 GB hard drive was a MONSTER!. Never heard of a Mac Mini .. but sounds like just what I need ..

Eventually will get some wireless thing going, but don't want to out computer in music room bec of noise (audible, that is, not electrical) ...

I think a laptop would do the trick. .. will check out best buy

Bill Clark

Just checked the features of the Insignia and the IAudio7

Both appear to only record to WMA, and NOT MP3 ..
I really want to record to MP3

Any ideas ? Is there a reason I would WANT to record to WMA ?

Thx,

Bill Clark

WMA is supported as widely as mp3 in most consumer products. WMA supposedly sounds as good as mp3 at lower bit rates. Both are lossy, compressed formats. Six of one, half a dozen of the other.

Ceative V (plus) has line-in. ( it is small.) As far as I remember, it can work while charging. So you can record while plug it into the usb and charge. There is also cheap AC/car charge around in the ebay or by creative.