iPOD or other. Please help.

[ricdiggle]

I'm sure I posted this earlier but I can't find it!



I have a very old, Archos 6 gig MP3 player which is now filled to capacity.



I want a new one!



So, is it iPOD all the way or should I be looking at other players too.



Sound quality is top priority. A decent pair of headphones will be used.



Anywhere cheap I can get one. Brother in law goes to the US a lot if that helps.



One last thing, I remember reading a while back that the UK model is output restricted. Is this correct?



Thanks in advance,



Richard

[Geezer]

I do too remember reading that volume was restricted on UK ipods cant remember where i saw it though

[martintyler]

I've also heard of problems with battery life, degrading badly after 9 months or so.



Other than that its better than anything else by all accounts.

[Geezer]

Thats right the batteries are supposed to die just after the warranty runs out, and replacements cost about the same as a new Ipod :o~:-o~:eek:

[MarkE19]

I'm awaiting delivery of one of these:



<table border="0" align="center" width="90%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td class="SmallText">Quote:</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">
Iriver 20GB MP3 Player With Tuner And Direct Recording

Features



Plays over 600 hours of digital music

Up to 16 hours of battery life

Supports MP3, WMA, ASF, WAV and OGG music files

Ultra-fast USB 2.0 transfers (up to 40 times faster than USB 1.0)

Integrated FM tuner

Backlit remote control with 4-line display

Built-in voice recorder

Intuitive music navigation

Real-time MP3 encoding (no PC required)

20GB of internal storage

Store or transfer files of any type

Extra-large, 8-line, backlit LCD

Rechargeable Lithium Polymer battery

Optical input and output

Upgradeable to future formats and features


and it only cost £244.99 from Amazon

Looks better than an iPod, and I think its also cheaper.



Mark.

[scott]

One last thing, I remember reading a while back that the UK model is output restricted. Is this correct?





No its not. Volume is limited on the ipod, but you can just double the volume of your stuff on iTunes, then update your iPod, voila!



I've had my 20GB for about 18mnths, no battery probs at all

[pseudo-ops]

If you don't want to carry your music around with you why not a Imerge Soundserver ? Usually come in 40Gb or 80Gb in size. Though have upgraded mine to a 200Gb drive though waranty has been er invalidated. w)

http://www.imerge.com

[ricdiggle]

Intersting about the volume. Does it not distort very badly if you just double the volume via software?

Anyone know how much they are? I can't find one on the high street at all.



Imerge stuff is very interesting but I do want to be able to take it with me unfortunately. You know, should I ever decide to join a gym or something like that! :o~:-o~:eek: Hahahahahah now that will be the day! :lol:



Richard.

[siluro]

Hey Ric



Ive haerd the pod is supposed to be limited but, I find its more than up to the job. I use mine for the train and on the over ground it drowns virtualy everything out and on the tube does a pretty good job, you can just hear the tube over the top. You really need to have a listen but the limiter IMO is not a big issue :thumbup:



Lee

[pandamoanium]

Hi,



I have the new 3rd Gen 20GB, have had it for about 6 months and it is awesome. Have downloaded about 4000 songs onto it and it works amazing. Plus the games, clock, calender, alarm etc....



The sound i did find soft and the default quality copy setting was set low. I found this website which is a great app and is for free, it upgrades the sound level of the songs on the iPod and not to the songs itself. So is great for upgrading an entire list of songs.

http://www.ringom.no/espen/ipod/

[madders]

My ipod is great, no probs with volume, can rip songs using lossless WAV or AIFF formats. Also there is a new smaller ipod called ipod mini (inspired name eh!) which has just been released.



Steve

[Gizmo 76]

Hi,



I have the new 3rd Gen 20GB, have had it for about 6 months and it is awesome. Have downloaded about 4000 songs onto it and it works amazing. Plus the games, clock, calender, alarm etc....



The sound i did find soft and the default quality copy setting was set low. I found this website which is a great app and is for free, it upgrades the sound level of the songs on the iPod and not to the songs itself. So is great for upgrading an entire list of songs.

http://www.ringom.no/espen/ipod/








Great link :thumbup: Top volume before was enough on most ocassions, but sometimes I wanted it to go a little louder. So I downloaded this and use +30 and everything is super.



Was a bit concerned using this software after only owning my iPod for a day and a bit, but i'm glad I came across it :clap: