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Ok I don't know much about these products but would like to get one and have a few questions
1) Can I record directly from home cd player to it and would sound quality be excellant?
2) Can I plug it int the back of my home receiver and use it?
3) Do they have folders like a digital voice recorder so I can move songs around into categories?
4) How is the sound qualty recording off FM radio?
5) Do they all have screens that tell you what songs are stored in it or to search 1 out easily?
6) Can I plug it into a car radio using the radio's auxilliary output?
7) Is there much of a sound quality difference on a Sony vs Sandisk or whatever cheap ones there are?
8) What to look for on buying one in general so I don't wind up disappointed BUT at the same time are there any decent budget models (hoping to get a decent one on a loss leader/ 1 day sale type thing for $50 0r less)
Anything else I should know? I don't think video is important to me so can someone clear up the mp3--Ipod differences, thanks.
The recording features are going to vary wildly depending on the player, but I can answer the other questions.
2) Yes.
5) The screen will tell you what songs are stored. Generally, you scroll through songs alphabetically.
6) Yes.
7) The cheapness of the player does not have anything to do with the sound quality. The Sandisk players are cheap but have excellent sound quality (i.e. better than iPod).
8) Personally, I like the Sandisk players as budget models. Whether you can get one under $50 depends on how much memory you need. I got my 2 GB Sansa Clip for $35 on sale.
Ok thanks for the help. I did some research and found out that some have a line-in record feature so you can record from a cd player to it and basically found out most of the various audio features they offer. I'm going to hit 3 or 4 electronics stores and see what they have and research the ones I like and then buy one
You can also get a good deal with the Creative Zen players (they play video as well and have their own expandable SDHC slot...).
The line-in is handy, but there are also free programs out there that you can use (EAC I believe?) to rip your CD's to a format called "VBR" using a "LAME" codec.
I know, sounds complicated, but all "VBR" is is "Variable Bitrate" (The more complicated the part, the more data you need to store it) and "LAME" is just an algorithm that does it well.
But if that does not work, you can also rip at a so-so speed using something as simple as Winamp!
After ripping, it is just like drag-and-dropping filed. I would reccomend this over analog line-in recording just because you can get automatic database lookup for albums, artists and tracks without having to break up the files and label them manually.
Also, when looking for electronics, try these places for deals/reviews and prices:
Fatwallet.com
DealTaker.com Deals/bargains
Pricegrabber.com (Like Amazon, but usually more electronically oriented)
resellerratings.com A good place for seller reviews.
I also like places like Newegg.com, they have decent service and prices, but you may find something cheaper elsewhere....
Ok thanks again for the help. Been doing a lot of exhausting research into what I need and can't find it. Here's what I really need:
1) ?Line-in recording? since I dn't have a computer and need to record from my cd player to mp3 unit
2) Stereo tuner with record feature
3) card slot -or- good amount of internal storage
4) good sound quality with no hiss since I'm a bit of an audiophile and would notice subpar sound plus will be plugging in high line headphones sometimes.
The 2G zen looks OK, and has a decent rating, but is $70. (You will also need a card, 2G holds very little on its own).
The other Creative players look decent too, depending on what you want. You will have to read the stats to see if they have a line-in.
Also, no computer? How are you posting??? In all seriousness though, even if you can get a used computer from a friend, you can rip CD's pretty quickly. This technology has been around for so long you could do it on an 8 year old machine! So long as you do not have 500 CD's to rip (in which case it will take you FOREVER to do it analog-style) it should not take you more than an afternoon at your friends, or even a local internet rental place to rip your CD's. Just make sure the place you rent at has the equipment you need (as well as you having the stuff you need to attach your player to!).
4) good sound quality with no hiss since I'm a bit of an audiophile and would notice subpar sound plus will be plugging in high line headphones sometimes.
I would buy from someplace I could return it if I didn't like it. However, the most significant detail of audio quality is the MP3 compression setting (although, if you are recording by line-in that can contribute also). It is all lower than CD quality, unless you use non-compressed, but that takes too much space. Whether you hear hiss or not depends on the particular model and the headphones you will use (some are more revealing and some have an impedance level that is not optimal).
The 2G zen looks OK, and has a decent rating, but is $70. (You will also need a card, 2G holds very little on its own).
The other Creative players look decent too, depending on what you want. You will have to read the stats to see if they have a line-in.
Also, no computer? How are you posting???
I'll look at the 'Zen's.
I thought the 'I have no computer' part might confuse some and I'm using MSNTV2 (webtv) with broadband but it has it's limitations such as no hard drive and is basiclly an internet browser but we like it since we can't can't get viruses or have to worry about someone hacking the computer and other issues.
Well, the only thing you really REALLY have to worry about when you have a full computer, even WITH a virus, is when you start putting in passwords and getting into your private stuff (Credit cards, bank accounts, etc).
But the thing is, so long as you are careful you do not have much of anything to fear. You just can't be careless.
This technology has been around for so long you could do it on an 8 year old machine!
Hey, the computer I bought in 1999 did it pretty well!
I'll second the recommendation to get a cheap used computer. It's going to be a hassle to manage your music just on the player itself, not to mention that it will take a much longer time to rip the CDs using analog recording rather than digital.
If you're worried about viruses and hackers, there's a foolproof way to avoid them. Just don't connect to the Internet! Any recent computer will have MP3 ripping software already on it.
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In all seriousness though, even if you can get a used computer from a friend, you can rip CD's pretty quickly. This technology has been around for so long you could do it on an 8 year old machine! So long as you do not have 500 CD's to rip (in which case it will take you FOREVER to do it analog-style) it should not take you more than an afternoon at your friends, or even a local internet rental place to rip your CD's. Just make sure the place you rent at has the equipment you need (as well as you having the stuff you need to attach your player to!).
