Portable MP3/WMA player recommendations

I'm not sure where to start in my search for MP3/WMA player recommendations: the options on the web are so overwhelming! But perhaps members of this newsgroup can provide some recommendations.

In particular, I'm looking for a player with the following:

* flash memory: at least 64 MB, preferably 128 MB * plays WMA files (which I prefer, due to their smaller file size, over MP3s) * gapless playback (for operas, etc.) * USB 2.0 compatible

optional: FM radio tuner

Obviously, I'm looking for a good quality player, and I'd like to optimize price and performance.

I don't need audiophile quality sound. I just need something to take to the office, to use when I do yard work or other work around the house, etc.

And one more thing! I'd like to find a player with upgradeable memory, especially if I enter the world of MP3/WMA players with with a 64MB device.

Right now I have 25GB of stuff that I have ripped myself from originals, though it's at 256K which is twice as big as the 'normal' 128 bitrate. And another 1.2GBs of 128s...

I am very impressed with my Archos Jukebox - plays and records MP3s, allows me to take lots of pictures when on holiday as the Jukebox can read and write to Smartmedia and CompactFlash cards - it will even play movies. Will also work as a video recorder - but I haven't bought the adaptor for that.

I only have to 20Gb version - perhaps should've waited for the 40Gb.

Phil

PS Also works as an external disk drive for my laptop & desktop - great way to share files.

The iPod uses firewire, so assuming you have a dump of all your MP3s on a suitably connected hard disk, it'd be pretty snappy.

That's an argument against it. ;

There are Firewire adapters for PCs.

Hallo Matthew,

Not just adapters

Funny I thought the PC equivalent of Firewire was Firewire - USB2 is a newer system, more widely available, similar speed.

The mp3 format doesn't support true gapless playback; I don't know about WMA. Some players include a crossfading kludge, which is good enough for a 'live album' but obviously unacceptable for CM. What I'm waiting for is a player that supports the open-source Ogg Vorbis format, which is designed for gapless playback.

Neuros Audio has a portable player in 128MB and 20GB flavors. They'll be releasing Vorbis and Linux support as a user-installable upgrade. The product specs at http://neurosaudio.com don't mention WMA, just mp3. Their USB is 1.1, which is a bit puzzling for a product released only this year.

Ogg Vorbis support is coming later to portables than to software players because Vorbis playback uses floating-point processing that portables typically don't have. There are a number of PC and Mac players that support the format, including Winamp (since version 2.80, I think.)

Hallo Sporkadelic,

I just read in another (German) group that all CD/MP3 players by iRiver support gapless MP3 playing (www.iriveramerica.com).

Although these are no memory players (only CD/CD-ROM), gapless playing seems to be feasible all right.

Ciao A.