MP3 players useless?

I almost always have my ipod with me for rides longer than an hour and that
will go loud enough to blot out a truck buzzing your bars, although for
both the longevity of my hearing & my life I tend to have it so its the
right volume for the quiet dorset lanes and therefore almost unheard in
heavy traffic. Continues to work after regular soakings too. I use in ear
phones with the bits that loop round the top of your ear to hold them in
place, so maybe your lack of volume is a headphone problem?

"Michael Klontzas" wrote in message
...
I am thinking of buying myself one of those keyring MP3 players for
listening to recorded talk radio but having just experimented with the
MP3 player integrated into my mobile, and an FM radio in the past, I am
wondering if it's worth the trouble. Does any of this stuff actually
work? Most of the time I could hardly tell if the thing was switched on.
If it's not the London traffic, it's the wind. Is it the player, the tiny
headphones or is it completely hopeless because of external noise? Anyone
any positive experiences, particularly with keyring MP3 players or
similar?

TIA

--
Michael Klontzas
Before enlightenment / chopping wood / carrying water
After enlightenment / chopping wood / carrying water
Zen Proverb

On Tue, 24 May 2005 22:33:17 +0100, Michael Klontzas
wrote:

I am thinking of buying myself one of those keyring MP3 players for
listening to recorded talk radio but having just experimented with the
MP3 player integrated into my mobile, and an FM radio in the past, I am
wondering if it's worth the trouble. Does any of this stuff actually
work? Most of the time I could hardly tell if the thing was switched on.
If it's not the London traffic, it's the wind. Is it the player, the tiny
headphones or is it completely hopeless because of external noise? Anyone
any positive experiences, particularly with keyring MP3 players or
similar?

I like cycling with music and the whole mp3 thing is a real boon in my
view.

The first mp3 player I used was a cheapo flash memory unit, probably
just what you mean by a keyring player. It was truly abysmal. The
sound quality was dire, even when used with decent headphones. The
menu system and controls were clumsy and prone to doing the opposite
of what was required. It ate batteries at an alarming rate. The whole
experience was a real disappointment.

Perhaps other budget players would give a better account of themselves
but I'd warn anyone considering that sort of purchase to be ready with
the return/refund packaging.

On the other hand, a few months back I bought an iPod mini and I
absolutely love it. It's superior in every respect to the first one,
by orders of magnitude. It was significantly more expensive of course,
so is an unfair comparison, but it's clear that I should have spent
proper money first time around.

The sound quality is excellent. It's obviously not going to rival a
decent home hi-fi using original cd's as a source, but this is a
mobile solution, and it's everything that my ears ask for under those
circumstances.

You ask about external noise, particularly wind; I find that can be
dealt with effectively by the correct choice of earphones.

Regular headphones that have the foam pad sitting on the outer ear are
useless on a bike, all you hear is whistling and traffic . I use an
ear canal type bud, not just the smaller ear buds that sit in your
outer ear, but the type that push a short way /into/ your ear. See
he

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...100785-1767617

http://tinyurl.com/8g5sv


This kind of design seals out almost all external noise, it will just
be your thoughts and your music. This raises a safety issue of course,
being so isolated from traffic noise, but I'm satisfied it's possible
to properly compensate for this with thorough visual precautions.

More expensive players also come with the option of a remote control,
and this is something I regard as essential for use on the bike. You
can tuck the player itself permanently out of harms way, in a pocket,
armband case, wherever, and clip the remote somewhere convenient. That
way adjusting the volume, or pausing the music while you speak to
someone, is just a simple button press. Much better than digging
around and juggling one handed with the player while on the go.

I went out for an hours jaunt late last night. Thrashed about for a
bit while listening to some very loud Audioslave, then switched over
and had some more of Kerouac's On The Road read to me, it was
wonderful.

I wouldn't be without a good mp3 player now


"Bob"

--

Email address is spam trapped.
To reply directly remove the beverage.

On Wed, 25 May 2005 05:02:40 +0100, Michael Klontzas
wrote:

I can't see why a quality keyring MP3 player wouldn't be as good as an
iPod really. These days they come with 1GB memory and are sold by the
likes of Sony and Creative.

I agree.

I had assumed when you said keyring player you meant something cheap
and cheerful, and wanted to warn you of my experience in that area.
Re-reading your post though, I see you didn't necessarily imply a
cheap player, my fault.

Along with the ones you mention, I also hear good things about iRiver
models.

Be careful if you end up looking closely at Sony players, until
recently their line of mp3 players actually /weren't/ mp3 players. You
were forced to convert any mp3 files (any audio in fact) into Sony's
own proprietary ATRAC format before their players would recognise it.
I used to have to do this with a Sony minidisc player and it was a
right royal pain in the arse, for several reasons. Following crap
sales Sony have now seen the light and started to add native support
for mp3 and other common formats to their product line, but I don't
know how far advanced that process is currently. Something to bear in
mind at least.

http://tinyurl.com/8g5sv

This raises a safety issue of course,
being so isolated from traffic noise, but I'm satisfied it's possible
to properly compensate for this with thorough visual precautions.

I find it incredible that the headphones can be that effective! Last time
I tried listening to an MP3 player while riding in traffic I could hardly
hear anything at all coming from the headphones. I should definitely give
those headphones a try.

I've used a pair of those for a year or so and they get my heartiest
recommendation, they really do. I think you'd be astonished at how
much external noise they cut out. If you decide to go for the iPod
Shuffle, the bundled Apple headphones will fetch about a tenner on
ebay (as long as you leave them sealed), which would help subsidise
the purchase of something more isolating.

I am planning to use the MP3 player for podcasts -- mostly R4.

Sounds good (bad pun, sorry). I keep meaning to listen to more radio
content in that way but haven't got round to it yet. I think I read
recently that the BBC are planning on expanding the amount of material
they release in this way, which can't be a bad thing.

The only other bit of advice I'd offer if you are new to this sort of
set up, is that the method used to manage your music/podcasts and
transfer to and from your chosen player is absolutely critical. It
simply /must/ work well.

I previously used a Sony minidisc player that would connect to my PC
to load discs with music. The Sony software was an embarrassment and
even without the ATRAC conversion process the transfer method was
tortuous, and it made using the player a real chore. This meant I
didn't use it as often as I would have liked and I never felt I really
got proper value from the purchase.

What you need is something seamlessly efficient. A click, click of
your mouse, a brief pause and your files are on, or off, your player.
Wash and Go, as it were. When it's almost effortless to take with you
your latest podcasts and albums, you are more likely to take them, and
hence enjoy them, on your travels.

The Apple software is excellent in this respect. I understand their
next version of iTunes will actually automate the process of
downloading and sync'ing your favourite regular podcasts to your iPod,
which might be a particular benefit to you. Something like a simple
drag and drop interface would also work very well I think. Any player
that would require me to use some proprietary software to manage
transfers would likely raise a big warning flag in my mind.


"Bob"

--

Email address is spam trapped.
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Roedd Paul D wedi ysgrifennu:

Continues to work after
regular soakings too. --

Mine went through a full (low temperature) cycle in the washing machine. I
dried it out slowly at room temp and it returned to perfect working order.
Earphones were shot through, though.

Rob

http://www.asta51.dsl.pipex.com/webcam/

On Wed, 25 May 2005 05:02:40 +0100, Michael Klontzas wrote:

I find it incredible that the headphones can be that effective! Last time
I tried listening to an MP3 player while riding in traffic I could hardly
hear anything at all coming from the headphones. I should definitely give
those headphones a try.

I was given an ipod for my birthday at the weekend, I love it. The
earphones that came with it are great, but as Bob said wouldn't be suitable
for cycling, they fall out too easily. I would love to be able to listen to
music as I cycle sometimes, but I find the thought of being unable to hear
much *other* than what is coming through the earphones worrying. We live in
a quiet area and a car appearing suddenly from behind me would make me
jump! I also like to have enough advance warning of tractors coming so as
not to be caught on a bend on a narrow road as they pass. Don't suppose
anyone knows of some sort of device with a small speaker that could be hung
around ones neck, pinned onto a jumper or whatever?? Any other thoughts or
ideas, or am I just a wimp? :-)


--
Holly, in France
Holiday home in Dordogne
http://la-plaine.chez.tiscali.fr

in message , Michael Klontzas
') wrote:

I am thinking of buying myself one of those keyring MP3 players for
listening to recorded talk radio but having just experimented with the
MP3 player integrated into my mobile, and an FM radio in the past, I
am wondering if it's worth the trouble. Does any of this stuff
actually work?

Yes.

Most of the time I could hardly tell if the thing was
switched on. If it's not the London traffic, it's the wind. Is it the
player, the tiny headphones or is it completely hopeless because of
external noise? Anyone any positive experiences, particularly with
keyring MP3 players or similar?

Never tried a keyring type player. I have a Creative Zen Micro, which is
about the size of a box of matches and contains a 4Gb hard disk. It
works very well for playing recorded music and recorded talk radio
programmes but the built in FM radio isn't much good.

--
(Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
;; Sending your money to someone just because they've erected
;; a barrier of obscurity and secrets around the tools you
;; need to use your data does not help the economy or spur
;; innovation. - Waffle Iron Slashdot, June 16th, 2002

in message , Michael Klontzas
') wrote:

On Tue, 24 May 2005 23:07:05 +0100, Paul D wrote:
I almost always have my ipod with me for rides longer than an hour
and that
will go loud enough to blot out a truck buzzing your bars, although
for both the longevity of my hearing & my life I tend to have it so
its the right volume for the quiet dorset lanes and therefore almost
unheard in heavy traffic.

My problems are heavy traffic and wind in the ears. It would take *a
lot* more volume to cancel traffic noise out and make riding
dangerous. IME the wind is far more noisy than any commercially
available personal stereo can ever be.

Errr.... No. Mine would deafen me if I used it a full blast (which I
never do).

Yes, I thought about that too. I may give other headphones a try just
to see. Some of them are more responsive than others, regardless of
external design. The ones you describe are probably a good choice,
short of going for those huge noise-canceling, self-powered, dynamic
Bose headphones a friend has.

Mine has the basic in-ear earbud things. Actually I don't find them very
comfortable and if I used it a lot I would replace them with something
else, but they're loud enough by any standards.

--
(Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

Morning had broken. I found a rather battered tube of Araldite
resin in the bottom of the toolbag.

Holly in France wrote:

I would love to be
able to listen to music as I cycle sometimes, but I find the thought
of being unable to hear much *other* than what is coming through the
earphones worrying.

Don't know much about speakers, but find regular in ear headphones (with
hooky things to go over the ears) fine for listening to both music and
traffic at the same time. If you have problems you might want to (serious
suggestion) get your ears syringed - a friend had it done and was amazed at
the difference it made.

Mark in Manchester

Michael Klontzas wrote:
On Tue, 24 May 2005 23:24:00 GMT, Call me Bob wrote:
On Tue, 24 May 2005 22:33:17 +0100, Michael Klontzas
wrote:
Perhaps other budget players would give a better account of
themselves but I'd warn anyone considering that sort of purchase to
be ready with the return/refund packaging.

On the other hand, a few months back I bought an iPod mini and I
absolutely love it. It's superior in every respect to the first one,
by orders of magnitude.

I can't see why a quality keyring MP3 player wouldn't be as good as an
iPod really. These days they come with 1GB memory and are sold by the
likes of Sony and Creative. There is even an Apple iPod version:
http://tinyurl.com/asp8h In fact some of them get impressive user
reviews. I take your point though that there are a lot of cheapos
around ATM.


I have one of the 1Gb Creative Nuvo models, cost about £100 a few months
back. I think its better than the Apple iPod equivalent because of its
screen; if you organise your music into folders (only one level deep is
supported), its easy to jump between different sorts of output. The
backlight causes audio buzzes, but I run mine without the backlight.

It does all I would expect; USB2 is fast to load it. Sound is decent
(depends on the original source and compression). Headphones acceptable
quality (though I am tempted to get something else). The FM radio works on
reasonably strong signals. Battery life is around 15 hours (I use a
rechargable metal hydride battery).
The audio-record function from line-in does a tollerable job, though I think
I should have forgone this feature and bought the other version which has
its USB plug integral with the unit, rather than a separate lead (I made up
my own 6cm long lightweight lead in the end).
Audio record from radio is OK. The in-built microphone is dictation machine
quality only.

Sound is loud enough for cycling in quiet conditions, though wind whistle
can drown things out.

I usually use it for time-shifted radio output rather than music; and the
move to "podcasting" of various bits of Radio4 is wonderful.

And it doubles as a file-shifting device between computers.

I'm content with the product, decent value for the money spent.

- Nigel


--
Nigel Cliffe,
Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/

Nigel Cliffe wrote:
Michael Klontzas wrote:

On Tue, 24 May 2005 23:24:00 GMT, Call me Bob wrote:

On Tue, 24 May 2005 22:33:17 +0100, Michael Klontzas
wrote:
Perhaps other budget players would give a better account of
themselves but I'd warn anyone considering that sort of purchase to
be ready with the return/refund packaging.

On the other hand, a few months back I bought an iPod mini and I
absolutely love it. It's superior in every respect to the first one,
by orders of magnitude.

I can't see why a quality keyring MP3 player wouldn't be as good as an
iPod really. These days they come with 1GB memory and are sold by the
likes of Sony and Creative. There is even an Apple iPod version:
http://tinyurl.com/asp8h In fact some of them get impressive user
reviews. I take your point though that there are a lot of cheapos
around ATM.



I have one of the 1Gb Creative Nuvo models, cost about £100 a few months
back. I think its better than the Apple iPod equivalent because of its
screen; if you organise your music into folders (only one level deep is
supported), its easy to jump between different sorts of output. The
backlight causes audio buzzes, but I run mine without the backlight.

It does all I would expect; USB2 is fast to load it. Sound is decent
(depends on the original source and compression). Headphones acceptable
quality (though I am tempted to get something else). The FM radio works on
reasonably strong signals. Battery life is around 15 hours (I use a
rechargable metal hydride battery).
The audio-record function from line-in does a tollerable job, though I think
I should have forgone this feature and bought the other version which has
its USB plug integral with the unit, rather than a separate lead (I made up
my own 6cm long lightweight lead in the end).
Audio record from radio is OK. The in-built microphone is dictation machine
quality only.

Sound is loud enough for cycling in quiet conditions, though wind whistle
can drown things out.

I usually use it for time-shifted radio output rather than music; and the
move to "podcasting" of various bits of Radio4 is wonderful.

And it doubles as a file-shifting device between computers.

I'm content with the product, decent value for the money spent.

- Nigel



I have a K700i which I use for it's MP3, I currently have about 12 hours
of music on it. I find it works fine on the cycle at any speed and
allows me to hear the traffic also. It even works on the motor bike up
to about 45/50mph.
For those of you who have 3GP/MP3 players, try this, MP3 your tunes at
16 bps Stereo, I use Sony Sound Forge, then itune AAC @16bps and convert
them in mono, use CKRename to change the file suffix to 3GP and load to
your phone. The resultant file is about 140k for 3-5 mins as opposed to
1-1.5mb and the quality is very passable.

Sniper8052