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Question

Mp3 player dilemma-What would you do here?

Aug 12, 2012 6:44AM PDT

So I have a bricked Sansa Fuze+, 16GB. I've tried everything, it doesn't work, but that's not what I'm asking here.

If this thing is still under warranty, I know I'll probably get it fixed. Probably. It's just annoying since this will be the third time I've sent it out.

But if it isn't under warranty, here's the dilemma. I can either get myself another Sansa for a little under $100 or wait through the fall until Christmas to just get an iPod Classic.

I mean, 160GB is pretty sweet space to have considering my actual music collection is closer to 60GB and I have movies I'd put on it. It's $230 on Amazon, which I suppose is kind of fair if on the pricier side? I think I've been ok with the Sansa. Not great, but ok. Which makes me want the iPod.

I've got to tell you that even if the Sansa is under warranty it's pretty tempting to ask for a better player under the tree. I've been a good girl and all.

Discussion is locked

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Answer
I moved to other than ipods.
Aug 15, 2012 1:41AM PDT

Given my Android tablets, handhelds and how I can use Dropbox to shuttle things on and off I can't see picking up another iPod or the like. Yes, I own the old classic 20GB iPod and it's fine for what I use it for.

The Philips GoGear has turned out to be pretty nice but no 160GB. Remember I'm pretty old school and don't feel the need to carry my 50 CDs everywhere I go.
Bob

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Aug 21, 2012 1:01PM PDT

Ah, I can see why you don't need it. I don't have fancy tablets or anything. I have a netbook that will be under repairs soon and a cheap pay as you go phone. And now, the fixed Fuze+. That's all the gadgets I have. Maybe a Kindle eventually, but I'm leaning towards no.

Yeah, the GoGear seemed nice, but pretty small to me.

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Answer
But is the iPod classic a 'better' player?
Aug 21, 2012 3:43AM PDT

It in reality might not be 'better', depending on how you actually use/manage your large collection of music.

I can think of the example of adding/removing/editing a music collection regularly. Being able to drag/drop quite easily to a Sansa makes it quite a beast IMO. Separating yourself from the unnecessary bloat of iTunes can be refreshing IME and O. Also, with the 64GB microSD card on the market now ($50, but prices will drop, and 128GB out soon too) means it could perhaps become a very flexible way to maintain redundant backups of a big collection.


The screen is so tiny on the classic, I would think of movies as being quite an afterthought as a legitimate feature. Now if it was an iPod Touch, that would be different. [thinking you & I would benefit from a 128GB iPod touch(!) Wink ]

Do you listen to any lossless audio (FLAC)? I have loaded the free Rockbox firmware on two of my Sansas, and have also tried it out on different iPods as well. You can dual boot the Sansa, which makes it a fun way to be able to enjoy better quality audio tracks. Moving away from earbuds is what you would do as well. Contrary to popular belief, not only quieter jazz/classical passages benefit from being in lossless format. The different can be noticeable vs MP3.

FWIW, you can often find a refurbished Sansa fuze + for $30-40. Both my Sansas were purchased refurbished and are still kicking. You could pick up a 8GB refurb on the cheap, then add a larger capacity microSD card so you have enough space.

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I think the classic is better.
Aug 21, 2012 12:57PM PDT

I forgot this thread I made, but I did end up getting my Fuze+ fixed free under warranty. It made sense for now to get the best for my money. If i paid for the Fuze and can get it fixed for free, why not?

Well, Pepe, it's my opinion that iTunes is easy to use and not a hassle aside from the DRM, which I convert my music to get rid of anyway. iTunes drags and drops too once you plug the iPod in. But if people want an iPod and don't want to deal with iTunes, they can easily use Winamp or something.

I use those cards too. I've only used 4 and 8 GB and in my experience it always slows the Sansa down. It has difficulty turning on and is always reloading the card. And those are small size cards. It just got to be such a hassle for me to use them and keep switching them out. If I can have everything I want on one 160GB player, that makes more sense to me. I have a huge capacity external hard drive that I have all music, movies, pictures, and documents on just because it's easier to have things together. Though I will eventually get another smaller drive for the more important things because it's wise to save things in multiple places.

The screen is small but still manageable for me, imo. But I agree, we would benefit from a bigger iPod touch. Wink

My collection is all MP3 here, I'm no audiophile. MP3 is still good enough for me. Laugh

I've decided once the Sansa is out of warranty and croaks for good, I'll be back to the iPod classic. But Pepe, let's keep our fingers crossed by then the Touch will have more space!

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Glad you got a fix under warranty
Aug 22, 2012 4:07AM PDT

That should help fund the next acquistion Wink.

FWIW, iTunes has not sold DRM songs since late2008/early2009. Maybe you are referring to the older stuff in your library?

The advantage I find using drag/drop with the Sansa (with Rockbox, especially) is that you can use your own folder/file scheme of your choice, and not have to open up a program like iTunes to add content. Winamp with an iPod is at best a crappy solution IME and O.

My gut feeling is you had either corrupt microSD cards, or your Sansa firmware/hardware was corrupt since I have never experienced any sort of slowdown by using external memory cards. And that's on three or four different models. <shrug>

Whatever you do, with such a large library on a classic, I highly recommend multiple redundant backups if possible. I've even got a couple of big chunks of my own music archive on dropbox & box.net for good measure Wink