What would you buy?

[JimZipCode]

My iAudio X5L, which I loved more than Tivo (maybe), has finally given up the ghost.  It needs a second expensive repair, which is prompting me to search for a replacement.  Unfortunately, since I haven't needed a DAP in years, I've lost touch with the market.

What would you get? 

I would like "high" capacity (like 30Gb+, pref more), great sound quality, and Rockbox support.  And reliability, of course.

The iPod Classic 160Gb keeps catching my eye.  They have them on display near the entrance of my local CostCo.  But without a Rockbox port – without, even, the prospect of a Rockbox port in the near future – there's no way.  If I thought there might be a functioning port in the next few months, I'd feel differently.

What's good?

[Zenit]

Think about iPod Classic 160 + main board from iPod Video 60/80 (for example from eBay) = iPod 160Gb Rockboxed!
Good battery, metal case, good hdd, and the best firmware

[krazykit]

Think about iPod Classic 160 + main board from iPod Video 60/80 (for example from eBay) = iPod 160Gb Rockboxed!
Good battery, metal case, good hdd, and the best firmware

Yeah, that won't work.  The Classic's hard drive connects differently (it's not ZIF like the Video's).

As for other options, the Gigabeats are easy enough to swap in new hard drives and can be found reasonably inexpensively.

[Zenit]

+ maybe some connector for it. I think eBay has something interesting.

[evilnick]

If you're going to go the iPod video route (and money is no object) then try rapidrepair.com and get one with a 240GB HDD that is Rockbox-compatible. Although IMHO the iPods are not the best players to showcase Rockbox (until/unless we have a breakthrough on the broadcom chip).

[JimZipCode]

Bump.  It's been almost a year.  What would you get, if you were buying a player now?

• At least 16Gb capacity, preferably double that, or more
• Good sound qualtiy
• Rockbox support

I don't care about video, or games, or internet.  Just want to listen to my tunes.

Thanks,

Jim

[TexasRockbox]

I'd find a good condition, used iPod Video 5.5g, 80GB, upgrade the drive to 240GB, upgrade the battery to 850mah.  Parts are plentiful so if the scroll wheel is worn, back panel scratched, etc., the iPod Video can be made to look like new.  It runs Rockbox very well.

It might not sound as good as the Cowon X5L but the iPod has worked for more than three years.  Or, see what happens with the developing iPod Classic port.

[JimZipCode]

I'd find a good condition, used iPod Video 5.5g, 80GB, and...

Man, those things are going like hotcakes on eBay.  Seems to be a couple of auctions closing every day, used ones going for prices in the $100-105 neighborhood.  Plus refurbished "Buy it now" for $140.

[TexasRockbox]

Yep, some people still prefer the 5.5g to the more recent iPod Classic:

Better sound, better scrollwheel sensitivity, able to use a full skin that covers the scroll wheel.  It's easily Rockbox-able and repair parts are plentiful.  Can be upgraded to 240GB easily (even the 30gb version with a new larger back).  Also, it's much easier to disassemble and repair while the Classic is closed up like a bank vault.

Check local pawn shops, I do see iPod 5.5g there fairly often amongst battle-worn Classics.  The sound is not as good (IMHO) as the Cowon X5.

For HDD, other popular vintage players would be the iRiver H1x0, H3x0 series and the previously mentioned Toshiba Gigabeats.

Don't have a Sansa Fuze or Clip but their owners seem to love them and no HDD to go bad.

[JimZipCode]

Wow, the Sansa Clip+ is very impressive!

I normally wouldn't pay any attention to a "small" capacity flash player.  For me the point of a DAP is to be able to carry around a lot of music in a tidy package.  But my local Costco has a display of Clip+'s for $45.  I came home and checked it was a stable Rockbox target, and upgradeable with additional memory.  A couple days ago I was back in the store, and a Clip+ leaped into my cart.

This thing is unbelievable.  Teeny tiny little gizmo, about as big as 1-1/2 of my thumbs; super light-weight, it will easily clip to your shirt pocket or lapel.  The "clip" part of it feels very strong & sturdy: feels like there's a very high ratio of "grip power" to the weight of the player, so if you clipped it onto something it would stay very secure.  Easily Rockboxable with the Windows Installer: that would have gone even faster if I'd taken a few minutes to read the player's instructions first, and learned how to put it in MSC mode.

Tiny screen, of course.  The theme "H12" does a nice job of presenting the most relevant info, in a clean readable way.  Need to squint a little when scrolling thru menus – I'm 45, I guess that's a problem that's not going to get better. 

The sound quality seems excellent!  Shockingly good for such a little postage stamp.  At first listen, I'd say it's noticeably better than the 80GB iPod Video 5.5.  Haven't tried it with my Grado headphones yet, so maybe it will sound "small".  But have played it in the car, where it sounds pretty good.  And the earbuds that come with it seem pretty good too.

Controls are extremely intuitive, well-placed, easy to use.  I haven't found a one-click method of returning to the WPS from database browsing: that is the closest thing I have to a complaint.

8Gb on board.  Turns out that's a pretty sizable chunk of music: enough for everything that's in heavy rotation this week.  At that storage capacity, this would be a great player for taking to the gym, or wearing while commuting on the subway, or going on a ski trip.

But then you can drop ~$80 to add a 32Gb microSD card to it!  I will probably do that in a week or 3 – next paycheck, or the one after.  At 32-40Gb of music storage space, this suddenly becomes a very, very serious audio player.  This little thing that is only 2 or 3 times the size of the "power" button on my stereo receiver.

I am amazed.  Simply amazed.

[TexasRockbox]

It's a tiny wonder -- nice two color OLED screen also.  Not much in the way of movie playback  , but, so what, very readable from all angles.

If (when?) MicroSD prices drop significantly ($1.00 USD per Gig or less) several of those tiny 32GB cards would carry a lot for not too much money.

[cereal_killer]

Hey  JimZipCode,

yeah, the clip is a nice little gadged. I enjoy it too (of course rockboxed).

Maybe you already know, but you can access the wps from the menus by pressing the home+select buttons simultaneously.

Greetings,

c_k

[JimZipCode]

you can access the wps from the menus by pressing the home+select buttons simultaneously.

Thanks.

Not working!  Believe it or not. 

Everything else is working fine; and I can get to the WPS by pressing Home, scrolling to Now Playing and clicking, so it's not terrible.  But oddly, pressing both keys at once is not working.

Maybe I'm doing it wrong.

[pixelma]

I recently tried out a Clip+ and got the WPS shortcut working by pressing down the Home button slightly earlier than the Select button, keeping it pressed though.

[cereal_killer]

Oh yeah, that's the way it works as you describe it pixelma. forgot to mention that, because I thought, that I could never press the buttons simultaneously and so I press the home button a little bit earlier and it works.

Greetings,

c_k