What is the nicest hardware that has a stable Rockbox port?

[eyeball226]

I'm looking for people's opinions so this isn't specifically what has the best specs, but can include build quality and aesthetics. I'm looking to buy something with running Rockbox in mind.

[Falco98]

IMHO you should consider trying to score an 80GB 5.5gen iPod on ebay.  Even if it's not the *very* best it's one of the top few.  You might have to dig around a bit to find one, though.

[sithlord32786]

Yeah, I just picked up a 5th gen. 80gb. My iriver h10 isn't working and I've always wanted an iPod so I pulled the trigger about 30 minutes ago.

By the way, it doesn't have to be a 5.5. As far as I know, the only difference between a 5g and a 5.5g is the extra battery life when watching videos, slightly brighter screen, and the firmware with the "search" function, which doesn't matter since it will be "rockboxed." Got mine for $117 and it is in pretty good shape.

[AlexP]

It completely depends what you want.  Do you want recording (get an iriver H100), or a radio (I'd probably choose gigabeat F), or a remote, or a lcd remote, what storage capacity, do you want to be able to watch video (if so, don't get an ipod video) etc. etc.

[gevaerts]

a radio (I'd probably choose gigabeat F)

This is an odd choice. You must dislike all radio stations in your area...

[AlexP]

Yes, that was a brain fart, not sure what I was thinking there.

To make it very clear - the F does not have a radio.  For a radio target with flash, I'd have one of the sansas.

[eyeball226]

Thanks for the opinions guys.

Sorry for not supplying much info in the first post. I was more just asking everyone's preferences, but since people are directly suggesting things I'll be more specific.

I didn't really use the microphone on my old CZV:M, so I'm not really bothered about that (unless there was a multitrack recording plugin but I already saw the thread where someone was told it was virtually impossible). I never listen to the radio either, so that's not much of a concern. Size wise, it has to be 30GB or larger.

The main thing that attracts me to Rockbox is the support for various lossless formats, along gapless playback, crossfading and replay gain. Do all players support these equally well? I think I'm leaning towards an iPod. Normally I would never buy one, but buying it second hand and using Rockbox makes me feel ok about it. ;)

EDIT: Forgot about remotes. Which players have remotes and do they work in Rockbox? I've never had a player with a remote but I've always been slightly jealous of them.

[nls]

The main thing that attracts me to Rockbox is the support for various lossless formats, along gapless playback, crossfading and replay gain. Do all players support these equally well? I think I'm leaning towards an iPod. Normally I would never buy one, but buying it second hand and using Rockbox makes me feel ok about it.

EDIT: Forgot about remotes. Which players have remotes and do they work in Rockbox? I've never had a player with a remote but I've always been slightly jealous of them.

All rockbox players except the very old archos hwcodec ones support the same formats and audio dsp features, only the gigabeat S is fast enough to decode the heaviest APE files though.
If you want to use lots of dsp a player with a faster cpu than the ipod video might be a good idea but that also depends on what format the audio you are playing is in.

LCD remotes are available and supported in rockbox for iriver h100/h300 and iaudio m3/m5/x5
non-lcd remotes are available and supported for the gigabeat f/x and s IIRC
*some* ipod remotes are supported too, check the  http://www.rockbox.org/wiki/IpodAccessories wiki page.

[lestatar]

I gotta vote for the Toshiba Gigabeat FX.  My device is simply amazing with Rockbox - a revelation for sure.

Thanks Rockbox!

[eyeball226]

All rockbox players except the very old archos hwcodec ones support the same formats and audio dsp features, only the gigabeat S is fast enough to decode the heaviest APE files though.
If you want to use lots of dsp a player with a faster cpu than the ipod video might be a good idea but that also depends on what format the audio you are playing is in.

LCD remotes are available and supported in rockbox for iriver h100/h300 and iaudio m3/m5/x5
non-lcd remotes are available and supported for the gigabeat f/x and s IIRC
*some* ipod remotes are supported too, check the  http://www.rockbox.org/wiki/IpodAccessories wiki page.

Which players have a faster CPU than iPods?

[AlexP]

Gigabeat F/X/S, some newer Sansas are faster, plus some touchscreen targets, nano 2G

The iriver H100/H300 and iaudio X5/M5/M3 have processors clocked faster than the ipods, but are single core as opposed to the dual core ipods.  They are also a different architecture (Coldfire as opposed to ARM) so it is difficult to compare directly.

[eyeball226]

Hmmm, well a quick look on ebay for a Gigabeat showed nothing but batteries. I'm in the UK if that makes a difference, perhaps the Gigabeat didn't sell much here. As long as the 5.5 gen iPod port runs smoothly, I think I'll go for one of those.