Fun Stuff > BAND
An Mp3 Player Question.
Scandanavian War Machine:
i have shocking data relevent to this conversation.
actually, i just have a question but i've always wanted to say that. anyway, i had 5th gen iPod video for years and it broke recently. i was bummed. so last week i bought an 80 gig classic for myself for my birthday and it's pretty wonderful except for one serious flaw.
played through a tape adapter in my car, it's about half as loud as my old one. changed the volume to max under settings, crank it all the way up, crank all the songs volumes up in iTunes. it's the same, old volume when i play it on my computer but it's ridiculously quiet in my car. it might just be my stereo or my tape adapter or something but i only noticed it with my brand-new iPod. anyone else had similar problems with the new classics?
it's not too big of a deal except some of my music is very quiet and with everything turned all the way up, it's barely audible while driving.
Ozzman:
Hmmmm.
I've read this whole thing, and I see convincing arguments for both sides..(all three...maybe more?)
I have a Zune, and sure, its MS, but MS did a better job with the Zune than they do with PCs.
By a long shot.
I've got a 1st gen Zune 30.
I love it. (oh and no problems with DRM either.)((yet))
Ok enough ranting about how cool or whatever.
As (from how I see it) the Zune and the iPod are the two big competitors, I'll just use them as examples.
Zune can hold more songs than an iPod (due to the whole format thing) and no, I'm not an audiophile or wtfe they're called..so I haven't noticed any huge difference quality-wise from mp3 to wma. "Sure," you may say, "but you can just get an 80 or 160 gig iPod"
yes, but you can also boost the hd in the Zune to 80. (and in one or two cases that I've heard of, they're now making a 160 gb laptop hd that will fit in a Zune such as mine with no problem.)
Later on I can dig up the sites where I've seen FAQs and whatnot.
Next up--yes, the Zune is more durable than the MODERN iPods (at least in my humble experiences). The old iPods were freakin beasts! but not so much anymore.
I've dropped my Zune plenty of times and the worst thing to happen is a very slight scratch on the corner of the casing. My friend dropped his iPod in class, and it was COVERED in fresh scratches. (no exaggeration, we both right after the fact.)
You may say something like the Zune has a bigger screen, thus more opportunity for scratching...well thats what they make cases for..but even if you don't have a case, the screen still seems to be stronger. (side note: the Zune screen doesn't seem to be EXACTLY flush with the casing, as the iPod's does. If you drop it, there's that much less of a chance for scratching.)
Physical aspects..done...now for firmware.
(I'm going to skip software because in my opinion iTunes sucks and Zune (the media manager) sucks. It could be just that I try to do too much at once...but who knows?)
Firmware--The Zune runs smoother, for the most part, than the iPod (again, in my humble experiences). The whole thumbnail thing they have going for albums, the whole BIG picture of the CD cover instead of the little one...that's really something I like. Instead of having to hand off the Zune to show what it is..I just hit a button to light up the screen and BAM, it's there. On an iPod, however, you have to get all close.
ugh.
There's a few numbers here and there that I can't think of at the moment...so I won't bore you any more with those.
My vote is for the Zune.
(obvious?)
***As a side note, to the guy above me..(I really don't feel like going back and quoting you) my cousin has some sort of hack/mod that he used to edit something in the iPod firmware to boost the volume. I've got absolutely no idea what he did or how he did it, but if you looked hard enough, you could probably find something somewhere about it.
(I hope I didn't leave the point.)
FireAarro:
--- Quote from: Scandanavian War Machine on 18 Dec 2007, 12:11 ---played through a tape adapter in my car, it's about half as loud as my old one. changed the volume to max under settings, crank it all the way up, crank all the songs volumes up in iTunes. it's the same, old volume when i play it on my computer but it's ridiculously quiet in my car. it might just be my stereo or my tape adapter or something but i only noticed it with my brand-new iPod. anyone else had similar problems with the new classics?
it's not too big of a deal except some of my music is very quiet and with everything turned all the way up, it's barely audible while driving.
--- End quote ---
Possibly an impedance mismatch?
Czechfury:
--- Quote from: Scandanavian War Machine on 18 Dec 2007, 12:11 ---
played through a tape adapter in my car, it's about half as loud as my old one. changed the volume to max under settings, crank it all the way up, crank all the songs volumes up in iTunes. it's the same, old volume when i play it on my computer but it's ridiculously quiet in my car. it might just be my stereo or my tape adapter or something but i only noticed it with my brand-new iPod. anyone else had similar problems with the new classics?
--- End quote ---
I have a new ipod which I play on my car stereo through a tape adapter and it seems to work just fine for me. I did have a problem similar to the one you're having a few months ago, but that turned out to be a combination of a damaged tape adapter and a blown out right speaker. I got a new tape adapter and it works fine now.
If your ipod's volume is fine when you use it on headphones, it's either a problem with the tape adapter or the stereo. I'd put money on the problem coming from you adapter, because they can be pretty fickle.
Statik:
--- Quote from: InitiateFailure on 16 Dec 2007, 10:17 ---I thought the Ipod classic kind of sucked, but this opinion is from just the store's floor model which didn't have anything on it to check out the firmware. It seems to me that the screen is smaller than the last generation (looks about the same size as the new nano) plus the new interface only uses the left side of the screen. I don't know if the right has album artwork or something since the store's was empty but it feels like the screen is underused. If anyone has the new Ipod classic, what's the deal with the interface?
I can't decide yet so I guess it's a good thing that my refund check for tuition hasn't come in yet
--- End quote ---
In response to your questions / statements:
The screen isn't smaller, in actuality, AFAIK, the only dimension that has changed is the depth of the ipod, and by like .1 of an inch or some such
The interface only ever used up that part of the screen to begin with (just because the select bar goes all the way across the screen doesnt mean its used), and yes, the blank area on the right side of the screen is used for zoomed in album covers / icons / information. ie: when you are slected on music, you will see part of an album cover kinda waver around for a few seconds before changing to a different cover. If you scroll to settings, it tells you how much HDD space you have (although this seems like a silly choice, why would I care how much space I have left while walking around, maybe a more detailed battery read out, whatever, nitpicking)
Also: The screen is still filled horizontally when you get into artist/album lists and such, to allow for longer names. I assume you didnt think they just used that side of the screen for "grey space" no matter what screen you were on.
Attempting some back on track:
The Zune's screen is not signifigantly bigger than the iPod's. They both run the same resolution (320x240). And last I checked... same resolution... bigger screen... pixels are stretched.
Personally, I would not be comfortable voiding my warranty to install a larger HDD in a Zune, if I needed bigger than 80gigs (I dont) I couldve purchased a 160gig iPod.
As far as durability. Personally, I think its negligible. If you are buying ANY portable music device, and not buying a case to put it in, you are nuts. My iPod cost too much money NOT to buy a case. (I have a hardened plastic case that covers the screen and has rubberized edges that cost me $30.
Also, something that would frustrate me to no end... I use my ipod the most in my car, driving, second most walking around campus to class (or sitting and waiting for my next class). I personally have no experience actually USING the zune as such, but how the controls feel, and the screen seem to be against any sort of ease of use in a situation that demands the majority of my attention elsewhere. Sitting in my car driving, I can make quick glances at the ipod screen and have no problems understanding exactly where it is at, artist or song wise.
File formats:
wma's are smaller, true, however, I dont care. wma's are not that much smaller to get me to switch from my ipod.
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