12 replies to this topic

[prasantrin]

My precious Siren D300 MP3 player seems to have died of a sudden and massive heart attack. I think I might have shocked it to death with static electricity. Woe is me!

So now I'm on the hunt for a new MP3 player. I don't want an apple because I don't want to deal with iTunes. I want something like my Siren--plug in (don't even need a USB cord with Siren because there's a slide out thing to stick in a USB port, but I don't expect to find an MP3 player that has that anymore), and drop music from Windows Media Player into the Siren music folder. It's that simple to use, and I want that kind of simplicity.

I don't think the Cowon J3 is quite that simple, but it seems like a player I could love. It's rather large compare to my Siren, but it's pretty. I like pretty.

Or I could go with a Microsoft Zune, which I assume would work well with WMP, but I read that you do need to download some kind of software in order to use it. So what do I know? Plus the newest Zunes don't get very good reviews, so maybe I don't want to go in that direction?

Or how about iRiver? I think iRiver bought Siren a few years ago, so maybe I'd like iRiver?

Any suggestions?

FWIW, I mostly just use(d ) my Siren to listen to music while exercising, and occasionally as a memory stick when I needed to unload pictures off my camera SD card while travelling. But I could learn to use an MP3 player for more if I had reason to. Like if it were easy to use and pretty.

[splinky]

buy a used nike brand mp3 player on ebay.

[prasantrin]

It's much cheaper than the Cowon J3, and that's good! But it's actually kind of expensive for a used MP3 player ($50?? Or if I bid, at least $20 since the current bid is $19.99)

But it only holds 32 songs. Not so good.

It uses 1 AAA external battery! That's good.

It's not very pretty. Not not so good, but not good, either.

I will search for more--the ones listed right now are only 128MB, but I read they came in larger versions, so if I can find a reasonably priced one with at least 1GB of memory, it might be OK.

[ghostrider]

My precious Siren D300 MP3 player seems to have died of a sudden and massive heart attack. I think I might have shocked it to death with static electricity. Woe is me!

So now I'm on the hunt for a new MP3 player. I don't want an apple because I don't want to deal with iTunes. I want something like my Siren--plug in (don't even need a USB cord with Siren because there's a slide out thing to stick in a USB port, but I don't expect to find an MP3 player that has that anymore), and drop music from Windows Media Player into the Siren music folder. It's that simple to use, and I want that kind of simplicity.

I don't think the Cowon J3 is quite that simple, but it seems like a player I could love. It's rather large compare to my Siren, but it's pretty. I like pretty.

Or I could go with a Microsoft Zune, which I assume would work well with WMP, but I read that you do need to download some kind of software in order to use it. So what do I know? Plus the newest Zunes don't get very good reviews, so maybe I don't want to go in that direction?

Or how about iRiver? I think iRiver bought Siren a few years ago, so maybe I'd like iRiver?

Any suggestions?

FWIW, I mostly just use(d ) my Siren to listen to music while exercising, and occasionally as a memory stick when I needed to unload pictures off my camera SD card while travelling. But I could learn to use an MP3 player for more if I had reason to. Like if it were easy to use and pretty.

If you google Siren D300, this is the #3 hit in all the world!

(The first two are for dealers in D300 Police Sirens, which you may also want to consider. I mean, why not?)

[splinky]

It's much cheaper than the Cowon J3, and that's good! But it's actually kind of expensive for a used MP3 player ($50?? Or if I bid, at least $20 since the current bid is $19.99)

But it only holds 32 songs. Not so good.

It uses 1 AAA external battery! That's good.

It's not very pretty. Not not so good, but not good, either.

I will search for more--the ones listed right now are only 128MB, but I read they came in larger versions, so if I can find a reasonably priced one with at least 1GB of memory, it might be OK.

also look at philips gogear players. philips made the nike players

[memesuze]

I've not off-loaded pictures, but I'm very happy with my Sansa Clip+ 2 GB player for $30 on Amazon. I added a home and car charger kit for $6. It's very small and clips right to a slacks pocket or fits in your shirt pocket. Has an FM radio tuner which I also like. The sound on FM stations can get fuzzy, but you pull them back in clear by moving up a notch and then back down to the correct frequency.

I download zillions of podcasts and copy mp3s to a mini-SDHC card that fits in the slot. Don't bother with the special Slot Music card. No special software necessary; just move stuff from their original location on your PC to the card, or the Clip's internal hard drive. I don't get 15 hours out of my battery, more like 12.

[RPMcMurphy]

I've not off-loaded pictures, but I'm very happy with my Sansa Clip+ 2 GB player for $30 on Amazon. I added a home and car charger kit for $6. It's very small and clips right to a slacks pocket or fits in your shirt pocket. Has an FM radio tuner which I also like. The sound on FM stations can get fuzzy, but you pull them back in clear by moving up a notch and then back down to the correct frequency.

I download zillions of podcasts and copy mp3s to a mini-SDHC card that fits in the slot. Don't bother with the special Slot Music card. No special software necessary; just move stuff from their original location on your PC to the card, or the Clip's internal hard drive. I don't get 15 hours out of my battery, more like 12.

This.


I love my Sansa clip. and i have ~3-4 different iPods/iPhone. It's just a simple mp3 player.

[prasantrin]

Now I'm torn. I investigated both Philips and Sansa, and I've narrowed it down to a Sansa Fuze or GoGear Vibe. The Sansa seems a bit easier to use (just drop in the music and you're done!), but the GoGear is cheaper. Both can store photos which means I'll be able to use them as memory sticks for such when I travel. They also both have video playback ability, but I doubt I'll be using them to watch videos.

I'll have to see what I can find locally, and which one feels less flimsy in my hands. One of the reasons I loved my Siren so much was because despite its small size, it felt substantial in my hands. I think it had a metal rather the plastic casing, so it felt like a toy.

And that this thead has ended up as #3 in a google search for Siren D300 is pretty sad! It was such a great player, but the company was so tiny that I don't think they even tried to sell outside Japan. My poor Siren. I still have hopes it will somehow be revived. Reset button still isn't doing the trick, but I believe in miracles!

[prasantrin]

Another question. . .

4GB or 8GB? I really don't think I need 16GB since I'm not planning on storing any videos on it. It will just hold several hundred songs semi-permanently, and a few 100 photos for brief periods of time (while on holidays until I return home and can download them to my computer).

8GB is only $10 more than 4GB (while 16GB is $40 more than 4GB).

[Orik]

4GB is fine. I had one for a couple of years until it broke in a comical way - the volume increase button stopped working. Think about that.

I got a Sony "Walkman" instead for about the same price and I don't like it nearly as much, especially since the sound from my iPhone is so much better.

[splinky]

can't you just remember the songs you really like and hum them?

[Orik]

can't you just remember the songs you really like and hum them?

I'm so tone deaf they all end up sounding the same.

[prasantrin]

I'm very tone deaf, too. Well, I can tell when other people are off-key, just not when I am (I think I sing just fine, but others disagree).

I ended up getting an 8GB Sansa Fuze from amazon.ca. They didn't have any 4GB left, and only 2 8GB in stock. Plus I read a bunch of reviews that all said the Fuze+ had many more problems than the Fuze (which has been phased out), so I decided to get the Fuze while I still could. I read that the GoGear Vibe also had a lot of problems with the OS that resulted in multiple resets and returns to the company, so I eliminated it.

Hopefully it will be OK. It's hard to walk home with no music to propel me!