iPod iPod Classic Bites the Dust

[doubleshuffle]

I might just get a FiiO when my iPod eventually dies (but I hope that will be a while...)

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by doubleshuffle

I might just get a FiiO when my iPod eventually dies (but I hope that will be a while...)

My, those are spendy little players. Luckily for me, a $30 Clip Zip playing MP3s at 128 kbps more than meets my needs.

[Solitaire1]

Originally Posted by Rps

I bought my wife one for her birthday the second year they came out. Also bought her the Bose iPod base/sound system. Both still work flawlessly. One would wonder how well the new ones will last ..... Will miss it if and when I goes.

That's a concern I have with my current iPod Classic (160gb version). Although it has good battery life for audio (and it's not bad for video), I know that the battery only has a limited number of recharge cycles.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by Jessica Lares

In the 11 years I've used iTunes, I've never had an issue. It has always worked for me, whether I was using Windows or a Mac.

Not everyone has those issues, but there are more than enough reports for me to accept that it is indeed a problem for some.

[RickF]

Originally Posted by doubleshuffle

But all the other iPods etc. have a lot less storage. My iPod Classic 80 GB is the only piece of Apple hardware I own, and I really like it. It's going strong as on day one, having survived over six years of heavy (and sometimes rough) use. I only listen to lossless music, and it's still a lot of that which fits on it. I'm not sure if there's another device on the market that can match the Classic's storage capacity and sturdiness for a reasonable price. Po? No! Perhaps I should get a spare one as long as it's possible...

And having to use bloody iTunes is the only downside. I only put up with it because the iPod is such a great little player.

Good alternative is Fiio X5

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by RickF

Good alternative is Fiio X5

Can you load content to it with iTunes? Not really an alternative if not!

[doubleshuffle]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Can you load content to it with iTunes? Not really an alternative if not!

The beauty of it is that you can just drag and drop your files onto it. No need for iTunes. (And, to answer your question - no, I don't think you can use iTunes with it either...

[doubleshuffle]

Originally Posted by RickF

Good alternative is Fiio X5

I think the X3 will do for me. It's even cheaper than an iPod Classic!

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by doubleshuffle

The beauty of it is that you can just drag and drop your files onto it. No need for iTunes.

Sure, but that's not a lot of use if, as I do, you happen to have all your music in an iTunes library. I really don't want to have to go to the underlying folder structure, find the music files, and drag and drop them, when in iTunes I can simply browse my music, and send selected albums or tracks to the device with a mouse click. That's why I say that I wouldn't personally consider a device that can't work with iTunes a valid alternative.

[doubleshuffle]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Sure, but that's not a lot of use if, as I do, you happen to have all your music in an iTunes library. I really don't want to have to go to the underlying folder structure, find the music files, and drag and drop them, when in iTunes I can simply browse my music, and send selected albums or tracks to the device with a mouse click. That's why I say that I wouldn't personally consider a device that can't work with iTunes a valid alternative.

Yep, I can totally understand that. I organize my music library manually with a nice folder structure, which makes it easily navigable (is that a word?) with Foobar, which is the player I use to listen to music on my PC. iTunes is just the crutch I need to get the music on my iPod, so I will ditch it gladly as soon as I don't need it anymore.

[tubemonkey]

I rarely listen to music when away from wifi (except car radio), so streaming satisfies most of my needs (AOL Radio, Pandora, Prime Music, etc). If I want to listen to a particular song, it's YouTube.

[Solitaire1]

Originally Posted by doubleshuffle

I think the X3 will do for me. It's even cheaper than an iPod Classic!

Based on the comments about the Fiio X3 and X5 I took a quick look and overall I liked what I saw, including: Not-too-small size, physical controls, and FLAC support. When my iPod Classic meets the end of its life, I think I may consider one of these players.

[Jessica Lares]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

I rarely listen to music when away from wifi (except car radio), so streaming satisfies most of my needs (AOL Radio, Pandora, Prime Music, etc). If I want to listen to a particular song, it's YouTube.

Yeah, well understand that most of us here took the time to dig out all our CDs and copy them to our computers, and probably spent hundreds to thousands on digital albums over the years. If we didn't have a passion for our existing music libraries, we wouldn't be so bothered by this.

Telling us to stream our stuff is like telling a film enthusiast to settle for Netflix.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Jessica Lares

Yeah, well understand that most of us here took the time to dig out all our CDs and copy them to our computers, and probably spent hundreds to thousands on digital albums over the years. If we didn't have a passion for our existing music libraries, we wouldn't be so bothered by this.

Telling us to stream our stuff is like telling a film enthusiast to settle for Netflix.

I have hundreds of CDs that I have copied to several hard drives and mSD cards. But I find it easier to stream, so I've almost given up on my own music collection.

[Solitaire1]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

I rarely listen to music when away from wifi (except car radio), so streaming satisfies most of my needs (AOL Radio, Pandora, Prime Music, etc). If I want to listen to a particular song, it's YouTube.

Originally Posted by Jessica Lares

Yeah, well understand that most of us here took the time to dig out all our CDs and copy them to our computers, and probably spent hundreds to thousands on digital albums over the years. If we didn't have a passion for our existing music libraries, we wouldn't be so bothered by this.

Telling us to stream our stuff is like telling a film enthusiast to settle for Netflix.

One of the main reasons I purchase music and store it locally is so I always have it available. Although YouTube is a great resource for music (I've purchased a number of albums due to what I've happened upon while looking around YouTube), one thing I've learned through experience is that a YouTube video can disappear at any time without warning. I've located a number of YouTube videos for songs that I like that have since disappeared (such as "I Need To Be In Love" by Akiko Kobayashi) that are not available for purchase.

As far as wireless goes, I rarely listen to music wirelessly since I don't have ready access to wifi and rarely listen to over-the-air radio for anything other than the occasional talk show. My only practical option is to carry my music with me, and podcasts give me access to new music and other types of programs to discover.