A Sony walkman ( nwz-b142f ) or an iPod(shuffle)

Guys, I'm planning to buy an mp3 player. I'm stuck now for I see two great music players to choose from. Suggest me a better choice, in terms of sound quality. I don't need video.

I don't want to spend that much on this gadget, that's why I've cut down on my preferences.

I don't know anything about the Sony, but I love my iPod shuffle.

Doesn't your cell phone play mp3?

Maneesh Godbole wrote:Doesn't your cell phone play mp3?

Hmm, I kinda knew this could be the question I will be asked.

Well, actually, I've a Sony Ericsson walkman phone, but I don't find the phone comfortable enough. Rather, I'd love to have a small size gadget that can do the job for me.

Bear Bibeault wrote:I don't know anything about the Sony, but I love my iPod shuffle.

I like Ipod too because they now have headphones with a little remote attached to it so you can control volume from that and not have to touch the ipod.

Arvind Mahendra wrote:

Bear Bibeault wrote:I don't know anything about the Sony, but I love my iPod shuffle.

I like Ipod too because they now have headphones with a little remote attached to it so you can control volume from that and not have to touch the ipod.

I know a lot of people that say that feature is the biggest flaw in the new shuffle and they get the previous generation.

Eric

Mine is the previous gen "matchbook" model with the controls on the unit. I can't be sure, but I don't think I'd miss the unit controls on the newest gen because I always end up controlling the unit from the headphone remote anyways.

Girish Vasmatkar wrote:...in terms of sound quality...

In terms of sound quality, the 2 biggest factors are:

Speakers (headphones)

File format and bit rate

Generally, the headphones that come with a player are just "OK." Consider spending a little more for nicer headphones that are suited to your style of music and your listening preferences. (No need to go overboard -- especially considering you're probably not going to be listening in an optimal environment anyway -- but you should notice a big difference at a modest increase in price.)

Choosing how you want to encode your music is basically a trade off between quality and file size. Google about compression and ear fatigue, then experiment by encoding the same song differently and see what your ears tell you.

When it comes to choosing between a Walkman or an iPod, you might consider what software you would rather use. Do you currently use iTunes? If not, download it and see if you like it.