Need an mp3 player + earphones, mainly for jogging.

In My Humble Opinion
1

I got back into jogging a few months back, and have decided i’d like to be able to listen to some tunes while i pound the street. To this end, i’d like to get myself an mp3 player.

Because its main purpose will be to serve as a jogging companion, some criteria are more relevant than other. Below is a list of features i’d like to have:

[ul]
[li]Size: it should be small and light, for obvious reasons.[/li][li]Arm band or similar: i refuse to carry anything in my hand while jogging, so i need to be able to strap it to my upper arm or body.[/li][li]Flash memory: the constant bumping and moving suggests that flash memory is preferable to a hard drive model. Also, hard drive models tend to be heavier and more expensive.[/li][li]FM radio: not essential, but nice to have for days when i can’t be bothered playing my own music.[/li][li]Decent battery life, preferably with a non-proprietary battery.[/li][li]Files: mp3 will be my main file format, although if it supports other formats that’s great too.[/li][li]Simple Drag and Drop: if possible, i don’t want to have to interface with iTunes or Windows Media Player or any other proprietary software.[/li][li]Capacity: 1-2Gb[/li][li]Price: Cheap, if possible.[/li][/ul] I realize that getting all these features might be hard, and obviously the top 3 are the real deal-breakers here.

Also, i realize that most such mp3 players come with crappy little earbuds that will fall out of my ears as soon as i start running, so if anyone can recommend a decent pair of bud-style earphones that hook over the ears for stability, that would be great too.

I have done a bit of my own research, and the Sandisk Sansa series seems like a possibility. It had most of the features i want, is reasonably priced, and gets decent reviews on Amazon etc. One concern is that a few people have complained about a rather flimsy plastic clip that holds the battery cover in place.

Any advice, suggestions, or experiences with these types of mp3 players would be most welcome.

2

I’m a big fan of the Sandisk flash players. They’re cheap, small and very reliable. I got a 256 a couple years back and still love it to death.

They basically fill every bullet point you listed. You will, however, want to replace the headphones they come with with better ones. The earbuds that came with the system were crap and not that comfortable for running. IMO, not a really major point since I’m really picky about that and probably would have replaced the stock headphones on any player I got.

So, yeah. Two thumbs up. Get one.

3

I won’t recommend a player (I use my Ipod nano, which I love). But, I’ve given up on earbuds for running. I just go with the ugly old fashioned earphones. I’ve never had a pair of earbuds that didn’t come out within a mile. And once they’re out, they never stay in again for the run.

4

That’s actually the reason I upgraded the phones. I wound up going with earphones that look something like this. They work pretty well.

5

I second the Sandisk. I have one and it’s great. I don’t use the earbuds either. I hate earbuds; they hurt my ears. Mine didn’t come with an armband, but certainly it’s small enough and light enough to fit into one.

6

Thanks for the recommendations, folks. I think i will go with the Sandisk player.

As for the headphones, i’m still tossing that up a bit. I looked at a few in the style recommend by slortar, and some of them look pretty good, although some brands also get low marks for comfort.

My first thought was to go with a pair like this, but the customer reviews suggest that, if your ears aren’t the right size, then the hooks might not actually sit on top of the ear when the bud is in the correct position, making them insecure.

This pair is cheap, and gets quite a few good reviews, but some folks also say that these headphones are too fragile and break easily. Get what you pay for, i guess.

Then there’s this pair, which gets good reviews for sound quality, but can apparently become a little uncomfortable when worn for long periods. One thing i like about this pair is that it only has one wire to the headphones, coming out of the left ear, rather than one wire out of each side.

I guess i’m just going to have to bite the bullet and pick the ones that seem best for my needs.

7

I agree on the headphones. The problem is that once you have gone a mile or two you are sweaty enough that nothing is going to stay in the ear canal. I use the Sony in-ear kind with top-strap.

Here’s my headphone trick:

Run the wire under your shirt to either the sleeve (if you have an armband) or the belt (if you have a waistband pouch).

This keeps the wire out of your way for either weight training or running. The same trick can be used when you want to listen to music while trimming bushes or doing other yard work where the wire would just get caught on stuff.

I used to use an armband player and I liked it (it was a Nike player, a few years ago). I finally tossed it when I got my Treo 650 phone.
You might want to look into a cell phone that plays mp3s. I have a 2G card for the Treo, and I use PocketTunes (a good mp3 player app). I keep the Treo in a sport pouch on my waist, the kind you used to use for CD players. The advantage is that I have my phone with me when I am out in the middle of nowhere on a long run.

8

Thanks for the advice.

The cellphone thing is a no-go for me, as i don’t have a cellphone and really have no need or desire for one. I can see, though, how it would make sense if i was in the market for one—two birds with one stone.

9

I’ve got a Sansa m250, and I love it. I bought a $15 silicon-ish sleeve for it, which hooks nicely on to the armband, and protects that battery cover (it takes one AAA, and it lasts a good long time). Sansa Cover.

10

mhendo - I have a Rio Sport Forge and a Rio Diamond, both of which I found on our local Craigslist. $25 between the two of them. Just to give you an idea of where to possibly find them.

11

I have this brand as well, but the 2 Gig version. No complaints from me, well one complaint, but it isn’t their fault. I don’t have any hearing in my left ear, so music in STEREO really sucks for me. Ever try to find stylish “mono” headphones?.. Nothing like rocking out and all of a sudden you just hear the drums…

12

An update for anyone who’s interested.

I ended up going with the Sandisk Sansa m250, a 2Gb flash player. I also picked up a pair of cheap Sony headphones that hook over the ears for running.

I went for my first run with the kit today, and it was great. The player is light as a feather, and comes with a strap and a little rubber case thing for carrying it on your arm. The Sony headphones are light and pretty comfortable, and never once came close to falling off. All in all, i’m very happy with my choice. I am, however, probably going to buy a slightly better rubber case for putting on the armband.

The only downside to the whole experience is the reason it has taken me a month to make my first post about the player. I purchased both the player and the headphones from B&H when i visited New York last month. I got home to Baltimore a few days later and started to transfer some songs to the player from my computer. After transferring a couple of albums, the player died, and nothing i did would revive it.

I tried putting a new battery in, just in case the one that came with the player was dead, but to no avail. When i connected the player via USB to my computer, the computer would try to recognize it, but would fail, and all my troubleshooting efforts were in vain.

I called Sandisk tech support, and they took me through a long list of things, all of which i had already tried. When they tried to get me to try the same things for a third time, i lost my patience a bit. I said to the guy:

“Look, my computer has 8 USB ports. I also own at least six other devices that connect to my computer by USB (camera, printer, card reader, PDA, scanner, flash memory drive). Every one of those devices works fine in every one of my USB ports, and has done so for months. Now, i buy your mp3 player, and it is the only piece of USB equipment that i own that the computer will not recognize. Do you think that, just maybe, it could be the mp3 player that’s faulty?”

My words and/or my attitude must have made it clear that i wasn’t going to go through the same troubleshooting steps again, so he gave me a return authorization and i sent it back. The replacement arrived today.

I’m not too bothered about the faulty device. I realize that when products like this are made for a mass market, some will inevitably be faulty. The replacement works fine so far (knock wood), and seems like it will serve my purposes well.

Thanks to everyone for your advice.