good mp3 player

If you want to avoid proprietary solutions like Apple, I'd also forget the Zune.

Lists of good brands to look at always seem to include Cowon.

Personally I have an ancient iPod Mini and a Sony NWZ-E436F (an older mid range model) and an LG touchscreen player no-one bought because it was overpriced.

The contrast between these machines could not be greater -- the Sony emerging the winner on every count -- especially battery life and simple controls.

Sony once a bad rep for DRM and proprietary software needed to load songs.
Mine and the current range have dumped all that nonsense and prices seem reasonable.

Yes, Cowon is awesome for sound quality and lots of format support. I have the Cowon S9 which I basically use to listen to Ogg and FLAC music files. I dislike mp3s.

Great battery life and nice screen for watching videos. No WiFi.

I have a Sansa e260 that my wife used before me for years, and unless you are an audiophile it will give great sound for 1/3 the price of an iPod.

1 word of caution, "AVOID THE SANSA VIEW"!!!!

While the View a has larger capacity, my wifes new one needed a new battery within 18 months.

...and while the e Series has a user replacable battery, the View does not.

...and a bit about .mp3 files, 128kbps is CD Quality and few will be able to hear the difference in a higher quality rendering. That and the fact that my Sansa often ignores HiQ files.

A new 4 gig e240 is going for $42 and a 6 gig e270 is going for $55 and an 8 gig unit for those that insist bigger is better.

...and now we know why there are different bitrates!

No doubt there are some that can detect the difference between 128 and 320 or even 620, but at nearly 60 years of age, I'm not one of them!

I didn't know a 2GB mp3 player has "a lot of capacity."

128kbps is CD quality eh.

Well if you can't see the difference between 480p and 1080p then they would also be the same quality.

What about a Sony Walkman. I have one and it's been working great with drag and drop, no need for software.

Excellent discussion especially since many of us have run into an 'audiophile' insisting they can tell the difference; how many would really submit to a blind listening test? Btw, your link is dead; likely because it's now two weeks from the start of 2012 and your post was around 09/2010. Would love seeing your chart; if u happen to read this feel free to email me a link or repost it (bikemannc@gmail.com).

Best answer selected by savan1221.