A non-techy asking for a bit of advice

[visualnickmos]

Hello all

I hope you don't mind me asking, but this seems the most sensible place for good advice.
I am about to commence a series of stints in hospital, and I would love to have some of my music to help me through.

So I need something like (but not necessarilly) an iPod..... basically all I want is a device whereby I can simply input some of my CDs, and be able to listen.

I would be very grateful and appreciative of suggestions of what might fir the bill. I don't want to spend a fortune - as they say

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

iRiver and Sony mp3 players get good reviews without the apple price premium .... the smaller the memory in Gigabytes the cheaper the product. To get your cds onto them you will have to put them on your pc or laptop first.

[antongould]

Agree with calum that there is a premium for apple but iTunes / iPod is very simple for non techies. Just load iTunes on your PC import your CDs and they will transfer straight across to your iPod. There even exists software to get Radio 3 output added! iPods are also as I have found very durable I left mine in my jeans pocket and Lady Gould kindly gave it a boil wash and now it plays better than ever!

[cloughie]

Agree with calum that there is a premium for apple but iTunes / iPod is very simple for non techies. Just load iTunes on your PC import your CDs and they will transfer straight across to your iPod. There even exists software to get Radio 3 output added! iPods are also as I have found very durable I left mine in my jeans pocket and Lady Gould kindly gave it a boil wash and now it plays better than ever!

I have a Zen bought from Argos a couple of years ago - useful for self-catering holidays in conjunction with a pair of Computer speakers. It is just as easy loading up from Windows Media Player syncing your selected tracks on to whatever device you have. You may wish to do some renaming of tracks to order them better on your device - some of the downloaded labelling leaves much to be desired.

[Pianorak]

.. basically all I want is a device whereby I can simply input some of my CDs, and be able to listen. . .

I was going to suggest a Sony Walkman, i.e. the original one about the size of a CD. Alas, they don't seem to make them anymore. Maybe eBay still have them? Certainly easier than all this MP3/4 stuff (although talking from a position of ignorance).

[Nick Armstrong]

Agree with calum that there is a premium for apple but iTunes / iPod is very simple for non techies. Just load iTunes on your PC import your CDs and they will transfer straight across to your iPod. There even exists software to get Radio 3 output added! iPods are also as I have found very durable I left mine in my jeans pocket and Lady Gould kindly gave it a boil wash and now it plays better than ever!

I very much endorse anton's view (though am amazed at his boilwash tale!! I'm not about to test it though )

The problem with a CD walkman - if you can find one - is you have to lug the CDs along.

I'd suggest an iPod nano - the smaller 8GB one will hold the music from up to 100 CDs, in an incredibly small item which will fit in a top pocket or clip to a lapel almost without you noticing it's there. Plus it has FM radio, so if reception allows you could listen to R3!!

http://store.apple.com/uk/browse/home/shop_ipod/family/ipod_nano/select

As anton says, iTunes is very easy for the non-techy (like me). Once you've installed the iTunes programme (free) on your computer by downloading it for free: http://www.apple.com/uk/itunes/download/, you just feed each CD you want to copy into the CD slot of your computer: I think it will then automatically ask you if you want to copy it onto the iTunes programme. Once you've copied all the CDs you want, you plug in the iPod using the supplied cable, the music will all copy ("sync") straight onto the iPod and you're away. 100 hours or so of music in the space of a small book of matches... plus radio. Fully charged (it charges automatically when you plug it into the computer) it will play for up to 24 hours.

I wouldn't bother looking elsewhere

[amateur51]

Dag-nabbit Calibs - are you on commission?!

Sounds perfick!

[mathias broucek]

I would second (third) the recommendation to get an iPod. It's easy to download the PC software and to transfer your music.

There are those who prefer other solutions but often they are harder to operate

[Nick Armstrong]

Dag-nabbit Calibs - are you on commission?!

Sounds perfick!

Just a fan!

Don't you have an iPod, ammy? iTunes?

[Howdenite]

I have a Sony Walkman mp3 player. I like it because I can use any software I like to change my CDs into mp3's and I simply copy them across to the player. I don't use the software that came with it. I just plug it into the computer and it comes up looking like a memory stick. I put all my CDs into their own folder then copy those across and put them in the Music folder. I use folder view and get my CDs exactly as I want them. No extra software and no requirement to load/use iTunes, for those not Apple inclined.

[MrGongGong]

Personally speaking I would avoid ipods even though I have an iphone and use a macbook all the time
I find them irritating to use and not that great sound quality wise
the whole iTunes thing of having everything duplicated on your computer seems a waste of memory to me if you are digitising CDs
far better are the iRiver machines which allow drag and drop of files or even the Creative ones

[Pianorak]

If the OP is as much of a non-techy as I am he will by now be as confused as I am - and none the wiser.

[BBMmk2]

Although the ipod is expensive, its well worth the effort to buy! I have the 160gb version(i think), which holds 40,000 'songs'(as itunes likes to call them!)

This is genrally(I think) for the popular genre, so with classical music ithe number be less, what with symphonic movements in some cases, being much longer). By and large though, this, imo, is the best best buy.

[Nick Armstrong]

Like bbm I have the 160GB 'classic' iPod - but that's not what the OP needs I think for the purposes he specifies.

Honestly, if a lack of confusion, great practicality and good sound is what you're after, just go for the iPod Nano!

(I disagree with MtGG about them being irritating to use; soundwise, the main drawback with iPods is the earphones: I upgraded to these for example http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...00_i00_details and the sound is miles better: fully satisfactory)

[MrGongGong]

The most irritating thing about the ipod is having to use iTunes
which , unless you are careful, will decide that every soundfile on your computer is a "song" and put it on a ridiculously long list !
also having to keep everything in 2 (or 3 in the case of CD's ) places seems excessive
what's wrong with a drag and drop system ?

the sound might be "satisfactory" but i'm not convinced compared to my old iRiver IHP 120 (for example)