I have a 30gb IAudio X5. I can wholeheartedly reccommend any of their products. As far as the X5 goes, ways it stands out:

-No itunes, just drage files over in windows explorer
-Amazing sound quality: incredible clarity, depth, and power (yes, all three!)
-Build quality is superb: all aluminum case
-Number of formats supported
-Plays video, pictures, etc
-Has line out in addition to headphone jack
-etc, theres a lot more

Reason I would get an ipod: Denison icelink

BTW: I was able to burn the "protected" (?) AAC MP3 file on a CD to play in my X3, the same disc as I had other songs. Doesn't sound really bad, just not as good as I think it should compared to other MP3's I've burned at higher bit rates. (logical, huh?)

Is 192kbps the highest rate an iPOD can do? I don't have 10,000 songs I would want to put on it so I could afford larger files for better sound quality.

(Gee, maybe I should start my own thread... :) )

No, I have songs at 256 and 320 that play fine on my IPod, although most are at 192. 192 was the crossover point for me (diminishing returns, I couldn't tell the difference above 192 but sure could below 192). 192 is the highest setting that my version of ITunes has for importing, but I don't use ITunes for anything except to synch the IPod. I rip everything with WMP, and use that as my player on the computer. When I want to synch the IPod, I start ITunes, search for new files (and it adds in the 256/320 files to the library just fine), synch the IPod, and shut ITunes back down. Basically, I like the IPod a lot more than I like ITunes, but it doesn't matter, I really don't need to use ITunes much.

I am also iPodless and MP3less. After listening to DVD-A and SACD going to MP3 just seems so wrong. I still listen to vinyl occasionally as well. Call me an audio snob.

Glad to hear there are other audio snobs here besides me :thumbup: :)

Going to the portable players is just a matter of convienence certinally not a replacement for great reproduction ie turntable and good amp. I guess that's why I still have a CD changer in the X.

Transfering Vinyl to CD has been important because of the out of print 33/45/and 78 RPM records I have. To achieve good results rather than the computer i use a HHB CDR 850 to do the transfer. I think it preserves the vinyl character nicely.

I agree, I definitely notice the difference between CD and audio from MP3 Players which is why I also still have my CD changer.

At home, I've setup a digital library but still kept it as WAV format to preserve quality as much as possible.

Thanks JCL. This I did not know... :thumbup: