IPod Xperts, SuperGreg et al...

[motordavid]

Thinking of getting an Ipod or two, for the LastLongRideGypsyTour car trip coming up; a way to listen to tunes, and especially reduce the exhaust drone noise in the Vette, at cruise. We are taking my usual collection of CDs, but I was thinking a pair of Ipods may add additional sound reduction, while offering some music.

Do the ear buds reduce ambient noise?
Looks like one can plug regular head phones into it? I realize it's illegal in some states, but real phones would really
reduce the Borla exhaust drone at 70-80 mph.

Nano looks 'cute', but fookin tiny. Regular Ipod, or the Shuffle gizmo, or other recommendations?

Can one load CD music files from computer hard drive, compressed to mp3, onto Ipod? 'Downloading' tunes from Itunes or whatever, from the net, may be problematic with our less than high speed wireless net deal here at the Mtn house.

I have zero experience with mp3, and Ipods...

All opins are welcome. Trying to get 'hip' here in my SS daze.
Thanks, mD

[BabyCAP]

The ear buds that come with the iPod do not really reduce ambient noise. However, there are aftermarket earphones/headsets that have noise canceling properties. These types of headphones are going to run you some $$$. The "hot" ones are the Beats by Dre. I think the Dre studio headphones are over $300. But if you get them you will look super cool!! lololololol. Note that these headphones are large so this might be an issue if you do not want people (i.e., law enforcement) to see that you are wearing headphones while driving.

If you already have cd's and music stored on your computer you can easily transfer that music to your iPod w/o needing to download from itunes. If you get an ipod you will download itunes software onto your computer and this program will let you manage the media on your computer/ipod. You can take your cds and "import" them into itunes and then manage that music how you see fit on your ipod (order, play lists, etc.)

One consideration when purchasing an ipod is how much music do you have (in terms of gigabytes stored on your computer) - once you know how much music you want to store you can then select a model that has enough space to store your music. Alternatively, you can manually manage the settings on your ipod to only store the music that you select/authorize.

The "classic" model gives you the most storage, video playback and battery life. It is larger so it would not work as well if you want to use it while jogging, cycling, etc. IMO the shuffle and nano are great for "on the go" activities but the classic is the best value and provides all the bells and whistles.
I say go for it! I think you may just fall in love with the ipod technology. I know i did.

[motordavid]

BabyCAP,
Thanks for the tips...I suspected the ear buds did not reduce ambient noise much.
The full ear phone idea was simply because I had a pair in my ol' '76 Trans Am, lol!

I don't need a gillion gigs, and I think the 2Gig Shuffle, et al can hold a large number of tunes...and, we are taking a batch of CDs.

I may have to waddle down to the local Worst Buy and check them out. I suppose 'working the buttons' is like anything else: one gets use to it.
Thanks, mD

[JCL]

MD:

I like the regular iPod, my wife and daughters all use the nano. All work great. I would stay away from the shuffle. A nano would be good for use on your walks as well. Get more than 2 gB.

Navigating the iPod is easy, it is very intuitive.

Agree ear buds don't do anything for background noise. And any headphone is going to attract attention of LEO, large noise-cancelling ones even more so.

Some locations it isn't just the headphones, iPods themselves are illegal for the driver as well (including here in BC). They are covered under the handheld device laws, same as cell phones.

The work you will have is getting your music on to your computer. You will have to rip any CDs that you want to convert to MP3 or similar files. If you have a lot of music to go through, that can be some work. If you do it, read back on earlier posts about the format options. I don't use Apple formats, I use MP3, and I use a high bit rate for improved sound quality.

I put all my music onto the computer using Windows Media Player, then share it with three other computers in the house. We use Media Player for listening as well. Then we also have iTunes, which we only use to synch the iPods. It monitors the MP3 folders, and is up to date on the music we have, but it is just the iPod loading tool for us. Never bought anything over iTunes store. So, I like the iPod, but I keep all the other Apple stuff at bay, just a personal preference.

[Thunder22]

MD - re: headphones: Check out the Shure headphones.

http://www.jr.com/shure/pe/SHU_SE215CL/

[E61Silver]

I would think you are better off playing the ipod through the car radio. You can get a adapter to hock-up the I-Pod to the radio. If it has a cassette player you could use this Amazon.com: Walkman Car Connecting Pack for MD Walkman and CD Walkman (Model# CPA-9C): Electronics. I realize it won't drown out the exhaust noise but still seems like a better idea.

You can rip your cd's on your computer using I Tunes or other software. Other software will give you better quality (sampling rate) but I Tunes is quick and easy and comes with the I Pod. I might also be tempted to get a I Pad instead of a I Pod.

[Jordo]

I got "marshmallow" ear buds made by JVC for $19.95. The ear bud is made from the foam ear plugs. You, know the ones that you smash and roll up, and put them in your ear quick before they expand. I feel they are the best bang for the buck. Tho I didnt look at anyone's links, so they might have better set up.

At work when I'm grumpy, and don't want any one to talk to me, I just put them in so it looks like I'm listening to music, but really I have them in so I don't hear anyone.

They double as ear plugs. Got them at wall mart.

[statdoc]

Originally Posted by E61Silver

I might also be tempted to get a I Pad instead of a I Pod.

You might have an interesting thought here. If he is going to spend $$, might as well get something that would take the place of a laptop at the same time.

[SuperGreg]

Originally Posted by statdoc

You might have an interesting thought here. If he is going to spend $$, might as well get something that would take the place of a laptop at the same time.

That's what I told him too. Apparently he recently bought an Acer laptop with an air card.

MD, just get a $149 nano. It has a clip on the back so you can clip it just about anywhere. Then get some good headphones, like the Shure brand mentioned above. Etymonic is also an amazing brand. And yes, you can "scoot" those MP3's into iTunes and "sync" to your iPod. You can also get a headphone splitter to hook up 2 pairs of headphones so that V can listen too

[rayxi]

Unless you are already hooked into the whole Apple ecosystem thing (I don't believe you are) you might want to consider other options as well like the Sansa Fuze.

I have 2 of these and am quite pleased with how they sound. It has a nice form factor. The 8 GB version on Amazon for $118 with free shipping. You might be able to buy for less if you shop around. I bought mine on sale for around $100 last year.

Note the micro SD slot to expand if you need extra storage or want an easy way to swap songs in and out of the player on the fly. Lots of favorable reviews on the Internet.