Anybody got an iPod?

[Fastman]

I have a 10 Gb iPod and a Valentine One. I tie the two together with an XMA3 from Tesseract driving a set of Etymotic ER-6 earphones. It's an AWESOME way to ride! I've got playlists for long rides as well as tunes great for the curvy backroads of Missouri. Turns all those miles into smiles.

 

[ian408]

I bought an iPod a few months back. The 40G variety.

I've been ripping stuff to the tune of 2094 songs, 6 days
worth of music and just 8G of space. My goal is to get
everything ripped eventually.

I'm running the Windoze verision of iTunes and have been
happy with the performance and usability of the software.

Where the iPod shines, and maybe it's just me, is in shuffle
mode. Couple reasons. I have heard stuff I haven't heard in
a while and it's choice of items seem to be within genre meaning
you'll get a few of electronica before metallica kicks in. I might
be totally off on this but a few days of random shuffle seem to
bear it out.

The "battery issue" concerned me enought to read farther than
the movie and while the movie may have had a positive impact
on Apple's support, others have provided replacement batteries
for some time. I'm ok with prying the cover off to replace the
battery when it does go.

Oh, and for the price? I think you should get an auto charger and
a cable to use the AC adapter separately from your system. I
keep the AC adapter at work and bought a Belkin (or something)
car adapter.

Enjoy!
Ian

P.S. I plug it into the autocom and it's fine. Though if you keep
it in the tank bag, you won't have easy access to the volume
control.

 

[wack]

Re: iPod

I've got a 30Gb iPod and it is great. The more you play with loading music from your computer the better it gets because you can organize music anyway you like. I sort my music differently than my wife. I use it on long sole rides and she uses it when we ride two up. I've wondered what's the best way to share usage. Any suggestions?

If by "share usage" I am guessing you want to both listen to the ipod while riding two up? If so buy a 1into2 splitter and a second set of earphones and your set...I have a 20gig 3rd gen iPod with shure E-2c earphones which are a huge improvement over the pods that come with the iPod. I rode with the stock earphones once and I'm not really a fan of losing the input of auditory sensation due to having music playing. I use either HEROS or custom fit musicians plugs.

 

[rapz]

ipod

Wack, Thanks, that's what I wanted to know.

 

[Jim Shaw]

Audible.com $100 off offer

If you're into books, Audible.com has a $100 off coupon on many iPods if you subscribe for a year. I am looking at the mini iPod, as it will fit in my shirt pocket and carries up to 75 hours.

Question: Are the Apple ear speakers useful under a helmet, or do I have to do something else?

Also, beware of large numbers of complaints to Apple about the standard iPod batteries. Makes an extended Apple warranty worth the money. It's $99 to replace the battery. It was $299! before Apple iPod customers filed a class action lawsuit.

Jim

 

[wack]

Re: Audible.com $100 off offer

I am looking at the mini iPod, as it will fit in my shirt pocket and carries up to 75 hours.

Question: Are the Apple ear speakers useful under a helmet, or do I have to do something else?

Jim

Jim- If you're looking in to iPods I wouldn't buy the mini (IMO) Yes it's small but really, even the largest (in Gigs) iPod is not all that big, physical size wise. Also the smallest regular iPod (not mini) is much bigger, gig wise, and only $50 bucks more (last I checked) Go with what you want. This is just MHO. See my previous post re:headphones

 

[Fastman]

I would use something different from the standard Apple iPod earbuds under a helmet. I am using Etymotic ER-6s and before that was using some Sony in-ear earbuds that I noticed last night were being sold at the local Apple store. Apple also makes an in-ear set, but I haven't tried them.

 

[HarryGR]

The pro's and the con's

Hey Kbasa,

I just saw that thread. I used many flavors of the Ipod because of my job. The nicer is the 3rd generation (last edition with 4 backlit buttons and the scroll wheel).

Pro's: It is a great device with great quality sound (assuming you get the good headset that Apple sells seperately). It holds an amazing number of songs (and data if you really need to) and it has a great interface to do pretty much whatever customization you want.

Con's: It's greatest advantage is also it's "Achilleus heal". The Ipod's heart is a hard drive, hence the massive storage. A hard drive is designed to sit on a desk and spin. It has vibration limits and it does not react good to extensive G's.
Also the battery on the Ipod only lasts about a year and to replace it you need a kit with a special tool to open the shell. I know... I know ... most people in here say: "Come on now. I do have a screwdriver. How hard can it be?" Well ... it is not hard, it is just ugly. If someone buys a $400 device, he or she wants it to be nice, shinny, AND scratch free.

For use on a motorcycle you need something with a flash drive. This is basically a memory drive that does not hold as many songs (due to less storage capacity, due to cost).

Anyway, the decision is yours - just wanted to give you my opinion. If you need alternatives, I would look at the Creative MuVo series that has a flash drive. Pretty much same price for less size though.

Hope that helps,
Harry

PS. Everyone, please check my other posts for the alarm and the cover - I need some information/advice also.

 

[doccat]

mp3 direct wiring?

undefined The iPod 30 gig is great, I listen all week and never hear the same song. On my 1200 rt I use a radio transmitter and get good sound (have to change the transmit station when radio stations interfer). Anyone have the schematic on the CD hook-up so that I can directly wire the audio output? Tony, new member.

 

[RTRandy]

Has anyone seen one of these yet? The new iPod nano. How cool is that?
Nano In color as well.

 

[TIGINBNA]

My $.02

I also have an I-pod,the 30 gig, I listen through Ultimate Ears UE-7 Pros, things I use for work as well. (Ultimate ears.com) works very well. Though I wish the headphones plugged into the I-pod at the unit instead of through the remote, oh well its just a longer cable.

The thing that scared me initially was that you could only use it through a Mac as I-tunes originally worked only on that format.Thank God they changed that!! It also happens to be the smoothest and easiest of all the mp-3 conversion/library systems to use, IMHO.

I have tested a lot of the others, the Rio(sp?), the Dell jukebox etx. The only thing that has come close for sonic value as well as volume is the I-pod "Shuffle". It is tiny and has a lot of function built in.

The only thing that might take me away from the I-pod is the new Nokia phone that has I-tunes built into it. From my perspective if you have to listen to an MP-3 the I-pod is the only way to do it.

Tig

 

[ian408]

If you want remote control, try one of these.

Works great. Remote attaches to the bars w/Velcro. Very nice.

Ian

 

[YB in IN]

the new iPod phone is made by Motorola and is called the ROKR. It looks pretty darn cool, but it only holds about 100 songs.

 

[visian]

I think I'm going to get a Treo 600 phone, so I'll have a phone/PDA device. (One less gadget to carry around on airplanes)

For about the past year, I have been using a Sony/Ericsson 910a. It's a:

- Phone
- PDA
- E-mail, SMS and MMS
- Camera and video camera
- MP3 Player

It uses Sony memory sticks, and 1 gig holds a good 10+ hours of music.

I bought because of the business I am in. This is just the beginning for integrated devices... and there are many options. I've found this thing is pretty good for a one-day ride or a short biz trip. One thing that is really sweet about this thing is that it has a small speaker, so you can turn it on and set it on your table at your campsite and have a nice little tune player without having to walk around camp with ear plugs in.

Also, I have a 30 gig iPOD, second generation. Very nice... I like the shuffle mode, too, since you never know what's gonna pop-up next. Later versions of iPODs got pretty tricky with digital rights management... the thing knows whether you got the song from a buddy who got it off of Napster/Kazaa, etc... or whether you ripped it from a CD you already owned.

For lengthy trips (and tired iPOD batteries) it's best to get a cigarette lighter connector to power the device.

I'd recommend getting a set of form-fitted ear plugs to go along with it. As I learned from an earlier thread here, there are a ton of options... some that cost more than the iPOD itself. I got a set from a local guy who reps Earplugco. I believe that Earplugco advertises in the BMW ON.

I connect the thing to my Mac G4 notebook... and have purchased a few songs from iTunes. A buddy gave me the entire U2 library for Christmas last year... nice! One major PITA with iTunes songs is that they'll only play on the iPOD or the Mac. That's one thing that *really* bugs me about Apple...

Ian

 

[BUBBAZANETTI]

Creative Labs also makes some pretty good MP3 players. They have a proprietary sound file system that allows nearly double the number of songs as a comparably sized ipod (although at a trade off of lower battery life, since its more intensive on the drive). They also have up to a 24 hr battery life..........

 

[BRADFORDBENN]

The iPod 30 gig is great, I listen all week and never hear the same song. On my 1200 rt I use a radio transmitter and get good sound (have to change the transmit station when radio stations interfer). Anyone have the schematic on the CD hook-up so that I can directly wire the audio output? Tony, new member.

Hey Tony-

If I remember correctly, Crutchfield has a wiring harness.

 

[90709]

Haven't seen this mentioned, but as a traveler Dave, I thought
you might find this useful. My neice's new hubby had his
Ipod on the boat with us last week and we would set the
dial to 87.9 FM I believe and he could wirelessly transmit
to the boats' radio. Could be a handy feature if you use
rental cars, and heck , just about anywhere , like the garage.

 

[torags]

I bought a shuffle and the OEM speakers fell out of my ears - I bought IE6 ear speakers and they're great. But the battery life is 8-12 hours, then I got the gizmo that fits in a cigarette lighter with a USB port (great item) to charge the battery.

Then I tested the new ear speakers and found I had to turn the speakers too high to hear them on the road. I have a r1150RS (small fairing) that has a lot of air coming around fairing resulting in wind noise. My choice - music or hearing. I'd like to keep my hearing since I have little memory left (I have to save what I can)..

Besides, there is too much going on. Music, nav verbal directions, CB radio and V1. All this stuff takes my mind off the driving. I'm not listening to anything - I'm going to use vision for nav & V1 and get the weather at my gas stops.

 

[ppaintguy]

Hi Kbasa, I have a 20GB I-Pod and I love it. They are expensive admittedly although they are THE best thing in MP3 players in my opinion after owning some of the others. Are they worth the cost? Probably not in their own right...however what adds the real value is the I-Tunes site and the page that forms the library...that is really cool. Also the ability to mix tunes, books on tapes and learning CDs all together and mix and match as many playlists as you wish to. Outstanding. I use a jack lead to play it through my Chatterbox although John Brown from MixIt is working on an adapter to convert the 3.5mm jack to the Chatterbox PC style cable to allow easy connection directly to the headset instead of going through the radio.

Anyway that is my opinion...again...probably the best player on the market due to the I-Tunes facility...

Andy

 

[Mudbug]

I asked Santa Clause for a black iPod Nano. Hopefully I'll have it Christmas this year.