AA battery MP3 players?

Posted by: Pika

AA battery MP3 players? - 01/12/08 02:55 PM

I am looking for a lightweight MP3 player that will run for a long time on one or two AA batteries. My Ipod nano will only give me 7+ hours before it dies. Any suggestions?
Posted by: phat

Re: AA battery MP3 players? - 01/12/08 04:23 PM


Make one - it's cool <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

http://www.instructables.com/id/MintyBoost!---Small-battery-powered-USB-charger/
Posted by: phat

Re: AA battery MP3 players? - 01/12/08 04:26 PM


Course there's buy 'em ones too:

http://www.boxwave.com/products/batteryadapter/

But really, I think all you need is your nano and some flavour of USB charger to plug it
into.
Posted by: Eric

Re: AA battery MP3 players? - 01/12/08 05:27 PM

The SanDisk Sansa M240 runs on 1 AAA for 15 to 20 hours. It's only 1GB of storage but it's small and has a built in FM tuner. They're under $44 US at Amazon so if you drop it off a cliff you won't feel the need to jump off after it.
Posted by: Trailrunner

Re: AA battery MP3 players? - 01/12/08 09:43 PM

I used this quite a bit on the JMT and never replaced the single AAA battery. It's not quite as user friendly as an Ipod but you can replace the battery.

I know you asked for an AA or 2xAA but something like that is going to be huge compared to this or your Nano.

Also, there's The iturbo and other similar products. No personal experience but I almost bought one just tonight. You can keep your Nano without reloading more songs into a new player and still use AA cells.
Posted by: Rick_D

Re: AA battery MP3 players? - 01/12/08 10:48 PM

Which gen Nano do you have? My 2G Nano gives 24 hours. Maybe it's time to replace your battery? There are DIY kits available.
Posted by: Pika

Re: AA battery MP3 players? - 01/15/08 05:28 AM

Thanks to all for the suggestions. I am headed to Target tomorrow to check out the Iturbo; it looks to be simple (important for me) and I won't have to translate my Ipod formated music to a different MP3 player.
Posted by: TomD

Re: AA battery MP3 players? - 01/15/08 10:40 AM

Pika, I saw this battery charger in Popular Mechanics. I have no idea how well it works, but it looks interesting. Here is their website.

mini battery charger

However, I wouldn't think of trying to get one of these until I saw it in person-could be another Big Sky-looks good on the web, but not available anywhere.
Posted by: bung

Re: AA battery MP3 players? - 01/15/08 11:20 AM

Not AA powered, but MAN, this sounds like the ticket for backpacking. 150 hours on one charge. That's a lot of long nights lying in the tent <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
MobiBlu B153

If you can only find one.....
Posted by: cfiles

Re: AA battery MP3 players? - 01/15/08 12:09 PM

There is the Colby MP-C895. 2GB with one AAA battery. It even has a radio.

Of course if you want to pack the Nano and a charger you can do that too. I have several pieces of the new Black & Decker VPX system. There is a USB charger charger in the system that works really well. I take it to charge my camera equipment when I am out hiking. I have never drained the battery all the way on a hike...I guess I need to test that.
Posted by: geokite

Re: AA battery MP3 players? - 01/17/08 03:04 PM

I'm looking at an iRiver T60

19 hours on one AAA. Make that a lithium, and easily carry an extra battery. Total weight should be 1.5oz plus headphones.
Posted by: frenchie

Re: AA battery MP3 players? - 01/17/08 03:30 PM

I also have an (oldish) IRiver. Runs for ages on AA batteries, an amazing long time even when the "level" pictogram says ultralow. I use rechargeable batteries mostly, which hold very well. Bomproof, but a bit bulky and rather heavy.
My other (tiny) player with USB charge has only about 9 hours of useful power. Crap, when travelling.
The first player I got (an collection piece now!) was almost unstoppable on one AAA, but had no LCD, only forward reading, 2 buttons...Primitive, but efficient, and as light as any recent model.
Posted by: Eltex

Re: AA battery MP3 players? - 01/22/08 04:33 PM

Got one for the wife last year - a Cowon iAudio G3.
2 Gig, plays ogg (as well as all the other common formats).
No drivers required - can use it like a USB thumb drive to store even non-music files.
DOES NOT handle DRM.

Website says 50 hours on a single AA, that may be a stretch, though.

http://www.cowonamerica.com/products/iaudio/g3/

Doug
Posted by: geokite

Re: AA battery MP3 players? - 01/22/08 09:29 PM

Hang on to that. It turns out that AA or AAA powered players are gone and will not come back. Demand is for thin players, and not for batteries on the go. Only the cheaper players will be using replaceable batteries.

I did get a iriver T60, 4gb, for $90 shipped from amazon.
Posted by: PaulTheSlow

Re: AA battery MP3 players? - 01/23/08 03:54 AM

Geokite:

Can you comment on the sound quality of the iRiver T60, and can you compare it to anything?

I'm very interested, as I have been using Sandisk Sansa m200 series players on the trail, because they had been one of the only players that I had been able to find when I was looking (year and a half ago?), but the iRiver Clix (2nd gen) that I'm using in the office has noticeably better sound (with the same headphones). The Clix got high praise at cnet for sound quality, but I can't find any reviews yet for the T60.

Thanks,

Paul
Posted by: Trailrunner

Re: AA battery MP3 players? - 01/23/08 10:59 AM

Quote:
Hang on to that. It turns out that AA or AAA powered players are gone and will not come back. Demand is for thin players, and not for batteries on the go. Only the cheaper players will be using replaceable batteries.


Exactly. I just did a fairly extensive search for an MP3 player that would be an improvement (i.e. smaller and lighter) over my older Somy Walkman MP3 player. But everything I found with good quality and size required a built in proprietary battery.

The new second generation Ipod shuffle is a good example. It's extremely small, weighs only half an ounce, and has built in clip. But I would have to carry another 4-5 ounces of connectors and a portable USB power source to keep it charged on a long trip. My old player with 2 extra AAA cells weighs only 1.7 ounces.

I'm hanging on to my Sony.
Posted by: Franco

Re: AA battery MP3 players? - 01/24/08 03:31 PM

Hi Paul
I have the Sansa 140 so this may not apply to you. Look under Settings in the Menu and find Sound Effects. Turn the SRS WOW off. The sound will be much better. You may also have the Equalizer, play with that as well.
Franco
Posted by: Paul

Re: AA battery MP3 players? - 01/24/08 08:42 PM

I just got a RCA Pearl that runs on one AAA. It's supposed to go about 15-16 hours on one battery, but since they are AAA's the extras are pretty light. 2GB and a slot for a MicroSD card so you can carry cards to expand the capacity.
Posted by: PaulTheSlow

Re: AA battery MP3 players? - 01/25/08 03:31 AM

Franco,

The Sansa m240 (1 GB), v4.1.08A, doesn't have the SRS function, but I did play with the equalizer, which allowed me to compensate for the ear buds.

My personal perception of the sound quality is still that the iRiver Clix is better, but only if one upgrades the ear buds. My judgment could be biased because of what I paid for the Clix, which is pricier than the Sansa, and the cnet review, which might have put too much weight on the very nice display, which doesn't matter on the trail. I do recommend the Sansa m200 series because they're
- relatively cheap ($35 for a 1 GB on Amazon)
- light at 1.3 ounces including an alkaline AAA
- tolerable battery life (19 hours per the manufacturer)
- better than average sound
- fairly robust, given the number of times I've dropped mine

I'm interested in the iRiver T60 because I'm hoping that iRiver maintained the sound quality in a model that takes AAAs. I'd also be interested in hearing more about the RCA Pearl, because buying extra MicroSD cards would be a cheaper and more flexible option than buying an mp3 model with higher capacity.


Thanks,
Paul
Posted by: geokite

Re: AA battery MP3 players? - 01/28/08 11:07 AM

Quote:
Geokite:

Can you comment on the sound quality of the iRiver T60, and can you compare it to anything?

Paul


I should be getting my T60 today (got the super free and slow shipping option). This will be my 6th iriver player (one I bought for my girlfriend). All of them have had excelent sound quality, and I expect this to be consistent with that. I'll edit this post with a short review of the player.

Edit: Just got the player. Wow, it is small. Great texture on the outside of the player. Sound quality is excellent. Listening to the most recent Enigma release, I heard aspects of the sound I had never noticed before. And this is with the stock earbuds. The joystick is a little tricky, but worth it for the overall quality of this player. I had to turn the contrast all the way down, for indoor use. Quite happy, but I wish I had a scale with me right now. Weight should be around 1.5oz with the AAA battery.

I had previously emailed iriver about useage of a lithium battery, mentioning how the voltage is higher than 1.5V when fresh. They said no go, use either alkaline or rechargeable.

I have only listened to other players via a car stereo, so a comparison would not be fair. But I have never heard of anyone complain about the sound quality of iriver players. Check out www.dapreview.net for comments on iriver, or http://www.misticriver.net/

Edit#2: Weight with one alkaline AAA battery; 1.2oz. Ear Buds are usually around 0.5oz.
Posted by: hafdome

Re: AA battery MP3 players? - 02/02/08 07:06 AM

I just recieved my T60. This is my first MP3 player, so I don't have anything to compare to except home stereo for sound quality. I listen to mostly jazz and classic rock.

I adjusted the equalization and the quality went from good to excellent IMHO. I am using the stock ear buds.

In general terms the joystick control is definately futzy. It takes a certain amount of prerequisite cussin' to make it operate properly. You can sync music with out specialized software.
This player has FM and the ability to record things like lectures.

Lightweight and it uses standard batteries; I can see this in my pack for hiking trips. 4 GB storage is more than enough for my purposes.
Posted by: geokite

Re: AA battery MP3 players? - 02/10/08 09:23 PM

If you have really good ears and can appreciate it, you might want to get a good quality set of earbuds. Audiophiles usually poo-poo the stock earbuds and recommend ebuds like Shure.

But alas, after market earbuds usually have absurdly long wires. Hassle and added weight.

Glad you like the T60. I made a case for it that allows me to hang it on my sternum strap. Used 1/8" thinlight as padding between 2 pieces of fabric. Too bad the player didn't come with a case, and the iriver site doesn't have an aftermarket case.
Posted by: Fiddleback

Re: AA battery MP3 players? - 02/11/08 08:48 AM

On Woot, right now, 11 Feb:
Sandisk Sansa M240 1GB MP3 Player with FM Tuner $9.99 + $5.00 shipping http://www.woot.com/
1GB of memory plays back over 16 hours of MP3 (240 songs) or 32 hours of WMA (480 songs)
Supports Microsoft PlaysForSure Downloads and Subscription
Up to 19 hours continuous playback using one AAA Battery (not included)
Support for MP3, WMA, and DRM WMA and Audible file formats
FM tuner with 20 preset stations
Voice recording with built-in microphone
Choose to play your favorite track repeatedly, in random sequence, or play all the songs continuously
Hi-speed USB 2.0 for hi-speed music transfer (backwards compatible to USB 1.1 ports)
Indigo backlit LCD provides ID3 Tag information (v.1 and 2)
5-band equalizer with 5 settings (Pop, Classical, Jazz, Rock, custom)

FB
Posted by: hafdome

Re: AA battery MP3 players? - 02/11/08 11:38 AM

I really like the T60 so far. I usually go a few days on a battery. I just got the rechargables so don't know how long those go on a charge. I was looking at some earbuds but the stock ones are working fine so far. I am taking a Jazz history class this term so I can pretend I needed the player for homework. I'll keep it in mind for the packstrap holder.
Posted by: chaz

Re: AA battery MP3 players? - 02/12/08 06:25 PM

Sold out but thanks for the woot tip.
Posted by: chaz

Re: AA battery MP3 players? - 02/12/08 06:37 PM

I replaced my shure's with Ultimate ears. The cables are replaceable. My shures shorted out on stage and I ended up getting through the set with someones I-pod buds. They didn't have the isolation of the shures but when I found the Ultimate ears, I was blown away. The sound engineer for Van Halen put them out several years ago and have made many improvements. Problem is, they isolate so well you cant hear the woods or the sounds of what could be stalking you etc.