Everything mp3???

[BobStrangeNameforaGirl]

Ok, I've delayed it long enough. The time has come to go digital!
Tell me all I need to know to choose an mp3 player and dock (or 2). It will mainly be used in the house and I want long term value as opposed to cheap and cheerful. Never owned an apple product and not keen to buy into the hype.

So, lovely mners what do you suggest? TIA

If you have a smart phone that supports a 32gb SD card then why not simply load your music onto your phone.

As for speakers there are Bluetooth speakers available or wired ones that plugs into your phone's headset jack.

First, depends whether you already have a smartphone or not...

Many phones have MP3 playing capability as standard, and not just the latest 'touch screen' phones running Android, etc.

My 10 quid Vodafone 354 with QWERTY keyboard has a micro-SD card reader, MP3 player, etc. I'm just listening to "Snowflakes are Dancing" by Kitaro on it now :)

If your mobile has a 3.5mm headphone socket on it then you are probably already equipped... all you need then is something which isn't Apple iPod/iPhone specific (ie something with a 3.5mm connector).

Budget - there are 'docks' from perhaps 20ish quid to 200, so do you have som idea of what you'd be willing to spend... do you want a remote control to mute the sound if your phone rings, and any other things (perhaps an FM or DAB radio) ?

Sorry, thinking about the sort of things I'd want to consider if I was planning to buy some sound system. Also, do you currently use Windows (Win 7 or Win XP) or something else (because it may be that you have a number of CDs and could make MP3 copies of your favourite music).

(beaten to it regarding smartphone - was distracted earlier and didn't refresh!)

Hmmn, thanks. Got a Lumia and google suggests there isn't a micro sd slot. Any more suggestions?

Most phones these days have either a SD slot OR generous built in memory. I'm guessing that your Lumia's memory isn't 'generous' enough :)

The current range of Apple products is only a marginal improvement on the previous generation. Why not get an 'old' Apple Touch ie 4th generation? I know you said that you don't want to buy into the hype but there are loads of third party speakers/docking stations designed around the Touch .

What model Lumia is it, please?

What model Lumia is it, please?

sorry... on mobile!

It;s only a 610 which google tells me has 8GB. Will start having a look for a touch.

Amazon.co.uk has a 4th generation 16GB Touch for £130

OR if you don't mind the small screen the latest 16gb nano for £108.

Since it has Wi-Fi and 8 GB have you actually tried to copy any MP3s onto it from a laptop/PC to play? GSMarena.com says it can play MP3s, and other formats.

8 GB would be fine to start with, without spending on anything. Just make sure that the MP3s you save are sampled at 128 kbps or 192 kbps rather than 300+ (CD quality) as that chews up disk space and is a bit of a waste...

I would certainly give it a go before spending oodles of cash!

I've recently dragged myself into the digital age and bought a second hand ipod classic 120gb for £80 on ebay. Faffed about with itunes and uploaded virtually all my cds, and the children's, and still have nearly 100gb left .
I did have a cheapy mp3 player before that but it kept jamming and my headphones kept stuck in the hoover.
Sainsburys have ok speaker docks for around £20. I have one in the kitchen and it's fine. Have just bought TDK dock, for the living room, from Argos for £25, reduced from £70. A 3.5mm headphone jack (£4 ebay) means I can sit here MNing and listening to the Shipping Forecast through my phone's radio.
After years of making do with a shit stereo I am like a pig in clover.

I've never been interested in reading the detail in gadget mags so no idea about costs but you can get speakers that wirelessly connect to your PC thus enabling you to have your collection on the PC streamed to your speaker.

HD if they were something like Sonos, then you're looking at 300 or more per device (speakers, amp and wireless unit all in one)...

Mind you those, and some others, do get good reviews, but a bit more audio that a humble "speaker dock" will give... they're more likely to be suitable for a house party!

Like HS, I have often got one of my mobiles plugged into an amp in the lounge ... but my amp is part of an Onkyo system with some rather big speakers ... enough to feel through the first floor, too, on half volume :)