Ipod vs. Dell DJ

[raining79]

I'm deciding between the Ipod 15g and the Dell DJ 15g. I'm just looking for opinions, especially from those that have the Dell DJ - I haven't met anyone that has one, whereas there are many Ipod users out there. I've never heard the sound quality on these things as well, I assume that they are pretty equal, but would like to hear from those who know. Money's not a huge issue, I don't mind paying $100 more for the Ipod if I feel that its worth the extra money. Thanks.

[jared22]

After extensive research, I ended up with the Rio Karma. I love it. But it comes down to personal preference at the end of the day. I would also look into 2 things which I ignored:

1. If you plan to purchase music over the internet, I think the ipod only suppports purchases from itunes. I think Dell and Rios (and many others) support MP3 formats which are widely sold.

2. Look into the software that you will use on your PC to manage your music and download to the player. I heard that the itunes software takes some getting used to.

[BCinTX]

I just got my daughter a Dell DJ and have been playing with it before I give it to her at the end of this month.

The Dell DJ supports .wma and .mp3 files (maybe others). .wma files is what I'm finding many of the services offer (like MusicMatch and Walmart.com), and you need DRM (licensing) to play them. The Dell supports this. I don't think iPod does, though of course Apple has iMusic for downloading to the iPod.

The Dell is a real neat device, about the size of a deck of cards. After you download the latest firmware and DJ explorer application (the latter runs on your PC), you just drag and drop songs to your DJ. Pretty much like using Windows Explorer to copy files--just make sure you download the latest from Dell.com. Real simple, and easy to make playlists.

However.....after letting it sit, fully charged, for a few days, I could not power up the DJ. Finally after some combination of sticking a paper clip in the hard reset button and pressing the power button, and waiting a few minutes, it popped on. For the rest of the day it was fine. Sat overnight, and had the same problem. I emailed Dell support, explaining the problem. This was today. I got a response back in two hours (good!) saying that they understood my problem was with the slow power down time (bad!) and suggested getting the latest firmware. It actually was newer than the one I got last week (hmmmm) so I tried it, but no change. I emailed that info back to them are am still waiting. I really suspect it is a hardware power supply problem of some kind and I'll need repair or replacement. So I'm reluctant to recommend the DJ at this point, but it sure looks like a real nice player. Sounds a bit better than my RCA Lyra HD too, which I though was had a pretty good sound. It definitely has a better feel in my hand than the RCA. I really like it and hope it works out. But we'll see how the famous Dell support comes through for me.

[04pilot]

Originally posted by raining79
I'm deciding between the Ipod 15g and the Dell DJ 15g. I'm just looking for opinions, especially from those that have the Dell DJ - I haven't met anyone that has one, whereas there are many Ipod users out there. I've never heard the sound quality on these things as well, I assume that they are pretty equal, but would like to hear from those who know. Money's not a huge issue, I don't mind paying $100 more for the Ipod if I feel that its worth the extra money. Thanks.

IPOD all the way !!! New version of ITUNES can convert Windows Media format.

[admin]

My brother has the Dell DJ. His friend has the iPod. As far as look & feel go, iPod is a clear winner. DJ is cheaper (I understand). I haven't plaid with the software, but the fact that DJ supports wma is a big plus.

my 2 cents.

[BCinTX]

I got an email overnight, Dell will replace my DJ.

[jay]

Originally posted by 04pilot


IPOD all the way !!! New version of ITUNES can convert Windows Media format.

I wonder if florida_guy knows that; it might impact his decision on getting an mp3 player.

[raining79]

Thanks for everyone's opinion.

I got an iPod after looking at the Dell DJ that a friend of mine has. Comparing both of them, the sound quality is slightly better in the iPod (although I'm not a big audiophile) and I definitely like the interface better. He was showing my how he rips stuff using MusicMatch and the Dell DJ, and I found that I like the iTunes interface much better. The iTunes store is pretty cool too with purchasing music.

I've also found software that allows you to download the songs from your ipod onto another PC, which helps since I have 2 computers (laptop and desktop).

All in all, I'm definitely glad I got the iPod. I can see why most people think that its the best digital music player out there.

[GlenH]

Originally posted by 04pilot


IPOD all the way !!! New version of ITUNES can convert Windows Media format.

Just a few caveats regarding this:

1) iTunes will NOT play WMA files. It converts WMA files to iTune's AAC format.

2) iTunes CANNOT convert protected WMA files. Thus, none of the protected music you buy in the WMA format can be converted to play in iTunes. I don't know much about the digital rights management used in WMA, but I assume this can be circumvented by converting the WMA file to AIFF or WAV first before converting to AAC. However, this multiple conversion will result in some degradation.

[zzyyzx]

I like the iPod because not only can you hold music on it, but you can use it for a portable hard drive. Don't know if you can or can't do this with Dell DJ. I'm going to be getting an iPod in the near future.

[BCinTX]

You can definitely copy data files back and forth between your DJ and computer. You need the newer firmware and DJ explorer for this. I couldn't do it with the software they shipped with it, so if you read reviews that say you can't, they are probably old or people who haven't updated.

[raining79]

Originally posted by GlenH


Just a few caveats regarding this:

1) iTunes will NOT play WMA files. It converts WMA files to iTune's AAC format.

2) iTunes CANNOT convert protected WMA files. Thus, none of the protected music you buy in the WMA format can be converted to play in iTunes. I don't know much about the digital rights management used in WMA, but I assume this can be circumvented by converting the WMA file to AIFF or WAV first before converting to AAC. However, this multiple conversion will result in some degradation.

I believe that you can also convert WMA to MP3 in iTunes.

[florida_guy]

Originally posted by 04pilot


IPOD all the way !!! New version of ITUNES can convert Windows Media format.

This is big news... Have you actually done this. Is it as seemless as syncing mp3 and AAC?

[florida_guy]

Originally posted by GlenH


Just a few caveats regarding this:

1) iTunes will NOT play WMA files. It converts WMA files to iTune's AAC format.

2) iTunes CANNOT convert protected WMA files. Thus, none of the protected music you buy in the WMA format can be converted to play in iTunes. I don't know much about the digital rights management used in WMA, but I assume this can be circumvented by converting the WMA file to AIFF or WAV first before converting to AAC. However, this multiple conversion will result in some degradation.

Well that is pretty weak! So I still wouldn't be able to play songs bought from non iTunes online music stores. Just when my hopes were up.

The big issue with me is buying a whole bunch of songs online and not being able to play them on the best player available 5 years from now.

[Bloke]

And now for something completely different, take a look at the RCA Lyra RD2840. 40GB for about $250. Plays MP3's, WMA's and can play MP3Pro. I know it's RCA, my Boss has the video playback version and has had no problems with it in 6 months of use.

Bloke.