An insight into how CHOICE tests media players.
Digital music or MP3/MP4 players have evolved over the last decade to the point where the latest models provide an intuitive interface and a simple, effective way to get music from a computer into your pocket.
Since the rapid uptake of the smartphone, prices for media players have dropped significantly in the last few years, the average cost for a media player in 2010 was around $270 whereas the average for the current test is around $165.
Most models tested can play music and video, and show photos. However, several different audio and video formats are now being used, and because of this many of the tested models had difficulties playing certain video formats - some models even unable to play a file they claim to support.
Most of the models tested are flash memory devices, using either removable cards or internal storage, supporting memory sizes from 4GB to 32GB.
Apple still dominates this market with the Touch, Nano, Shuffle and classic devices still available, with the Touch offering multiple functionality via apps. We tested the newly released Touch and Nano for this test and were unsurprised to see they scored well. We’ve also included some devices that only play audio after requests from some members.
For a device that in many cases does only one thing or two things, you shouldn’t expect to pay more than $300 for a decent MP3 player, and much less for a no-frills player.
Apple iPod nano 8GB
Apple iPod nano 16GB
Apple iPod Touch 8GB
Apple iPod Touch 64GB
Archos 15 Vision 4GB (A)
Archos 18b Vision 4GB (A)
Archos 18b Vision 8GB (A)
Archos 24c Vision 8GB (A)
Archos 24c Vision 8GB (A)
Archos 30c Vision 4GB (A)
Archos 30c Vision 8GB(A)
Archos 35 Vision 8GB (A)
Coby MP828 8GB (A)
Coby MP957 4GB (A)
Cowon C2 16GB
Cowon C2 16GB
Cowon iAudio9 8GB
Cowon J3 8GB
Cowon plenue D3 32GB
Cowon plenue D3 8GB
Creative ZEN Style M100 4GB
Creative ZEN Style M300 8GB
Creative ZEN Style M300 16GB
Creative ZEN Touch2 16GB
Creative ZEN Touch2 8GB
Creative ZEN X-Fi Style 8GB
Lenco Xemio-965 8GB (A)
Memup K-Star 4GB (A)
Memup M24HD 8GB (A)
Philips GoGear Ariaz 8GB
Philips GoGear Muse 8GB (A)
Philips GoGear Muse 16GB (A)
Philips GoGear Raga 4GB
Philips GoGear Vibe 4GB (A)
RCA M6208 8GB (A)
Samsung Galaxy S WiFi 4.0 YP-G1 8GB (A)
SanDisk sansa clip zip 4GB (A)
SanDisk Sansa Fuze+ 8GB (A)
Sony NWZ-A864 8GB (A)
Sony NWZ-A865 16GB (A)
Sony NWZ-E464 8GB
Sony NWZ-E465 16GB
Sony NWZ-S764 8GB
Sony NWZ-W262 2GB
Sony NWZ-W263 4GB (A)
Sunstech Triton (Waterproof MP3 Player) 4GB (A)
Zipy Albatros 4GB (A)
(A) These players are not directly distributed within Australia, but can be ordered online.
We have changed our test method so as to include durability and battery life. This means previously tested models cannot be compared against those most recently tested.
Ease of use Our testers check instructions, how easy the players are to set up, play music and video and rip and transfer music and video files with the software provided or, if none is supplied, using Windows Media Player (or iTunes with Apple products). They also evaluate how easy each player is to navigate and its basic functions and how much sound leakage there is from the devices.
Sound quality Our technical experts listen to each player through both the supplied headphones and a high quality pair of headphones. They listen to a variety of types of music.
Video quality They watch the video and assess it for colour, clarity and accuracy of rendition, as well as assess display size, compatibility with video formats and battery life under video.
Battery life The media players have files loaded and are played until they no longer function - this is done for audio files. They are also tested for charging time.
Durability We put the media players through a tumble test, letting each model rotate over 80cm for a minute, or around 20 falls. We also subject both the face and body to a scratch test.
