plays aac, builtin FM radio, has expandable memory card, supports blutooth headset...

randycat99

Veteran
...and isn't a whole new cellphone- That's what I have been looking around for...essentially a modern codec "mp3 player/radio" that will natively support a stereo bluetooth headset.

Does such a thing exist (w/o having to invest in a whole new cellphone+service)? I looked through the mp3 player selection at Fry's this weekend, and this particular combination of features just didn't exist. There were a lot of conventional players that only play mp3 and wma, no sign of native bluetooth support, and some had built-in radios. All of them looked "cheap" and not particularly robust construction. I guess the radio + bluetooth will be an unlikely combination, because it really does need a wire (normally the wire to the headset) to facilitate reception.

Any suggestions?...or is this strangely the exclusive domain of the "fancy" cellphone? I suppose I could just carry a 2nd cellphone w/o service to use as a mobile media player, but I don't fancy paying the exorbitant "device-only" cost of such a unit or having to upgrade my existing cell (again). Is this really my best option? My existing cell (Sony Erricson 810i) does the job well and then some, but the one area of lacking stereo bluetooth support is beginning to wear on me.

I'm also looking for a parametric EQ for home audio that isn't from an automotive application (worried about s/n and external power supply issues) and isn't some kind of $2000+ prosound rack unit. Is a simple parametric EQ for below $200 that unwieldy a request, in this day and age?
 
The original taco style NGage playes AAC, has an FM radio, and bluetooth (don't know if it is stereo), although i wouldn't recomend it as a cell phone.

So essencialy, no, I don't have a suggestion. But i will recomend the phone finder over at Phonescoop. Most of the user reviews are pretty decent as well because many of them are meticulous almost to a flaw. But that makes it great if you have any concern for a phone, like it's size or shape causing functional issues, or interface concerns, ect.

I'm going to stop now because i sound like an infomercial.
 
Also you're missing the point - randycat99 wants a device that isn't a mobile! He's really after a portable media player with bluetooth headset support. I think that's a strike out. I doubt any media player supports wireless bluetooth headsets. Well, thinking about it, the litmus test for the existence of the market is iPod. And sure enough, Google throws up a peripheral. It might just be a matter of tracking down an MP3 player with a bluetooth adaptor. But why do you want bluetooth anyhow? Generally, these devices being portable and all, a wire up to the phones isn't seen as a Big Thing.
 
High quality BT headphones are nonexistent anyways, better to just get a player that used an old fashioned heaphone jack.
 
Yes, many caveats all around, to be sure. Thank you to all for posting in. The bluetooth adapter is yet another thing that gets on my nerves- that ipod's goofy connector seems to be the only thing anybody wants to build interfaces for when it comes to peripherals. Yes, I know how popular it is. No, I know what a futile task for the industry to cater to x different goofy connectors out there used by who knows what... It's all a big bobo circus with the friggin connectors, imo. Is it so hard for the industry to gravitate around a single connector standard and then build devices and peripherals to pervasively support that?! If it's going to be an iPod connector, I'm perfectly fine with that. Let's just get there, already!...

In other news, my further investigation for a mobile media player seems to yield numerous candidates, but the price threshold where this occurs seems to be at $150+...quite a bit just to play aac and listen to radio (plus the bluetooth support), imo. So I have to toil over this proposition for a while... No doubt, aac playback is one thing (seems you have to get to the video player tier before this feature is standard), but asking for bluetooth really does sock the price premium into it.

I agree that restricted sound quality is a concern when it comes to a bluetooth headset, as well. I don't trust they will pick premium ear buds for the product, and since they are essentially married to the bluetooth device, you won't get a choice for the amount of money you are paying.

So that brings about one of those necklace style bluetooth receivers that enable you to plug in your choice of analog headset/earbuds. I agree, it's a lot of complexity just to get decent sound from the player to your ears. So I'm not really pleased with solutions there, either.

So why the hard-on for a bluetooth setup? It's that one wire that has to go along the length of your torso to go from the cell/media player to where the mic clips to your collar. That thing gets to be a real pia, overall. It's always tugging somewhere and often the tug pulls it out of the socket of the cell/media player, and then you have to reach in your pocket to slip it back in place. Then all this stress on the wire eventually compromises the integrity at one of the junctions (where the wire has to transition to a block or jack). Despite, the stress-relief joints, it's only a matter of time before the internal wire gets frayed, and then you got sound cutting in and out. Then you have to hunt down a replacement for this jagov wire with custom connectors on the ends. In my case, it's either pay a ridiculous $40 at Sony Style store or go to a cell accessory supplier online who gives a more reasonable price, but then charges shipping that costs more than the part, itself (something about that just really gets my gaw, if you get my drift).

So, there it is- my attempt to distance myself from a stupid piece of wire to spare some grief, only introduces different grief, it seems. There's gotta be a better way...
 


Ooh, sorry I didn't see your post on the EQ earlier! Thank you for the tip. I am checking it out now.

It looks like pretty much what I was asking for...except, I'm guessing I would need 2 of these to handle a stereo channel? Also, I just need something that will accept lowly, unbalanced rca plugs, while this unit looks to be a dedicated pro-sound unit that expects balanced xlr connections.

This is very close, though!
 
It has 1/4" TRS. You can us an RSC > TRS convertor and plug it straight in. If this is the sort of thing you're looking for though, you may wanna check out some online music stores as there are loads of options across all sorts of price ranges.
 
I didn't know I could do that, but thank you for the suggestion. I figure if I am to start getting into conversion plugs, I'm probably getting into a device that is "over my head" to achieve what I set out to do.
 
Back
Top