Listening to Music at Work - Help/Advice Sought

Walter P · 20 Sep 2006

In a couple of months, I'm losing the office situation that I've had for 20+ years as my company is moving us to a different location and putting most of us in a cube farm. My new reality will be a 6'x6' cube with very low partitions. To combat noise and distractions, I'd like to set up some form of music player outside of my computer (music playing tends to slow performance way down!) that is capable of taking USB flash drives or SD cards and can produce good enough sound quality that a good quality set of headphones isn't overkill. I would also prefer if it plugs into the wall or a USB port for power, so that I don't have to deal with batteries and charging. Since this solution will be heavily used for years, I'm willing to invest in something of good quality.

Is there anyone who is perhaps in a similar situation and has solved this problem for themselves?

Renny · 26 Jun 2006

from my students:

if you have an android phone you can transfer your music to a USB card and play it on your phone, this cannot be done with an iphone, however.

Jeff · 05 Oct 2006

The answer is above. If you have a modern smartphone you can store as much music as it will hold. You can do it with iPhones. The difference is with Android you hook your phone up to the PC (at home) and just drag and drop files like you're using a USB stick, while with the iPhone you must use iTunes.

If you don't have/want a smartphone, then I suggest an iPod. Actually, if you want to use the same device for many years, I suggest an iPod even if you do have a smartphone. No need for flash drives or SD cards in either of these scenarios really. All of these solutions will charge from your USB port on the PC or a wall jack.

alantig · 20 Sep 2006

Jeff wrote:

If you don't have/want a smartphone, then I suggest an iPod. Actually, if you want to use the same device for many years, I suggest an iPod even if you do have a smartphone. No need for flash drives or SD cards in either of these scenarios really. All of these solutions will charge from your USB port on the PC or a wall jack.

I will second the iPod idea, but while you can't use flash drives or SD cards in those, it doesn't eliminate the need. The biggest concern is storage space. Granted, for a lot of people, this isn't really a concern, but this in an IMWANner we're talking about!!! I missed out on getting a 160 GB iPod before Apple discontinued them, and I was not happy about that. I have an 80 GB iPod - full. I have a 32GB iPod Touch - close to full. And that's ripping at mostly 128 on the iPod, 160 on the Touch. And with a decent amount of stuff not on either device.

Walter P · 20 Sep 2006

I probably should have qualified a few more things in my initial post.

I would prefer not to use my android phone or an MP3 player for the sake of convenience. My preference is something that I can easily plug flash drives or SD cards into without having to load files onto a device.

I'm also personally not a fan of the Apple empire. I like to rip/manage my own MP3s without running them through the world of iTunes and it would be even better if the solution we are talking about was lossless capable. (I can live with MP3s though if lossless isn't part of the best solution.)

RobertSwanderson · 01 Jan 2007

If Apple and MP3 players in general are out, then I'd suggest a mini-laptop with a USB port. There are a few out there.

There are also Android tablets with USB ports.

Jeff · 05 Oct 2006

Well, you don't have to buy anything to rip/add your own music into iTunes. But honestly, you've basically eliminated any good option for a portable music experience. Buy an external hard drive, put all your music on it, and hook it up to your work computer. Listening to music through Windows Media Player doesn't use much computer processing power at all. I seriously doubt you would notice any slow down, unless your computer is 10 years old.

alantig · 20 Sep 2006

The Apple stuff is lossless-capable.

And Jeff's idea may work - if you can use an external drive at work. We can't use any external storage without getting special dispensation.

There was a player on AmazWAN that I'd looked at that used external media and was supposed to be decent. Not sure if it would fit your needs or not, and I don't know if I could find it again.

ranasakawa · 26 Jan 2007

I have 20 or so Gig of MP3 files on my work PC I often play in my office.
Keeps me sane.
I'll play anything from classical music to Blue Oyster Cult, my workmates are always surprised by my choices.
I think the craziest thing I played was Octopus - Gentle Giant
I was given some strange looks that day.

Geff R. · 27 Sep 2006

Walter, do you care about sound quality? If you want to go lossless, there are several portable players in the $200-$400 range that will do hi-res & cd quality files from a USB stick or smart card.
Pono, Sony, & Fiio seem to be the most popular brands. The later 2 are available from Amazon; Pono is available almost everywhere else.

You could also run Freeware Foobar 2000 on a cheap dedicated laptop as long as it has an audio headphone jack output. Witht that option, the files would just sit on your hard drive.

Walter P · 20 Sep 2006

Geff...actually, I was just considering the Pono. It might do the kinds of things I'm looking for.

Geff R. · 27 Sep 2006

You might want to read reviews of all 3 brands. I haven't read the greatest feedback on the Pono. I haven't personally heard any of the players. I did read some reviews on the Fiio, & don't remember them very well.

NoPhoneNoPoolNoPets · 17 Jul 2007

Steve, it sounds like the Sony Walkman NWZ-A17 might be a possible solution for you. It's a $300 high-resolution portable digital music player that plays nearly EVERYTHING -- MP3, FLAC, ALAC, AAC, AIFF, WMA, and LPCM audio files, also hi-res files up to 24-bit/192kHz resolution. You can hook up your favorite headphones or earbuds, or connect to a Bluetooth speaker (I sometimes even connect directly to my wireless speaker with a cable).

The battery life can range from 30-50 hours, depending on the type of files you play (it also has video playback and an FM tuner). It has 64 GB of onboard storage, but there is also a microSD slot which takes cards up to 128 GB, which translates to basically unlimited storage if you trade out the memory card.

NoPhoneNoPoolNoPets · 17 Jul 2007

I have owned my Sony Walkman for over half a year now, and love it. Sounds great, and I mostly listen to CD's that I have ripped to FLAC (which unfortunately is a time-consuming process), and some hi-rez downloads which I have purchased. I used it extensively on a week-long cruise and airplane flights last summer, and never had to recharge the unit until well after the trip. It's also handy to hook up to the AUX input in my car CD player.

I reviewed the Sony Walkman NWZ-A17 for the Crutchfield site :

Spoiler: show

Having said all that, I rarely use it at my office. :lol:

I work in one of two cubicles in a larger room with a workbench area, so I normally carry a stack of CD's with me every day to play (at a comforfortable but low volume) on my Windows 7 PC, using Windows Media Player and a pair of HK desktop speakers. I have never had any problems with music slowing the computer's performance, it is virtually unnoticeable.

You didn't specify whether you will be allowed to play music out loud over speakers, or will have to use headphones in the new cubicle, so that might limit your options.

Geff R. · 27 Sep 2006

I unfortunately found the headphone jacks/headphone amps on both my pc cd players & my pc speakers really suck.

ARK · **Joined:** 23 Mar 2013 **Posts:** 1323

I'm debating between the Pono and the Walkman myself. Both have factors that make them less than ideal for me. Are there any other comparable players under <$500 with the at least 64 gig of memory?

Geff R. · 27 Sep 2006

The only other one I know of is the Fiio.; which does not mean there may be more manufacturers that I am not aware of. Someday when I have money, it's on the list...........

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NS3MRKC/?tag=imwan-20

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VR5JHVK/?tag=imwan-20

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B017SBSOB0/?tag=imwan-20

There are several more from this manufacturer.

ARK · **Joined:** 23 Mar 2013 **Posts:** 1323

Geff R. wrote:

The only other one I know of is the Fiio.; which does not mean there may be more manufacturers that I am not aware of. Someday when I have money, it's on the list...........

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NS3MRKC/?tag=imwan-20

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VR5JHVK/?tag=imwan-20

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B017SBSOB0/?tag=imwan-20

There are several more from this manufacturer.

Thanks!

Galley · **Joined:** 20 Apr 2010 **Posts:** 696

I use Klipsch earbuds at a very low volume, so I can still hear my co-workers. Not an ideal situation, but it's better than nothing.

Walter P · 20 Sep 2006

I've been looking online at the Sony and the Fiio. Interesting. I wish there were places where you could test these things out. It's hard to shell out that much money without having a chance to hear them.

Geff R. · 27 Sep 2006

I THINK Frye's carries 1 or 2 of the 3.

I agree; it bites buying audio online. Unless you're in a huge city with lots of high end audio retailers; that's about the only option (Are you in Boston? If so, you should be able to hear them if you do some research). I BELIEVE some of the online stores do offer a 30 day money back if you don't like the way it sounds.

I THINK there are a couple more reasonably priced brands, also.

Worst case scenario: Google for a 3 way review from Stereophile or the Absolute Sound. They're usually the best re: sound quality.

Jeff · 05 Oct 2006

If you buy on Amazon (not sure if they carry these) you can return it no questions asked if you don't like it.

Listening to Music at Work - Help/Advice Sought

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