iPod, You Pod, everybody iPod

Ok folks after my long time of putting off getting a better portable music player have come to pass. I finally plunked down the $$ for an iPod, and I'm glad I did. I bought the iPod-video 30 Gig and all the bells and whistles that come with it. But allow me to back up a little...

I have a Sansa 512Mb Mp3 player, and it's a great little player but it doesn't hold all that much. So I decided I needed something bigger. I did my research via internet and decided that a Creative Zen Video 8 Gig would do the ticket without breaking the bank. So I got one, took it home, installed the software on my XP machine, plugged in and got ready to make with the music...nothing, absolutely NOTHING! So I went to the "Help" section on their website, found that I wasn't the only one with the exact same issue. They had a fix, but the fix didn't fix it, so much for a "fix". So I thought, why not try it on another PC? So I did the same install on another XP machine...same thing. What a piece of CRAP!!!

So the next day I took it back, and got the iPod. Got it home, installed the software, plugged it in and WOW, it actually worked! Now it has taken me a little time to get used to iTunes and how to transfer, etc. (remember I'm used to thinking "Windows"). So if you're looking to expand your listening horizons, buy into the hype and buy an iPod. My only gripe with the iPod is the ear buds...not bad, but they could be better.

Now onto finding ear buds! After doing MUCH internet research it came down to a few brands, but I had a price range in mine, around $100.00 or less. Granted there are many for less than one hundred bucks, but you get what you pay for. And if you want to pay more, there is many more to chose from.

I saw that Apple had some in-ear headphones, and I thought they can't be all that bad and I can get them locally. They aren't bad but they had a hard time staying in my ears, I tried all 3 sets of ear "fittings" that came with them, but to no avail they still fell out.

I considered the Shure brand of ear buds, but then I remembered a local company called Westone that makes in ear monitors for the big touring bunch. Sure enough they make a set around one hundred bucks (UM-1) and I can pick them up locally, and I have a couple of buddies that work there that I haven't seen in years. Got 'em to day, plugged them into my iPod...WOW very cool. Great fit, sound great, isolate everything in the outside world, and come with a cool little case extra ear fittings, a wax "loop" (for digging your ear boogers out). I highly recommend them.