Ripping CD’s For a Creative Zen V Plus 8GB Portable Media Player

Posted by Dave on 17 July 2007.

Hello there! If you are new here, you might want to subscribe to the RSS feed for updates on this topic.

In addition to getting my car fixed and looking up Visa info this past weekend, I also started to go OCD on ripping all of my CD’s to mp3’s. Talk about a thankless task! No wonder I had put it off for years. Actually, the most recent version of Windows Media Player (8, I think) is making quick work of the process. It’s just that I have so many CD’s.

Now that I’m working on it though, I know I have to get through them all, otherwise it’ll take me 3 more years to motivate myself again. On Sunday, after spending hours and hours going through music I once listened to religiously, though has collected dust more recently, I finally decided on an mp3 player for my trip around the world. And the winner is the….

*Drum roll please*

Creative Zen V Plus 8GB Portable Media Player

Pro’s -

extremely small, non-flashy, and discrete
made of scratch-resistant, lightweight plastic
8 glorious gigs of memory
low cost – only $144 shipped (through Buy.com w/$10 Google discount)
FM tuner
built-in battery (15hrs per charge) means less money spent on disposable batteries which is good for my wallet and the environment

Con’s -

Creative players are no longer featuring FM recording (due to issues with recording industry)
users have indicated the joystick control in center can break off, and that player freezes often
small 1.5 inch screen may cause me to go blind and/or lose my mind while navigating stored music
built-in battery means I could find myself without tunes unexpectedly (I’m sure I’d survive)
there’s more I’ll soon find out, because neither Circuit City, nor Best Buy, had a working version (those players must get manhandled in the stores, and they’re too cheap to keep the display ones in working order; quite a shame for customers)

As I continue to slide CD’s in and out of my computer drive, I’m beginning to wonder how I’ll decide what music to bring. I’d guesstimate that I have about 24 gigs total. I know there are people out there with far more. And I’d have more too had I not sold so many of my CD’s when I was a young lad trying to scrounge up extra cash from time to time.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure to subscribe by e-mail or RSS feed!

This post was written by:

Dave - who has written 999 posts on Go Backpacking.

Dave Lee (Editor-in-Chief) blogged his way around the world from 2007-2009, and then started Travel Blog Success to teach others how to do the same. When not writing, he can be found salsa dancing, and lamenting his untimely departure from Medellin. Follow him on Twitter @rtwdave

Contact the author

Ceester

Just get an iPod or iPod Nano and be done with it.

Dave

Thanks for the suggestion, however I already bought the Creative player at the time I wrote the post. I just got it in the mail today, and am quite happy with it so far. Luckily, the power adapter I plan to guy has a USB plug, as I'll need it to recharge the mp3 player's battery.

Stu

yeah i couldnt convince my wife to give up her 128mb iriver either :)

thats a neat power adapter.. dont know how robust it is converting 220+240v AC down to 120 but seems pretty neat.

its just more crap to tote around and take care of :)

i need me an mp3 player with built in blue light bug zapper :)

Stu

- built in battery, bad must be charged in other parts of the world whom all have different voltage levels and prongs., multiprong adapter changers dont change voltage!

- I think it would be wise to reconsider taking an mp3 player. do you REALLY need it?

- if you HAVE to take it, dont take 'cd's. pick a couple of tracks that you like (a couple of relax tracks, a couple of get up and go tracks). I garuntee you wont listen to 99% of it if you just whack whoel cds on.

something like this is good
http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Nano-Plus-Player...
or
http://www.amazon.com/Creative-MuVo-V100-Player...

mostly I would rethink taking a mp3 player...

is this a gadget for gadgets sake?

Dave

Oh yee of little faith! Thanks to Vagabondish's gadget list ( http://www.vagabondish.com/12-killer-travel-gadgets-every-geek-needs ), I intend to purchase Hammacher Schlemmer's "150-Country Auto-Detecting Travel Adapter And Converter."

http://www.hammacher.com/publish/73996.asp

As Mike notes, "Hammacher Schlemmer describes it as “the lightweight, compact device that automatically detects incoming voltage, converts it to 120-volt AC power, and provides plug adaptation for over 150 countries throughout Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas and Caribbean, and Australia."

Also: “The plug configures to fit a variety of international sockets, and it has a built-in USB port that allows you to leave chargers for cell phones, digital cameras, iPods, and other devices at home. The device allows simultaneous AC and USB connection to charge two devices at once.”

This will allow me to power up both my camera and mp3 player in most places w/electricity (I hope). I agree about not storing full albums, as I rarely enjoy all songs on a single CD. My first mp3 player was a Creative Nomad (128k) so I can attest to that design of the MuVo's you recommend, and it works off a AAA battery, however I wanted a little more flexibility in terms of navigating folders. Plus, while double the cost, I'm getting 4 times the memory!

Judging from my recent trips to Belize and Costa Rica, it will mostly be used on planes, trains, and automobiles, along with chill time on the occasional secluded tropical beach.