Your current choices for portable audio devices:
Cassette player - very cheap. Often have integrated digital radios now. Cassette media are also very cheap (five 90minute cassettes for £3 or so in the UK). Can have a record function builtin. Easy to record a
mix-tape, if you have the appropriate hardware in your
HiFi. Auto-reverse available on some models.
CD player - also cheap. Prerecorded CDs are widespread. Can play homemade recordable CDs. Digital quality sound. Some have anti-shock.
DCC player - ummmm... would make a good dictaphone if you could still buy the DCC media...
MD player - Players are cheap (sub £100), recorders slightly more expensive (around £150). Digital quality sound. Does not skip. Media are cheap (sub £1 for 74 minutes stereo). Can hold 2x 74 minutes in
mono mode. IMHO, they look very good. Good
battery life. Can record live audio. Sturdy. Small (fits in the pocket). Small, virtually
indestructible media (according to the
advertisement...)
MP3 player - currently the most
desirable audio device.
Digital sound. Does not skip. Drag and drop MP3s from your
computer. Small. No moving parts.
Cassette player - now virtually
defunct. Prone to warble when you're running for the bus. Can chew up your tapes and render then
unusable. Have to turn them over after 45 minutes. Battery life is poor. Quite bulky. Analog sound. IMHO the top end isn't great, and middle is usually too loud and there's not enough bass (on those without an equaliser).
CD player - prone to
skipping with dirty or scratched CDs. Not guaranteed to play
CDRs. Ones without
Anti-shock will skip at the mere mention of a bus journey. Battery life is quite poor. No live record function. Don't fit in your pocket, and work best when carried
horizontally.
DCC - you can't buy them anymore.
Impossible to buy DCC media also.
MD - still quite expensive. Prerecorded media are expensive. 1:1 record time from your CD player to MD.
MP3 - still expensive devices. Old
MP3 players take a long time to transfer songs from your computer to the player. Music must be in MP3 format. Cannot record
live audio. Memory cards are expensive. A 64MB card will still cost you as much as a MD player!
That's it for now. Please
/msg me with any comments.
Thanks to Flameboy for /msging me with hints