Hubby wants to be able to play music occasionally without headphones, so this is a requirement, but I can’t find the answer anywhere. Please help! Thanks!
No.
Ugh, thanks. I may have to go with a Sony Walkman then. I don’t know why anyone would want to listen to music on it w/o headphones, since the sound isn’t great, but he does.
Depending on his listening habits, maybe a docking station would work? Or get a cable that plugs into the headphone jack on one end and a pair of powered computer speakers on the other?
Otherwise, a ‘built-in’ speaker is gong to sound something akin to those Japanese transistor radios back in the 60’s
Blecch!
I almost never use headphones anymore.
At the job, I just unplug my computer speakers and plug them into the Fuze. Same jack type.
At home in my home gym I have a nice set of computer speakers. Same deal. Same jack as the Fuze.
In the ‘party room’ at home I have a headphone jack to RCA plugs for my home stereo.
Pretty much only use headphones when doing yard work or traveling.
Tapeworm wrote:
Depending on his listening habits, maybe a docking station would work? Or get a cable that plugs into the headphone jack on one end and a pair of powered computer speakers on the other?
Otherwise, a ‘built-in’ speaker is gong to sound something akin to those Japanese transistor radios back in the 60’s
Blecch!
Hah! I have _ two _ built-in speakers! They don’t sound that great, but in a quiet room they’re tolerable. Rated battery life goes from 42 hours w/phones to 17 hours w/speakers though. The powered computer speaker suggestion is what I have on my nightstand, and works well.
I think some Samsung players also have speakers.
Any speakers that would be included on an mp3 player would be of very low fidelity and volume. Essentially worthless in an environment with noise-especially when carried in a pocket.
There are MANY portable speakers on the market.
I have one from “Sound to Go” which I purchased a Kmart for about $10. It is mono, takes (2)AAA batteries, has a 3.5mm standard plug and plugs right into the Fuze (or any other mp3 player). It is about the size of a clamshell McDonalds styrofoam pack and has a flat panel speaker. It also has an internal pocket for holding an mp3 player and accessories. Great for laying on the beach with the speaker near your head, camping, occasional use near the campfire, etc. Not going to set the world on fire regarding fantastic audio properties, but it’s only ten bucks! Here’s link to one very similar on amazon:
I have seen a number of other options on amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb\_ss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=mp3+speakers&x=0&y=0
and at my local TJMaxx discount racks.
Once you want to go high quality audio, micro stereo systems are also available for significanly more money.
“Any speakers that would be included on an mp3 player would be of very low fidelity and volume. Essentially worthless in an environment with noise-especially when carried in a pocket.”
A built in speaker would be useful for podcasts and audiobooks, when listened to in a quiet environment. Having two speakers in a player, or using the built in speakers to play music doesn’t seem very practical. Aside from the poor sound quality for music, it will cause battery power to be used up quickly. There are so many choices for external speakers. Some are large, and sound great, while some are very small and good mainly for spoken word files. I prefer that my players not have a built in speaker.
You can also get an FM transmitter that plugs into your player and lets you listen to your player’s audio files on an FM radio’s speakers, or those of a stereo system that includes an FM receiver. They are usually sold with car power connectors/chargers with the expectation that they’ll be mainly used in cars. But many models can take batteries also. (Use of rechargeable batteries would be a no-brainer here.)
Most of them apparently will work with any device that has a headphone jack, so you could presumably also use them with a cassette or CD player as well.
You can find them for ~$10 on eBay, Amazon or other sites.
I, for one, would LOVE to have a speaker on the Fuze. Even if it was a small 5 mm one, directly across from the home button would be great. If for no other reason than if you had a video clip that you wanted your friend to see, you could just unplug your headphones and hand him the Fuze, instead of having to take your headphones off and have him put them on. Or if you are in a situation where you have to listen for the phone or a doorbell, or in any other situation where headphones are impractical. Granted, it’s not going to be 6.1 DTS surround, but it’s music. Also, could be used to add an alarm type function to your Fuze, wake up to music or a beep, beep, beep. If they added one, I’d buy a new Fuze.