Construction & Durability of Clip+

Hi There

Currently I have a Sony NW-E005F MP3 player, which still works great, but I can no longer add/remove songs due to the incompatibility of it with Win 7. It requires SonicStage to add/remove in Sony’s ATRAC format and SS and Win 7 don’t play well together…so I’ve been told and I really don’t want to download some ‘tweaked’ software onto my new computer.

I’m looking at getting a Clip+ 8GB to replace the Sony MP3 that I can’t use any longer…I’m getting tired of listening to the same MP3s over and over and over again!!

However, I’ve been reading reviews about this Clip+ and while people seem to like the features, etc, they all complain about the construction of it…ex. give it a little ‘tap’ and the Clip+ stops working, the ‘clip’ part breaks off very easily. Searching this forum I’ve read that the construction is better than the original Clip; so this confuses me; was the original Clip easily destroyed?? 

So, what other comments about the durability of the Clip+ are out there? I’m just looking for a MP3 player that I can stick in a pocket and listen to music while weeding in the garden, dusting the house, etc.

Thanks for your comments

fritzmom

The Clip+ is very sturdy, and should last quite a while with reasonable use. The reason you hear about broken Clip+ players is that since the player is so inexpensive, people tend to use them when doing rugged activities, when they don’t want to risk their more expensive players. Imo the 8GB Clip+ isn’t the best model to buy considering that a 2GB Clip+ and a 16GB micro SDHC card may even be cheaper than an 8GB Clip+. The only reason to prefer the 8GB model is if you use protected music, which will likely need to be in main memory to be playable.

Many stores don’t stock the 2GB model, but do stock the 4GB model. A 4GB Clip+ and an 8GB micro SDHC card is around the same price as an 8GB Clip+. I have been using a Clip+ for almost two years, and have not had any problems with it.

The clip+ is quite sturdy and durable.  So is the clip on the back.  I’m not saying that it’s impossible for it to break, but it is not flimsy nor cheaply made.

The clip+ is a good player for the use that you want.  It’s very light weight and small and when I attach it to my shirt, I can’t even feel the weight of it.  I feel the drag and pull of my earphones’ wires much more than the player.

@jk98 wrote:

 Imo the 8GB Clip+ isn’t the best model to buy considering that a 2GB Clip+ and a 16GB micro SDHC card may even be cheaper than an 8GB Clip+. The only reason to prefer the 8GB model is if you use protected music, which will likely need to be in main memory to be playable.

 

 

While I will grant you that yes, 2GB Clip+ and 16GB card can be equal or lower in price than an 8GB Clip+, I must disagree with you about the 8GB model. I can think of another reason to prefer the 8GB model than using DRM content…many of us want to carry around as much of our music as we can. So for those who think this way, maximizing the internal storage is a must, especially given that the 32GB cards generally still cost more than twice what the 16GB cards do.

I have a 16GB card in my 8GB Clip+, and it’s a nice sized collection to carry around, especially if my 8+32GB Cowon D2 would be too big for what I was doing. I actually wish they would eliminate the 2GB size, which seems just silly to me.:wink:

A 2GB Clip+ and a 32GB micro SDHC card costs around the same price as an 8GB Clip+ and a 16GB card.

@jk98 wrote:

A 2GB Clip+ and a 32GB micro SDHC card costs around the same price as an 8GB Clip+ and a 16GB card.

 

Both of the 8GB Clip+ that I have had were gifts.

Even so, if I were to buy one, I would choose the one with the most internal memory available. For example, what if you lost the memory card? It’s easy enough to do, if you’re not careful…the spring in the player will send the little suckers flying!:dizzy_face: At least if you had more internal memory you could still carry around a halfway decent selection.

Also, what about the people that record FM or record voice? That only goes on the internal memory, IIRC. There’s nothing that will ever convince me that a 2GB Clip+ is a worthwhile purchase. 4GB, sure…8GB, better, and we can only hope that one day there might be a 16GB model.

Just out of curiosity, what size is your Clip+, and your Fuze? :wink:

Memory is a good thing.  And the more, the better.   :slight_smile:

“Even so, if I were to buy one, I would choose the one with the most internal memory available. For example, what if you lost the memory card? It’s easy enough to do, if you’re not careful…the spring in the player will send the little suckers flying! At least if you had more internal memory you could still carry around a halfway decent selection.”

What if you lose the player with the card in it? For around the price of an 8GB Clip+ one can get two 2GB Clip+ players. Having the second player helps solve the problem of the short battery life(only around 10-12 hours). Unless one needs to play protected files, I don’t see any real advantage to having an 8GB Clip+ rather than two 2GB players, especially if one puts a decent sized card in each(then 4Gb less total internal memory seems almost insignificant) Two 2GB players each with a 16 GB class 4 card in it seems nice and under $110 total if you shop carefully. Having the storage spread over 2 players also makes refresh times more tolerable, and you can listen to one player while the other is refreshing.

My Clip+ players are 4GB. I have 2 of them. I bought them around 2 years ago, when card prices were much higher, and the 2GB model was hard to find.  

If one uses a case, or puts a piece of tape over the card in the player and leaves the card in the player, it will be much less likely that the card will be lost.

@jk98 wrote:


What if you lose the player with the card in it? For around the price of an 8GB Clip+ one can get two 2GB Clip+ players. Having the second player helps solve the problem of the short battery life(only around 10-12 hours). Unless one needs to play protected files, I don’t see any real advantage to having an 8GB Clip+ rather than two 2GB players, especially if one puts a decent sized card in each(then 4Gb less total internal memory seems almost insignificant) Two 2GB players each with a 16 GB class 4 card in it seems nice and under $110 total if you shop carefully. Having the storage spread over 2 players also makes refresh times more tolerable, and you can listen to one player while the other is refreshing.

 

My Clip+ players are 4GB. I have 2 of them. I bought them around 2 years ago, when card prices were much higher, and the 2GB model was hard to find.  

Somehow I knew battery life would show up in this conversation.:smiley: Anyways, I almost never need to run mine down below 50%, but the last time I tested it, I got a little over 15 hours, on  a roughly two year old player ( thanks to Rockbox…before that I used to barely crack 10 hours) .  And refresh times are not an issue for me…I just plugged my 8+16GB Clip+ in, added one song, and the refresh took two minutes, fifty-eight seconds. 2:58! Short and sweet.

There is 1 GB free on the card,  and the internal memory has 1.96MB free. My tags are optimized for Sansa use.:wink:

Even if the card was also full, it would still be under 4 minutes.

You mention the 2GB player as having been hard to find when you got your players…I have never seen one in a store I’ve walked into. Always there is the 4GB model, and sometimes the 8GB, but I’ve only seen the 2GB for sale online.

I just checked the prices on Amazon.

8GB Clip+ $54.07

4GB clip+  $37.99

2GB Clip+ $34.63

So now the 4GB is the best deal. Last time I checked the 2GB one was $29.99 and the 4GB one $39.99

Amazon pricing can change very rapidly though.

More memory is indeed better.  No matter how much you have in that internal memory, the music collection grows to fill the little guy.

Regarding DRM content and internal-versus-microSD card storage, the secure digital part of the card was designed specifically fot protected media: if the card is loaded while plugged in to the Sansa, you can load protected media, just as internal.

Rhapsody Channels playlists can be quite large, I have groups on different sansas, about 300mb or so per channel list.  Having a large Internal Memory is important for Rhapsody, if you like the Channels feature, as these are limited to the internal memory.  Everything else, including DRM subscription tracks, can be loaded in either memory.

Bob  :smileyvery-happy:

“Everything else, including DRM subscription tracks, can be loaded in either memory.”

 I have never used protected files myself, but have read plenty about people having plenty of issues with protected files on card memory. i can believe these are true, as my experimentation with MTP transferred unprotected files on card memory caused me plenty of problems. Since i made the switch to MSC only for everything, I have had no issues.  I never had issues with mtp transferred unprotected music in main memory, just with mtp trasferred files on card memory. I can imagine that problems could be enen worse with protected music on card memory. If you have managed to get this to work well, then consider yourself lucky.

Hello and Thanks to Everyone for your comments! This became quite an interesting thread.

After reading these posts, I have decided to go for the 8GB Clip+. Durability doesn’t seem to be an issue and I am a firm believer in buying as much memory as can be afforded. Being in Canada, prices are higher than those in the States, but almost comparable. Seems the biggest problem will be finding a Canadian retailer (online or actual storefront) that carries the 8GB model! If there are any Canadians that would like to chime in and give suggestions on who acutualy carries the 8GB, that would be also appreciated. So far, only Best Buy is the only retailer I’ve found, and their price was quite high (at Future Shop I can buy 2 4GB for less than an 8GB)

Again, Thanks to All

Fritzmom

One thing you might want to do is wait 2 weeks before buying. For the past two years Sandisk released a new player at the start of September. It would be a good idea to wait and see if it will happen this year, and if so, what the player will be. Many are hoping for an improved version of the Clip+(perhaps with more memory, longer battery life, or an improved screen). Many are hoping for an improved Clip+ with at least 16GB of built in memory.

I am surprised than you can buy two 4 GB Clip+ players for the price of one 8GB one and you still want the 8GB one.

@jk98 wrote:

One thing you might want to do is wait 2 weeks before buying. For the past two years Sandisk released a new player at the start of September. It would be a good idea to wait and see if it will happen this year, and if so, what the player will be. Many are hoping for an improved version of the Clip+(perhaps with more memory, longer battery life, or an improved screen). Many are hoping for an improved Clip+ with at least 16GB of built in memory.

 

I’m also curious to see what kind of player Sandisk will come out with this year.  It may well be an improved fuze+ and perhaps a player that will support a SDXC card.

Releasing a new player with micro SDXC support would be smart, however it is unknown when micro SDXC cards will be released, and especially when they will be reasonably priced(under $100 for a 64GB card).

I’m still waiting for a 100GB+ solid-state player–well within today’s tech capabilities, and reasonably priced (relatively).

@miikerman wrote:

I’m still waiting for a 100GB+ solid-state player–well within today’s tech capabilities, and reasonably priced (relatively).

It’ll be a 128GB Touch, for $499.99. You heard it here first!:stuck_out_tongue:

A player with two micro SDXC card slots would be cool, even if it can’t have internal storage.