Registered: May 2001
Location: Madison, WI
Posts: 101

Audible Advice??

Hey there.
I took a look at Audible.com yesterday and want to try it out. However, I'm a bit confused about whether to get the Audible Advisor for my Platinum, or should I purchase an MP3 player instead. If so which one? After reading the Audible website, I'm now thoroughly confused about the audio formats (ie: 1, 2, 3, and 4).

My understanding is that any MP3 player can play Audible content. But how do I know which players support that whole 1, 2, 3, and 4 format thing?

Any advice/warnings/suggestions??

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Registered: Nov 2001
Location: CA
Posts: 47

Re: Audible Advice??

quote:

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Originally posted by PastaGrrrl
Hey there.
I took a look at Audible.com yesterday and want to try it out. However, I'm a bit confused about whether to get the Audible Advisor for my Platinum, or should I purchase an MP3 player instead. If so which one? After reading the Audible website, I'm now thoroughly confused about the audio formats (ie: 1, 2, 3, and 4).

My understanding is that any MP3 player can play Audible content. But how do I know which players support that whole 1, 2, 3, and 4 format thing?

Any advice/warnings/suggestions??

---

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Experience is what happens when something unexpected comes up.

Registered: Nov 2001
Location: Sumner, WA
Posts: 70

I'm a Premium Listener (2 books per month), and I have the Rio 500, you could get for free. It has 64 megs of memory, and you can only get the 600 now with 32 megs of memory, but they both take SM cards. The audible springboard was $99 when I got my subscription so I opted for the "free" player. It's not big (about the size of a deck of cards), and I use way more than 16 megs of memory that the module allows. *grin* I'd not worry about the extra machine, because you can't do more than one thing on your Visor... I'd like to be able to use my Visor for other things besides listening to audio books.

Dana

Registered: Aug 2001
Location: beach
Posts: 71

sm cards?

Dana,
I ordered the Rio600 (32mb). Is it possible to add memory without purchasing the backpack from Rio? If so, how? Thanks. By the way, I am an audible Basic Listener and I love it. The Rio comes with a cassette adaptor for the car and it's great for commuting and trips

Last edited by ovaltine on 12-28-2001 at 06:23 PM

Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 175

Guess their e-mail campaign is having some success, as I was taking a look this morning also. I'm also torn between getting the module or taking the free refurbished Rio600 but the memory cost for it does seem exorbitant.

Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 175

Just went looking at the sonicblue website. As far as I can tell, the Rio 600 and 800 use the memory expansion packs and not SM cards.

The Rio 32meg backpack sells for $96 at Amazon, which must be wrong because Rio sells it for $40 (out of stock until January) and the 64 meg backpack for $70. For some reason these backpacks need (and come with) their own nimh battery and adapter.

On the Audible Advisor, if you go from the main audible.com page it says it's $49 with subscription. But if you start at www.audibleadvisor.com, it flips you to a page where it's free with the year subscription. Can't beat that deal financially, but you can only hold approx. 4.4 hours on the 16 meg, which is far less than an unabridged audiobook. Fine for daily commutes, not good for traveling.

Arrrrgh!! Anybody have any experience with the Iomega HipZip?

Registered: May 2001
Location: Madison, WI
Posts: 101

OK.
Given the information above, here's what I'm thinking of doing: I think I will buy either the Philips Rush, or a Rio with as much memory as I can find, so that I can use my investment to also listen to MP3s if I choose. I'm shirking off the Audible Advisor due to cost per memory allowance and the fact that I'd have to sign up for the year's membership to get it free from Audible (and if I didn't sign up for the subscription, I'd be paying an arm and a leg for it anyway). So I figure with a separate MP3 player, I will have more memory (even at the higher price), more versatility, and be a happier chica in the end.

Dumb idea?

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Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 175

The Rush looked interesting, but I think I'm going to go with the HipZip. Iomega told me they'd be back in stock in January. With Audible's $50 Amazon coupon, I'll get 80 meg for $50 and can buy extra PZ disks.

Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 30

My biggest problem with Audible.com is they don't support Mac users with their portable devices. I would sign up for a year of service if I could get one of their devices to upload the books on my Mac at home. Until that day, I am listening to bad radio in the afternoons.

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---S---

Registered: Nov 2001
Location: Sumner, WA
Posts: 70

Re: sm cards?

quote:

---

Originally posted by ovaltine
Dana,
I ordered the Rio600 (32mb). Is it possible to add memory without purchasing the backpack from Rio? If so, how? Thanks. By the way, I am an audible Basic Listener and I love it. The Rio comes with a cassette adaptor for the car and it's great for commuting and trips

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I have no idea. *laugh* I have a Rio 500 with a SM card slot. *grin* I just bought a 64 meg card from Newegg.com and will add a MemPlug when I get a chance (If I get paid tomorrow). That way, it does double duty. I'm drooling at 64 megs of memory... will keep me in audiobooks on my Rio 500 for a LONG time. Might even be enough to do a cross country plane trip. (From WA to FL).

Dana

Registered: May 2001
Location: Madison, WI
Posts: 101

Audible troubles??

I'm wondering if any of you have experienced trouble with the Audible site/service. Last night when I tried to download samples to see how the sound quality was, I could not for the life of me, successfully download a sample! Upon clicking the "sample" icon I was either brought back to the homepage, brought to the free audio page, or did indeed download a Perl file (of all things). Was this just because I'm not a member, or have others had problems downloading content too?

I'd really like to subscribe to Audible, but, damn, if I can't even download a sample, they can kiss my money goodbye. (No wonder why their stock has plummeted!~)

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www.studio1809.com
P.S. I feel at home with geeks like you.

Registered: Oct 2001
Location: Duluth GA
Posts: 26

Hmmm...

I just was on their site today following a springboard link from the HS site. I must admit I'm interested. I've got my own library of Audiobooks, mostly SciFi.

Admitly at first glance I've a question for users of the Audible springboard.

Are the files broken up in chunks? I mean if you get a 4 Hour Type 2 file, is it a 12MB file? or Several 3 or 4Meg files in sequence. (I'm thinking if I got it, I might transfer ADDITIONAL files to my CF Card and transfer them to the Audible springboard later as needed, through the Visor Ram. Of course if I have to work in my 3 Meg plus/minus free space, that idea might not work depending on file sizes. I know that there can be some files under three meg, so loading up a bunch of files for a trip might take some careful planning.)

P.S. --- I was able to download some free samples of Robin Williams no problem...

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Registered: May 2001
Location: Madison, WI
Posts: 101

Omnitron:
I too was thinking of getting the Audible Advisor. But I got the Rio 600 instead because of more supported formats and more room. I don't know exactly how the Audible Advisor works, but, the free software from Audible.com will let you break up your files by time. IE: You can put the first two hours of something on your device or the middle 3 hours, etc., etc. I find the Audible software very stable and useful in that manner. After being an Audible Premium Listener for 2 months: I love it! I can't say much more than that. The prices are good, especially if you get the membership, and I love having great stuff to listen to anywhere.

Big thumbs up from me!

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www.studio1809.com
P.S. I feel at home with geeks like you.

Registered: Sep 2000
Location: Escondido, CA
Posts: 40

I have the AudibleAdvisor for my Prism and have subscribed to unabridged version of books. The software (downloadable for free from the audible.com website) allows you to break down the books into "time sections" to make full use of the memory in the s/b. Very simple to use.

Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 175

Yes, the large books come in multiple files. For example, I've purchased (thru the subscription) Robert Ludlum's latest. It comes as 3 6-meg files and you can transfer over smaller portions of those files. BUT, you can't download to your CF card and transfer over. You can only download to your PC and then transfer using their transfer software.

I got the Advisor when it was free with the subscription. It's good except for the limited space. I really wanted an integrated MP3 player and more storage (sucks when you travel and can only take 4 hours of a book with you), but of the ones that are Audible compatible and still being made the memory upgrades are expensive.

Still hoping for a new player to come out....

Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 175

I've been looking at the other MP3 players that are Audible compatible and noticing that they're getting harder to find. So I e-mailed Audible. They replied that they will be supported by the new RioRiot in about a month. The RioRiot is a new 20 gig MP3 player with FM tuner. It's pricey - $399, but I'll finally be able to get my Audible Books, music and radio in one small device. Great for the gym, the bus commute to work, and plane travel.