Top 5 MP3 players with line-in recording

Donald Bell, Senior Editor

Updated August 22, 2007

Say what you will about the bygone days of cassette decks, the medium lent itself extremely well to recording. Whether taping your favorite song off the radio, making a mix for your latest crush, or recording your toddler's musings on Sesame Street characters, recording sounds from the world around you was as simple as pressing a big red button.

These days, it's no easy feat to hunt down a portable music player capable of creating quality recordings with push-button simplicity. This list compiles our favorite MP3 players that produce great results using a standard line input cable. Some of these players, such as the Toshiba Gigabeat U and Cowon iAudio 7, can also detect the silences between songs and automatically split the recording into separate tracks--handy for recording entire albums in one pass.

If you're looking to add recording capability to an iPod, check out the Griffin iTalk Pro.

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Product name	Cowon iAudio 7 (8GB, red)	Toshiba Gigabeat U (2GB, Black)	Creative Zen V Plus (8GB, black)	Cowon D2 (4GB, red)	Creative Zen Nano Plus (1GB, Black)

Review date	July 19, 2007	August 13, 2007	June 20, 2006	February 27, 2007	June 05, 2006

CNET editors' rating	8.3 Excellent	7.3 Very good	8.3 Excellent	8.3 Excellent	7.3 Very good

Users' rating	7.2 Very good ( from 13 users)	9.0 Spectacular ( from 2 users)	6.5 Good ( from 11 users)	9.4 Spectacular ( from 9 users)	7.5 Very good ( from 76 users)

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Review summary	The Cowon iAudio 7 beats the industry heavyweight iPod Nano in price, features, battery life, and sound quality. The user interface could use some refinement, but all-in-all this is a very impressive MP3 player.	The Toshiba Gigabeat U is one tough, classy player that nails all the right features at a great price.	The Creative Zen V Plus is a superb choice for anyone looking for a compact and feature-filled flash MP3 player with great sound quality. If you're looking for a more sophisticated design (or have large thumbs), check out the iRiver Clix instead.	If you can get on board with the Cowon D2's PDA-like touch screen interface, the reward is great-sounding audio, a smorgasbord of features, and a fantastic battery life.	If you're looking for a feature-packed flash player but you don't want to spend a ton to get one, Creative's Zen Nano Plus is the device for you.

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Basic Specs
PC interface(s) supported	Hi-Speed USB	USB	Hi-Speed USB	Hi-Speed USB	Hi-Speed USB

Flash memory installed	8 GB	2 GB	8 GB	4 GB	1 GB

Digital player signal-to-noise ratio	95 dB	Info unavailable	92 dB	95 dB	90 dB

Dimensions (WxDxH)	1.4 in x 0.7 in x 3 in	1.4 in x 0.4 in x 3 in	1.7 in x 0.6 in x 2.7 in	3.1 in x 0.7 in x 2.2 in	1.3 in x 0.5 in x 2.6 in

Weight	2.1 oz	1.5 oz	1.6 oz	3.2 oz	0.8 oz

Resolution	160 x 128	Info unavailable	128 x 128	360 x 240	Info unavailable

Battery technology	Lithium polymer	Info unavailable	Lithium ion	Lithium polymer	Alkaline

Mfr estimated battery life	60 hour(s)	20 hour(s)	Info unavailable	52 hour(s)	18 hour(s)

Software type	Cowon jetAudio , Cowon jetShell , Drivers & Utilities	Drivers & Utilities , Windows Media Player 10	Creative MediaSource , Creative Media Explorer , Creative ZENcast Organizer	Cowon jetShell , Cowon jetAudio VX	Drivers & Utilities , Creative MediaSource

Product type	Digital player / radio	Digital player / radio	Digital player / radio	Digital player / radio	Flash player

Color	Red	Black	Blue	Red	Info unavailable

Sound output mode	Stereo	Stereo	Stereo	Stereo	Stereo

Width	1.4 in	1.4 in	1.7 in	3.1 in	1.3 in

Depth	0.7 in	0.4 in	0.6 in	0.7 in	0.5 in

Height	3 in	3 in	2.7 in	2.2 in	2.6 in

Sound effects	BBE , Mach3Bass , MP Enhance	Info unavailable	Info unavailable	BBE , Mach3Bass , MP Enhance	Info unavailable

Equalizer factory presets	Pop , Jazz , Rock , Vocal , Normal , Classic	Info unavailable	Pop , Jazz , Rock , Disco , Vocal , NewAge , Classic , Acoustical	Pop , Jazz , Rock , Vocal , Normal , Classic	Pop , Jazz , Rock , Classic

Amplifier response bandwidth	20 - 20000 Hz	Info unavailable	Info unavailable	20 - 20000 Hz	Info unavailable

Amplifier total output power	52 mW	Info unavailable	Info unavailable	Info unavailable	Info unavailable

Digital player (recorder)	ASF , MP3 , WAV , WMA , FLAC , Ogg Vorbis , MPEG 1 Audio , MPEG 2 Audio , MPEG 2.5 Audio	MP3 , WAV , WMA	MP3 , WAV , WMA , ADPCM , Audible , Protected WMA (DRM 9)	MP3 , WAV , WMA , FLAC , Ogg Vorbis , MPEG 1 Audio , MPEG 2 Audio , MPEG 2.5 Audio	MP3 , WMA , Protected WMA (DRM)

Flash memory form factor	Info unavailable	Integrated	Integrated	Integrated	Integrated

Manufacturer warranty	Info unavailable	1 year warranty	1 year warranty	Info unavailable	Info unavailable

Digital Player total harmonic distortion	Info unavailable	Info unavailable	0.05 %	Info unavailable	0.1 %

Product name	Cowon iAudio 7 (8GB, red)	Toshiba Gigabeat U (2GB, Black)	Creative Zen V Plus (8GB, black)	Cowon D2 (4GB, red)	Creative Zen Nano Plus (1GB, Black)

Full specifications	Full Specifications	Full Specifications	Full Specifications	Full Specifications	Full Specifications

Price range	Check latest prices $135 from 1 store	Check latest prices $70 from 1 store	Check latest prices $n/a from 0 store	Check latest prices $145 from 1 store	Check latest prices $n/a from 0 store