How Our Reviewers Listen

On November 1st, we published the results of our How Do You Listen? poll. Now to take a look at how our reviewers listen. Each of these ladies listens to a large volume of audiobooks and therefore demand ease in functionality with their audio listening devices. Yet their choices vary widely.

Kaetrin

I use my iPod. I used to have a 5th Gen iPod nano with the wheel and that was better for rewinding and fast forwarding because it allowed for more precision. Now I have (my second) 7th Gen iPod nano with the touch screen and sadly no wheel. I’ve learned to get around the problems with rewinding and fast forwarding but I love the size and portability of it too much to go to a larger device and I like to be able to see on the screen what I’m listening to and what is on my schedule. The little shuffles are too small and the big touches are too big but the nanos are just right – for me. :) Protip: Don’t drop your nano on bathroom tiles – I’m now on my 2nd one…

Shannon

I have more listening devices than you probably want to know about. Primarily, I use an iPod touch for audiobook reading. I like it because Apple has done wonderful things for blind people when it comes to accessibility. I can read pretty much anything on the pod. If I’m not using it though, I use a product called the Victor reader Stratus. It’s a machine that reads audiobooks from either a CD, an SD card, or a USB stick. It is put out by a company called Humanware, and has a text-to-speech program that allows me to read things like .txt files or kindle books. I’ll use it for audio listening when the pod is charging, or, if the file I’m listening to doesn’t have a lot of mark-up for navigation. In this instance, the stratus beats the pod.

Lea

I use an iPod nano (6th Gen) most of the time. It’s small and easily clips to my clothing and I’m spoiled by the nano’s light weight. I admit freely that I don’t care for the technical effort required to change devices. I have owned a number of iPod nanos over the years (starting with the 2nd Gen) and the ease of use combined with my familiarity with iTunes means it’s an automatic process for me. I don’t want to change what already works well.

I have also attempted to listen on my iPhone but there’s a risk I’ll drop this precious info packed device and, since it’s much larger than my nano, I’m not tempted to start listening on my phone.

For those times I’m not using my nano, I’m listening via my Kindle Fire HD for a number of my Whispersync titles. I love the ease of reversing if I want to hear a passage again. And, if it’s a review book? Making notes on my Kindle Fire is ever so easy.

Katherine

I listen to all audiobooks on my iPhone and I love it for that. When the iPhone first came out, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it because I wanted a device that took the place of my phone and my iPod. The sound is amazing. I haven’t ever used any other device for listening.

Carrie 

I use an iPod touch. It’s easy to use and since I don’t use my Touch for anything else (no games, internet, or apps), the battery stays charged for a long time. It’s the only iThing I own, but I’ve never found anything better for audiobooks.

Melinda

I’m an all-iPhone-all-the-time gal. I call it my little computer in my pocket, and I’d say my usage is probably 50% audiobooks! and maybe 5% phone! (15% password keeper – i have over 100 passwords between work and home.) I gave up wired earbuds a long time ago for a bluetooth stereo headset for exercise and house cleaning (Jaybird Sportsband). In the car, it’s connected to the speakers by bluetooth. And when I’m chilling and listening, I use my Paper Cup Speaker. Best 29 cents I ever spent! I keep a Sansa Clip around from when I used to get library audiobooks that weren’t compatible with iTunes, but I haven’t used it in a long time.

Caz

I use a Sansa Clip Zip, 8GB which takes a 32GB micro SD card – thank goodness, or I’d have to be forever swapping books around! I’ve had it about a year and I like it so much I’m considering buying a second one. It’s very heavily used as it’s my main device for listening to audiobooks. I use it in the car (my car is pretty old now, so no CD or MP3 player – I plug the Sanza into one of those FM transmitters) and at home all the time. Washing up, cooking, ironing, hanging out washing – you name it, any task which is going to take more than about five minutes, I stick my earphones in, so it’s switched on and off several times a day. Because of the way I use it, I need something fairly small and portable. While I have a Kindle Fire, it’s not ideal for use when I’m doing any of those tasks around the house. I do sometimes listen on my phone, but it’s got a much smaller storage capacity and I don’t tend to keep it especially “up to date”. I have about ten audiobooks on my phone (including those in my Audible app) which are kind of “old favourites” that I will listen to any time, such as if I’m stuck without my current listen because the battery needs charging, or whatever.

Minnie

I listen with the SanDisk Sansa Clip Zip (they come in a variety of colors, and mine is purple). The great thing about the Clip Zip is that it is super lightweight and doesn’t need a boatload of accessories to wear it on your person when moving around. I clip it somewhere on my clothing and go. I have an iPhone, but it is way too bulky for me to be wearing around, plus, I would have to buy an elastic holster for my arm (how uncomfortable are those?) and I’m not willing to do that. For the price that I paid for the SanDisk, I could break it and not totally freak out. Plus, it is super easy to load files and navigate. I actually am thinking of buying another, just to have as a back-up in case something like that happens. The Clip Zip is about one eighth the price of an iPod – I paid $39.99 for mine, and it is worth every cent.

Megan

I mainly use my 2G iPod shuffle with earbuds. Why? Because I can clip the shuffle to my shirt and the wires don’t get snagged when I move.

When I’m driving, I listen to CDs (borrowed from library) or downloads to my phone bluetooth-ed (is that even a word?) with the car stereo.

It’s a matter of fitting my reading/listening habit to my life. Since I read/listen while exercising, commuting, or doing household tasks. I need a device that can move with me.

Brenda

I have been listening via my Kindle Fire HD for awhile now – the audio quality is stellar. I plug the Kindle into the auxiliary jack when in the car. If I’m home, I use my LG Tone Wireless Bluetooth Stereo Headset (I recommended these in our Christmas Wish List for the Audiobook Lover last December) when in the house.

The house is 2000 square feet with an upstairs/downstairs open floor plan. I leave the Kindle HD upstairs on my desk and there isn’t a spot I go, including the garage or wood shed, where I can’t listen to the great audio quality clearly or use the play-pause button on the bluetooth headphones if needed.

Added plus – if the audio is Whispersync enabled and I come across a section I want to note or back up/reverse, I can do so quickly (after running upstairs. LOL) by tapping on the Kindle to make the note or “flip back” a couple of pages in the ebook/audiobook.

Other than that my Cowon J3 (a geeks MP3 player for pure sound), a Sansa Clip+ (the model before the Sansa Clip Zip with it’s color screen). It’s a small, inexpensive, easy to use, clip on device, or, if bookmarks are desired, an iPod touch with a bookmark app – I’m a bookmarking fiend.