Bulldog

PocketMusic and WithMP3, since it's all about the music, which is better?

I have seen so many forum discussions on MP3 players and I consistently see these two discussed. I haven't seen anybody that did a head to head of them so here it is.
PocketMusic (PM) comes with a free version that doesn't give you the presets but allows you to tweak the EQ. The full version (Feature Pack) gives you plenty of preset EQ settings and the ability to save custom ones. The cost is $20. It allows skins, I have tried some of them and there is not enough contrast in them for me but some of them are still nice to look at.
WithMP3 (WMP3) has a 60 hour trial of the full version. It offers all the same presets as the full version of PocketMusic. You can tweak the settings as well. The cost is $15 Doesn't allw skinning, but according to the website it will be available soon.
The comparison is based strictly on my own opinion with some brief input from the wife (she likes the sound of WitMP3). I used a Logitech Z-340 computer speakers that I purchased solely for use with my Ax, a pair of Koss "The Plug" headphones and a pair of Aiwa model HP-JS35 headphones that I use everyday with my Irock MP3 player. I also tested with a pair of Sony ear buds. Let me further emphasize that I have already bought the full version of PocketMusic and loved it. It doesn't compare to the Irock player but then again the Irock only does MP3's and is not much bigger than a match book with nothing more than a one line LCD.
I was resistant to check out WithMP3 mostly because if it was better, I would feel cheated out of $20 for buying PocketMusic.
Music used was Evanescence, Bring Me To Life / Van Halen's "Cant' Stop Lovin' You" / Eminem's "Lose Yourself" / Good Charlotte "The Anthem" and "LIfeStyles of the Rich and Famous". Evanescence has an extremly low bass rumble at the beginning that won't even be played by most speakers. When you have a good set of speakers it sounds like thunder. The rest of the track has some nice vocals that come through beautifully on good speakers and players. Van Halen I use to tweak my car audio system, it has a nice mix of elements that test out systems well. Eminem has great bass lines when you're looking to test that, and I just like the song. Good Charlotte was thrown in at the end of the day while working out on my speed bag and heavy bag.
Here's the settings I used for the Logitech test. I used the rock preset on both players with volume at 50% and I left the preamps at "0". For the Logitech speakers I set the 8" sub level to 6 this is more of a sum of overall volume not really a volume adjustment. The actual speaker level I set on approx. 1/3 total volume. I played each song twice back and forth between players to get a feel for the differences. I did this with all headphones also.
The PM sounded hollow, almost tinny. On the Evanescence it didn't crackle on the bass but it wasn't very strong. Van Halen sounded good but nothing impressive. Eminem was about the same, lows wern't very powerful and highs were kind of hollow. I am used to the sound of it and didn't think it was too bad.
The WMP3 blew me away! On the Evanescence track the low bass at the beginning sounded much better than the PM. The vocals were very clear. The Van Halen track was much better, the drums were much more pronounced and the guitars sounded better as well. Eminem's bass was awesome, I had to turn the volume on the Logitechs down because it was coming through upstairs and my wife didn't want it to wake our 7 week old. After she woke up they came down and my wife agreed that the WMP3 was a much better sound. Good Charlotte I let rip, I cranked the volume on the speakers (not the Ax, I left those settings alone) and the sound was great out of the WMP3 good bass and highs, vocals were clear. The PM was as expected a little hollow and not as full and rich a sound. Volume was also much lower than with the WMP3.
Now for the Koss headphones. Overall quality of sound was better using the WMP3 player, the sound was richer and fuller. Significantly more bass on my tests. I did however think that the PM was clearer in sound overall, especially noticable with Van Halen's track. I have used PM long enough now too know that even with tweaking settings I can't duplicate the overall richness of sound created by WMP3. Very disappointing. Loudness was hard to come by with PM but WMP3 had distortion problems at about 3/4 volume. I played with the premap on the WMP3 and by dropping it just a little you can achieve higher volume without distortion, more on that later though. PM however with the preamp at +20 you still can't acheive the same level of volume as the WMP3 at +/- 0.
PM's balance was skewed to the left while using all three types of headphones so I can only assume this is a problem with the program and not the headphones.
My overall winner was the WithMP3 player, the sound quality is considerably better and with tweaking will be outstanding considering that this is playing on a PPC. It is worth noting that the skin for WMP3 is suited to all types of lighting conditions. While many like to change skins I found this one much easier to see and distinguish than my beloved PM. Upon final testing I did notice that when using other EQ settings the distortion noted on the rock setting seemed to disappear and the sound quality improved. I was even able to up the preamp setting and achieve even more volume! This leads me to the conclusion that those of us who can't just leave well enough alone will really like the WMP3. Oh Yeah I loved the dual EQ graphics!
My wish list is short, I would like to see both of these players come out with an update that adds a bass boost feature.
I seem to be obsessed with sound quality, because late today I have bought and tried two different headset's. I returned the Koss "plug's" and bought another set of Koss' that I can't seem to find the model number of but they fit over the ear and have awesome sound!!! I will be keeping these for sure. I also bought a pair of pioneer SE-N7-X2, they will go back tomorrow. All were under $20. Let's not forget the Logitech's, they came highly recommended to me and they meet my needs perfectly. I didn't think they would put out a quality sound that could be heard over my speed bag, but they certainly did.
Now I am left with my PocketMusic Feature Pack and only about 56 hrs left of trial on WMP3. I only hope by the time it is up I have convinced my wife that I NEED the WMP3. Unless of course my trial runs with the GS Player lead me in that direction but I'll let you know.
Hope this helps you in your decision making and feel free to PM me if you have questions about any of this information. Oh and please be kind, this is my first reveiw of anything, so I am sure I that I forgot some stuff and I know I need to work on my presentation, next time will be better I promis.

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Bulldog, aka Kevin