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Having just the digital music player isn't enough - you need a few extras to get things going, and sometimes a couple of extras will turn listening to tunes into a surprisingly good time.
Accessories start with headphones - although all portable music players come with some kind of earbud-type headphones, they are typically of relatively low quality and are just enough to do the job of letting you hear music. Better headphones often have higher fidelity, or the ability to recreate a wider frequency range, allowing you to better enjoy the music, especially without disturbing others at work or home. Earbud earphones have the advantage of better portability, since they can be concealed in any pocket, but the larger outside-the-ear headphones will not only be able to produce sound better on the whole, but are better at muffling outside background noise. Noise cancelling headphones - which work by sampling the ambient environment around you, create a sound pattern out of phase of the original, and add that to the music you are listening to giving an end result that is a slight increase is hiss and a drop in engine noise and hum from trains, cars or planes - are worthwhile if you are a traveller and can be doubly effective with headphones.
Another bonus for portable music players is the number of cradle units available - you can sit your player in the cradle and listen to music over the integrated speakers while charging with the integrated charger - not a bad idea if you are frequently travelling and spending time in hotel rooms with only the pitiful speakers that come with laptops. The sound can range from decent enough to surprisingly good, turning your tiny digital music player into a portable boom box. Portable chargers and desk speaker sets are also both options if you only need either a way to keep your batteries going or a pair of mini speakers. Some of the cradles include an IR (infrared) port on the front of the base that will let you use a remote control to control the music - very convenient of the base is across the room or for general coolness factor.
Some other top accessories include custom coloured carrying cases, belt clips, neck or arm straps for the smaller music players to keep them handy when jogging without needing pockets, stereo and TV connectors to let you use their external speakers, and even custom software that you can use to create and mix your own music creations.
