Perception Digital Jukebox II
Written: Apr 25 '03 (Updated Aug 01 '03)
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Pros: Gracenote database, all music in one place, no typing in title/songs
Cons: None yet (only 1 week since purchase)
The Bottom Line: Convenience of having all my music in one location, the ability to easily play mp3's on my stereo, and the ease of use made this the right product for me.
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| areesemd's Full Review: Perception Digital Hercules Jukebox II MP3 Player |
Almost 2 years ago we purchased a 200 disc jukebox. Not too long after purchase, certain CDs began to skip. Like a virus, the skipping spread to the rest of the CDs. After 2 weeks in the shop, things were OK ... for a while. Then the whole process repeated. When discs began skipping a third time, we decided we'd had enough. A search on the internet brought me to the Perception Digital Jukebox II.
I liked the idea - load all of your CDs on a 20-gigabyte hard drive. It also comes with a 40-gigabyte hard drive (at $230 dollars more, only available from the company's website as far as I could tell). Purchased for $320.99 from Amazon.com, arrived in less than a week.
CDs can be played like a traditional CD player by inserting into the drawer. Recording a CD onto the hard drive is easy, and most CD titles and songs are in the Gracenote database, so usually you don't have to type info. in. It takes 5-10 minutes to record the CD without compression. When the jukebox is shut off, it goes about compressing the files in its sleep.
Recording options include 128 and 320 sampling rates, as well as CD quality. At 128, you can fit 500 CDs on the drive.
Transferring CD's from computer to jukebox is accomplished through a USB connection, which is not terribly fast but OK. With the computer connected to the jukebox, you can use a standard keyboard to correct/fill-in missing data and create playlists. In addition, with an internet connection, you can look up CDs that aren't in the unit's database (reported by the website to be 600,000 CDs).
The jukebox connects to a receiver through either standard audio-out jacks, or an optical output. There is also a headphone jack. You cannot listen to music while connected to the computer.
CD and song titles are listed on an LCD screen on the remote. It is relatively easy to do searches. There is a delay between when a button is pushed on the remote and when the screen updates.
I have so far recorded the CDs at 128, and that is apparent during some songs. At some point if it becomes bothersome enough, I may re-record those songs at a higher rate.
Overall I am very happy with the purchase - it holds more CDs and takes up less space than the 200-disc changer. It changes songs instantaneously and silently. No problems so far with operation.
Update (8/1/03):
After 3 months of use, I am very happy with it. It is great to create a playlist, hit random, and have hours of music I like.
Quirks I have noticed, however:
1. The remote goes through batteries pretty quickly; 4 of them in about a month and a half. When the remote doesn't work, it is much harder to use the unit, and there are limitations on what you can do.
2. Random play is really what I want. I would prefer random without repeating a song, which I guess is technically not random anymore. With a 3 hour play list, after less than 45 minutes I was hearing repeats, and would hear the song a 3rd time within a half-hour after that. Too much like Top 40 radio - the songs get annoying.
3. There is a significant delay when hitting buttons on the remote. It takes awhile after hitting a button for the screen to update, so it takes a while when selecting a particular artist or album, particularly when it is at the end of the alphabet.
Overall I am happy however. Sound quality is great, and it is nice not having to deal with individual CDs.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 320.99
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Epinions.com ID:
areesemd
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Location: Seneca Falls, NY
Reviews written: 5
Trusted by: 0 members
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