Archos Jukebox Studio (20GB) MP3 Player

Pros: Inexpensive and huge storage, Rockbox, drag-and-drop, back-up HD, durable
Cons: Heavy and big for an MP3 player, small display, no external volume control, poor instructions

I bought this product almost a year ago. It has been functioning well ever since. But like all products, it has its pros and its cons. Pros -The Archos Studio 20 is relatively inexpensive for a 20GB harddrive. Every time I tell someone how much ...

Pros: Good sound quality, remarkable upgradeability, and rock-bottom price!
Cons: A little oversized, but not too much. The small LCD display isn't enough at times.

The Archos Jukebox Studio, in my opinion, is the best MP3 play for the money available. Why? Well, considering that a 20gb unit that doubles as an external USB hard drive is only $150-200, it's hard to go wrong. Sound quality is good, although not ...

Pros: Very upgradeable, very modifiable, very cheap
Cons: very poorly built. Expect to fix it yourself.

Having had a Jukebox Studio 20 for almost two years now, its quickly become a major portion of our lives. Sadly it's shoddy construction has become an issue now twice, and it is about to go back to Archos a third time. Everyone knows why you would ...

Pros: Huge capacity, MP3 and data storage
Cons: Short battery life

I have owned the Jukebox 20 for over a year now. The sound quality is good, not great. That is mainly due to the cheap headphones. Invest in a good pair of headphones for it. I also use it while traveling. I play it through the car stereo using a cassette adapter and a cigarette adapter for power. Never listen to the same song twice or have to find a station while traveling!

The ability to use the Jukebox as a portable hard drive is awesome. It gives you the ability to transport large data files along with your music.

I recently installed the 3rd party RockBox software on the unit (http://rockbox.haxx.se). This definitely makes the Jukebox more functional. It adds better audio options, more playlist options, longer battery life and higher audio output. The Rockbox software is a must! If you don't like it, the uninstall is easy.

Pros: 20GB, cost vs. iPod, etc., use drag & drop to setup folders
Cons: headphone quality lacking, needs 3rd party software to function way should from the start

On its own, the device does leave certain things to be desired- the headphones are of poor quality, and more options could have been included within the device.

However, many of the reviews I have seen recommend the Rockbox open-source software (don't remember the website), which is a very stable software that adds many enhancements to the device (and can be un-installed quite easily). In addition, it has a thorough Help File (in .pdf). It has made a huge difference in how the device runs.

With Rockbox, I am quite satisfied, except for having to shell out for an additional set of headphones...