This Jukebox Saved My Computer! (Jukebox 3) - Updated!
Written: Jan 14 '03 (Updated Jun 18 '03)
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Pros: Storage Space, Sound Quality, Feel, Interface, 2 Battery Slots, Windows 98 Compatible, Good Price
Cons: A Little Big, Firewire Doesn't Carry Power, A Little Nervous About Support Options
The Bottom Line: If you want the best in MP3 you have found your match.
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| demdev30's Full Review: Creative Technology Nomad Jukebox (20 GB) MP3 Play... |
The Nomad Jukebox 3 is a great player for those who need the best in MP3 but if you are not into playing with digital music look elsewhere.
At first glance, the Jukebox 3 looks like a portable CD player. Although once you open this device up you learn it is much more than a CD player. When you look at the packaging you probably would think this was some sort of amp. The box is huge, compare in size to the box for the iPod. Although once you take it out and hold it the Jukebox is not too big. You install the batteries, install the software and plug it in. Installation on Windows 98SE and Windows XP was that easy. This player takes many features from its competitors, Archos, Apple and to a lesser extent Rio and RCA. In my opinion though this player has the most bang for the buck of any of those. I can't compare the different products for installation because I've not tried them. I do know that the iPod is not compatible with Windows 98.
The Jukebox 3 is the only one of the big three in hard drive MP3 players to include firewire (named SB1394 by Creative, it is the same thing) and USB (1.1). The iPod only supports firewire. The Archos supports only USB (while this is USB 2.0, only new updated Windows XP computers support it, everyone else gets 1.1 speed). I am rather fortunate that we received a free firewire card and useless IntroDV software from Canon with our digital camcorder because I already had a firewire card installed in my computer (Windows 98SE). I only have two grips with the Jukebox's computer interfaces, number one is I would have included USB 2.0 support (no reason not to) and I would have allowed power to travel through the firewire cable as it does through USB so you don't have to separately plug it in to the wall.
I will not comment on other MP3 player software as I have not tried it. The Nomad Jukebox ships with Play Center 3 software. This software is decent jukebox software, but nothing special. You can rip songs from CD's, transfer to and from the Jukebox as well as you can play audio CD's. I only have a few problems with this software. It is a little to complex for everyday MP3 listening, so when I am not listening on my Nomad (more on that later) and listening to normal MP3's I still use Winamp. Secondly, the version number is difficult to find when trying to upgrade (more on that later too). Third, you can't play files on the Jukebox through your computer speakers. You can however find or buy an inexpensive cable to run from your player's line out to a line in port on your computer. This workaround also allows you to easily record audio from the Nomad that you can't transfer such as EAX (more on that later too!) modified files using free software such as CDex. The software also features auto sync (like the iPod) but I prefer to do the job of transferring myself.
This Jukebox comes with Creative File Manager as well. This software is a workaround for the fact the Jukebox does not list as a drive in My Computer. It would be nice if Jukebox showed as a drive, but it is not vital because the software isn't too bad. What this software specifically allows you to do is to place data files on the 20GB or 40GB drive this device ships with. The transfer rates (using firewire) are quick.
The player itself is great! Navigation is easy and the LCD screen is helpful. While the iPod may have a slightly more user friendly interface, it is less powerful. The iPod does not support line-in recording (both analog and digital), which can be in Wav format or directly into MP3. Once recorded these recordings can be transferred back to PC. With the latest firmware upgrades this feature is even better for microphone recording. You now may not need a cassette player for recording audio. The quality is higher on the Jukebox 3 compared to reel to reel.
The player features high sound quality, 98db on the lineout ports! I have no gripes about the sound quality, the player comes through nice and loud on full size 60 watt speakers, on a 100 watt amp (our digital cable box, in the same amp, is much quieter than this thing). Headphones sound good too, the included headphones are good, but I have big and better ones, but if giant headphones are not appropriate for where I am, the included ones are a nice backup.
The player supports EAX which is a fancy equalizer. While this is not a vital feature, being able to hear the Abbey Road Melody (Rock's peak as an art form) at 1.5x normal speed without a change in pitch is an event not to be missed. This feature is with a doubt more useful than photo or picture viewing on the Archos. The screen is far too small.
This player supports firmware upgrades, which is an easy process. The only problem comes A) When you can't find a paper clip or B) When you download the new version of the firmware and then that version is removed from the website with no word on why (which happened to me on this player). Driver and program updates are released frequently on www.creative.com as well.
This player fortunately has virtually no copy protection. The only existing protection is on the included songs (which are of low quality). This means you can pick up and move MP3s between computers. Apple only allows you to "sync" with one computer, thereby not allowing you to move to other computers YOU OWN!
So how did this save my computer? Well I had a 20GB hard drive with just MBs of space left and needed to do a format and recover to clean it out. Until I got this player I didn't want to do that because of all of the stress of trying to replace everything. Once I got this player, I could copy my music, documents and pictures, and do that recovery. My computer now is running much better with almost 17GB of space remaining. Had this been an iPod, all my MP3's would be forever trapped on the player because it probably wouldn't realize the computer was the same after the recovery and wouldn't sync.
I now use my Nomad (through the line in cable workaround) to play MP3s instead of from my hard drive. Saving GBs worth of space.
This player can use an extra battery which is not included (only player of its kind with that feature) for (or so they say) 22 hours of battery life. (11 Hours on one Lithium-Ion battery).
Tech. support may not be great as they have not always answered my questions correctly. Also the phone number is not a 1-800 number. This player has been reliable though so none of my inquiries were major.
I would in general recommend the 20 GB model selling for about $250.00. Compare that to a 5 GB iPod selling for $300 (20GB is $500.00 for the iPod, $400.00 for the Nomad. 40GB seems like more than anyone would ever use.
I have not tried this players WMA support but I guess it is excellent.
Added 6/18/03
Well my headphone plug is broken and the support on the product is terrible. I've sent them a complaint letter and will see what happens. For now I have reduced the rating to four stars and have removed my recomendation.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): Apx. 250
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Epinions.com ID:
demdev30
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Member: Andrew Watiker
Location: Scarsdale, NY, USA
Reviews written: 20
Trusted by: 3 members
About Me:
I'm a 17 year old living a suburban life in New York. Peace & Love!
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