Surprisingly versatile
Written: May 30 '07 (Updated May 31 '07)
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Pros: Small, easy to use, reliable
Cons: headphones included not best for athletic use
The Bottom Line: Use it, abuse it, and worry not, this is a tough little sucker.
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| rookshark's Full Review: Insignia Sport NS-DA1G (1 GB) MP3 Player |
I bought this mp3 player on eBay about six months ago, looking for something cheap (I paid $25) that I could use and abuse using while running and at the gym.
Six months later and it is still working fine. Connecting it to the computer via the handy USB connection is a piece of cake (compared to my previous Sony players) and getting files transferred is extremely easy (I only use mp3 files, and it has yet to refuse to play a file I have added) basically just plug and play. Only twice has the unit froze on me, but by deleting the files and re-copying them again, it cleared it up both times.
The rechargable battery works very well, and lasts me well over 20 hours (I charge it perhaps twice a month, and I use it at least 8-10 hours a week). It might last longer...to be honest I have to look sometimes to remember that it needs to be charged, because it lasts so long.
As I said I use this primarily at the gym and running, so it sees its fair share of water/sweat, and to this point, with no problems. I keep the unit in its clear plastic cover at all times, mostly because it came with the unit. Although I do not need this feature, the case can be used with a belt through the provided loop, which is a nice feature, and with the case on the unit, you can still access everything but the battery, which makes it easy to justify keeping it in the case all the time, since it adds almost no bulk to it, and gives a little bit of added protection. I have dropped this several times, banged it with weights (not on purpose of course, and not full force), sweat all over it, etc. from the type of use I give it, with no problems...it literally looks like new, despite everything.
The player is lightweight, and I usually keep it in the key pocket on the inside of my running shorts, so that gives you an idea on its size, and as far as the weight, if it were not for the headphone cord, I would forget it was there.
I do not use the screen very often, but it is color, and has all the information you include displayed for the music being played, and the battery indicator is easy to read and accurately gives you a feel for how much charge you have left when you get used to how long it lasts.
I went back to the player to check out the radio, and the quality of the signal is ok, but not great considering I should be able to get crystal clear quality where I live. I do not need this feature, so it is not a problem for me, but I noticed you can select a wide variety of options even here...stereo or no, several different presets, tuning manually or seeking...in short nothing I could think of wanting in a radio is missing.
The menus of the player, accessing photos, changing the backlight, brightness, etc. are all easy to get to/change, via the intuitive buttons. And those buttons are easy to use without being overly sensitive to accidental bumps. One bump activates the backlight and enables you to change anything, but one bump alone will not cause you to skip to the next track, etc. There is a "hold" feature you can access by sliding the bar on the side of the unit, but I have never needed it.
The overall sound quality of the unit is fine. You can select the equalizer from various preset versions (pop, classical, jazz, etc.) as well as program a custom version (uses 5 different selectable criteria). I mostly listen to sermons, and have not needed this feature. Actually the sound with the different sermons presents a wide variety of original audio quality, and the player generally responds well, giving a fairly balanced volume across different sermons, without me having to change the volume dramatically. The volume ranges from 0 to 40, and for most everything I listen to, songs included, I keep the volume around 15-20, leaving plenty of power left should you want something capable of ear drum damage.
The included headphones were the only disappointment in the package, as they were not the greatest quality in terms of sound or just simply fitting in my ear. They were not terrible, but for what I wanted they did not get used more than just a few minutes out of the box. I quickly ditched them and bought some Sony HEAR headphones which worked much better and stayed in my ear better for use running and at the gym.
Overall I could not be happier with the performance of this player, despite having never heard of the brand before this purchase. It does what it is supposed to do, with no reliability issues or hassles trying to use it, and especially for the purchase price. I would definitely buy another, probably would step up to the 2GB or higher model as I can listen to the 1GB twice before having to charge the unit, and would even pay close to retail if I had to do so.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 25
Recommended for: Athletes - Lightweight and Portable, Perfect for the Gym
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Epinions.com ID:
rookshark
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Location: Honduras
Reviews written: 54
Trusted by: 3 members
About Me:
missionary living in Honduras
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