Almost perfect.
Written: Aug 31 '03 (Updated Oct 16 '05)
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Pros: Excellent sound. WOW SRS on-board. Small. Light. Easy to use. Serves as USB drive. Multi-purpose.
Cons: Supplied headphones terrible. Sub-standard case. Poor mechanism for changing tracks. Capacity non-upgradeable.
The Bottom Line: It's not perfect but considering how versatile it is, it's a beautiful piece of hardware. A great MP3 player combined with a USB drive, a voice recorder and FM!
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| transcend1's Full Review: Samsung Yepp YP-55 (256 MB) Digital Media Player |
I finally decided to let my beloved iRiver Slim-X go because I got tired of carrying a bag just so that my investment (the excellent Slim-X - read my review here http://www.epinions.com/content_90892766852) is protected.
So off I went, and started looking around for a decent MP3 player. For me, there were only two choices really. Either the iRiver Toblerone shaped MP3 player or the Yepp YP-55 from Samsung. I was leaning towards the iRiver because of their excellent quality electronics. Yah, they don't make really user friendly interfaces, but I see myself as someone who is fairly tech savvy and complicated interefaces don't really bother me.
However, I opted out of buying the iRiver because it encodes its files in it's own format when it saves the files. The YP-55 uses no such special format. This means that you can use the Yepp as a USB drive as well. So you can save anything in the Yepp but you can only save audio files in the iRiver. With that versatility, the YP-55 wins several points over the iRiver.
Out of the package, the YP-55 comes with a AAA battery, Yepp headphones, neck-strap, USB cable, installation CD, a direct connect USB adaptor, a line cable and the user manual. The YP-55 comes in three versions, the YP-55H (128MB), YP-55i (192MB) and the YP-55V (256MB). I got the YP-55V.
The YP-55 comes with a line cable which can be used to connect any audio source to the yepp. When you flick the Encode switch on the yepp, it will begin encoding the audio into MP3 files that are saved in it's memory. This is quite handy if you want to listen to your friend's CD but he won't lend it to you. Just hook up the CD player to the yepp, press play on the CD player and turn on the encode switch on the yepp. On top of that, you can choose the encoding bit rate within a range of 32kbps to 128kbps.
The player itself is extremely easy to use and one doesn't even need to look at the manual. However, the one complaint I have about the user interface is it's mechanical track selection interface. To choose the next track, you have to turn the top of the cylindrical yepp. When I am on the go, I just want to reach in my pocket and flick a switch to change tracks. I don't want to hold the yepp in two hands to turn the "knob" to skip a track. It loses several points because of this poor mechanism.
Another problem with the interface is that the RECORD/ENCODE switch is easily switchable. One can accidentally turn it on and it would be in voice record mode. However, as long as you keep the HOLD switch on, this is not a problem.
Yet another problem with the player, is the atrocious set of headphones it comes with. I have not used a worse pair of headphones before and I have gone through several pairs in my life. This is something Samsung has to look into replacing because, when I played my MP3's on the Yepp and listened to it on the supplied headphones, I thought that I had bought a piece of rubbish of an MP3 player. I changed my headphones to my usual pair and it sounded SO much better, to my relief!
OK. Now that we have the problems out of the way, the Yepp YP-55 is definitely not something I regret buying. The sound out of this tiny beast is amazing and it's reinforced by the WOW SRS system. Placing files into it is as easy as dragging and dropping files into a folder. It also has a built-in FM receiver which is also easy to use.
The real advantage that the YP-55 has over the iRiver version is that it can be used as a USB drive too. Dragging and dropping files into the YP-55 is not limited to only MP3 files. You can save anything you want on the YP-55. Here's another little plus - it is Apple compatible! Even though there is no official Apple support, it still acts as a USB drive for both PC's and Apples.
The YP-55 is not done! It also has a voice recorder capability. If you're walking around town and inspiration strikes you, you can pull out your yepp, switch the REC/ENCODE switch and talk into it. When you switch it back to PLAY mode, it will replay the song that you were on before.
Finally, among the many other little advantages this baby has (one of which is that it is skip free), one of the major perks I would like to mention before I sign out is that it is firmware upgradeable. You can download new codecs, and new OS for the YP-55 from the yepp website. FYI, the iRiver players also provide this feature.
All in all, this is a great player. It is not PERFECT though. For instance, you cannot upgrade the memory capacity. Nonetheless, the YP-55 is a great toy. Tiny. Loud. Versatile. I love it.
UPDATE: SEPT 14, 2003
Well, I had this unit for a few weeks now and I absolutely have no qualms about purchasing this little toy. It definitely beats carrying around a CD player. I have played many styles of music on the Yepp - from rock tracks with heavy guitars to electronica and I can comfortably say that once you place you place the Yepp at a higher-than-default volume level, you can hear the full range of the sound. One thing I have noticed is that the volume returns to a default level of 22 once you turn the unit off. At this level, unless you are indoors, you will barely be able to hear anything but the bass clearly. It's not a major flaw - just boost up the volume and you're on your way. In fact, it is not a flaw at all, because you can adjust the default volume level to anything you want.
I mentioned earlier that the supplied case is a piece of junk. After a few weeks of use, I have to say that is a REAL piece of junk, but it works. By this I mean, the case itself is poorly constructed but it does the job of protecting the Yepp. The velcro on the belt strap portion is so weak, that I wouldn't trust it to hold on to your belt very long. On top of that, little pieces of string keep stripping away from the velcro strap. The lining inside the case is like a magnet for dust and balls of lint. That being said, when I dropped the Yepp while in the case, I was grateful to the case because it fell really softly and the internal padding absorbed the shock. If only I could purchase a better case, but I doubt that I will be able to.
Do I still recommend it? Absolutely. I would never go back to a CD player after experiencing the Yepp.
UPDATE: OCT 16, 2003
I have been uploading large MP3's to the Yepp and I came upon a very pleasant surprise. You can actually fast-forward within the same track. This means that if I had to stop listening to a track that is about an hour long half way through, I just have to make sure I take a mental note of the track time and then next time when I play the same track, just forward it to the point where I left off. This is a very helpful feature for me and something I didn't expect because the iRiver CD player that I owned didn't fast forward within MP3 tracks.
I have also experimented with the encoding feature. I connected the Yepp to a digital music source from a digital cable box to test the encoding feature. My cable provider provides a wide host of music channels, so I decided to let the Yepp encode the Trance channel for an hour or so. I set it at the highest encoding setting at 192k and returned after an hour and a half.
What I discovered was that the battery had died. The Yepp takes up a lot of battery power while encoding but the quality is absolutely superb. It took up about half of the 256 MB in the Yepp. The verdict - encoding quality is perfect but it requires fresh batteries. At lower bit rates, the power requirements would not be as demanding.
Just keeping you guys updated ;)
UPDATE: Oct 26,2003
I noticed that someone else posted a review here and mentioned in the CONS section that the Yepp drains power when transferring files. I wanted to clarify that the Yepp does not require batteries when transfering files. I have connected the Yepp to my PC WITHOUT the battery and it works perfectly, because it is powered through a power pin in the USB.
There is no battery power loss during file transfers.
UPDATE: Jan 14, 2004
Still using this MP3 player with no problems. This is probably my last update on this product because, I have used this MP3 player for several months now and my opinion on it hasn't changed. The one last thing I would like to add about this little toy is that it has an annoying LOW BATTERY sign that keeps flashing when it is low on batteries. This flashing warning prevents you from going into the menu system and essentially, makes the display pointless. Small flaw and only occurs when the batteries are dying.
UPDATE: March 19, 2004
YET another update. If you are looking for firmware for this item, it's really hard to find it at Samsung's official Yepp website. I had even emailed them asking where the firmware download page was. The reply I got was that there weren't ANY firmware updates. This is an odd reply because I did download an update from their official website ONCE. The second time I went there, there was no link.
This is bad news - Samsung stopped supporting the player after 1 firmware update. However, all is not lost. There is a forum on Yahoo Groups called "yeppmp3 · Yepp MP3 Players" which has extensive discussions on this player. The good news is that upgrades to firmware are posted here. These do NOT seem to be official Samsung updates. However, they work perfectly fine. In fact, the latest update that I recieved from the forum turned my firmware to version 5.7, whereas, the official Samsung firmware update was at version 1.xx . I kid you not - I received an email from Samsung saying that there were NO updates to firmware and hence they did not post them up.
From the Yahoo groups forum, I learnt that the Korean website had updates to the firmware though. This is find and dandy for the Korean customers but for us in North America or non-Korean speakers, this is awkward. Thankfully, the forum helps out.
As for version 5.7, I have no idea if it is the official Samsung firmware upgrade, or an upgrade programmed by an individual. Nonetheless, I have been using it and it provides play resume from the middle of a track (which is great for live sets and audio books) and it also provides a playlist functionality.
UPDATE: August 22, 2004
Firmware 7.1 was released recently and a new support site has arisen for this awesome MP3 player. Download the firmware here:
http://www.cczclan.com/yp-55.asp
The new firmware provides the following substantial advantages:
(taken from the site above and edited)
- Faster Shutdown, startup and function switching
- No cutoff in FM Recording, faster start and stop
- Easier and more integrated Navigation functions
- ASF Support
- New Functions (Study Mode and Sleep Mode)
- More precise FFWD/REW Functions
There are many more but I felt these were some of the more important ones. The addition of ASF file support is very substantial. I am looking forward to gapless play in future editions of the firmware though. This firmware STILL does not address the gap between tracks issue. One thing to note is that the shutdown and startup times are SO MUCH FASTER than it was with the stock firmware.
Now if you are wondering, is this an official Samsung update? My answer - I have no idea because Samsung is being really strange about it. It seems to be providing firmware upgrades within Asia but not many other parts of the world. As I mentioned earlier, Samsung wrote to me saying there are no upgrades! Really inconsistent behaviour though. It's a good thing users support each other instead of waiting for the manufacturer to!
UPDATE May16 2005:
Wow, it's been a while since I owned this MP3 player and since I bought this, I also bought the Rio Karma 20GB hard-drive based player. You know what? The Karma is great but I still LOVE the Yepp. Compared to bigger hard-drive based MP3 players, the Yepp is so tiny and un-intrusive. It just slips in your pocket and you don't even know it's there , whereas with the Karma, you feel the weight everywhere you go. For the gym, the Yepp can't be beat. I combine this mp3 player with the Sony canal headphones so it completely masks out the abhorent gym music and I can listen to my own stuff while I work out. If you can find this baby on ebay or even used, I recommend you grab one before this completely vanishes. Even the newer yepp models don't stand up to this classic. When I bought this unit a few years ago, I didn't think I would still be using it so long after. But here I am using it as a flash drive, FM radio, mp3 player and voice recorder. Let's see the ipod or iriver or karma do that :)
UPDATE OCTOBER 16, 2005
This MP3 player is still going strong. I wanted to add that I upgraded it's durability because I have dropped this thing so many times but it still works flawlessly. I am not sure if this unit is STILL in production because I know the newer units aren't as versatile and powerful as this one. If you can't find this in a store, hunt for it on ebay :)
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 220
Recommended for: Athletes - Lightweight and Portable, Perfect for the Gym
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Epinions.com ID:
transcend1
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Reviews written: 8
Trusted by: 1 member
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