Tight little package that offers what others can't.
Written: Feb 28 '01
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Pros: Size, weight, storage capacity, portable hard drive
Cons: Unattractive, pain to get batteries out, updating firmware not easy
The Bottom Line: Make sure you need 6GB+ before spending $350. If you do, then buy this player now.
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| Sarv's Full Review: Archos Jukebox Studio (20 GB) MP3 Player |
For many years now, I've followed the MP3 portable player world. Ever since I purchased my first player, the Diamond Rio 300, a couple years back, I loved having the ability to take my music anywhere I wanted without worrying about quality of sound or skipping the cd. However, after a few months, I realized that 32 MB wasn't enough, and it wasn't worth it to pay $100+ for more memory, when I'd find that I still needed more and more.
Then came along the MPTrip, a portable CD-R/MP3 player. It would read MP3 files off of a burned CD. Very nice, very cool, but it had too many moving parts, and was quite a pain to carry around because of its size. Plus it had its faults: shoddy design, wasn't very solid. It was nice and cheap, and worked fine....I just wanted more.
I heard about the Personal Jukebox (PJB 1000) around the time I purchased the Rio. Back then, it was $1000. That's a lot of dough for an MP3 player. Even now it's still expensive. I was in love with the idea of having 5+ GB's of MP3 joy. I only have 3GB on my HD, so 5-6 GB at this time is perfect. But what was I to do....where was I to go. Archos answered my question with the Jukebox 6000.
Give me the good stuff
There's plenty that's good about the Jukebox. First off, its not just an MP3 player. It has the ability to hold all kinds of media! Its a personal, portable hard drive. You can upload through a USB port anything and everything off your hard drive up to around 6.5 GB. I've transferred movies, songs, homework, games...everything goes!
It is also very small. It appears big, with the blue corners (made of a nice, semi-soft/semi-hard plastic) that act as bumpers so it won't get jarred around too much. It fits in the palm of your hand, and is about as heavy as a full can of soda. Also came with a nice carrying case that hooks to your belt. It appears to be able to take a licking and keep on ticking, but at $350, and for the money I receive through this epinion, I'm not gonna test that theory out. I'll let the Consumer Reports do that. :)
The software is easy to use, and you can quickly find your music while on the go. its also very simple to use on the computer, as it acts as a USB HD when you look in Explorer. You can drag and drop as if you were adding files to a floppy. Very simple, and very quick.
Is there anything bad about it?
A few things, but nothing that takes away from me recommending that you should purchase it. One thing I've personally had a problem with, though not everyone has, is the firmware. I've yet to be able to get mine to change, and I've been on many of the MP3 sites out there trying to figure it out. While this is not a problem as the music still plays, it'd be nice for it to be very simple, instead of moderately hard.
Secondly, I've heard that if you press on the underside of the unit too hard, it will rub up against the spinning HD disk and cause problems. You may have to send it back if this happens, so don't try this at home.
While not a huge problem, its a pain to get out the batteries. You have to practically peel off the covers to get at the batteries, but considering they are rechargeable, my recommendation is to keep recharging so you won't have to access the battery compartment.
Lastly, make sure that you need the space, and that you can afford it. Quickly after purchasing it, I realized that I wasn't going to use its full potential for maybe a few months down the line. And I also realized I didn't have quite the budget to afford it, though I'll be ok, and you won't find me living in a gutter with my Archos.
Quick comparison to Creative Labs Nomad Jukebox and PJB
The price of the Jukebox 6000 is much cheaper than the other two. Also, the other's don't offer the portable hard drive capability of the 6000, which makes the price difference an even bigger plus for the Archos player. They all offer the same amount of HD space and about the same quality in sound. What the PJB has going for it is simply the fact that it was the first out on the market. What the Nomad Jukebox has is the name brand look and feel. What Archos has is features.
Overall Impression
I'm very impressed with what Archos has done. I've seen many of their other products, and they truly do make things "smaller than life." The price was good for this player, it works good, and it plays music. What more can you ask for? Oh, the ability to transfer many different forms of files; it does that too. Maybe for their next Archos (the 7000?) they could add radio tuning and other nice little features that would make this product stand out from the Nomad Jukebox and the PJB. While I second-guess the purchase still, I am very happy with it and in time, I will not be so upset about spending the money.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 350
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Epinions.com ID:
Sarv
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Member: Erik Sarvela
Location: Medford, OR
Reviews written: 49
Trusted by: 15 members
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