A Serious MP3 player
Written: Mar 18 '01
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Pros: Stores 100's of CD's worth of digital audio, great quality sound
Cons: a bit pricey, short battery life
The Bottom Line: I love the Nomad and would recommend it to anyone who wants a serious MP3 player.
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| Paragon930's Full Review: Creative Technology Nomad Jukebox (6 GB) MP3 Playe... |
The selling point of the Nomad Jukebox has got to be its storage capacity -- a whopping 6 gigabytes! That's enough space to store over 100 CD's worth of digital audio tracks. Also, there is no need for any removable media such as compact flash cards, or smart media cards to keep track of. The Jukebox is basically a portable hard drive that plays music.
Ok, if you take away the fact that it holds such a large about of music, the Nomad then might become less appealing to some people because of a few aspects that cannot be overlooked.
First off, the price. At $499, the Jukebox is probably not considered "affordable" to most people. So you would probably most likely only get this product if you have some extra income lying around, or as a gift, as I did.
Secondly, battery life tends to be a problem if you do a majority of listening while out of the house and away from an electrical outlet. The Jukebox runs on rechargeable NiMH batteries and comes with 8 of them. These tend to last only about 2-3 hours before they need re-juicing. So if you plan on being out listening to the Jukebox for an extended period of time then you have to plan on having extra sets of batteries with you that are already charged up. The jukebox comes with an AC adapter that can be used while at home or wherever there is an electrical outlet so that the batteries need not be used, they actually get charged while the Nomad is connected to the AC adapter.
But, if you have extra money to spend, or even if you don't have extra money and just don't mind spending a lot on gadgets and accessories, or if you plan on using this mostly in the house anyway, then the Nomad really gives a loud bang for the buck. What it lacks in battery life and cost, it makes up for in sound quality and portability.
The Nomad is the size of a standard portable CD player and is practically weightless. In fact, any weight you do feel is mostly from the batteries. Also, this thing plays near flawless. I'm sure nothing can be 100% perfect, but I've dropped this thing while it was playing, and hit lots of bumps in the car and it hasn't missed a beat yet...
The audio quality on the Nomad leaves nothing to be desired. Whether you are listening to it on the basic headphones it comes with, on Surround Sound speakers, or in the car (with the car cassette/lighter adapter kit that can be purchased separately) the Nomad delivers sound like no other device I have ever experienced. I was in shock when I first tested the player with the headphones that came with it. I could feel the sound as if it were multiple dimensions. In the booklet provided they recommend using the Jukebox with Creative's Four Point Surround speakers which can be purchased for about $100 and so I got them and was even more impressed. The jukebox and those speakers go together like peas and carrots, if you get them you will not be disappointed, and even if you don't get them you will be more than satisfied.
The Jukebox also has various features that can be applied to the songs to add certain effects. They have some environmental effects that can make your songs sound like they are being played anywhere from a concert hall to a stone room. I have not found much use for these options but perhaps others like them. You can also speed up or slow down any given track to a certain degree, but not much. Again, I don't know why one would be inclined to do this, but I'm sure someone out there would have a purpose for it. Also, a built in equalizer lets you further customize the way you hear your music. Like lots of bass? No problem with the jukebox, just push the bass on the equalizer all the way up and enjoy, and vice versa if you want less bass. Same thing with Treble and Mid.
The software that is used to transfer the music from your PC (or Mac) to the Jukebox is easy to install and operate. In minutes you can create as many playlists as you want and transfer the songs, via a USB connection, to the player, and enjoy. It's that easy.
Besides the playlists you create, if the ID tags on the songs are properly filled out the Nomad will automatically allow you to view your songs sorted by either Artist,
Album, or Genre. These categories are also searchable, so finding your favorite songs and playlists among the thousands stored on the player is really easy.
Basically, the Nomad may be the perfect MP3 player for some people, but not all people. You have to decide what is best for you based on your needs and resources. If you are someone who has tons of digital audio, a good amount of money, and lots of listening time, then this might be just the thing for you. But, if you are only an occasional listener, or don't have a lot of extra cash, there are other MP3 players out there that can suit your needs for a fraction of the price.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 499
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Epinions.com ID:
Paragon930
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Member: Erika
Location: Astoria, NY
Reviews written: 56
Trusted by: 64 members
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