Sensory Science Rave mp 2200

This mp3 player by Sensory Science is simply one of the most versatile products of its kind. It comes with 64 megabytes of onboard memory plus a slot for a smart media card (current maximum capacity 64 MB) which allows you to bring the capacity up to 128 MB (not confirmed). It comes with a voice recorder (in-case mic), FM tuner and even a phonebook. There are many more features to it, but I'll concentrate on the things that are not highlighted on the spec sheet found on the Sensory Science web site for those who just need to know the little things companies don't tell you.

Impressions

The Good

Taking a close look at the design behind this player, one can see that the engineers thought of almost everything. The function buttons on the sides are recessed to prevent accidental mode switching; there is a hold button for the same reason; the record button is placed so that you can hold it much like a dictation device; there is a cover for the usb port to protect from dust. It's really nice to see a really well thought out design. There are 5 equalizer settings (normal, pop, classical, rock, jazz) and a bookmark feature allowing you to go back to a specific portion of a recording. Uploading songs to the device was very simple with the included program and proceeds at a speedy rate of 250kb/s. All this and I have yet to talk about the included phone book and the FM tuner which even allows you to punch in the call signs of the stations!

The Bad

Products can't be all good right? Well, there are some minor flaws with this player which I will mention. First, the included drivers will not work with windows 2000, you must first download it from their web site. Further, this device seems to be sensitive to static. When I put it in certain high movement areas in my winter coat, the volume changes for no reason. This of course, can be quickly remedied by just taking the battery out and putting it back in. The thing that doesn't make it the perfect product is the fact that the included remote is inline (meaning it is not detachable from the earphones). Considering it is geared towards active people, the company should realize that the first thing the breaks are the earphones. In this case, when that happens, you lose the remote as well. A smaller complaint would be that the LCD panel is not backlite, but that really is only a minor detail.

Conclusions

Other than the static electricity problem that I had (has only happened on 2 occasions with heavy use for 4 months), the product is a solid one. I would highly recommend this product for people looking into mp3 players.

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 250