Archos Jukebox 20 GB Digital Audio Player/Recorder/Hard Drive 500277 Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This is the best hard drive based MP3 player on the market right now, for the following reasons:
- Excellent sound quality. Those complaining about the audio quality and volume levels of this player are either judging it using the included headphones, playing poor quality mp3s, or one of those smug audiophile types who do not like the sound of anything unless it's played on hardware made by an some obscure Swedish company. The Archos sounds excellent.
- Standard batteries. The battery in the iPod is proprietary, so you have to buy replacements from Apple, that is, if you can figure out how to change the battery yourself. If not, you have to send the unit back to Apple. The Archos uses four standard "AA" NiMh rechargeable batteries you can buy ... and replace anytime.
- Recording ability. You cannot walk into a room, press record on your iPod and capture an 8-hour meeting in MP3 format. You can with the Archos. The player includes a digital in, line in, and a built in microphone. You can record as long as you have drive space and battery power (10+ hours).
- USB 2.0. I was able to transfer 10 gigabytes of music to the player in less than 9 minutes. My testing against a similar "Firewire" interface showed the USB 2.0 faster, but the results are very hardware dependent. Your mileage may vary. "Firewire" may be, on average, faster, but only by a few minutes. The difference in speed, if it exists at all, is certainly not worth the additional $300 you'll pay to get an IPod.
- Standard laptop hard drive. The unit uses a standard laptop hard drive you can replace three years from now when 120 GB drives are selling for a $100. ... Replacing the drive will violate the warranty. So wait a year or two.
- Excellent menu system/navigation. It's a hard drive... files, folders, forward, backward, up, down. I find I can get to the song I want in less clicks (or twirls) than the IPod.
- Windows XP: plug it in, it works. No software to load. (You will need to load drivers on Win95 systems.)
- Excellent mobile drive. Not just an MP3 player. You can copy any type of file to the unit.
- Four times the fun at less than half the price of the same size IPod. ...The Archos is a durable metal object reminiscent of the detonator panel on one of those stolen nuclear weapons you always see in James Bond films. The IPod is thin, white and easily mistaken for a ladies electric razor or one of those IGIA ab-stimulators sold on late night television.
Some advice:
- Throw away the supplied headphones.
- Get a NiMH quick charger. They usually included a extra set of batteries you can charge in 4 hours.
- Be careful removing the battery covers. The chassis of the unit is metal, but the covers are plastic. Stick the head of a small screwdriver into the little slots and gently pry the covers outward until the cover tabs are clear, then lift the covers straight up. The covers do not rotate completely outward.
- The "resume" feature of the player is off by default. If you listen to audio books, turning it on is helpful.
- Just like any portable hard drive you can mistakenly disconnect during a disk write, the FAT can get corrupted. If the unit fails to boot completely running a full Scandisk on the drive will more than likely cure the problem.
- Do not use the player as a battery charger. Charging NiMh batteries generates heat. The batteries literally rest on top of the hard drive and trickle charging in the unit takes 8 hours. Although I have not experienced any problems charging the batteries in the player, the quick charger method mentioned above is much more convenient, and probably safer.
- If you don't have USB 2.0 ports buy a USB 2.0 expansion card. I ordered the IO Gear 5-port card with mine (Money). Like the player, under Windows XP it installed without requiring me to load any drivers.
- If you're offended by foreign languages and expect electronic device manuals to be written by Tolstoy and illustrated by Monet, do not order this player. The manual included adequately covers the basic functions of the player.

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The Archos Jukebox Recorder 20 combines an MP3 recording device with a 20 GB hard drive for storing up to 330 hours of MP3 audio. Merge your entire collection of MP3s and CDs onto one handheld device. Slip it into your pocket, and listen to all your favorite music wherever you go.
You can record from any analog or digital source at bit rates up to 160 Kbps, and you can port your recordings back to your PC without any specialized software. The Jukebox Recorder 20 hard drive doubles as a portable 20 GB hard drive for PC or Mac laptops and desktop computers to store all your data, images, and software. The Jukebox Recorder 20 is compatible with USB 2.0, with up to a 480 MBps transfer rate; it's also backwards compatible with USB 1.1. (Note that if using a USB 1.1 connection, the maximum transfer rate you can expect is 12 MBps.)
There's no need for special software to download MP3 songs--just drag and drop MP3 files from Windows Explorer or from the Mac desktop. Update with a simple click at the Archos Web site and download the latest firmware that supports additional software extensions.
The Jukebox Recorder 20 is powered by either AC power (adapter included) or four AA batteries. It also comes with stereo headphones, carrying pouch, USB cable, master software, and driver diskette.