MP3 jukeboxes: do you have one?

[delmer_1]

it seems like the latest thing for everyone to have is an mp3 jukebox. Mainly due to the popularity of the iPod, MP3 jukeboxes are popping up everywhere. I have been wanting one for a long time, when i first saw the archos jukebox. I believe that it was the first hard drive based mp3 player available.(although i am probably wrong about that). anyway, i noticed that dell and gateway both started making them now as well. the iPod seems to be the most popular for some reason, but it is too expensive for my taste. the reviews i have been reading pointed me ot the iRiver HP120 as the leader in jukeboxes it has just about everything you could want, including optical inputs and outputs...but it is $400.

the iPod is stylish, but lacks the features of some of the other high end players.

i looked at the Creative Nomad Zen Xtra, it was $300 for the 30gb model and looked very promising, but it required the use of musicmatch to transfer your music to it. the Dell DJ is the same way.

The new Rio Karma has a dock with it that includes an ethernet port, which would be great, but it is also $400 for the 20gb model.

so on my way home one day, i stopped at the mall and went into radioshack, looking for some crimp-on RCA connectors for a project i was working on. and i saw the Archos Jukebox FM Recorder (20gb) on the shelf behind the counter. it was on clearance, the last one in stock...for $199. I thought about it for a while, but passed it up. that was the week before Christmas. I decided to stop back last night to see if it was still there, and it was. I looked it over some more and after thinking it over, i decided to buy it. I havent had much of a chance to use it yet, but overall i am impressed so far. it may not be the smallest or best looking jukebox, but it really has want i wanted in a jukebox.

-20gb hard drive (several sites have reported that it is in fact a standard laptop drive and can be upgraded to a larger drive)

-FM tuner

-MP3 recording capabilities. can record/encode mp3s from either the line in jack, or from the fm tuner.

-USB 1.1 and 2.0 compatible

-8 line, backlit LCD screen

-several audio adjustments: bass, treble, loudness, balance, and bass boost

- and probably the best feature, it can be used as a standard usb hard drive for transfering files. THere is no software or drivers required for this device, just plug in teh usb cable and it shows up has a hard drive. you can just drag and drop your mp3s and other files onto it, then eject it and unplug it.

I have my MP3s sorted by artist then by album. so i copyied all of the mp3 folders over to it. and when i turn it on, it shows me all the directories, listed by artist name. i can then enter one of those directories and it shows me all of the album names, inside the album directory is all of the mp3s for that album. the menu system is easy to navigate and works quite well.


I also heard that there is a 3rd party, open source firmware update for these units called Rockbox. it is supposed to have many more features and settings, plus claims to extend battery life. i may try it eventually.

it claims to be able to play for up to 12 hours on a full charge, but i cant confirm that at this point.

overall, i am very pleased with it andi am glad i got this rather than some of the other options. sure it is a little bigger than some...but it feels very sturdy and well built...and the fact that it requires no drivers or software is a big plus. it uses a standard mini usb cable to connect to the pc. my current pc only has usb 1.1, so it took a rather long time to copy my mp3s over. 9.4gb took about 150 minutes. I intend to purchase a usb 2.0 card, but for the most part, i am done with the really large transfers, so teh 1.1 would be sufficient.

i will post a real pic of mine later, but right now here is a pic i found online. mine is just like this, only mine has the fm tuner.




so, do which jukebox do you guys/girls have?

[Gollo]

JUDAS MAN!!! Write a frickin book!

[gazzak]

No, don't have one.

[Cleetus]

So with a HD in it is it safe to work out and run/bike/whatevaarobicexercise with it?

[jmani]

I had the original Archos Juke box 20GB and it was great. The only problem was if you wanted to listen to an album in order they had to be ripped with the track number in the title as the first digits. I used rockbox for a while but went back to the original os as I liked it better.

I received a 15GB ipod from a client for my birthday last year and sold the archos just because it is so much smaller. I like the iPod size/style/interface better but the Archos had a better file system/transfer between the pc and itself.

[Titchski]

I use my Dell Axim at the moment, it does the job ok but it's a bit bulky. To be honest, I really could care less about features - as long as it is small and sounds good it coud just be a little black box with an on/off button and headphones.

[NooNoo]

Flash memory - when that gets in the 5 gig range and is reasonably cheap I will buy one based on that. An hdd with a screen at that price don't impress me.

[Stalemate]

Don't have one.

Wanted one for Christmas.

Will sell my current Sony Clié SL10 for either the Bluetooth enabled TJ50 or the TJ35:



I can use the Memory Sticks to get up to 1Gb, and that's enough for me.

I like the fact that I would only have 1 device to carry and that my 350$+ device can do more than play music: play movies, view pics, play games, as well as the usual PalmOS PDA functionalities.

[kato2274]

i looked at the Creative Nomad Zen Xtra, it was $300 for the 30gb model and looked very promising, but it required the use of musicmatch to transfer your music to it.

not true if you are willing to invest another nominal 20-30 bucks. redchair software makes the hands down best music management program for all creative devices notmad. http://www.redchairsoftware.com/notmad/

so, do which jukebox do you guys/girls have?

I had an old roopaq (re-branded neo25)which was just a shell that you added a laptop drive too. worked good for a while then died (the shell not the drive) purchased a 20GB zen mx because I was in a pinch and needed a jukebox for a long trip. liked it alot but took it back because it was a huge investment that I wasn't sure I was willing to make. I ended up snagging a 6gb nomad jukebox 1 from a co-worker for $85. I had a spare computer spend 3 full days converting 20GB+ worth of 160kbps mp3s to 80kbps wma. I was able to get most of my collection on the device which I use in the car. the 80kbps wmas sound just fine to me for what I'm using them for. . . . so I'm pretty happy.

I also have 2 rio recievers - 1 in the living room and 1 in the garage. . . . cool devices with some limitations but for the price (well under $100 each) very much worth it.

[delmer_1]

So with a HD in it is it safe to work out and run/bike/whatevaarobicexercise with it?

i dont know, i am lazy, i dont do alot of that stuff. I plan on using it to replace the minidisc player i was using on my bicycle stereo..i guess i'll see how it works out...but that will have to wait a few months. it is currently 3 degrees here (feels like -7) so i do my best to stay indoors.

[Escape_Driver]

I pod mini looks really cool it only had 4 GB of space but thats 1000 songs.. But I'm afraid i would lose it