Archos Jukebox 6 GB MP3 Player/Recorder/Hard Drive 500201

by Archos

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 4.5 x 3.2 x 1.3 inches ; 12 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00005NWQZ
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #231,873 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

The Archos 500201 Jukebox HD-MP3 Player-Recorder is one of those rare hardware products that are surprising in nearly every way. The first surprise is its small size. You'd expect an MP3 player equipped with a 6 GB hard drive to be at least the size of a portable CD player, but the Archos Jukebox takes up little more space than a deck of playing cards. The rounded corners are covered in thick blue rubber, adding shock protection for the relatively fragile internal hard drive and providing just enough grip to keep the player from sliding off a car dash (although we recommend you leave it on the seat).

Archos provides nearly everything you need to get the most out of this device right out of the box, including a USB cable for connecting the device to your PC and an audio adapter cable that lets you connect the headphone jack or input jack on top of the Jukebox to the RCA input or output jacks on your stereo equipment. This allows for all sorts of possibilities. You can easily output audio from the Jukebox to your stereo equipment, or hook the device up to a tape player and record your tapes directly into MP3 format. It's this ability to record that really sets the Archos Jukebox apart from the pack.

Another nice thing about the Archos Jukebox is that you can use it as a portable hard drive as well as an MP3 player-recorder. Take it between home and work and use it to transport all your important files. Take it to the library to download files and listen to music as you bring them home.

All this would be for naught if the audio playback quality wasn't up to snuff, but output is stellar. Provided the MP3 recordings you have are of high quality, the Archos Jukebox plays them back without a trace of hiss, popping, or other anomalies, and the fidelity is outstanding. The device really thumps out the low-frequency bass, while maintaining crisp, tight mid- and high-frequency output even at the limits of its amplification.

The LCD display on the front of the unit makes it easy to navigate folders and load playlists, as well as control the unit's advanced features like the bass boost, balance controls, and playback modes. One of the nicest things about the display is that it is flanked by four green LEDs, which provide even backlighting without consuming much power.

The pitiful headphones included with the device are about the only thing we could find fault with, along with the fact that you can't listen to music through the headphone jack when the device is connected to a PC. You can play the MP3 files stored within using MP3 playback software installed on the PC, however, and the package comes with a copy of Musicmatch Jukebox to get you started.

It also comes with a driver CD, but we didn't even need it to use the Archos Jukebox with Windows XP. We plugged it in, XP instantly recognized it as an external hard drive, and we were in business. All this convenience comes at a relatively high price, but it's worth it if you need the recording abilities this device offers. --T. Byrl Baker

Pros:

• Excellent output quality
• Can record directly into MP3 format
• Uses rechargeable batteries that last for a long time and comes with an AC adapter
• Playlists and music folders can be copied directly from a PC to keep everything organized.

Cons:

• Low-quality headphones
• Relatively expensive considering there are 20GB MP3 players on the market

Amazon.com Product Description

The ARCHOS Jukebox HD-MP3 Recorder/Player combines a 6 GB hard drive for storing up to 1,500 songs and an MP3 recorder, providing up to 100 hours of MP3 audio recording.

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 HD-MP3 doubles as a portable 6 GB hard Drive for PC or Mac laptops and desktop computers.

Merge your entire collection of MP3s and CDs (150 audio CDs, or 1,500 songs) into one handheld device. Slip it into your pocket, and listen to all your favorite music wherever you go.

You can also use your Jukebox HD-MP3 as an optional hard drive to store all your data, images, and software. Update with a simple click at the ARCHOS Web site and download the latest firmware that supports additional software extensions.

The Jukebox HD-MP3 connects to the computer via a fast USB interface. 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.

The HD-MP3 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.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Awsome, but not perfect, September 5, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Archos Jukebox 6 GB MP3 Player/Recorder/Hard Drive 500201 (Electronics)

Let me start by saying that if you spend the money, you will be satisified. The player works great, sounds great, and is fairly easy to operate. Anyone with more than a little computer experience will catch on quickly. When you get the unit upgrade the musicmatch software (for free) at there site. The headphones that ship with the unit are junk..Don't judge the sound quality until you hook up a better set of headphones. The instruction manual is almost useless, but the unit is pretty simple to figure out through trial and error. I have not been able to make the unit skip, the buffer works great. Store your entire music collection, plug it into your home stereo and it will blow you away. On a one to five scale:
Headphones ....2
Instruction Manual ...1
Jukebox .....5
Overall ...4+

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Jukebox MP3 Player, October 10, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Archos Jukebox 6 GB MP3 Player/Recorder/Hard Drive 500201 (Electronics)

I have used both the Archos Jukebox Recorder and the Creative Nomad Jukebox, and I'll say that the Archos is with out a doubt a much better player. Not only can it record directly to MP3, but it has a built in mic, is at least 1/2 the size of the Nomad(one of the big things that sold me on it), it has a digital input/output, you can drag and drop files directly in to the Jukebox, and it is much more portable than the Creative Nomad.
If you have no need for those features, then buy the Nomad or Archos 6000, but if you want those features this is the only MP3 player your going to find with them....

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent multipurpose tool, December 6, 2001

By 

Digital Puer "digital_puer" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Archos Jukebox 6 GB MP3 Player/Recorder/Hard Drive 500201 (Electronics)

The Archos Jukebox is an excellent little multipurpose tool that has replaced my Sharp 722 Minidisc unit as my primary music unit. Of course it's an excellent MP3 player, but I've been using it more and more as a portable HD between my work and home computers. I had some problems with the provided USB drivers for Win2000, but I found better drivers at another site (it is now very well-behaved and shows up as a removable Fujitsu hard drive on my Win2000 desktop).

The MP3 functionality is outstanding. The large screen is very nice; it shows six lines of informational text at a time, which allows you to navigate through your folders easily. I cannot overstate the importance of navigational ease, since you'll end up with 6 GB of MP3 on this machine! You will definitely want to create a well-defined hierarchical tree to keep your files organised. The playback quality is fantastic as well. The sound is in fact too loud -- the lowest volume setting is a bit too loud for me when I'm trying to fall asleep to music (I use a Radio Shack analog volume controller between my headphones and the Archos). You will not have any qualms about sound quality on this machine.

The only cons I can state are: (1) the battery covers are very cumbersome; (2) the paint on the buttons are bit cheap; (3) the manual is written by a 12-year-old.

Other pros (besides what I wrote above) are: (1) battery recharges within the unit with the included AC adapter; (2) recording functionality (which I've not yet used); (3) rock-solid feel; (4) boots in under 5 seconds; (5) easily installable upgrades (just drop a file into the root directory); and (6) extremely small size for such large capacity -- it has a very small volume and is much smaller than the TDK Mojo CD-MP3 I used to have.