Customer Reviews

Creative Labs Nomad Jukebox (Blue)

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(32)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

...For a first to market multi-GIG player, it's a good attempt.I've had the unit for nearly 2 months and use it when I'm at home andnot on my computer.

Overall, the Jukebox is a decent product. ThePlayCenter software makes it easy to rip/transfer music to theJukebox. The battery life is reasonable considering the hardwarethat's being supported...anywhere from 3-4 hours depending onfrequency of use and file bitrates. The 5 minute anti-skip is prettysilly (although it works as advertised) considering that the Jukeboxweighs almost 3 pounds and contains a 6GB hard drive. Personally, Idon't like jogging with hard drives in my pocket. The Jukebox'snavigation system is fairly usable but not something my mother coulduse without some training.

The absence of forward and rewindcapability has proven to be most annoying. Perhaps this can berectified with a software update, allowing the user to hold down theSkip Next or Skip Previous buttons to perform these functions. Also,the inability to compose playlists directly on the Jukebox is quiteirritating as well. You must go back to the PlayCenter software tocompose and transfer your playlists.

The first real problem thatI've discovered ... that the loudness ofthe audio is poor. I've turned the volume to it's maximum and wasunable to really feel overwhelmed in any way. I've also fiddled withthe EAX effects and discovered that this "feature" furtherzaps the audio's loudness and adds a noticeable artificial quality tothe sound.

The second problem is the sheer slowness of theJukebox's operating system. This is a serious problem because ALL ofthe Jukebox's functionality is digital - including the slow-to-respondvolume control. I realize that the Jukebox is a computer, but it'sbeing pitched to consumers as a consumer electronic device and thusshould be as responsive. Perhaps this problem is rooted in a slow CPUor perhaps it's because the operating system and the file indexes areon the hard drive. Whatever the reason, this needs some seriouswork.

As for accessories, I'd like to see a car audio kit with afixed FM channel transmitter + AC charger. A simple mounting kitmight be a nice as well. Also, a remote control with LCD would be awelcome accessory, assuming that the Jukebox can transmit as well asreceive infrared signals.

I hope Creative is listening to (orreading) these reviews. For a v1.0 product, the Jukebox is a goodshot. Hopefully, they can release some software upgrades to correctsome of the problems I've listed. And hopefully the next version ofthe Jukebox will correct the issues that software upgrades cannot.

The first time I saw this player, I knew I had to get one! I hate dragging CDs back and forth from home to work, this seemed the perfect solution for me. And for the most part, it sure is. The sound quality, storage capacity, ease of ripping and adding music, stylish looks, etc. all make this a winner. If your hope is to use it jogging or on trips, etc., where you will be away from power supplies, you may not be quite as happy. Battery life is definitely the low point of the unit.

The software both on the player and on the PC is easy to use for the most part. Some things could be better implemented, like the delete functions, but on the plus side, it *is* USB (a must for the amount of files you'll be moving) so transfers and communication between the two is fast. The PC software is easy to use, but really could be a bit more fleshed out. The help file is really pretty sparse. You better know what you are doing and what a lot of the settings mean, as there is little help included. Quick note to a new user...be sure to drop by the website and get the upgrades for using WMA files! They are smaller than MP3s for the same quality of play, so you'll be able to get even more on the player.

As others have mentioned, it's rather annoying that the music included on the player cannot be downloaded and saved. A CD with it should be included. But hey, it *is* neat that they included that much free music! I don't generally buy some types of music, like classical, and there was a LOT included on it that was nice to listen to. The other included items are pretty good...two sets of batteries is certainly more than you normally get, and the headphones are actually decent, rather than the crappy earbud ones you usually get with most portable audio equipment. For once, I don't have to go buy another set that I can wear, these work nicely. The carrying bag is fairly well made and padded as well. Sadly though, it cannot do more than carry the player, as the design does not allow anything, even headphones to be plugged in. Seems like a real waste. Some nicer carrying cases can be purchased from Creative.

UPDATE - it's been over a year since I bought my Jukebox. I had it upgraded to 20 gig and have been fairly happy with it. However, there are a lot more similar products on the market now that I do think are better. They improve on the two biggest problems with the Nomad Jukebox, and that's size and battery life. I really don't run it off batteries at all. I plug it into my cigarette lighter in the car and have an AC adapter at work for it. Size is not a huge issue for me, but then, I don't go jogging with it or carry it around with me much. If I did, I sure would look for another player. I would have hoped to see the price on the Nomad come down with these smaller, better players coming out, and it has, but not enough in my opinion to make it worth the purchase. I will be intersested to see the next version Creative releases, with a 20 gig hard drive and better battery life. Same size though, which I think is really going to kill it in this market.

As a major music fan I've watched the advent of Mp3 technology with a keen interest. As we are all aware until now the storage capacity of the players available has been wholly inadequete for anything other than short term listening pleasure.

In my job I do quite a bit of travel and spend a lot of hours in the office. The ability to tranport the favorite bits from my music collection with me is a Godsend. The 6 GB Nomad Jukebox was therfore a must-have product.

I havn't been disappointed. The Playcentre 2 software makes ripping your cd's and transferring mp3 files a breeze, although it is annoying (but not surprising) that two-way transfer isn't possible.

I find the player navigation really easy to use. I would suggest that some of the other reviewers havn't played around with their menus yet. Contrary to reports, there is a facility whereby the active queuelist can be randomly played. The stop key also acts as a pause button which is obviously useful if listening to audiobooks.

The headphones look smart and produce a good sound. I would agree however that the EAX sound system is gimmicky and those with a keen ear may be disappointed.

Despite my minor quibbles, I have to come back to the fact that on my system I currently have 1250 of my favorite songs with room for more. This sort of portability was a fantasy until this player came along.

If you want your music on the move the positive points of the Nomad Jukebox more than outweigh the negatives. Nothing on the market at the moment can touch this product. Worth every cent!

Most of the various complaints you read here in the reviews from this product were once true. Yes, it couldn't FF or Rewind, No, you can't upload songs back onto your computer, No, it doesn't support any other software... These have all been fixed with the most recent firmware upgrade at the product's website. It can now FF and rewind, play Windows Media Audio files, you can upload back onto your computer, and several transfer speed reductions have been made. Also, I heard from people before I bought it that you couldn't read the current battery life, which is not true, you can see it in the EAX> System Info folder. What you are left with is a Discman sized device, though slightly heavier, which can actually hold 150 cd's worth of of music. I've actually begun running out of music before I've even COME CLOSE to running out of space. The quality is excellent, I've been using the headphones which were included and they seem very nice, too. The batteries were said to be a problem, but actually carry it on the train every day and all I have to do is plug it in overnight. So if you know anyone who could use the equivalent of an over-sized CD binder, and have 420 bucks to spend, make someone's Christmas happy.

Overall, I am very happy with my purchase of the Jukebox. However, there are a few minor annoyances which warrant improvement. Many have been voiced here, and I found them to be very true.

Pros: Holds a ton of music, easy to use OS, sounds excellent, fast transfers, gets a lot of comments from "The Jones'"

Cons: Headphones are too small/tight, carrying case won't carry headphones, load time when starting the device is long, battery life is short, mac software does not do all that win software does.

It may be just me, but I would love for a way to be able to list artists under genres rather than just albums, and I haven't figured out how yet.

If you want something that will hold a ton of music and sound great, this is the device for you. It won't be your jogging partner, but it will sound great in the car (find a car adapter at radio shack or wait for the official one). I reccomend a good pair of headphones with it, I purchased the Sony MDRCD580 Digital reference headphones for $80.

I'm chomping at the bit too. I want to carry around basically all of my music where ever I go -- in the car, on the train, when I'm stuck in the airport. I use my laptop to hold about 400 songs but the battery drain usually prevents from my full enjoyment. From all the reviews here a compilation of the major concerns:

1 - battery life is only about 3-4 hours, the included rechargables are fickle

2 - bulky compared with other MP3 players

3 - not good for exercise b/c it uses a hard drive (moving parts) v. memory (non-moving parts) for storage

4 - not loud enough

5 - headphones are mediocre

6 - instruction manuel is very poor

7 - no car power adaptor available

Good things

1 - storage capacity is about a large as you could want it

2 - music transfer is quick and painless

In the end, I can understand if you can't wait (I'm having trouble myself). But I am very eager to see the next version (possibly smaller, lith-ion batteries, car adaptor, voice recorder!) and those by other mfgs. It will be in Q1'01 and patience will likely be rewarded, expecially in price.

It supports all of the standard MP3 encoding rates (56K to 320K). They are also planning support for other Codecs soon( like WMA and others). This is one of the greatest features in my book. You can pick the bit rate and codec that best records your music, even mixing between different codecs in the same playlist without any pause in the music.

The recording feature is also real nice. Even if you don't want to buy a mike, you can connect it to your stereo like a tape deck and record things (LPs, FM, other tapes, etc.) You can then use the host app to add the info and even upload back to drop into some music processing to 'clean-up' and encode them.

Even though I only had one for a short time, I was spoiled :-) I didn't listen to a radio the whole time, 'cause I had all my tunes with me wherever I was.

The EAX effects are great! Not just 'Bass' and 'More Bass", but full 3-band EQ and some reverb things which are good. You can even slow down and speed up the playback (doesn't change the pitch like a tape).

The batteries lasted 3 to 4 hours (one time is was almost 5 hours). This was fine with me. I could plug into the car's lighter plug and not only play, but recharge the batteries. That and the unit looks HOT! Everyone asked me what it was and when they listened to it they knew they had to get one. Count me in!

I have only had this for 10 days but the performance of this device is phenomenal. It stores 6 GB of music with intuitive navigation of its various screens and the 20 hours of preloaded music allow easy appreciation of its great features and a great chance to play with its bells and whistles before I ripped my own music. Additional CD's ripped and transferred to it sound just as great (ripped at 128 kb). The Play Center 2 Software allows easy transfer from the CD or downloaded from the internet and can be transferred to either your music Library on the Hard Drive, the Jukebox, or some destination on MY Computer. The biggest challenge with Play Center 2 is managing all those windows of track information. Ripping and transferring to the Jukebox takes 10 -15 minutes per CD.

It comes with 2 sets of Nickel-Metal Hydride rechargable batteries, good-sounding Creative back headphones, an AC Adapter-Charger and a USB Cable. I like the fact that you can also record by microphone or by jack from an external analog source in wave format to be converted by computer into MP3 and uploaded back to the Jukebox.

Unlike some MP3 Players, the volume at the maximum is more than sufficient. I love the EAX effects that simulate Concert Hall or other environments controlled by whatever percentage you choose. The ability to upgrade will allow support for the infrared slot and other future music formats.

On the downside, the weight is heavier than that of a CD player and it is not suitable for jogging in spite of the 5 minute buffer. A car kit would be nice but is not yet available. In spite of these few drawbacks, I really love it and it easily beats the few portable Jukeboxes before it. With more than 150 CD's my biggest decision is choosing which ones will fill it up.

Let me get this straight... you want to carry a $450 gadget with a hard drive in it with you when you jog? No sir!

I have been using the nearest product to a competitor for monthes... the Personal Jukebox 100 from Han-Go electronics, both the 4.68 and 6.4gig versions. The Creative Nomad JB is by far a better developed, more feature laden product. It has many, many improvements over the PJB-100 including the excellent software that allows you to cue up an unlimited number of MP3 tracks to transfer then go away while the USB chugs along. The PJB-100 makes you go in small bunches of tracks a directory at a time then puts them in Alphabetical order no matter the album order. The only way to preserve order in the PJB-100 is to rip directly to the unit which leaves no MP3 on your computer, and is slower than a modern PC as well.

By comparison the Nomad preserves album order by default and organizes automatically by Playlist, Album, Artist, and Genre. The PJB requires you to make playlists when transferring from the PC by making 'copies' of the tracks on the unit. These take up no space but you can't manipulate the playlists except when connected to the PC. The Nomad lets you do all this easily with the unit itself, a much better method.

Battery life... The PJB-100 lasts 12 full hours of continuous use on a charge of its Lithium Ion battery. The Nomad claims 4 hours but this is dependant upon many other factors. Like how well behaved the Nickel Metal-Hydride batteries are. This is the kind that has a 'memory' and degrades rapidly if not completely exhausted, then completely charged. The normal use pattern of this sort of unit means this isn't going to happen. I feel that Creative's including a second set is more ominous than friendly. And they warn on several labels and stickers to use Only Creative NiMh batteries as replacements even though they are nominally the same as any other 1.2 volt, AA form rechargable except in that NimH and Nicads have different discharge curves. I do not choose to experiment with a widget this expensive. And at any rate the unit is best suited for staionary, home use where it can remain plugged in.

The PJB-100 has a car kit. This is a BAD thing. In use one failed with a broken line out jack... it only has ONE! Even after getting warranty repairs the unit failled again only weeks later from HD death. This time out of warranty. The second unit started making model helicopter noises when the HD runs so it lives in semi retirement at home now. We will see how well the Nomad likes the highways but I suspect it will stand up to the vibration and bouncing a little better. It is a sturdier sort of creature to be sure.

EAX effects... yawn. You can distort and twist your music in a wide variety of fashions. I use MP3 to AVOID this. What would be usefull is Not included. That is Normalization. Using WinAmp you can have you choice of free normalization plug-ins. MusicMatch Jukebox used to have a normalization option but it never worked right and is now absent from the current version. CD's do not have equal levels... much less Mp3's ripped from them. Anyone who has listened to a playlist from many different CD's can recall turning up the volume to hear a quiet track then being blasted into next week by the next track from a louder Cd. This is also what keeps Windows Media Player 7 and RealPlayer from being usefull MP3 players.

Still... I like everything about the design of this thing except the shape. The PJB-100 is squarish. At least it has a flat surface on the bottom and fits in a large pocket. The Nomad is CD player shaped sorta. But there is no convenient way to HOLD it. The PJB-100 comes with a case that shows it's display and exposes it's controls. The Nomad case cannot be used while playing it. No hole for the jack or controls. Just a bag. And it is not going in anyone's pockets. Again... much more suited to live on the shelf hooked into the stereo. The PJB-100 comes with a mini-plug to RCA phono-plug 'Y' cable to connect to the stereo. Not so the Nomad though it DOES have 2 lineouts and surround capability. Very nice.

There is currently no control to use with the IR port and no 12 volt car adapter though Creative say both are coming. ... As the market grows the prices go low. Enjoy!

The reason people get this over (or alongside) other MP3 players is that they need the storage space. I am still in awe of how much music you can fit in this thing! Here's a breakdown of what I think: Sound: Very good. Sure, the EAX is a little gimmicky, but at least you have a good equalizer. I don't know why people complain about the lack of volume, this thing is as loud as my discman. The headphones are better than average. Battery Life: Decent. People complain that AA alkalines don't work with it; of course they don't, the instructions tell you as much! You get two sets of good rechargeable NiMH batteries. Interface: Very good. Easy, intuitive and packed with features to organize your music. Manual: Very good. Those who think this is a bad manual should look at the Rio 500's (an otherwise fine machine), which gives new meaning to aweful. Software: Very Good. Easy and fast.With the new firmware update, even faster! Overall, I am very happy with this product and recommend it highly!