Digisette DUO-ARIA 64 MB E-Cassette Multi-Format Digital Audio Player

by Digisette

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 0.4 x 4 x 2.5 inches ; 1.9 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00005KC97
• Item model number: AR264
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #269,741 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

The DUO-Aria digital audio player works as a standalone MP3 player, a digital audiobook player, and a digital e-cassette you can play in your car, in a boombox--in virtually any audiocassette player.

It features 64 MB of built-in memory and is expandable using MultiMediaCards (MMCs). The DUO-Aria plays MP3 digital audio files, and can also play Windows Media Audio (WMA) files with a firmware upgrade.

DUO players can also play content from Audible.com, the Internet's largest, most diverse provider of premium spoken word audio for download or playback on personal computers or AudibleReady mobile devices. Audible Inc. has more than 28,000 hours of audio programs and 160 content providers, so you can use your DUO player to listen to a daily audiodigest of the Wall Street Journal, weekly digests of the Economist and Forbes, and audiobooks that aren't available anywhere else.

With its adjustable head control, you can optimize the DUO for different cassette decks, enabling maximum compatibility and audio fidelity. The rechargeable NiMH battery allows you to enjoy uninterrupted music for up to six hours and up to nine hours of spoken word. Its USB connection enables fast download speeds, while the sleek aluminum body provides the utmost in portability.

To help manage music, the DUO-Aria comes with RealJukebox music management software from Real Networks. Convert CDs, index your files, and create custom playlists.

The DUO-Aria comes with a set of earphones, USB cable, one NiMH rechargeable battery, AC battery charger, DC car power adapter/battery charger, DC charger connection cable, carrying case, software CD, and a user's manual.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great idea but implementation needs improvement, June 13, 2001

By 

William T. Katz (Ashburn, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Digisette DUO-ARIA 64 MB E-Cassette Multi-Format Digital Audio Player (Electronics)

The Duo-Aria is a great concept since it allows you to dispense with the cassette adapter. The sound is on par with other players like the Rio 500, and the battery life is reasonable, esp. when taking the car recharger with you. It also provokes response from people when they see a cassette with a headphone plugged into it. The small/thin form factor of the digisette is exceptional, even compared with other MP3 players.

However, there are some problems with the Digisette concept. After having a LCD display on several other players, I found that its absence is sorely missed. The power connector on the player is quite fragile, being composed of two easily bendable metal prongs. They should have went with a circular design like almost all other consumer devices. The control of the device through your cassette player is hit-and-miss, with the rewind and fast forwarding working some of the time. This was particularly true when using the player with Audible.com's audiobooks. If you almost never bookmark, rewind, or fast forward, the device works great.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Product; Very Cool; Note: Don't Expect Perfection, November 3, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Digisette DUO-ARIA 64 MB E-Cassette Multi-Format Digital Audio Player (Electronics)

I LOVE this machine! I've looked at the reviews and also the user discussions through Digisette's site, and I know that there are some frustrations. However, it's such a great device that I can overlook the shortcomings and still recommend it whole-heartedly because of what it does right: It looks cool and plays what I listen to (audiobooks) very well; it works great in my car cassette player and beats stacks of audio book tapes floating around the floor of my car; the customer service people are helpful and the other users on the website are also very helpful.

Of course Audible is great too, and pairing this machine with an Audible subscription has been the best thing I've done in years.

As to the flaws--a couple of hints that seem to solve the problems that would otherwise bother me:

1. (This is only a problem with audiobooks--it wouldn't matter for music) The player does not set a bookmark if your battery goes out while you're listening, so sometimes you have to listen to what you already heard because the fast forward doesn't work very well, at least in the cassette player, maybe sometime they'll add a separate control for fast forward or a battery power end bookmarker, and then this issue would go away. Until then, my cure: When you know your battery must be coming close to the end start turning the tape off and on every 5 minutes or so and you'll have a bookmark closer to the spot you want when the battery dies (or just change batteries--they're cheap and you can charge a bunch at home on the wall plug-in charger). If you would have to listen to a very long portion over to get back to your place you can just estimate where you were and then re-load the portion you haven't already heard from your Audible in-box.

2. The memory expansion cards are expensive, but I think worth it if you are on a car trip and want to carry a bunch of books. Go for the 64 mb cards. It's true that sometimes the computer doesn't recognize the extra card when you're loading new material, but all you need to do in that case is to take the card out while the machine is hooked to the computer and still turned on (disregarding the instructions that say not to do this) and then click on the additional memory selection on the screen again.

3. The instructions that come with the machine are very short and not as well written as they could be. Maybe Digisette will fix that or post a better set if instruction online. However, the customer support people try to help and are nice. The best help I've found is the other users who are very helpful on the website help-chat section.

What's really great is that all of the stuff you might want is included with the machine, even a really nice case for carrying it with two pockets to hold extra memory. You can order extra batteries from the Digisette website at a reasonable price, and I think that's almost an essential purchase.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I feel like James Bond..., April 2, 2002

By 

J. Corbett "J. Corbett" (NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Digisette DUO-ARIA 64 MB E-Cassette Multi-Format Digital Audio Player (Electronics)

I feel like this gadget was something designed by Q from the Bond flicks.

It looks and reacts just like an ordinary cassette. But then I'm able to load and play my top secret MP3's from any cassette deck. :)

Loading the files are fast.
In about five minutes or so I have 128 megs worth of music or audio books loaded. My long commute is now filled with my favorite tunes. If I want to I can fastforward just like a regular cassette or instantly skip to the beginning of the next song by hitting rewind for a second and then hitting stop and play.

The software could be a little bit better.
It's obvious that they spent more time and effort on the hardware.
Sometimes it takes a try or two before my PC sees the Digisette.

I've read a few bad product reviews here and it seems to me that the problem was with the user and not the product.

Fast forwarding through songs is simple.
However, navigating through an audio book is nothing that I recommend. It's easy to get lost in the large amount of megabytes... Unlike a regular book, if you lose your place, you cannot figure out where you are.
Luckily the Digisette bookmarks where you leave off each time it gets shut off. If you think the battery is getting low, just recharge them while it is still in the Digisette.

When using the Audio Book feature, I find it best to load only one book at a time and I don't add music files to the spare space.
It just makes it easy to get yourself lost.

I updated the firmware and can fastforward and rewind at a much faster pace.

So far the only problem I've had was with the additional 64 meg Sandisk MMC that I bought. After 1/2 a day it went bad on me.
Digisettes' tech support was excellent. They walked me through a few test procedures and determined it was the faulty Media card. Amazon quickly shipped me a new one.

I also enjoy walking around with the Digisette using it as a walkman type device. It's very light weight and it is a cool gadget to show off to people around work.

This certainly beats my old method of burning mixed complilations on CD's and then having them stored under the seats of my car. Every other night I put a new mix of songs together and play it to and from work. I've given it quite a workout and still no complaints.

Oh yeah... I just remembered one problem.
It was playing the songs rather low when I first got it.
I had trouble hearing it and had to put the car stereo volume up high.
I thought perhaps it was not lining up with the magnetic head of the tape player.
Eventually the idea to try to turn the volume up on the Digisette, crept into my brain. Beautiful, clear sound came piping out of speakers. So if it seems like the sound is less than that of the normal radio sound, increase the volume on the Digisette.

Have fun with it. It's a great toy!