Samsung YP-55V 256 MB Digital Audio Player with FM Tuner

by Samsung

Product Details

Product Manual [2.02mb PDF]

• Item Weight: 2 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00008PC4X
• Item model number: YP-55V
• Batteries: 1 AAA batteries required. (included)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #149,559 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best flash-based player on the market, July 12, 2003

By 

Erik F "Master of Funk and Evil" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Samsung YP-55V 256 MB Digital Audio Player with FM Tuner (Electronics)

This is one solid gadget. Unlike most portables in this size range, it's made largely of aluminum and feels more resilient. The overall form-factor is much more rounded (and snag-free), and though the controls seem a bit odd at first, they become second nature after a bit.

Other reviews have mentioned problems with loose controls, but I've been using mine actively for awhile now, and have not seen these problems. It could have been that there were issues with the first round out of the factory.

So, why get this instead of the iRiver? First off, the general construction is alot more sturdy. Second, this one runs on a AAA battery and still gets better battery life. Including alot of time draining power by transferring files, one battery lasted me roughly 14 hours. Not shabby at all, especially considering that I had the surround-sound and bass boost on the whole time.

On that subject, this unit has a surround-sound emulator called SRS which actually *does* provide nice spatialization, and the bass-boost is firm but not overpowering. Do yourself a favor and throw out the included headphones-they stink, but then again so do the ones included with *every* other portable out there. Even the Creative NJB3, which is the paragon of sound-quality came with dreadful phones. That said, even 128kBs files sound good through this thing, and more than adequate for portable use.

As far as the included software, blah. It wouldn't even install correctly on a stock WinME box, so I ended up skipping it, and lo and behold, this player doesn't need it anyway! Plug it in, and it's immediately recognized as a generic USB drive. Same goes (thank goodness!) for Linux. No special steps needed to transfer files or mp3s, and no DRM hurdles. Unlike the iRiver, this player will accept mp3s from any source and gladly upload them back to the computer without problems and without the extra layer of software, which makes it great as a portable drive. It also includes a nifty USB plug in addition to the cord so it can be plugged directly into a computer ala the MuVo.

The player reads Id3 tags to some extent. It'll pick up and display Artist and Song Title (as well as time), but it won't read track numbers or albums from the tags. The easy workaround is to simply transfer each album in its own folder. The player will separate out the folders as individual albums. There's no "Music Library" of any sort, so just make sure your filenames have numbers at the beginning or it'll play them alphabetically. Shuffle and repeat features work just fine. The player adds a *slight* gap between files, though it's not as bad as some, and if there's not a gap between tracks, the player simply adds a split-second of silence rather than the annoying "crack" that many players do.

Practically speaking, the unit seems to hold 254.9Mb. Just under 1 meg is for the settings file, but with 128kBs files, I can get 3:49:22 worth of music on here at once with a bit of space to spare.

As far as the controls, the unit only has four actual buttons, with a novel twist-cap mechanism at the top, so each of the buttons has to perform several functions. It's not the most intuitive thing at first, but with time, it becomes second nature. A word of warning, though: some of the more advanced functions have to be accessed through menus three layers down, which can be a hassle while walking. Forward and rewind functions are handled by the twist-cap and really aren't confusing as long as you remember that clockwise is forward. They work especially well for track-seek operations with one hand.

For $, not a bad deal at all, and I'm very happy with mine. The Nomad Jukebox 3 has replaced my home stereo, and now this has replaced my Walkman. Be sure to factor in the cost of better headphones when considering this (or any other portable), though. I've got a pair of Sony Ex-71s that sound great, but they'll set you back another $. One last caveat: I don't know where the orange-themed one pictured here came from, but all the units I've seen for the US market are a simple nondescript silver-and-black deal.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Why to buy, November 14, 2003

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Samsung YP-55V 256 MB Digital Audio Player with FM Tuner (Electronics)

Great MP3's. This will encode on its own. Plug the cable in to your headpone jack on your computer, CD player, ANYTHING with a hwadphone jack and it will record it as MP3. Even gameboy or your TV. This means stuff that streams on realplayer or WMP can be MP3.
Windows XP sees it as a letter drive via USB so you can move files easily.
USES BATTERIES fast when making MP3 though, 1-2 hours. Get rechargeables.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing sound, I love it, but get the new firmware!, January 26, 2004

By 

J. E. A. Martinez (Laredo, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Samsung YP-55V 256 MB Digital Audio Player with FM Tuner (Electronics)

Before reading my review, if you already got one of this, get the new 5.7 firmware for folder navigation, playlists and lyrics support. Just go to google.com and search for "YP-55 firmware"

This is the third MP3 player I own and I must say I love it. I researched a lot of MP3 players before buying it and I'm confident it must be one of the best flash based players on the market.

Sound is amazing and loud, and the YP-55 feels like a quality executive item, it is not a flimsy toy like mi previous iRiver. The WOW function is incredible, it nicely spatializes the sound in your head making it sound pretty amazing. You must hear it to believe it.

You can configure everything from the menus. USB transfers are quite speedy, a lot faster than my previous players and my digital camera. Battery life is quite good, too. May be because it doesn't consume power from the battery when downloading songs, it is powered by the USB port when doing this.

Package includes a nice and small USB adapter for direct connect for those times you don't want to carry around the USB cable.

Out of the box it does not support playlists or folder navigation, but it does with the new firmware 5.7.

Overall I am pretty happy with the YP-55 and the only con I can find is the included headphones. Like every other MP3 player, it comes with low-cost earbuds. Sound is adequate but not great. Once you get better earphones, there is a HUGE difference in sound.