Sensory Science RaveMP 2100 MP3 Player

by Sensory Science

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 0.7 x 2.7 x 3.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00000SG9M
• Item model number: MP 2100
• Batteries: 1 AA batteries required. (included)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (83 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #304,355 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

MP3newswire.net

It's plain that when Sensory Science designed the RaveMP MP2100, they were aiming for the top of the budding MP3 player market. For starters, they put 64MB of built-in memory rather than the standard 32MB. Second they added a slot for a 32MB-memory card bringing the total to 96MB. Until the October '99 release of Diamond's new Rio PMP500, no other MP3 portable matched the memory capability of this unit. Combined with a great set of Sennheiser earphones, the RaveMP became the first second-generation MP3 portable on the market.

File Loading: A-

The MP2100 comes with the RaveMP Media Player, an intuitive and blessedly simple file management interface. It only took us a minute to load the software and connect the RaveMP to the parallel port.

Transferring MP3 files was an uncomplicated process, simply highlight selected files and drag or click them over to the player. The RaveMP also stores phone numbers and text messages that can be retrieved and read off the unit display. We found entering this data into the unit's memory to be just as easy.

It only took us about 20 seconds to load a single track into memory. Players using USB ports load three to four times faster, but for our use, the parallel connection worked fine.

Controls: B+

Our experience with the RaveMP's key layout turned out to be quite good. The basic controls were intuitive and we had the music pumping without any problem. The competent users guide did a very good job of guiding us through the assortment of key combinations needed to access the various menus. One minor quibble, the buttons are small and placed too close to each other. On several occasions, as we tried to adjust the volume, we hit the wrong key and either jumped to the next song or paused the unit

The Display: B+

Clear, the way it should be.

Well thought-out icons help considerably in locating the proper menus, and the two-line display is fine for showing song titles and phone numbers. Even though its text features are impressive, extended scrolling passages are a little too much for only two lines. A variable autoscroll feature, that automatically rolls the text line-per-line, helps.

Sound: A

Sound quality was fine, aided by the inclusion of some pretty nifty ear-gear.

Sensory Science realized that the weakest link to sound quality is the inexpensive headphones usually packaged with portable units. By including the superior Sennheiser MX 4 earbuds, we feel Sensory Science gives their player a significant boost up from the competition. We tested the RaveMP with other headgear and, while all gave decent sound quality, none could match the MX 4 for power and fidelity.

The RaveMP MP2100 comes with a built in microphone for voice recording and convenient audio in/out jacks.

Conclusion

The RaveMP's ability to expand to 96MB, alone, makes it one of the top picks in the present MP3 player market. It's ease of use and good sound quality will not disappoint users. Type A personalities may eschew the parallel port for a unit with a USB connection, but with almost a third of existing Pentium machines pre-USB models, many buyers will find this is the best choice out there for them.

Final Score: A-

-- Richard Menta
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

89 of 96 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Before You Buy....., November 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Sensory Science RaveMP 2100 MP3 Player (Electronics)

I was thinking of buying an mp3 player such as the Rave mp but in my quest to find the best mp3 player I stumbled on minidiscs. I'v been 3 weeks now...weighing the pros and cons of minidiscs and mp3 players and here they are: pros mp3 cons minidisc: 1) Initially slightly cheaper 2) can copy mp3's directly with bundled software 3) Latest fashion 4) will not 'jump' ever.

Pros minidisc con mp3 players: 1) Minidisc discs are only $2 and can hold 74 mins (double that of a flash card and flash cards are a wopping $60!) 2) Minidisc discs are also re-recordable ( 100,000 times!) 3)As with the mp3 player you can plug your minidisc in to your computer and (once you know how) can record your mp3s to your minidisc. 4)The minidiscs can record/play better quality music than mp3 players.

If we carry out a side by side cost comparison of the sharp ms-md722 portable minidisc recorder and and the rave mp player: INITIAL COST:

Sharp ms-md722 : $249 + 1 minidisc@ $2 = $251

Rave mp : $229

At this point the sharp md-ms 722 has a capacity of 74 mins of CD quality sound while the Rave mp3 has a capacity of (1 min = 1 meg) 64 minutes of nere CD quality sound.

I am sure that you would want to listen to more than one CD's worth of songs when You're out with Your mp3 player so you would want to buy Flash cards for your mp3 player (each usually holds 32 megs therefore 32 mins of nere cd quality music). EVENTUAL COST:

Mp3 player: Player($229)(64megs)+Flashcard($60)(32megs)+Flashacard($60)(32megs)=

Total time : 128 min (128megs@1min/meg)

Total cost : $349

Minidisc : Player($249) + disc($2)(74mins) + disc ($2)(74mins)=

total time = 148

total cost = $253

Therefore it seems that with a minidisc you get the best of both worlds: better quality music and a cheaper price. But if it's smaller size and not so good quality sound you want... and you have enough money... then mp3 player is what you want.

Please note that the prices given are relative values and might change every now and then.

50 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars it's even better than its web page says..., March 13, 2000

By 

marcel (Brooklyn, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sensory Science RaveMP 2100 MP3 Player (Electronics)

Just got one of these after much research and comparison, and reading the reviews here helped very much. I use this for sound recording and data file transfers just as much as mp3 playing. I would like to note that even though the ravemp.com faq and the product manual state that it can only record in mono, in "high quality" mode it actually does record in STEREO from the line-in, and at very decent quality, too! Needless to say I was very pleased to discover this surprise. The line-in and -out are great features, too. Very portable; very low power consumption (1 aa battery = 6-8 hrs!); nice mike built-in; great deal for the 64mb included (don't forget to get the rebate form from their site). One more note: I am very happy i did not spend extra money for a different player with USB, as file transfers with this parralel port model are fine, seem to be faster than my parralel port zip drive and never require a wait of over 5 minutes. Also, despite what their documentation says I was able to get this working with a parralel port splitter! I have had no problems connecting this to a few different computers. So far I am a very satisfied!

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars RAVE MP 2100-Pretty darn good!, January 12, 2000

By 

Andy Kayhoe (Waynesboro, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sensory Science RaveMP 2100 MP3 Player (Electronics)

I just got my RaveMP 2100, and I love it. I have heard a few other MP players and this one sounds as good if not better. The transfer time is also excellent. I think it's the faster parallel transfer I have ever seen. Takes only like 10-20 secs a song on my computer. I also love the other features like the built in mic that is very sesitive, great for recording meetings etc.. and the ability to store memos, contacts and phone numbers. Not to mention that is serves as a mini-harddrive and you can load any type of data on it to take to a friends house. I haven't seen any other MP3 player that can do all this. I would have gave it five stars, but the only drawbacks to this player is that it uses propritary mememory upgrade and currently can go only to 96 megs. That no a big deal since the player comes with 64 megs that seems like plenty for now. I would also like the volume to go a tad higher. It goes to 20, and it sounds pretty loud, but I use mine at 15, so that only allow 5 more before I max out, and as I age, my hearing might go as well. This again isnt a really big problem since you can just record your MP3 file at a higher volumn and sampling rate. If you in the market for a MP3 player, take a good look at this great player! note: You can put MP3's into this unit but you can upload mp3s back to a computer due to copyright restrictions. But another way around this is if you want to take mp3s to a friends house, just zip them up or rename them with a different extension and load them on the player as a regular file, and that way you can upload the mp3's to your friends computer. Pretty sweet huh?