Customer Reviews

Transcend T.sonic 630 4 GB MP3 Player (Black)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I bought this mp3 player mainly because of its recording capablities.

It has a built in mike and an input for a line-in or external mike. You can monitor the recording since it has separate line-in & headphone jacks. Many other mp3 players/recorders have one shared jack.

You can choose from from a record rate of 8khz mono that would give you over 200 hours on the 4GB version of cell phone quality audio ( for notes or recording meeting) to 44khz stereo that gives you recordings that sound almost as good as the source you are recording. And you still get 24 hours at 44khz. For the 2GB or 1Gb versions the times would be 1/2 or 1/4. It uses ADPCM compression in a WAV file that can be opened or edited on most any computer. At 44khz it has a bitrate about 420kb, about double the standard mp3 file.

It is easy to transfer files on and off the player. It shows up as a standard drive and you can drop, drag or copy your music to it. No dealing with Windows Media Player or Itunes wanting you to upgraded each time you use the program or having to wait as they sync music you dont want copied.

The only problems I have found is there is no record level indicators (UV meters). You have to monitor the level in the headphone and adjust your source. Hopefully this future will be added in a future firmware release.

I was looking for a basic MP3 player with an FM tuner and came across this unit. The T.sonic 630 has proven to be a good choice.

It has several strong points. First, it is small, yet the screen is easy to read and the buttons are easy to manipulate. Second, its 4GB memory is about twice as much as one usually gets from an MP3 player in this price range. Third, it has good sound quality. I did read some reviews that complained that the unit did not produce enough volume. I have found that the volume is quite sufficient for my listening needs. I have yet to crank it all the way up and I do like my music rather loud at times. Fourth, it is truly a drag and drop device. I have moved files from my music folder onto the device without a glitch. I did have a problem trying to utilize the MTP format to transfer music purchased from RealPlayer onto the device. I have found a way around this and have since bought some music from Amazon.com and didn't have to utilize the MTP setting to transfer the songs onto the T.sonic. Fifth, I was looking for an FM tuner, also, and have found the T.sonic to fill this role rather well. Its reception is good, though not great. I do, for certain stations have to place the unit in a particular position for best reception, but local stations come in strongly. Lastly, this device is not made in China, as are many MP3 players in this price range.

In conclusion, the Transcend T.sonic 630 has met my MP3 player needs.

EDIT: I did play around with it a little longer and it appears that there is a bug in the latest firmware. Text seems to be a bit garbled up when changing tracks in mp3 mode after going out of recording an FM radio show in radio mode so watch out. Very hopefully this problem can be fixed by going to regular record mode and record something for a second and then going back to the music mode.

So try not to record in radio mode until there a firmware fix for that.

Well this what I call, one of the only descent mp3 players out there so far. Rest of them I purchased just failed on me or not even close to even being satisfied to.

The only complaints I have so far with this player is, not being able to shuffle tracks in a folder(there is a folder repeat though), not being able to automatically scroll while you hold down the next/previous buttons in the file navigator home, and you can only have one custom playlist which is not even shown on the drive when you plug it into the computer(no file format, it's just hidden with the rest of the software).

So the work around for now with large numbers of files in certain main category like directories is, should be splitted up into separate directories for a bit of faster file access.

I think it's still possible to have at least the "shuffle files in folder" added in one of the repeat modes in future firmware upgrades, and oh man will that make my day.

Other than that, it's still a great mp3 only player where 4GB should be enough for a music only type of player.

Some of the mentioned features are, you also have a choice on which quality you want to choose when recording, especially with an extra line-in jack(heck, I bought a 512mb voice recorder for $80 for the same reason) but I have yet to try it. The player also has time&date feature and also, the numbers of screen savers you can choose from.

I would recommend it only if you are a bit of a tech savvy type of person, mainly because you need to upgrade to the latest firmware before using it for the first time.

Let's see how this player goes when months go by.

I bought this MP3 Player based on the recording capabilities but it doesn't do the job. I have until now used an iRiver T30 for live recordings as it has a line in for external mics. The recordings have all been great in 320 kbps though recently I had a USB issue and lost a very valuable live concert recording, this made me look for a replacement and the Trascend T.Sonic did not fill my needs.

The line in input lacks a volume control that'll adapt to the low input from some microphones, recordings I did on it were barely audible and noise just overpowered the sound recordings.

As an MP3 player it is fine, good sound, controls are a bit quirky, but good enough for a gym trip, the earphones are awful, if your ears are of metal you'll be able to use them, otherwise they drill into your ears, sound quality of the earphones aren't any good either. They need to be replaced.

Battery life is very good. Easy transfer of songs to the player is a plus too. Don't listen to FM radio so I have no opinion on that feature, never turned it on, could be a plus for some.

I wanted a player that recognized files(albums) and it does this very well. Saves scrolling through hundreds of items to find what you want to listen to.

If you wanna do scheduled recording of FM Radio Talk shows, it will usually do it, and for under $50 you can't beat it. Thats the only reason I bought it. It was just under $50 but feels like a $10 item. I wouldnt use it as a music mp3 player, The battery dies very fast. You must keep it plugged into a charger, I am using a cell phone charger, the one with the mini USB end. Also, It will not record if plugged into a computer USB port, so get a cheap wall charger if you wanna do scheduled radio recordings. It will record a whole week... if it's in the mood, Lol. Sometimes it just "forgets" to record, not sure why ???

Files are simple drag/drop , comes up like a usb drive. I record a daytime radio show, then drag a couple days worth onto a thumb drive that plays in my car.

Setting the time is a little weird, and daylight savings didn't happen
on it. Also, the +/- menu toggle is already broken and I have barely
used it here in my house only, Lol . . .

The cheapest alternative to do Scheduled FM radio recordings was around
$100 or more so I guess it's worth it for that.

All in all, its very cheaply made, size of a Bic lighter, But it's the cheapest way to do scheduled FM recording.

This is a wonderful digital voice recorder. Four sound recording qualities available. Dedicated line-in for your external microphone or your disc player. Integrated microphone. FM Radio with 20 presets available. Recording from radio available. 4 Gb flash drive memory. Mp3 player with drag & drop feature to move/copy files from your computer (Mac or PC) back and forth. Nothing of this any iPod can do. Highly recommended.

This product is poorly designed and will fail within two months. The screen failed on mine as well as the battery cutting out. Transcend refused to honor their warranty, because I opened the back to fix the battery connection. Two weeks after the battery problem the screen dims and can not be adjusted. Transcend did not even offer to fix their product so I can use it again. So after about two months I am out 60 dollars and am unhappy with Transcends product and their customer support. Do not buy this product.