Customer Reviews

iAUDIO CW200 256 MB MP3 Player with FM Radio and Voice Recorder

5 star:		(63)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

This is an excellent mp3 player -- the sound is incredible with a 95db SNR and a very customizable eq setting (bass,treble,dynamic bass,loudness, etc). The included earbuds are of avg. quality and does not do the sound quality justice - personally I'm using Sony's EX70s, the white imported kinds and looks great with the stylish white clip/case included with the player -- great for the gym by the way. I'm also getting very good FM reception with the radio function in NYC. The voice recorder I've only played with a little to test and its clear and sensitive, but I wouldn't know how well it would do in say a classroom lecture. The software is very easy to use and also allows you to convert WAVs/CD tracks to mp3 files easily. Highly recommended!
If you're doing some comparing - the riosport series have a very unimpressive sound fidelity and terrible radio reception, the creative muvo sounds good but doesn't have FM radio, voice rec. EQ settings, or a display and the cw200 has all these things plus its practically the same size and the cw200 offers a 256MB model vs 128. The only other option I'd think about would be the iriver ifp series - but if you're an audiophile, compare these two and you'll know the cw200 sounds better (90 snr vs. 95 snr)

This is an incredible product and company! Absolutely the best portable MP3 player in its class. It is very small (smaller than a credit card) but has plenty of storage (choose 64, 128 or 256MB version when you buy). Also has a great FM radio, voice recorder, good sound quality and an excellent display & controls. The product is well made and comes with a case, belt clip, decent ear buds, cables & software. It's easy to drop the player into a shirt or pants pocket.

The software is VERY easy to use -- just drag and drop MP3s or files from your CD (it will automatically convert them to MP3). Click a button and it will look up your CD song titles from an Internet database. If you're interested, it also has a utility program that will convert any animated GIF or image file into a logo you can download to the player. Your custom animated logo displays on the LCD when you turn the unit on. Very nice.

When you download an MP3 file to the player, you can choose any Windows font and size for the song title display. I like the hand script fonts -- they make the display look friendly. The LCD has a blue backlight and you can adjust how long the backlight stays on after a button press.

The MP3 player includes a full equalizer. Separate +/- control of bass, treble, loudness & dynamic bass. You can save your settings under a "User" selection, or choose from several preset equalizations (rock, classical, etc.). There are also lots of other options to allow you to customize how the player works (if you want to).

Read the instructions to understand what the buttons do. Other than that, everything else about the player and the software is simple. The player has a lot of nice options to play with, but it's easy to use right out of the box if you're not a techie.

Jet Audio customer service is unbelievably good. I placed my order at the busiest time (one week before Christmas) and they still shipped the same day. The players were ordered through Amazon.com from the "New & used" option -- that means Jet-Audio fills the order directly. When you place the order, there's no option to choose a shipping method and Amazon.com says it could take up to 21 days (yikes!). I placed the order & emailed Jet-Audio to see if they could ship faster. They replied immediately and said the product would ship that day -- I received it two days later (in California). I purchased three players and had a problem with one. I sent them an email and they handled the problem that same day. You just can't ask for better customer service.

Great product, great company, great price ---

I bought this device for Christmas 2002 after doing a lot of research on the internet, and I have been very satisfied so far. It had all the features I was looking for, including enough built-in storage so that removable media is not necessary. I also wanted something with a beltclip that I could use when exercising (the main use for this device). It can also receive FM radio and the reception is very good. And it can record voice memos. I have had no trouble with the software for managing audio files in the unit. The included Jet Audio MP3 player is OK, but I prefer using Windows Media Player because the update of album info is easier. The only thing sort of missing is the ability to play WMA files, but MP3 appears to be a more widespread standard. I got an MP3 plug-in for Windows Media Player. The sound quality of the unit is great. Output is plenty loud for me. I highly recommend this unit as a player to use for exercising. The iPOD has much greater capacity and may be the best unit to take all your music with you, but its movable parts (hard disk) makes it unsuitable to me for use while jogging or engaging in other vigorous exercise.

iAudio CW200 256Mb review

Pros: Incredible sound ! Light, minimal size but maximal reliability. Intuitive buttons and softwares. 256 Mb means about 90 songs and about 5 hours of continuous music. Voice recording works very well. FM radio works fine. Battery saving: 6h with 550MAh AAA batteries. Comes with all practical accessories. Firmware download. Support and service is great (thanx Francis).

Cons: My opinion would lead to nothing in this category. But I want to stay completely objective: no WMA support and FM reception could be a bit better...

Full review:

I've been now using the iAudio for about 2 months.
I tested only one before this one (the Nike one). I was convinced to buy this player when reading all the positive comments on Amazon...
Now I use it every day in the train and on the bike between my home and my office. This means about 3 hours/working day.

All I have to say is THIS PLAYER IS PERFECT :-)

Sound: the best I've ever heard. Also the clearest. The headphones included give very good sound quality. Basses are deep (it surprised me that so small headphones can give so loud basses) but don't hide middle or treble. I was wondering how it comes. I found the answer by switching headphones, using my Sennheiser (the very big ones). The basses there are too loud so it appears that the player sound settings have been adapted to the included headphones.
30 seconds to change equalizer settings and I had wonderful sound in my new headphones.
Do the test once: try connecting hifi headphones to the player. Adjust equalizer and you'll be surprised...

Size: With a size comparable to a chewing-gum packet, this player is the smallest and lightest MP3 flash player I've ever seen. When running (using the armband) you even don't feel it. Except maybe the headphones wires...

Package and menus: with only 4 functionnal buttons (including the hold button and REC button). The 2 other buttons are 2 jog dials commands (left right push). They're very easy to use and combination are possible to enable shortcurts of commands.
Menus are very intuitive and also very complete.

Voice recording: As far as I tried this feature, it fulfills completely my needs. I recorded a one hour meeting, by just letting the player in the middle of the table. The result was perfect. Even when 3 people are speaking, you can still understand correctly. This feature is ideal for this use (lectures recording or meeting recording)

FM radio: Works fine. Maybe reception could be a bit better sometimes. My main problem with it is reception when I move. For example, in the train or in the car don't use it. Except if the radio station is powerful and if it doesn't change frequency.

Memory: The iAudio comes with 3 different memory sizes: 64, 128 or 256Mb. I personnaly have the 256 version. And I recommend it. I can fill it with about 90 songs in 128kb/s format (CD quality). It means almost 5 hours of continuous music. So it means for me never twice the same song/day ... And using random play order it means that I keep the same songs for a long time without being bored..
A small comment to JetAudio: maybe for the next generation of the player try to include external memory expansions. I think new memory card format miniSD is light and small enough to fit in your player.

Screen: Blue backlight LCD. Very readable. MP3 tags are displayed. You can customize the iAudio logo animation during booting. Displays the battery status, mode, time and title of the song.

Batteries: Again a positive point ;-). iAudio uses 1 standard AAA battery so you can buy cheap AAA rechargeable batteries. For example, I use some 550MAh and they last for at least 6 hours. I bought 4 batteries like this one for about 15$. So with one set, I go for 24 hours...

Software included: Jetshell is the utility that comes with the player. It can be used to directly rip CDs to the iAudio. But its main feature is the maintenance and upload/download of the iAudio. I t also provides access to CDDB to directly find titles of songs. It's also very very easy to use. Transfer is done via USB port. Filling completely the 256Mb takes approximatively 5 minutes. Not bad :-)

Accessories: Another good point. The player comes with all accessories you can dream of. The most useful being without hesitation the white leather carrying case. It protects player against scratches and falls damages. It also provide access to buttons and LCD. It comes with a beltclip. I just got today the armband. I tried it on the bike. It fits perfectly on my arm and really doesn't move at all even when shaking your arm. You can also use the necklace (I use it in the train), it's also very useful.

Firmware download: I told this would be a minor advantage compared to the other players. But no, it's a big one. It seems that JetAudio permanenetly tries to ameliorate the embedded software. The last firmware doubles the FM presets and allows equalizer setting while in FM mode. I hope they will continue to improve it like that.

Support and service: 10/10 . I had some questions and I sent them to JetAudio. It took less than 4 hours to get an answer. An sth really relevant. Also I had a special request for them. They satisfied me completely... bravo ;-)

If you were like me, you're wondering "why havn't I heard more or seen ads about this mp3 player that got such great reviews?" Well, I still don't know why. I'm the kind of person that buys only name-brand stuff, and I never heard of JetAudio.
Here were some of my biggest worries about buying this player... Hopefully, it'll help you better decide what to get.

How's the mp3 sound quality?
-It's better than my roommate's Creative MuVo 128mb (played the same songs with the same earphones). There's a clear difference in crispness & clearness, especially since the CW200 has a customizable equalizer. (Also, I did some research and found that JetAudio/CoWon has been making digital audio/video/voice software since 1995. They're also one of the top companies in the Asias.)

How's the FM reception?
-I have a Sony Walkman (Model SRF-M80V, receives AM/FM/Weather/TV audio) which has served me well with excellent reception. I was delightfully surprised that the CW200's reception was just as good.

How's the bass?
-Unfortunately, the supplied earphoness arn't that great for heavy bass. However, I have an expensive pair of Sony earphones (sorry don't know model #). I also have the Creative Audigy sound card in my PC. I turned up the bass all the way on the CW200 (with the Sony earphones) and listened to "Clubbed to Death" from "The Matrix" soundtrack, and did the same with my PC. Sadly, the CW200's bass wasn't quite as booming, but nevertheless still satisfying (much better than my roommate's MuVo).

How's the LCD screen?
-Well, it's easy to read, even in its small size. Whenever you press a button, the screen brightens with a pleasant indigo light. You can also choose any font you have available on your computer (I believe you can have different languages displayed if you have the fonts).

How's the voice recording?
-Sadly, I have no experience with other voice recorders. I use it sometimes in lectures, and I find it clear enough to make out what the professor said, even in 400-student class sizes.

In conclusion,
You get what you pay for, it's a high quality product. It's worth saving up for (don't forget they also come in 64 & 128MB, which you can upgrade later to 256), don't settle for the other mp3 players.

The Cowon iAudio portable digital audio player is a fantastic device! Here is a summary of the various components.

PHYSICAL UNIT: This is a very small (3 in. tall, 1 in. wide) and light (less than 2 oz. including the battery) unit. It has a LCD screen on the front which displays quite a bit of information, such as the name of the current song (which scrolls across the screen), the time remaining, battery life, memory usage, etc. This information is presented in a compact yet clear manner. The LCD had a back light feature that can be programmed to stay on for a set amount of time. The unit is highly customizable with an interface that is quickly learned. Battery life is about 9 hours on a singe AAA battery. Although this does not sound like much, remember, it is for a single battery.

MP3 PLAYER: The 256 Mb model will hold about 80 MP3s (assuming an average size of 3 Mb). The sound quality is very good. The unit has four folders (albums) to organize your music. Songs can be played sequentially or at random, and you can choose from several pre-set equalizer settings, such as rock, classical, etc. I don't have a lot of experience with MP3 players, but I am more than satisfied with this one.

VOICE RECORDING: I originally found this looking for a digital voice recorder. It does a GREAT job! For the 256 Mb model with no MP3s loaded, you get nearly 18 hours of clear recording time! The microphone picks up well and there is a level indicator so you know how strong the input signal is. There is a quick key combination that puts you directly into voice recorder mode, so if you are in the car and want to record a thought, you can do it without even taking your eyes off the road. There is one drawback for using this as a voice recorder -- there is no speaker, so you would either need the headphones or plug into an external speaker to hear playback.

ANNOYANCES: I have only a few minor complaints about the iAudio. (1) The small plastic protective cover over the USB plug is hard to get off if you don't have long enough fingernails. (2) You can't connect the USB cable to the player while it is in its carrying case. (3) The ear phones are comfortable and sound nice, but they fit loosely in the ear, easily falling out if you are exercising. (4) The software does rip MP3s from CDs, but it is not the most user friendly interface I have used.

While this may seem like a lot of annoyances, they are all relatively small, and don't diminish from the experience. Overall, this is a great product! I have used the MP3 Player and Voice Recorder extensively, and am completely pleased with my purchase.

Perfect if you need a small unit for exercising, commuting etc. It disappears into a pocket and I forget it's on me when I am running. I probably needs a HD player too, I'd love to have all of my music on one device.

I use it on the train every day and record some of the weekend NPR shows to listen to later in the week. Overall, it meets my needs, but for the price make sure the features on this player are what you need.

It is very reliable, I have had it for four months with NO problems. I have dropped it several times and it still works fine.

Features:
Radio: Reception is decent, about the same as my Sony Sports AM/FM. Recording does seem to have an impact.

Voice Recorder: I won't use it too much, but it is very sensitive and easy to use.

MP3: Sound is excellent. 4 folders makes it more manageable but, it would be nice to be able to create your own.

Design: Simple and easy but despartely needs an expansion slot. I cringe every time I see how cheap memory cards are getting and I can't expand it. This is the main reason that I can't give it 5 stars.

The leather case is kind of ugly, the ear buds are ok. The screen is a bit small. Battery life is good.

Software: Decent, but far from great. I would rather be able to see the device in Windows Explorer and drag and drop files without proprietary software. The software will not let you upload mp3s to a PC in an effort to avoid file sharing.

Things that every MP3 player should have/be:
1. AM/FM radio - IAudio has half
2. Recording, voice and radio (IAudio has it)
3. Be Small (IAudio is right on)
4. Be expandable (IAudio missed this - Thus, get the 256k - you can never have too much memory)
5. Have an external power supply - so that you can hook it up to your stereo and not kill the batteries. (Not on the Iaudio)

Other players to consider:
Nex iA by Frontier labs - Compact Flash expansion, FM recording and a power adapter, but bigger and feels cheap.
MPIO by Digital Way - Just like the CW200 but has an SD slot

I did A LOT of research on MP3 players, and listened to various players that some of my friends had. It seems the problem with most players is either 1) they don't have enough memory 2) they're not easy/convenient to carry around as well as work out with and/or 3) they will seem to stop working or malfunction due to a number of different reasons.

This player is unbelievable. Its about the size of a small pack of chewing gum. It will not skip, even if running because it uses flash memory. AND the sound...amazing. This is the 2nd player I've owned, but even after listening to other players, the cw200 far and away sounds the most clear. The headphones aren't great, as they'll fall out of your ears if you're running, but the sound on the ones provided is better than the ones I use when working out. The carrying case is white leather, which I didn't necessarily like, but it has a belt clip on it as well as protects the LCD with a plastic cover. BUT, you can't really judge a player off the headphones and carrying case.

The software is easy to install, and is easy to use (a lot more efficient than previous MP3 software I've used that would cause my CPU to freeze). I was up and running in 15 minutes. It also supports various bitrates as well as VBR. I stuck with 128 kbs, as I couldn't tell any difference using a higher bitrate. I was able to put 66 songs in the 256MB memory. It has 4 albums to organize your songs, and the FM radio works better than a Sony FM walkman I own. I've only briefly used the voice recorder, but it seemed to work well. The player also has an equalizer, can play on random or by album, allows you to directly delete a track while listening, and a few other options dealing with the display.

Overall, I couldn't be more pleased with this product.

Hope this helps.

I have owned an Intel Pocket Concert, a Samsung Yepp(128mb) and an I-Rock 180 (128). The Intel was just awesome but after I d/l the new driver it started causing major static. So then i bought the Yepp. Very nice, very small and extremely good sound. But, it didnt have an FM radio. This time i did a little more research on what i really wanted and chose the Irock. Mannnn this thing was flawed in everyway. Poor design, and sound. It's shaped like a triangle and feels very weird in your pocket. The buttons constantly get stuck. Sound quality.. heh that's a joke. The Irock couldnt even handle its own bass. At first i thought it was my earphones so i bought some 50 dollar sony earphones (these things are top of the line) and it still sounded distorted. Hehe so i talked my mom into buying it b/c she needed a music player also. Now this time i looked around and noticed a very sleek and small mp3 player.. The I-Audio. Let me tell you, this is by far the BEST mp3 player i have EVER owned. The Bass on this thing is phenominal and clarity... not a problem with this baby. take my advice right now. Buy the I-Audio.

Trust me, everything you read about this unit is true, true, true! After weeks of research I ordered mine last Sunday. I tracked the order in anticipation and got it today. (Wednesday)I got home at about 7pm and have now mastered the unit and it's 11pm. I am listening to it as I type. Beautiful! I even like the earbuds!

The carton was really beat up when it arrived so I was a bit aprehensive. When I installed the battery and nothing happened I started to feel a bit concerned. When I connected the USB cable it lit right up! What a feeling! I then inserted the disc and the drivers downloaded effortlessly as well as the nice software interface. I can organize my music into folders on the computer and presto, they're on the machine!I have it full (82 songs)and can't wait to play it in the car tomorrow on my way to work!

Well, better get to bed. No problem as I already can set the timer to shut it down in an hour. Buy this unit now, you can't go wrong!