Customer Reviews

iAUDIO U5-08BS U5 8GB MP3 Player (Black and Silver)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I've owned a Cowon D2 for awhile and thought I'd get a 'scroll/pad' version (rather than D2's touch screen)for 1 handed use while exercising or while driving;

the menu system and features are similar to the D2, but

it does not have the ability to bookmark (see corrections/updates below)
it cannot speed up play (I use this for audio books) if mp3 is recorded under 44Khz,
the control pad is really too small/thin to use without looking at it, they might want take a look at Sandisk's implementation,
non-expandable...no sd slot as in D2,
battery life ok, but only about 1/2 that of D2,
uses less common micro usb cable (D2 uses more common mini),
and,like the D2, it cannot recharge and play at the same time;

on the positive side,
the screen is big and bright,
very light and small, great for use while exercising/jogging,
sound is good,
drag and drop files and folders, no need for additional software,

I bought the u5 for it's speed up playback feature (as long as it's +44Khz) to listen to audio books, which it does well, but it's inability to do bookmarks is a major drawback;

features seem less well implemented and refined than either the D2 or the rockboxed Sansa that I own;

update:
1. there is a bookmark feature, accessed by by backing out the music directory and into the bookmark directory!
2. clarification...the 'scroll wheel' is just really a 4 directional pad, cannot be rotated in any manner;

further update/corrections:
I accidentally found that if one holds down the centre button while playing, (it usually is the play/pause button), an 'undocumented' menu pops up (this feature is not listed in the pdf manual I downloaded from their site): add to dpl/add to bookmark/delete; this makes it a much more useful player for me!

...am upgrading the player to 3.5 stars

This was my third iAudio player. It is very functional and ideal as an MP3 Player/Voice Recorder.

I have had problems with the sensitivity of the rw and ff buttons. The player often skips back when I'm trying to rewind, (press and hold vs click of the button). A recent firmware update seemed to help this situation slightly, but it is still an aggravating annoyance. This may even involve a warranty repair, but thusfar I've decided to live with it.

The sound is excellent, and there are a number of settings to allow a great deal of customization in that regard.

The voice recorder is also excellent. The storage capacity is unbelievable in that regard and the quality of recordings has been great. I'd highly recommend the player for students or others with a need for this function.

The glossy black finish gathers visible smudges and finger prints easily, but this is likely to be expected with such a finish.

The player is very similar in size to the 2nd Gen Ipod nano, and fits well in an armband for same.

I've rarely used the FM Radio function. When I have the signal was acceptable, and sound was excellent. I would need to get more use of this function to be able to relialably comment on same.

A lot of function for the money.

If you need a simple mp3 player for listening to music and books on tape, don't need to watch movies or jpeg pictures, this may be the unit for you. The interface is the best I've seen on iaudio players: simple, reliable, easy to use. The sound, as in all i audio units, is excellent and, for those of you who listen to albums (not `songs') iaudio is one of the few players that allow you to organize music and books the way you want and with the titles you want to give albums and tracks within albums. This feature frees you from annoying IP tags and will show folders organized and named just as you desire and as dragged from your PC to the Music folder of the U5. It is this feature that makes Cowon products the best choice for those who listen to classical music. Thus, you can have a folder for Opera, Chamber Music, Leider, Symphony, etc. and within which, separate folders for individual albums and, using the Folders option, display them as such. Of course, the unit has options for displaying the contents using IP tags, individual tracks, tracks by artist, etc.; the usual options found in most mp3 players. U5 also has the variety of options that now seem almost standard in mp3 players: equalization for various frequency bands, timer, clock, auto shut off, bass boost, vice recorder, record from FM, etc.
All of the music and BOT I load come from CDs and, so, can't address issues of loading/ripping from on-line sources. The ripping from CD software that comes packaged is easy to use and perfectly adequate. I also don't use `playlists' but that option is present on included software.

Pros: small and light, fits easily into a shirt pocket. Excellent sound, very good FM tuner, simple interface, good instruction manual (on CD), seems sturdy and well built, ability to rename and organize music as preferred (as above). Controls: I've not encountered problems with the controls mentioned in a few other reviews: they seem perfectly adequate and provide good tactile feedback when pressed. Maximum volume is more than adequate and the unit sounds great even with inexpensive run-of-the-mill earbuds.

Cons: Not many: battery life is adequate but not as long as in the D2 but the U5 is smaller and much lighter and I'm happy to pay with battery time for size and weight. A memory card slot for extending capacity would have been nice: Sansa does it and Cowon should for the U5. On the other hand, I find that 8 gb is more than adequate for a large amount of music and BOT. Further, it's simple to delete files and load new files: requires no special software and can be done on any PC.
Bookmarks: apparently bookmarks are available but not well documented (see other reviews). I can't get them but, perhaps, need to update the firmware.
Service: most users agree that Cowon service leaves a lot to be desired. I've purchased 5 different Cowon units and they have all been trouble free so can't speak to the issue.
Price: I notice that the price on Amazon varies from week to week: I bought mine from Amazon for $65 plus $6.50 for SH in early November 08 and a few weeks later noted that their list price was $93.

Bottom line: for me this is the best of the Cowon units for playback of music and BOT: light, easy to use, complete freedom in organizing files, no proprietary software needed, relatively inexpensive, sturdy and well made. It needs a better bookmark feature but else is a winner.

I am very happy with this MP3 player. Good Sound quality and easy to use.
It comes with software that allow ripping of CDs and converting sound files to a format that can be used by the player. Files ripped from a CD by Windows Media Player are not compressed so that even though it may be a .WMA The software provided makes that conversion

The Player connects to computer via USB and files can be moved from the computer to the Player just as if it were another drive on the computer.

I am very happy with the device itself but gave it 4 because there is only the barest instructions that come with it. After considerable time spent experimenting I have the unit working and am very happy with it.

This is a nice mp3 player, it also feels like quality. Loud speakers, easy to use controls, and it looks good.

I've had this player for about six months. It is the third iAudio player I've purchased. The sound on this thing is fantastic. The navigation is pretty easy, although I would like to see some small modifications. The FM radio gets great reception. I agree with another writer above who says that Cowon customer support is poor. Even the Knowledge Base isn't very good. I've been pretty happy with my player anyway, but this would be a much better product if Cowon gave better support.

exelent sound bits ipod 10000000 times if u care about the sound not desine get it + its extra cheep

I purchased this device principally because the audio recorder and the sound quality of the playback were supposed to be pretty good, and I am quite satisfied in this regard. Moreover, the battery life is good (I haven't recharged for 2 weeks, with about an hour of use per day). Loading files from my harddrive is also a snap, just drag and drop in Explorer.

The main drawback I've noticed is the poor interface and organizational system. Maybe I just haven't figured out how to navigate the thing, but so far the only way I can get to a file I want is to scroll through all of them one by one... With 8GB of storage, this device really needs a better on-board file manager.

Just a no-nonsense bare-bones player that does everything it supposed to exceptionally well. If you're looking for a simplistic player with excellent sound quality, and lots of space, without alot of bells and whistles, then this player should be your pick. I got mine about a week ago, and have been nothing but pleased with it. The sound quality on this thing is outstanding, which should be reason alone for getting it. It's perfect for someone like me who doesn't watch videos or use text files with daps. I guess that's the reason it's not very popular, because it doesn't play videos, but that's no biggy to me. All in all, a fine mp3 player, with excellent sound quality.

When I got an iAudio U5 it was great, but now, after two of them, my opinion has changed. (Read Bottom)

Features:
Receives FM radio, can record FM radio, can record external sounds (i.e. speeches, meetings, conversations), has an editable equalizer, on player deletion (meaning you can delete songs on the U5), can set playlists and can hold.

Pros:
Inexpensive, lightweight, small, no software required for the computer, you can organize your music however you want, can easily be used on any OS, uses folders, easy to use UI, and has good sound quality.

Cons:
Cannot play movies and cannot view images.

Things that would be nice:
A better GUI, better default headphones, larger storage capacity (8 gigabytes is the maximum), a search and an easier to open micro USB to USB cord slot.

Summary:
A very good and simple player for people who mainly want to listen to music and like to manually organize. Great, especially for those who, like me, use Linux.

***********EDIT***********
This mp3 player randomly died in my pocket at full battery earlier this summer so after a long, painful time with customer service it was warrantied and I got a new one. Here we just over a month afterwards and I lost the ability to transfer music and the screen died. Unless you have money to spare and don't need it too long than, by all means, buy it, but otherwise I would find a different MP3 player perhaps one by Creative.