Audio Reviews

Though the great price on this mp3 player makes it more attainable than an iPod, the external quality of it is poor. Good for running and exercising, the small, compact shape makes it easy to carry around in your pocket or purse. Unfortunately, the cheap outer coating on mine started coming off about a month after I bought it, so that now (at one year old) it looks very cheap and used. The screen does not display the name or artist of the songs, only a number to which it is assigned, which was disappointing as well.
The software often crashes, but is easy to use for beginners. Also, the program seems cheaply put together as well.
But again, I have had mine for one year and it still works prfectly. If internal quality is your real concern, and you have no preference of how it looks, I'd say this mp3 player is a great deal.

This player is great. I exchanged an iRock 730i for it, and so far I've absolutely loved the simplicity of it and it's great features. The toggle button is great. Not only is it unique, but it makes all the controls into one switch right at your fingertips. Although some might argue that this player isn't all that since it lacks ID3 tag support, I don't see much of a problem with it since I won't question what song is playing -- if I downloaded it to the player myself, wouldn't I know what it was in the first place? I really like how you can change the equalizer settings during playback. The sound is great, including volume level, and the transfer software is really easy to use. The simplicity of the player makes it extremely appealing. Definitely worth the investment.

It was so easy to load the software and get connected to my pc. In just a few minutes I was converting cd tracks to mp3 and downloading to the player. I had never subscribed to an MP3 web site but the player comes with a free trial offer and now I'm hooked. The sound is fantastic. Great bass even without the base boost turned on. All features are easy to access with the "mode" button and a jog button. It's so light weight that I don't even feel it in my shirt pocket. Only suggestions would be a backlight and a belt clip. Integration with Windows Media Player would also be nice.

Got this for my girlfriend. It sounded great, and I didn't mind having to convert my MP3s to play them. Unfortunately, it began having problems almost immediately. First, it kept giving an error saying that the hard drive door was open--it wasn't. Then, it kept saying that the hard drive wasn't inserted--it was. Now it only powers up intermittently and will only play one song at a time, if that.

We've called Toshiba and gotten pretty good support (a real, English speaking person!!), but nothing they suggested worked. Now I have to pay to mail it back to the company. To be honest, given the cheap door and hard drive mechanisms (I couldn't believe how flimsy these were!), I'm not confident that this will EVER play for any period of time.

I might just buy a Rio.

1. This is NOT a 20GB Jukebox as listed by Amazon.com. It is in fact only 5GB.

2. Even though Toshiba touts the USB 2.0 interface, music transfer is painfully slow because of Toshiba's attempts to assuage the record companies' concerns about digital piracy. First you'll have to rip your tunes using Windows Media Player, there is no flexibility there. Then you cannot even copy the files directly to the unit. You must use the Toshiba "Audio Application" to encrypt those music files. If you attempt to bypass the "Audio Application" to leverage the USB 2.0 speed, the music will not be playable in the unit. So you are basically worse off than using USB 1.1.

3. Background noise is about 9db higher than an apple iPod and the frequency range is about 12% less.

4. The backlight is way under-illuminated

5. Navigation for song selection is horrible.

This unit showed a lot of promise and I was very excited about the possibilities. The size and shape was very appealing even if its slightly bigger than an ipod. However, I would much rather go for 20GB of unfettered access to my music collection. Even at the amazon.com price you are better off getting an iPod or a Nomad Zen.

I was really surprised at how good this unit was for the price.

The PCMCIA hard drive is an awesome idea. It can function as a portable 5GB USB or PCMCIA hard drive (no drivers needed in Win ME, 2000, or XP). It will play MP3, WMA, and WAV files created from ANY program (unlike a previous reviewer stated). Sound quality is top notch...the bass enhancements really work well.

Now, the main complaint is the encryption software that's needed to transfer music to the player. I'm not sure of the purpose of this encryption since you can copy all the music files you want to the hard drive and store them there, you just can't play them. The transfer application is small and looks exactly like Windows Explorer...you just copy and paste your music from your hard drive to the Toshiba. If you have a 1 Ghz or higher PC, the encryption shouldn't slow you down much, if at all. I have a 3Ghz PC and was able to fill up 4 gigs in about 15 minutes, so I find that very reasonable. The menu system on the player is very basic and intuitive. Everyone in the office was able to pick it up and operate it right off the bat. Not sure what one of the other reviewers didn't like about it, it's easy and accessible, what more do you want? It's very sturdy unit, made out of brushed aluminum, and the controls are easily accessible (I like the position of the volume controls...the recessed buttons are unobtrusive yet functional).

In a nutshell, I think this player is one of the best values for the market. I've owned a Nomad II, a Nomad Jukebox, and a 5GB iPod (which died), and this seems to be the best of the group so far. Enjoy!

This is a nice sound card. I installed it with my Windows ME when i first got it b4 the audigy came out. It was the nicest sound card you can get. After awhile i got XP, then it went downhill. The drives are XP incompatible and the newer drivers sometimes dont install over the XP native drivers. Tried contacting Creative, but that didnt help, took forever for a responce

I have a Live! Value and a Live! Platinum (SBL!P) and I can confirm that the sound quality is the same between the two.

The platinum may deliver just the right value for you if you like to tinker with music. (The serious electronic musicians I have talked to use more dedicaated cards and equipment, but the SBL!P seems like a pretty good hobbyist's toy.)

Keep in mind that the controls in front are for =musical= instruments, not game controllers or the speakers themselves (which must be plugged into the back, as always).

Also keep in mind that the Sound Blaster Live! isn't particularly good for DOS games. It can be far less clear how to adjust the sound settings with a Live! than it ever was in the old DOS days. (Some of the Diamond Monster sound cards, like the MX80, work specifically with old SB-type cards and allow you to use them for DOS games and use the newer card for newer games.)

So, before you buy: decide how important musical instrument access is to you; decide how much time you want to spend mucking around with your old DOS games.

Not only the card gives you the best sound system you can get, I like the way how you can manage all the in and out from the front of the computer instead of the back. In case you want it cheaper, don't really need to manage from the front and don't need those software bundled, I would strongly recommend to get Live! Value edition as it's so much cheaper and has the same quality of sound.

The Samsung Techno Yepp (STY) is my first MP3 player so I do not have anything to compare it with. With that in mind I offer the following comments:

Positive Features:

o The STY provides good audio quality. The sound is strong and clean, although the bass is a bit weak.

o The STY provides good audio quality. The sound is strong and clean, although the bass is a bit weak. Yes, I just wrote that. I want to stress the point that the sound quality is good. The primary feature of any audio player should be sound quality. The STY delivers good sound quality.

o The STY is very convenient. The MP3 player is quite small, easy to carry/wear, and it does not skip. These characteristics make it very useful while exercising or working.

o The STY has a built-in sound equalizer that helps to improve the playback sound quality. I often play recordings of classic American radio programs from the 30's, 40's, and 50's. This feature reduces the hiss, pops, and other flaws that are common in old radio programs. It is also useful with modern hi-fidelity recordings as well. Depending on the type of music the different equalizer modes can restore some of the warmth and depth that is lost in the MP3 format.

Negative Features:

o I would recommend using different headphones than the ones that are supplied. They sound a bit tinny and they are uncomfortable.

o The STY requires use of Samsung's provided software for loading and unloading recordings. Unforutunately they do not support the Linux computer operating system. Macintosh or Windows computers are well supported though.

o The FM radio tuner that comes with the STY is not integrated with the MP3 player. It is a seperate "remote control" that is part of the headphone cable. The tuner works well and sounds fine, but it is a bit cumbersome. It acts as a lead weight on the headphone cable making the headphones pull on your ears when you are moving about.

I recommend this product as it provides you with good sound quality in a small, convenient player that does not skip.

Best regards,

Joe Kotran

Well, Please ignore this. I'm trying to SEE the reviews and I'm being forced to rate it first. Pretty stupid!

For Christmas, I wanted an MP3 Player and I spent countless hours online looking at ones I wanted and finally chose this one. Whenever it looked like a good player, the reviews said that it was a piece of ..., but I ended up buying this one and man am I happy with it.

Reasons It Rocks:

-- Sound is great
-- Doesn't skip
-- Holds 70 songs on 64 kbps quality MP3s (which sound fine)
-- Has radio
-- Great battery life - around 10 to 15 hours

Reasons Not To Buy:

-- Only if you have poor judgement will you not buy this

I have read so many reviews trashing players but I think the reason it doesnt work for them is because they didnt read the instruction book before they used it!!! Thats probably it!

Unit is a little bulky, but big display with large easy to read type. Select knob works, but a textured knob(it's smooth) would have been better for car use. Unit gets VERY hot with continuous use. Hasn't degraded unit function, but you could heat a PopTart or a cup of coffee with this thing. Removing or inserting the unit takes two hands. The contact pins do look rather fragile on the back. In the car, I have the antenna mounted on the rear trunk. The antenna wire is very thin; easy to squeeze into tight spots and easily cut(use care). I've normally maximum signal, except for over head obstruction(overpass). There seems to be about a 5 second buffer during audio play. I live in a mountainous area, and narrow canyons don't seem to be a problem. I like the music and talk selection on Sirius. There are DJs on the music channels and some inhouse(Sirius) "commercials" about other programs or channels. Music choices are oriented to the younger crowd. Only 3 classical channels, but some oldies pop/rock for us geezers. Check the Sirius website to see if their channels match your tastes. TV audio feeds(CNN) have the normal commercials. Music quality is as good as normal radio, though I'm no audiophile. As mentioned, NPR, as well as other national programs will be on a national schedule. FWIW, NPR programs are scheduled by the local affiliates. Air times for programs differ across the country.

After doing a lot of research on both XM and Sirius, I chose Sirius and so far I've been thrilled with the service as well as this product.

Two main reasons the scales tipped to Sirius' favor was 1) Clear Channel has a stake in XM Radio, and at first XM was just playing recorded loops of Clear Channel programming, until recently, and 2) The sports options with Sirius is much better. Sirius has broadcasting deals with the NFL, NBA, and NHL, while XM only has exclusive rights to NASCAR.

I've known Audiovox to be a low-end brand for a while but this has been solid for me so far. The display is bright and easy to read, there's a choice of display fonts. Little did I know that the remote that comes with it is a big plus depending on where you may need to site the unit in your car or home.

I have the PNP2 receiver, and I must say it is really great!<br /> The buttons are easy to press, and the menus are easy to navigate through. The big orange screen is also nice.<br /> The service itself is great. The music channels are great, and I especially like Hits1. I also like listening to the variety of talk channels.<br /> The NFL on Sirius is great. You can hear vertually any NFL game, anywhere in the country! College football is the same way, hear a USC game in Maine (or anywhere in the country for that matter).<br /> The PNP3 is out now, but this receiver is still great. Don't foget to purchase either a car kit, home kit, or boombox for this to work.

very disappointed...the cd tray broke within the 1st month of use & Amazon.com was no help in getting it fixed...

I bought this system for use as an alarm clock as well as a mini audio system in my bedroom. Based on several issues, I've decided to return it. 1. The panel is way too bright. At its brightest setting you could easily read a book. At its dimmest, it still casts significant light. 2. The clock itself is too small to read unless you're very close to it. 3. The speaker cables are very short - 6 feet?, and they don't detach from the speakers, so they can't be replaced. 4. The CD mechanism is very loud, slow and clunky. 5. The buttons on the remote are small, mostly identical, and poorly labeled. 6. Sound is OK, but not impressive. If you have no intention of using the alarm functionality and don't might the brightness, it may be an OK choice, but I wouldn't recommend it.

I was in fact looking for the AIWA XR-EM71 unit but could not find one. Because I needed soms mini or micro system in my office I tried to look for an alternative in the same price range. I went home with the MC-50. The unit is beautiful and decent with light blue front lights. For the price you get a lot of options you won't find on other systems. There is a timer (you can use the system as a clockradio/CDplayer !), sleepfunction, RDS, 3 CD-changer suited for CD-R and CD-RW discs, RDS-news search, Incredible Surround sound, digital out, wooden speakers, remote control, plug and play, 40 tuner presets and 40 programming CDtracks, clock display function, Dim-function, tape recorder, subwoofer plug. The incredible surround option is a nice feature that gives the impression of surround sound. However I've found that this option is not always that good (depending on the sort of music you play). The RDS-news option interrupts the CD-player or tape recorder when a news transmission is detected and switches to tuner mode. At the end of the bulletin the system switches again to the last resource and resumes its last operation. It's a pity that this option works only once for each activation ! The CD-changer is a little noisy when changing discs but that's common with most CD-changers. Even expensive multiplayers make soms noise when changing discs (however the marantz multiplayers are as far as I now the most silent discchangers available: you hardly hear the discs changing !). The speakers are very well build and give a crisp sound. All in all I'm very satisfied with the MC-50.

If you're looking for a cheap alternative then Mojo is the right choice. I was looking for a MP3 player that was light and small and I didn't want to spend too much on it since I'm hoping to get an iPod soon. All other alternatives I had seen were too expensive to be worthwhile or didn't have a screen. How can you buy an MP3 player in which you don't know what's playing??!!?? this small player has an incredible amount of information, it's incredibly small, includes interesting functions and works with drag and drop like a breeze. Battery life is 12 hours as promised. The cons are basically the headphones (better use your own) and I found the maximun volume a bit low. All in all, it's definetly an excellent choice (you can use it as a pen drive if you get tired of the MP3 functions)

This can play MP3 files at different bit rates. If you rip in 64kbps you can fit almost 4 hours of music. I'm not sure if WMA is a good format, but this one is compatable with that. It's really light! You don't feel it's there.

This is my 2nd flash player. My 1st one (digltal way) was very bad and lasted just 2 months. I just had this for more than 2 months so woopi! it's already outlasting the 1st one.

Gripe: why is this only USB 1? it takes a long time to copy all the music. Should be USB 2!

Ok I wasn't expectin FM on this since this model is inexpensive. It has good sound to boot, and the orange color does attract attention. I just wish it had USB 2 not the older, slower USB 1 technology. Otehrwise I'm a happy user.

I love the concept, but in practice I find that it is not as useful as you'd think. If you are not careful to keep the remote pointed at the 'system' for several seconds after issuing a command all the settings will not be executed. The remote does provide a 'help' function the steps you through the settings to correct the errors. However, this seems to happen so often that I end up using the original remotes anyhow. The remote is also a little too small and I find it difficult to hit all the buttons on the top and the side without dropping it.

Me - the electronics buff (read: technogeek), the wife - loves the convenience of various technologies, but doesn't love the learning curve - fair enough. Me - the troubleshooter using P.O.E. to get to the root of the problem; the wife - mobile phone calls along the line of, "How (...)do you turn on the CD player? I just want to listen to some music!" Also, fair enough.

This remote not only satisfies my technogeek leanings - update and change via the web, preprogramming tasks to prevent messy macros and room for many of the remote devices I have to be fully integrated inany combination, but also allows for dead simple navigation and function, clear and concise instruction as well as help should you get confused or lost.

In addition, it's a one-hander, that is to say, I used to have one of the massive touchscreen Sony remotes, and that was a nightmare. Six batteries, two hands, skipping through various screens...mood killer and time waster. This one is smaller than ANY of the remotes for ANY of the individual components and functions better. Even the TiVo was behaving in an orderly fashion, and the controls were intuitive.

Definitely the move for people who have the nerdish leanings but have a mate that does not share your love of the LEDs, with the flashing, and the blinking, hoybin glabin....

I've owned my share of universal remotes over the years, and in the end none of them have lived up to their promise. My audio/video configuration is "upper end" - a best-of-breed mixture of components from various manufacturers.

Based on reviews I'd seen on this remote, I purchased it from Amazon. Like another reviewer mentioned here, the Amazon price is amazing - don't know how, but makes it all the better.

Finally, with the Harmony, I have found a remote that is truly universal. I have been able to get rid of all other remotes and replace them with one simple, small device.

Basic setup is extremely simple - register and login to the website, enter the make/model of each component, then define the tasks you want to do (eg. watch television, play a video, watch a dvd...). All is done through a series of "Wizards" that prompt you through the process.

If you don't know your make/model number, you can press a few buttons on your existing remote, and let the Harmony figure out what you have.

What makes this remote different? Several things, in my opinion:
1) Task-based menu structure and context-sensitive buttons

Organizes functions into tasks, which consist of the components required, and the actions that will take place. For example, "Watch a DVD" turns on the TV and selects the proper input, turns on the receiver and sets it to DVD mode, turns on the DVD and optionally starts playing.

Each task also defines button activities (for example, which buttons control which component), as well as contexts (eg. control mode vs. menu mode vs. number entry). All very intuitive *** AS LONG AS YOU DOWNLOAD THE USER MANUAL FROM THE HARMONY WEBSITE ***. (The printed manual is way to brief, and doesn't discuss the button functions for each mode.)

You can easily add additional commands for each/any component to a given action (start/stop). And, you can customize menus and buttons.

2) Internet-based setup wizards and remote control learning
You can easily extend the capabilities of the default tasks by learning any additional remote control functions you might want. In this scenario, the web site prompts you through the process, and the Harmony remote reads the remote control commands, storing them on the web site.

3) Internal state variables
Transparent to the user, this allows the remote to remember the various settings a device was in. For example, what input is the TV currently on? Is the receiver on or off? Was a DVD playing or paused?

This provides a significant measure of intelligence to the remote, way beyond what "macros" do. And, if the components get out of sync there is an interactive context-sensitive "Help" button that prompts you through each item (eg. is the TV on? is it displaying the right input? ...) to get things back correctly.

4) XML-based programming for advanced customization
If you have any programming experience, customizing this remote beyond the wizards is a snap. It uses XML tags to embed commands and logic. The Harmony website has a series of detailed documentation on this, although it's not complete in all areas. Tech support for these features is oustanding however, with very quick turnaround to questions.

Support from the manufacturer is outstanding: toll-free phone support, as well as email. They are constantly upgrading their website functionality (unlike another observation here, you can re-run the setup wizards as often as you want). And, they support both Windows and MacOSX!

I have a high end dolby digital sound system hooked up to my computer, including full surround and a sub. The Platinum card was easy to install, had a ton of applications and games included, but did not recreate the 6 channels as well as the Philips Acoustic Edge 5.1 card I've since bought. At [$] less, the Philips card was won time and time again over the Platinum because it recreates the sound more faithfully, and can create 6 channels of audio from everything from MP3's to games. Do yourself a favour pick up the Philips card, get some more ram, and if you miss the platinums remote, which was useless anyways, get a Logitech one from e-Bay. Or spend [ $ ] for the second rate card.

I have been running this card for a year now and I have had no problems. It runs on Windows 98 both editions, ME and XP (i'm using the home edition).If you update to XP you will need to download updated drivers. When I downloaded the newest drivers I had no problems. The one thing I do hate is the software it is all bundled under one package, but when you need to update you have to do so in parts. There is no one time downloadable update that fixes every issue with XP. Which really hurts the value of this card. Creative labs has average tech support it could be better. If I were building a newer machine I would go with a newer card like the Audigy 2. XP users make sure the card you buy is compatible with your operating system. I don't blame Creative for lack of support on this card I blame Microsoft. They should do a better job in supporting popular hardware. I as many before me and many after me have had or will have issues with updating to newer versions of Windows. 4 stars for nothing is perfect.

Has crystal quality sound, adds umph to your speakers, and has lots of ports for whatever you need. But be warned this product is not designed for XPs. It says right when installing the software, that there are compatibility issues with XP. The device for me would keep on going out and I would have to keep on switching between it and my onboard. Finally got rid of it. Can't necessarily use something not configured for your system. But utimately when it did work, it was an icredible piece of hardware. Top of the line quality

Recieved mine last year for Christmas, and at first was completely turned off by the interface of the software that came with it. The software also stopped working somewhere in the middle of the year. I could not place songs on my irock, nor could I remove songs, but the software would connect and let me see the songs. Baffeling really!

However, with a little tinkering I got it working again, and truthfully I don't know what the problem was or how it was fixed in the end. All I know is that the player itself is a handy little gadget, it's affordable, isn't too hard to figure out and works very well. I am happy with the player! I should also note that my niece has the same exact player and has had the same exact problems with the software, but hers works now too.

The software on the other hand... well I'm still TRYING to get along with it. It seems to get buggy everynow and again and can be a pain, but like everything, you have to learn it and learn what works and what doesn't work.

So, in the end, I would recommend this product to anyone looking for an affordable mp3 player that gets the job done.

:)

Not sure the issue some folks have with this unit. I have two of the 128mb internal memory versions along with 128mb viking smc and they work fine. If you want to use a smc card from another gizmo you may have to use the irock wipe utility (different than the format utility) and vice versa. Only drawback is the battery life - definitely get a rechargeable setup.

The software it comes with is amazing, and the best part about the IROCK is that you are able to use Windows Media Player to manage what goes on it. The IROCK software formats the card, and is able to search through your computer for tracks. It is really your choice which you will use to get on your way to listening pleasure. The quailty of sound is shocking, even on lower kps levels.