MP3 Reviews

For the specs of the Panasonic SL-SV550 CD Player souned pretty good, well CD player, plays MP3 formated CD's & AM/FM radio, however it hasnt lived up to what I expected. First time I ever droped the CD player it snaped open breaking the front latch & the back sensor, taped the back sensor down so now it plays CD's but the lid doesnt close so I keep it in a case or put something ontop of it while playing. The sound quality on the headphones isn't good at all, sound doesnt go loud & you can hear everything going on around you. Also some people said the radio reception was great, well it isnt great but it isnt terrible, but I'm leading more towards the bad reception side. One good thing about this CD player is all the features (CD, MP3, AM/FM Radio) and the somewhat long battery life. Also this CD player is very light. In the end, I wouldn't reccomend buying this CD player to anybody else, find something else.

This thing has MP3 playback WMA playback, an AM/FM radio, with 30 preset stations, and it plays CD-R's, RW's, and normal CD's. There is'nt really anything on this CD player that cant be put on it. It is shocking that Panasonic managed to put this one out for such a low price.

Pros:
-Low price for many features
-Can play all kinds of CDs
-Nice volume control
-Bass boost
-Track repeat, album repeat, etc.

Cons:
-VERY confusing controls
-Comes with cheap headphones
-Bass boost is'nt enough
-Can never really get it to be very loud, especially in a plane

Overall, this is a great product for the price, but it really has some improvements that can be made. I like it, I recommend it, but if you are looking for better overall design, check out some iRiver CD players. If you're on a budget, however, it doesn't come any better than this one.

I purchased this CD player several months ago and have had no complaints. It recieves the radio signal clear and strong. I shake it in my hand it won't skip a beat when playing a CD. I even dropped it on the floor several times and it still plays. The last time I dropped it on the floor the parts that keep it closed broke off. I have to keep it closed with tape. But guess what, it still plays like a dream.

I received the RCA Lyra rd1080 as a bday present from my wife and it worked fine for over a year. Last week, the volume control, which many other reviewers are complaining about, broke for no apparent reason. The volume now only works going up and as a result is stuck on 50. It seems like there is something broken as there is no "click" when pressing down. Up until now, I have been reasonably happy with the mp3 player and have even recommended it to others. I use it moderately, usually only hooked up to my car stereo through a cassette deck adapter. However, 1 year is not the lifespan I expect from a very expensive gift - my Sony Walkman (10 years old) is still kicking. I haven't tried calling the service desk, but since the unit is over a year old, I'm not expecting much. Landfills are full of electronic items that have become useless due to one poorly made part. It's disgusting. I'll update this if I get satisfactory results when contacting RCA.

This is a decent product, BUT the volume button feels VERY POORLY designed and 'weak'. True to this feeling, it broke the third time I used it and wouldn't raise the volume. I've since sent it back to RCA for a replacement. [have yet to receive that one] This is not a good weakness to have, as the volume button is likely the most-often used button on such a unit. The other main weakness is the lack of a cover for the memory slot; not a big deal, but not a difficult thing to fix! Another minor gripe is that the battery cover feels a bit flimsy and weak; I'm worried it'll bust someday too.

That being said, overall this MP3 player is well put-together, and EASY to begin using out of the box; even ships with a 'demo MP3' file on it! [nothing good, but it _is_ there] I was able to open the 'box', plug it into my computer & begin transferring files with no software installation nor opening of manuals.

This product would be SUPERB if they just spent a little extra effort on it's construction and solved the problems noted above.

I bought this machine a month ago at Radio Shack

Positive:

No need to use bundled software that many reviewers have complained about. Just plug in the USB cord and it pops up on your computer as another drive. Drag and drop the MP3 or WMA files you want, it will play both types without any intervention for the user.

This is my third MP3 (and WMA) player and the one with the best sound so far.

Many reviews complain about a belt-clip, my model did not come with a belt clip, it came with a very clever elastic arm band that holds it perfectly on your upper arm. I have used it 2-3 times a week at the gym and it is so much nicer than all the other Walkmans (yes I am old, the tape type) and CD players I have hauled to the gym.

Very good value for money.

Negative

The headphones are comfortable, but you can improve sound quality with better headset.

The radio is a nice feature with impressive auto search and memory for many stations, but all that does not matter because the receiver is so poor that most channels give you terrible static noice that ruins the experience.

All in all I am very pleased. The additional memory slot came in very handy as I had an old MMC 128 meg card laying around from an old digital camera. Just fill it with music, pop it in, and voila - you have 256 meg or in my case 61 songs to enjoy.

Good value, buttons and interface easy to use, I have not (yet) had any problems with the volume getting stuck on maximum as some people have reported.

Have fun.

The iPaq 1945, with "Mobile Windows 2003," is an updated version of the landmark 1910 model. The 1910 model was significant in the history of Pocket PCs because it was small and stylish, a first in the PPC world. Unfortunately, the cool factor of the 1910 wore off pretty quickly; I initially loved my 1910 and gave it 5 stars. After two weeks I started getting frequent crashes, and the unit was very slippery and quite uncomfortable to hold, and HP didn't even both to include a case!
The 1945 introduced some new additions, but has one big huge drawback: it uses a Korean-made Sumsung CPU, which implements the ARM architecture at a low speed and also a low cost (to HP, that is). The CPU is reported to generate more heat than Intel offerings, and personally I don't trust a company that makes DVD players that don't last more than 6 months. Anyway, the 1945 is not even that cheap. A faster and better built Zire 71 with more features is cheaper, and since Palm can do videos and music these days, the incentive to get such a half-baked product like the 1945 is pretty small.

Also, even though 64MB of RAM is included, you can still only access about 46MB of it. In my 1910 experience this is actually adequate, unless you want to install Microsoft Reader, Pocket Streets, Money, and other software. PPC software titles tend to be huge (think "bloatware"), so I think going forward if you are buying a PPC, be sure to get at least 64MB of *useable* RAM. Check out Toshiba's e750/e755 offering, which as 96MB of RAM, 32 of which is non-versatile, meaning the content stays on even when the battery completely dies. (The e75x also has wi-fi.)

In terms of additions, the 1945 offers Bluetooth -- but nobody I know uses BT so most of you potential buyers would be paying for something you'll never use (kinda like the mic feature on all the PPCs I've owned...) -- and also SDIO compatibility, something sorely missing in the 1910. A few manufacturers including Toshiba, Sandisk, Lexar, etc. are coming out with SD wi-fi cards (finally), so at least the 1945 can potentially use them. BUT... wi-fi is a battery killer, and the 1945 uses a small-capacity battery. My prediction is on a full charge and at level 2 brightness (out of 5), if you have the wi-fi on, the 1945 won't last for more than 30 minutes. Also note that you cannot use a wi-fi card and SD memory expansion at the same time as the 1945 only has one slot. So a few extra bucks, you'd be much, much better off with a Toshiba e75x model, which has both SD and CompactFlash expansion slots (and built-in 802.11b wi-fi).

While the 1945 is still stylish and kind of "cool," you must keep in mind that its slippery metal surface makes it hard to hold or take out of the case. The application buttons are also stiff. I test-drove a 1945 in a local computer store and was totally unimpressed since none of the complaints I had was addressed at all, including the small and awkward stylus.

Even though I still use my 1910 as my primary PDA, I'm looking to replace it completely (maybe with a Palm, after all these years?), both as a result of disatisfaction with the hardware and some frustrations over the software (no "tap-and-write" calendar appointments, all-too-frequent problems with ActiveSync, constant soft resets, etc, etc.). So my finally thought is, get a Palm if you want something simple and reliable, and if you want a PPC, stay away from this underpowered, ergonomically incorrect 1945 and get a Toshiba e755 instead.

The iPAQ 1945, also sold as the iPAQ 1940, is the first in a line of planned successors to the iPAQ 1910. HP has addressed many of the concerns that 1910 users had, namely that the 1910 was too slow and lacked hardware expansion options. The 1945 is powered by a new 266MHz processor from Samsung which rivals, and sometimes surpasses, the usable speed of many XScale chips from Intel. Other features of the iPAQ 1945 include 64MB of RAM (56MB of which are user accessible), a crisp, bright transflective color screen, onboard Bluetooth wireless, and a Secure Digital slot which can use SD flash memory cards and SDIO peripherals such as 802.11b WLAN cards.

Windows Mobile 2003 for Pocket PC replaced Pocket PC 2002 as the most current Pocket PC OS in June 2003 and comes installed on the 1945. While the version of Windows Mobile 2003 pre-installed on the iPAQ lacks a few minor applications (such as Microsoft Reader), each can be downloaded for free. Because HP left the choice to the end-user, the iPAQ File Store - unused space on the ROM - has over 13MB free for software, files, etc.

As I mentioned before, the Samsung processor keeps the 1945 moving along very well. Having recently used an iPAQ 5450 (400Mhz PXA250 XScale), a Toshiba e755 (400MHz PXA255 XScale) and a Toshiba e355 (300MHz PXA255 XScale), I can say that, from a casual use point-of-view, the iPAQ 1945 surpasses the speed of the iPAQ 5450 and Toshiba e355 and feels basically on level with the Toshiba e755. One of the touted benefits of the Samsung processor is long battery life, and while I didn't get the eight hours that HP suggested I might, I got almost seven hours use out of the 1945 with the backlight on its lowest setting before I had to recharge; a very good result.

There is only one real drawback to the iPAQ 1945, as I see it, and it's relatively minor and completely fixable: the 1945 ships with only a USB Sync cable, not a cradle. While some might actually prefer this, I miss not having a cradle to rest the iPAQ in while it's not in use. The good news here is that there is a cradle available (the same cradle that works with the iPAQ 1910), and you can purchase if you want it.

All-in-all, the iPAQ 1945 is an amazing addition to the Pocket PC family. If you like small, light PDAs with oomph, the 1945 might be right up your alley.

The Pros
Value- The HP 1945's price is hard to beat for the quality and features. With integrated Bluetooth, a 266Mhz CPU, 64MB RAM, 32MB ROM, and up to 14MB for the IPaq File Store; the HP 1945 is the best bang for the buck!

Size- This PDA is tiny, but still has a decent size screen at 3.5". It is very slim and even with a case, it is still smaller than most of the others on the market.

Performance- The HP 1945's performance is actually quite shocking. It outperforms all slower processor PDA's and outperforms several with faster processors. It opens all applications fast, and data transfer is smooth and error free.

Screen- The screen is bright and brilliant. Colors are beautifully displayed with video and pictures looking crystal clear.

Bluetooth- The integrated Bluetooth in a PDA under $300 is awesome. I use the Bluetooth to surf the web and check my email from my couch. I have had no problems syncing or with data transfers. This is a great feature, and I am now going to start buying more Bluetooth peripherals because of the ease of use.

Software- I love Windows Mobile 2003 for Pocket PC. It is seemlessly integrated with other Microsoft apps like Word, Outlook, Excel, and Powerpoint. This makes life alot easier for me. Another thing I like is using the Microsoft Theme editor to make my own customized desktops (Today screens). Finally, software plus is the availability of some great PocketPC freeware []

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Audio- The MP3 playback is very nice, and the speakers sound good. I have seen some complaints about the headphone jack adaptor, but I don't see it as a big issue. They had to make the jack smaller to keep the PDA as slim as possible. The voice recorder is a great feature that allows you to instantly make voice recordings with just one click.

The Cons-
No Commercial Grade IR - To make your PDA into a Remote Control. No biggie, but that would have been a nice feature.
Small center button - Makes games a bit difficult (but who really plays games, right?)
Documentation - The PDA manual is weak, and I had to search the web to figure out how to use some of the functions.

Conclusion -
If you are shopping for a PDA at a great price that is packed with features and performance, look no further than the HP 1945. It has features that are comparable to PDA's priced at $400, while it is priced under $300! This is a top-notch PDA!

Add me to the large list of angry customers. One year and 2 months later and this unit is going in the garbage. Thanks Panasonic for your H07 piece of crap!

Other than the fact that it died after one year it was a pretty good machine. But the price and features don't matter much if it is just a big smoking heap of garbage.

I've been looking for a long time for player that would be versatile, cheap and come from respectable manufacturer.
Finally my search was over.
This new player from Panasonic has a very clean and easy to navigate menus, good features for DVD playback. A lot of functions have been coded into dedicated buttons on remote so you don't have to invoke menu if all you want to do, let's say is to review the last several seconds of a scene that interested you.
The functionality that really won me over was playback of MP3 and WMA files coming from brand new hardware decoding chip. You can say that a lot of modern day DVD Players can play MP3 files. But what about usability? Most of these players won't let you navigate files in tree-like structure and those that do usually crop file names to the first 8 characters, leaving you to guess what could '001. Fl~.mp3' mean. This player displayes up to 41 characters of the file name and presents it in a very nice interface where you can easily navigate between folders and choose the track that you really want. It's such a pleasure to use that I forgot when was the last time I fired up my PC to listen to some track. If you own the receiver, then Optical Digital output will make sure that these sounds will get to your ears unaletred. As for the DVD picture quality, it is great on my 36'' TV with provided component video Outs.
As any other player it is not perfect. Some of the things that you may want but are not in this player:
- no progressive support;
- no mp3 playlist support;
- only Region 1 decoding and only NTSC (too bad if you own DVD movies from Europe or Asia)
But for the price this unit is selling I can afford to buy it now and then replace it in a couple of years with much more modern player without breaking the bank.

I've owned a few Archos products, and I still use the slim 20GB portable hard disk on a daily basis. But I cannot recommend Archos products, because, two years after they started selling here stateside, their quality control and customer support are still very, very poor.

While not a looker, the Jukebox Multimedia looks good on paper, with MPEG4/DiVX support (although you need to convert the files, a tedious process) and expandability. As you can tell from the picture it's quite bulky. What's interesting is, it's actually smaller than it looks, but heavier, too, the exact opposite of the RCA RD2840 40GB Personal Jukebox, which I recommend for its 40GB capacity, great price point, and good quality. I cannot recommend the Archos at all, read on.

First, the screen on this thing is really small. Tiny! Don't expect to watch video more than a couple times. Once the novelty factor wears off -- and it'll only take a few minutes -- you'll want to shun watching anything on the small screen, even JPEG pictures. (Sorry, Larry, no carry-anywhere porn viewer for you yet.) There are no details on the videos and pictures, and the LCD screen eats battery fast, very fast.

Second, Archos really, really, really needs to improve their quality. I bought my first unit on a Saturday, it broke the next day, I took it back for an exchange, then by Tuesday the second one would not turn on. I went back for another exchange, but the very next day the third unit developed a heavy vibration midway through a song. That's it, I returned the unit to store for a full refund.

All this time, I did not bother to call Archos tech support, because from my past experience I knew them to be rather useless. With my compact hard disk, for example, it came with an instruction sheet that had whole sections missing! When I contacted tech support, they asked me to refer to the missing information on the sheet! You should take a look at the support section of their website, and you'll see they are not very serious about keeping their customers happy. (Archos is a French company, FYI.) If their products were reliable this could be forgiven. But unfortunately the products are not high-quality at all.

So I think if you buy this product you are basically playing with Russian roulette. You might get a reliable unit; my Archos hard drive and one previous Studio jukebox work fine. But, then, if you take my advice and check out the RCA 40GB Jukebox, I think you'll save yourself lots of frustration over a not-cheap purchase.

I've owned an Archos Jukebox Multimedia 20GB now for about a month, and appreciate it more and more as time goes on.
The positives:
* For what it is, and compared with other MP3 players, this is a wonderfully versatile gadget.
* Great sound, especially with Sony MDRV300 headphones
* Very easy to download and organize MP3 files
* Makes a great portable hard drive
* With camera, takes reasonable photos and videos of brightly-lit scenes
* Internal microphone makes for a very inobtrusive digital sound recorder
* With the SmartMedia adapter, provides pocket-storage for digital camera photos without requiring the use of a host PC
* Rubber corner bumpers do an effective job of shielding unit from damage

However, there are some negatives:
* Peculiar construction and packaging is not as polished as Zen or iPod - lots of tabs, poorly finished holes, and flaps.
* Playback skips or stops when exercising vigorously and the Archos is belt-mounted
* Camera module is not "fast" enough to capture moderate- or low-light scenes
* Internal microphone picks up internal hard-drive noise
* Audio-In does not adequately pre-amplify some external microphones
* Battery life is not fabulous, though OK with LCD off.
* Some gaps in supplied software, particularly for DVD capture and conversion to displayable format on internal LCD
* Occasional "hangs" when using USB 1.1 cable; far fewer experienced when using available USB2 / Firewire cable.
* Sound suffers when connected to a component system, etc., using supplied audio/video cable

I bought this product specifically to drive almost cross-country. It was a perfect device for this. I was able to share photos and home videos with relatives I had not seen in a long time. I was able to listen to the 2000+ songs in my digital library during the drive. I could store my resume for job interviews and plug the device into nearly any computer and it was recognized as an external hard drive. Perfect, right?
Almost. TOUCHING the device when not connected to a power supply killed it after less than 2 hours. It was better NOT TO FOWARD a song I was not in the mood for, but to just let it play. TOUCHING the device would mean that until it was powered up again, it was useless. Wish I had known that before a 24 hour drive, of course. But, at the worst, it is a completely recognizable external hard drive for space. At best, it is a fully functional multimedia device with many, many quirks.

I work for a company that bought 40 of these for an art installation. ALL 40 have needed to be replaced within 2 months of use. Yes, this may be cheap, but it is a waste of $, because it WILL break and need replacing. Don't buy it!!!

I just purchased and received a Koss DVP2161 to use in our travel trailer. Thought it would be a great addition to our AC/DC TV/VCR and the size of the unit was perfect for the limitted space we have. It can also be run off of a 12 cigarette plug adaptor (not included) which is nice when your boondocking without AC power.<br /> Upon opening the package my first impression was Wow! This is a really nice little unit and the remote is full-featured too. Unfortunately after setting it up and trying to play any of the four different brands of DVD-R's I've used to backup my original DVD collection with, (supposedly the most compatable recordable DVD media format)it will not play any! I tried about 20 and all I get is a No Disc notification. It should say No Dice. It will play any of my originals without a glitch, but the idea of using my archive discs on dusty camping trips isn't an option. This is really a let down and the unit is already repackaged and being returned for a refund. I've heard of similar problems with a couple other brands of compact AC/DC players like this one also, so I guess we'll just go without until someone out there decides to make one that's reliable and it gets all Good Reviews.

I bought this player about three months ago, and here's my experience with this unit.

-Design: 4/5. The unit is sharp-looking, with a nice silver chrome finish that's pretty durable. I have the purple "hip hues" version and despite its toy-like appearance it stands up pretty well to wear and tear, and the "psychedelic" look is unique. A point off for the lack of functions on the unit itself; it's pretty much play, stop, a/b view, fast forward and reverse. Everything else is on the remote, which could have matched the look of the unit a bit more.

-Portability: 5/5. Small, sleek and easy to transport. Great if you want a unit that you can easily move from room to room, bring to a friend's place, or, of course, for traveling. Setup with the audio/video outputs (or s-video) is a snap for the majority of televisions and adapters are easy to find for monitors without a/v inputs.

-Picture Quality / Sound: 4/5. Despite some limitations with Dolby 5/1 and surround sound (this won't give you the same bang in that area as most standard-sized players) the stereo audio is excellent on this unit. My dvd of "Showgirls" played with Cristal-clear sound ;), and Ditto for its mp3 playback, which comes with a nice onscreen display which lays out any folder structures your pc or mac creates on the cd-rom. More good news: the picture quality is superb, as good as any full-sized unit. Color and definition are outstanding. I hooked this up to a 27-inch monitor and played a DVD of "Last Tango in Paris" and it looked as good as on a full-sized Sony DVD deck which was connected to the same tv.

-Performance: 2/5. And now the bad news...the majority of disks should play on this deck. However, the sad truth is that this unit will reject a good number of DVDs. I've been able to play about 90% of DVDs on this deck. Another 5% had problems with skipping or, most aggravatingly, picture freezing. The other 5% won't run at all on this deck, not even registering a DVD menu. The motor will turn, the player will struggle to register with the material, and after a couple of attempts the unit gives up. This player seems to play single-layer DVDs very well, which don't offer a lot of special features (i.e. only a trailer, a couple of stills). I tried to play my Criterion copy of "In the Mood for Love" which is packed with a fully rendered menu and special features; it was a disaster, the player couldn't even register the DVD menu. A rental copy of John Carpenter's "The Thing" which didn't have any noticeable scratches only played about fifteen minutes of the film, then froze. Another DVD which had a small scratch froze in the last five minutes and would only continue if I skipped ahead to the next chapter. On the upside, the majority of disks I've tried on this player have played acceptably, with only occasional problems (see below). It's just sad that the temperamental nature of this unit would generate more suspense in keeping you wondering if it will make it through a whole movie than anything in the actual film you are watching.

-Engineering: 1/5. It's amazing that this thing made it through product testing, if that was even performed on this model. As others have mentioned, one of the major reasons this player malfunctions so much is that it doesn't have proper ventilation. It overheats, so after 1.5 to 2 hours of play (if not sooner) the picture will begin freezing and skipping. If you are watching a disk of television shows in half-and one-hour chunks, that might be fine, but curling up with three hours of "Apocalypse Now Redux"? Not too darn likely. And if your DVD is loaded with special features, the demands placed on this little cutie will cut your viewing time even further. All the special features - slow mo, step frame, a/b view, chapter search - work as they should (although you can only access most of them on the remote, so don't forget that if you plan on traveling with this player). Overall, the player's tendency to overheat renders it unacceptable for all but the lightest applications. Considering the possibilities of DVDs, that's a huge liability. Also, the remote's buttons are tiny and take some extra pressure to activate---and compared to my other vcr/satellite dish remotes, its lack of range is annoying. Basically you have to aim it directly at the unit, since it seems to have problems when used at angles.

-Suggestions: as others have mentioned, the ac adapter packed with the unit is really bad. Replace it with a compatible adapter from Target or Radio Shack and performance will improve. Some users have mentioned cutting a hole and installing a small fan---for the mechanically uninclined like me, this is not an option. The ac adapter heats up if it's plugged into the socket even when the unit's off, so unplugging the AC adapter from the socket between uses greatly improves performance. Also, setting the unit on top of a well-ventilated area helps, especially if air can pass under the bottom.

Overall, it's a commendable attempt by Koss to produce a small, portable DVD player for multiple purposes and situations. Had the design/engineering team resolved the player's basic problems - overheating, incompatibility with some high-performance DVD software, and erratic performance with even basic functions - this would have been a winner. Too bad. It could've been a contender.

Seems no one has figured out that with the Nomad Explorer program you _can_ drag and drop songs into your player very easily. You can even use Explorer to directly edit ID3 tags on your Nomad. I have never even used Creative Mediasource to manage my tunes -- the Explorer is literally all you need if you already have CD-ripping capabilities.

It's a good player -- the interface is surprisingly easy to use and the music is great-sounding (throw away the earbuds that come with the player). Battery life is not as long as I had expected (something closer to 10 hours), but it is probably because all my mp3's are at least 192k encoded for high quality. Sure, it's not as sexy as the iPod, but it sure is a heck of a lot more cost-effective.
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It's now June, nearly 7 months since my initial purchase of this item. It has served me well with continued quality and reliability, and I love the way I can carry my entire CD+ collection easily and at all times. My uses of it are rather pedestrian -- it mostly sits in one spot as I listen to it while on-call -- but I have yet to have a major issue with it. Looking back at all the negative reviews that have cropped up in the interim, I keep waiting with trepidation for something to go wrong, but so far, so good. My only complaint is that with 60GB of memory, my CD-purchases have gone through the roof!

First of all, I want to address all of the complaints about the software. Yes, the media source software is not that great, however if you look a little more closely in your "My Computer" window, you will notice a new Icon called "Nomad Explorer."

Nomad Explorer is the drag-and-drop feature that everyone seems to be looking for. This is fully integrated with Windows Explorer, and it is already included! This is the only way that I have been transferring music. It is very easy to transfer files, and also makes it easy to fine tune your ID3 tags by right clicking on whole groups of files to easily adjust genre, artist name, or album name.

For the price and the storage capacity, the Zen Xtra is an amazing product. I have a large collection of live shows that I wanted to be able to keep at a high quality bit rate and take where ever I go. 60 GB lets me do that.

The only complaints that I have so far are that you need the disc to install the device on another computer. I'd like to be able to plug it in to any computer and have it ready to transfer files, especially as a data storage drive. I also replaced the earphones. I would like it to support lossless files such as flac and shn. I am hoping this can be added with a firmware upgrade in the future (you can easily upgrade via their website).

I would absolutely recommend the Zen Xtra to anyone interested in a great jukebox with a huge hard drive, great sound, and low price.

If your tyring to compare this or an ipod, defintally go for this, It can hold up to more songs than you know, great features, great quality and long lasting battery.

This set of headphones were bad right out of the box..I have co-worker/friends that have purchased the same product ( refurbished by the same company ) and most have failed to work properly within 2 to 5 days..problems like ( canceling feature doesn't work at all..Humming noise..or bad sound quality ) I wouldn't waste my time or money sending product back to this company..as they can't fix them right the first time..(...)..

Excellent noise-cancelling, where the noise is mostly bass and all-pervading (e.g. inside a plane in flight, or near to rumbling air-conditioning).

It's not so good at supressing high frequencies (inevitably, 'cos of the laws of physics), so the job I wanted it to do - blocking out other people's voices when I'm trying to concentrate in the office - is beyond it's abilities, sadly. It makes the voices quieter, but it makes the rumbing air-conditioning and other background stuff quieter still, so the voices actually become more obvious, especially if the person talking is within 6 feet of you.

Also, I find the rigid plastic head band tries to squeeze my head while I'm wearing the thing, but maybe that's just 'cos I have a big head! =:o} The weight and bulk of the battery on one side of the headband makes them a bit lop-sided. I'd prefer to see the electronics built into the cable, rather than weighing down the headpiece istelf.

They're certainly the most affordable noise-cancelling headphones I've found anywhere, and do a great job or reproducing whatever music you're playing through them, and thus they're good value if, like me, you're not quite sure it's worth shelling out a fortune on an experimental idea: At least if the noise-cancellation doesn't do the trick for you, you'll still have a decent pair of headphones for occasional use! =:o}

If you're searching for a way to hear music on your daily commute to work, on an airplane, or on a trip, than look no more. Produced by the creative minds at Aiwa, the "HP-CN5 Noise Canceling Headphones" are the perfect piece of technology to have around.

Utilizing noise-cancellation technology, these headphones block all sources of outdoor noise and interference such as an airplane engine, a car motor, or screeching rails when listening to your portable radio/compact disc player. I first had the experience of using noise-cancellation headphones on a flight in 2000, and have always loved the quality of sound they have given me. Many companies, such as Sony and Bose have also produced their own versions of these ingenious headphones, however if price is a matter to you, than I would stick with Aiwa's version (Sony and Bose have priced their headphones over $100).

While these headphones are great because they can easily fit into your bag, purse, briefcase and come with leather case, there are negative aspects to them. The fact that the cord is too short doesn't help me when I want to use these headphones when jogging or working out on a treadmill. Also if exposed to plenty of wear and tear, the headphones tend to break easier than traditional headphones. However, compared to their headphones, I wouldn't trade these for ones that will not give you the same quality of sound as Aiwa.

In conclusion, these are great headphones to have period. Aiwa has produced another winning product in their long line of audio products.

I bought this to use an ipod in the car. I live in the fifth largest market in the country (Dallas-Fort Worth) and the only station that consistently gives a signal without crosstalk from other stations is the very first one - 87.9. So the one positive is that it does actually work.

There are lots of negatives:

The setup is difficult. The Griffin web site tells you that you need to manually install the station 'song' files if using itunes. Once you have them synced to your ipod, then you play just the first half of the station 'song' you want, then press pause. If you pause to early or late, too bad - it doesn't work.

The signal is very weak. On accustic songs, I often hear an irritating *splat* sound whenever the performer sings a long 's' sound. This is no matter what the sound level is set to. Static and signal loss are common.

The battery life is a killer. On a recent road trip, we got just under 4 hours of playing time before the battery died.

It's cheaper than getting custom inputs installed in the dash, but I don't think its much better than a cassette adaptor.

Well I had a Bad iTrip. The thing was a knobathon to get going in the car while driving (and that was with my CoPilot) and when i 'luckily' found a station almost by accident, it sounded terrible. Like an MP3 thru an FM channel or an FM station thru a tin can.

it has been returned - up for auction it goes.
(++ on the plus side the design and concept were way too cool - it hooked me. It might take 2-5 years to perfect the technology maybe then i'll try again...but for now it definitely sucks.)

I bought this product in June 2004. I have a second generation ipod and was looking for a way to connect it to my car stereo. My brother had suggested sending RCA cables up behind the dash into the auxiliary input of the stereo. This sounded like it would be a pain, though, so I thought I'd give Griffin Technologies' ITrip a chance. When I received the item, I was delighted to find that the sound quality was actually quite good. I had read some people giving it poor ratings due to sound quality. Maybe it's because the city I live in (St. Louis) isn't packed from one end of the dial to the other with FM stations. Maybe it's because of the radio I was transmitting the signal to. Whatever the case, I found the item to be very nice. It comes with some software which is easily installed. You just put the cd in and it automatically adds an FM "playlist" for each frequency on the dial (every other .1 KHz, i.e. 89.7, 89.9, 90.1, etc.) to your music program (for me it was MusicMatch Jukebox, I'm sure it does the same for ITunes or WinAmp). As soon all the station playlists have been added to the program, one simply needs to connect the Ipod to the computer to synchronize it with the computer, and then you're ready to go! It took me a matter of minutes to figure out how to use it. All you do is connect it to the top of the Ipod unit via the headphone jack, a little blue light comes on, and then you go into "playlists," choose a frequency, then press pause. This sets the ITrip to transmit to that particular frequency. If you want to try a different one, you simply go back to your ITrip playlist, choose another, and press pause. The blue light flashes several times once the chosen frequency has been locked. I chose 101.7, which is in between two large stations in St. Louis...101.1 and 102.5. I figured that frequency would have a fairly large buffer between it and either one of the high strength stations adjacent to it and thus a clear signal. I was right, and the sound quality was really good! The most important thing I found was positioning of the unit. I think it has to be positioned a certain way for best sound quality. The Ipod volume also has to be at an optimum setting for the best sound quality. Most of the volume control is done through the radio volume control anyways, not through the Ipod. Also nice is the fact that the unit does not require batteries! All in all, this is a great little item if you plan on taking your Ipod with you on the go. The only thing I'm not sure of is taking it on long roadtrips. It might require changing the ITrip's frequency many times because while a particular frequency may be unoccupied in one part of the country, it may house a very strong signal conglomerate radio station in another part. Regardless, I'd strongly recommend the item to anyone interested. It's affordable and it does its job as advertised.

What is wrong with this player:

The volume control knob is messed up, right channel comes on before left.

Line-Out refuses to work

No remote, and it would be easy to put one in

This player feels like it's going to split in two.

$.01 per unit and the screen could be back-lit

Navigating your songs is next to impossible if they are not in folders, and it only plays
in the order they were burned (leading zeros are required)

High bit-rate (160kbps) reduces the anti-skip to around 50 seconds, down from 120.

If it's moving when it gets more MP3 data, it will skip and pop (loudly)

Adjustable EQ is a bass boost switch, sounds like you're listening through a blanket

Eats batteries as a light snack, no matter the type

Good luck with tech support, it's outsourced to India, they have thick accents and are clueless, and the number is a long-distance call!

Do not buy this player!

OK, a few things that the description for the SP50 lies about:
1. The display is not backlit.
2. You can not add a remote.
3. There is no EQ.
4. It does not come with burning software, but you can use anything that can burn a MP3 CD (most any good burning software).

That aside, this is a good, cheap player. Navigation is a little sketchy, you have to select a track in a folder to jump to that folder, but the manual doesn't tell you this. The CD comes to a complete stop during MP3 playback, and spins back up every 120 seconds to save batteries. If it's not spinning, you have to wait about 3 seconds for it to spin up and get data. Most players do this, even the iPod does it (it has a hard drive so it kind of has to). Throw away the included earbuds, they [are poor quality], which is typical.

If you need a cheap player that you don't care if it gets dropped/smashed/soaked in napalm and set ablaze, and can play MP3's, get this player. It even comes wih batteries.

Although there are many negative reviews here, my player doesn't have any of the problems that the others have. It does everything it says on the box and overall it is a great MP3 player for the price that it is offered at.

THe first thing you do before you even purchase it is to look for some moderately good headphones. Anything will be better than the earbuds that come with it. The batteries that come with the SP50 do not have good battery life. They don't last nearly as long as what it says on the packaging. After I went through the included batteries (Only took about 3 hours, with extensive searching and messing around with the buttons to learn it), I popped in some new batteries and they have lasted over 6 hours, and are still going strong. It DOES read ID3 tags - Just that when you first start the song, the file name of the song shows, and then the Title, Artist, and Album, as well as the kHz and bitrate. All of my MP3's on CD-R discs have played without any errors, although it shuts down by itself sometimes (May be user error, I might have accidentally held the stop button down or something, but it has happened 3 times now).
The playlist feature is a pain to configure, so I don't reccomend that you use it. Instead, use the RND mode. If you have the songs on any mode, once you stop and start it again, you will have to set the mode again, and in my opinion, it is a real pain because RND is literally on the bottom of the list.
Although it has its faults, the SP50 does provide great sound quality. With the bass boost on, the sound is incredible, even on very high volumes. Those reports of distorted sound at high volumes, the sound quality is excellent with my Sony MDR-G52 headphones. The lock feature was a nice addition that is usually found on higher, more expensive models. The extra line out plug is an added bonus, though the bass boost function doesn't apply to it. It is quite slow when it comes to starting or switching between songs, and it is noticeable to other people and yourself if it is quiet. The ESP works great.
Overall I think that this is a good entry-level player with enough functions for it's low price. I highly suggest that you buy the SP50 for your playback needs. By the way, I bought this "fully working" version (It doesn't have the problems that the other people have) at Best Buy.