Rating: 
Summary: Solid, heavy, does what it should,
Review: First off, if your buddy has an Ipod and you want to be cool like him/her then look elsewhere. The Archos is nearly twice as heavy, twice as thick and is a bit of an ugly duckling next to the Ipod.With that said, it should also be mentioned that the Archos battery life is twice as long and you can get the same size capacity HD for less then half the price of the Ipod. I have heard complaints about Archos quality, but I know plenty of people that have had theres for 2 years with out a bit of trouble. I have only had mine a few days, so I can not say how long term reliability is, but I will say that this unit is well constructed, although not the most ergonomic. Very important is to replace the Archos OS with the free Rockbox OS. Just do a search and you will find it. Simply install the Rockbox OS to the HD like you would a song folder and the Archos will recognize it. With Rockbox installed, the Archos is very customizeable and the sound quality is superior to most postable MP3 players. I would suggest this player to anyone who will pimarily use it in their car, sitting in their favorite chair, or hooked up to a Stereo system. I would not recomend this player to someone who plans on using it in "active" situations. Not that I feel the quality is not up to par, but because of the bulk. At a higher price I would rate this unit as a 4 becuase the buttons feel a slightly cheap and the weight and size is above average. for the price it is 5 for 5! UPDATE FEB 3, 2003
The more I use it the more I like it! Flashing rockbox to the Archos Rom decreases system turn on from about 12 seconds to 3 seconds. I really like the build quality and I have changed my mind about the buttons being "cheap". I think everything has a real solid feel and I think it is a great player. It is still bulky of course, but that is a tradeoff I am willing to take for the price. I would not except low quality and I have not had to with this player. GREAT!
Rating:
Summary: BLOWS AWAY MY PORTABLE CD/MP3 PLAYER...
Review: I have had my unit now for a couple days (V2).
My input... What a deal... Where do I start? I used to use a Sony mp3/cd player. I would burn cds and listen to them. This unit blows my previous mp3 experience away. So clean, fast and compact. No need for an EQ. I am an EQ freak. Not here. It sounds amazing. Clean crisp sharp bass and tight treble. I am an audiofile and a bit specific at times. This unit just has amazing sound. If you still need options, it does have bass, treble, bass boost, and loudness controls. Used the Rockbox software! DO NOT USE ARCHOS SOFTWARE. Very confusing and backwards. Unit is very solid and has EXCELLENT battery use comsumption. The ipod feels a delicate and I would worry about damage. I have a job where I can listen most of the day. I just charge it at the end of every other day. I have maxed out the 20 gig drive with several thousand songs with 500 mgs left of free space. The drive is full!!! ALL my songs are at 320 bit rate!!! No delay, No skipping, No jumping...even when I went running. Buffering excellent with Rockbox software. Can ipod say that?? I use Sony in-ear headphones not ear buds. Perfect!!!The phones that came with are not that good. My friends with ipods at work love the way this thing records and sounds. Recording is clean. Their ipods are smaller, state of the art, and VERY EXPENSIVE. I got this for ... sub ... rebate. ... out the door... with recording abilities added for free. I dont have the fear of dropping or losing a ...music player. That is a lot of money to lose just because I dropped my unit off a table. I am very happy with my purchase. Thank you.
Rating: 
Summary: Proceed with caution
Review: The bad - poor quality control and build quality (especially solder joints) on most Archos units, the included software is inefficient and ackward, poor tech support from manufacturer
The good - you won't even get close to 20 GB for this price with any other unit, huge active user support base out there (check out Archos_devices, archos, archosjukebox6000 at Yahoo Groups), great freeware OS (Rockbox), easily replacable NiMH AA batteries
In summary... if you're comfortable with computers & technology and maybe even don't mind poking around in electronics, this unit can be a great value. If things breaking scares you and you don't know what an OS is, the iPod is made just for you.
Rating:
Summary: Works on Linux too!!!
Review: Great player. A little bulky, but Simple to operate. Certainly not designed with Jogging in mind... or any exercise that involves rapid movement. Like most Computer products these days, the Archos ships with Windows-only / Mac software. Here is the quote from Amazon.com: "Compatible with 98SE, Me, 2000, XP, or Mac OS 9.2 or X". But, did you know you can simply connect this player to a USB port & use as an external Hard Drive? Didn't think so. Unlike most MP3 players on the market today (iP0d included), this Archos version allows you to simply drag-n-drop your music folders, files, etc. What does this mean? First and foremost, Simplicity. No software to imped or derange your well organized music files / lists. I can't speak for everyone, but I hate when an piece of software thinks it knows what I want (a certain software company in upper Washington State comes to mind). You don't have some software trying to tell you how your music should be organized. Didn't know that either, did you? Well if you did, then you probably already have another brand and have to live with such pains. Hey, I am using Linux so living with complexity comes natural. Buy it and download the Rockbox firmware. Just google for the site "rockbox.haxx.se". It really make this player the best.... and improves recording fidelity. Oh, another thing - I own the first version of the Archos 20GB, but don't let that bother you. These jewels are virtually identical internally. Recommended Accessory:
Archos Stereo Microphone, which I purchased here on Amazon.com. Why do you need this? Well, the internal mic stinks. Not literally, but it does pick up the Hard Disk's noise of spinning up to save data. Annoying if you want to keep the recording for enjoying later. Best of luck!
Rating:
Summary: MP3 Player/Recorder designed for Me!
Review: I have had mine for just over a week now and I absolutely love it. It was designed for me because I am a computer power user, music lover, and electronics technician by trade. The Archos lends itself to numerous upgrades to improve performance - caution, your warranty will be voided. Do a web search for Archos upgrades and see what you find. This device allows me to load MP3 files onto it using a the standard Windows explorer interface via USB cable. It also has a self-contained MP3 encoder that will encode VBR MP3 format ON-THE-FLY! WOW! It is not just a voice quality recorder either - it will record in VBR up to 160 kbps - 48Khz average sample rate. Plenty good for CD-quality (or better) recording. It is compact enough to carry in a pants pocket. Might be a bit heavy for carrying in a shirt for any length of time, but who cares? The device user interface can be readily mastered for anyone who has had any experience working with DOS on older PCs and is intuitive enough that newbies can pick it up easily enough. The batteries are rechargable AA-type and should be replaceable by anyone with a smidgen of technical ability. The hard drive is likewise replaceable with any similar sized 2.5 inch notebook-style drive. I have seen them advertised at 80 Gig for about $165. This requires a bit more technical expertise, but is readily do-able by anyone with moderate experience in electronics. Comes with an AC adapter/charger, Line-in SPDIF/analog cable with red and white analog phono plugs plus a yellow phono plug for coax digital connection, USB interface cable, batteries installed, 20GB hard drive, instruction manual and quickstart guide. The best thing about the device is that it requires me to load/learn NO new software on my computer and is completely usable without ever being connected to a PC. The only unknown is its longevity. Since I haven't had it very long, I can't say how long it will last, but it seems sturdily constructed and I am looking forward to years of service (and upgrades). I have read reviews of the bass response being lacking in earlier models. Let me clear this up and say that mine has absolutely no fault in this area and bass is deep and clean. Amazon's price can't be beat by anything remotely comparable in the industry. I am ordering one for my mom.
Rating:
Summary: This is truly amazing!
Review: I've had this device for a month now and I am amazed. I am still learning what it's capable of. It can not only record from any source, but can also be played on just about anything with inputs. I can download directly to the device as it acts as an external hard drive. The controls are easy to use, playlists are easy to set up and menus are also easy to set up and use. Aside from its weight, I can find nothing wrong with it. Sure, you could spend more and get an IPod, but why would you want to when this device is so much less expensive? I take mine just about everywhere I go and I really couldn't be happier. I store all the best of my music and I can also keep pictures and other files on it, which is really useful as my hard drive is pretty near full. I love this thing. I love its' ease of use, versatility and its sound. If you're thinking of getting a hard-drive MP3 player, I really think this is the one to get.
Rating:
Summary: Really solid built!!!
Review: This is my second review for this product. I accidentally drop my player to the ground from about 4feet height. Not a single problem even a dent, it plays as before. Because of the plastic corners, it is really anti-shock.
Rating:
Summary: More than a MP3 player
Review: I have owned this mp3 player/recorder for more than six months now. As an mp3 player it does an excellent job. The stock earphones are a piece of crap and bought a cheap Sony earphones that sound much better. The stock OS is also a piece of crap and replaced it with Rockbox that offers much more stability and features. As a recorder, it does a great job. The only complaint is the HDD spin up/down noice, but that is something I was aware of and did not bother me for the amature recording I did. The line in recording is simply great (esp with Rockbox, spliting trasks is just a button away). I use this device as a portable HDD whenever I travel. Very handy to transfer stuff around. Several people complaied of Archos Customer service (or lack there of). I had an issue with my device and sent it for their inspection. They replaced the buttons and hard disk .. no questions asked and returned in reasonable time. Perhaps some people had bad experience. You may be lucky! I had been using this with Linux (Mandrake 10.0 & Debian 3.0) with no issues. With WIndows XP ofcourse its a breaze it use. I had iRivier 128MB player before. Though the sound quality is far superior and the earphones were great, its just too limited in use and features. Overall this is a great buy for the bangs. nram
Rating: 
Summary: Amazon Customer Service Lacks and So Does This MP3 Player
Review: Do NOT buy this player. It started acting up after a couple of weeks and totally died within a month. Amazon insulted me and gave me a hard time about getting a new one. They asked if I read the manual. The piece of junk did not even turn on after working for a couple of weeks. I would press the on button, the lights would go on, get a flash and it would turn off. This even occurred when plugged into AC current.
Rating:
Summary: Good product, great with Rockbox!
Review: I received my jukebox 4 days ago and I've already loaded the latest version of Rockbox and also flashed it in ROM. This way it boots up only in a few seconds as opposed to the lengthy startup time with the stock firmware. Installing Rockbox is really a must to fully exploit the capabilities of this little device. It was certainly smaller than I thought it would be. This is no iPod in terms of sleekness but for the price, sound quality and the features, you just cannot get a better deal. The best part is the plug and play capability and the Windows explorer based functionality as it shows up as a hard drive. This lets you upload and download to and from the device to your PC. Sound quality is good and you need to tweak the other controls such as loudness and bass boost to get the best output. While connecting to your receiver remember to lower the bass boost and loudness settings when using the analog output. I bought a cassette adapter from Radioshack and now am enjoying my music in my car as well ... look ma no CDs! The player is quite solidly built and I dont care if it doesnt have the finesse of some other hard disk based mp3 players. Overall I'm thoroughly enjoying the Archos 20GB jukebox recorder v2 and thanks to the Rockbox developers for continually improving the capabilities of this Mp3 player. What are you waiting for, go ahead and by this product!
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