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iAUDIO CW300-256MB (MX400) MP3 Player w/FM & Voice Recorder

iAUDIO CW300-256MB (MX400) MP3 Player w/FM & Voice Recorder

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Perfect All Around
Review: I first came across the iAudio CW300 while searching for digital voice recorders. Needless to say, the CW300 128 performs perfectly as a voice recorder, picking up most sounds clearly through its two settings: HQ (High Quality) and UHQ (Ultra High Quality). For HQ I got almost nine hours of recording time and for UHQ I got around 4 hours of recording time. I also found it handy that you can hear what you are recording through your earphones, simplifying the question of whether you are recording what you want (even though the recording seems to pick up even more than what I hear). Starting and stopping recording is easy with just a touch of a button on the face of the CW300. Transferring the voice recordings to your computer via USB is also very easy with the included software.

Of course, the CW300 acts also as a MP3 player and a FM radio and it performs perfectly in both of these functions as well. Maybe 128 is not enough for both heavy MP3 and voice recording usage, but I managed to fit 21 MP3s of 128 kbps quality and still have 2 hours of UHQ recording time left. FM reception is great and can be recorded. Battery life is astounding for just one AA. The company's claim of 30 hours seems about right.

The only drawback I can see is that the jog controls are a bit tricky to get used to (at least for me). But after a bit of usage they proved to be efficient and quick.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great product
Review: I purchased the Iaudio CW300 (MX400) 256MB mp3 player a couple weeks back and so far have loved it. I did several months worth of research before settling on this one. It is very compact and perfect for taking on runs and working out at the gym. Its about the length of a credit card. I chose this over the CW200 as it takes a single AA battery over the single AAA thus increasing play length. The controls are very easy to use as well as the mp3 software JetShell. I read a review stating JetShell did not run well and had crashes on newer Windows systems such as XP and 2000. I have had no crash issues or problems whatsoever on XP. Sound quality is awesome! As another reviewer wrote you can hear hidden musical nuances. Typically I can fit about 40 mp3's on this player, all of which are in between 192 - 320kbps. If you decide on this player, it is definately worth your investment to purchase the one with the MX400 headphones. I own two Sennheiser headsets now and they have been the best earphones I've owned yet.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great traveling companion
Review: Just received my I Audio CW300 and am very pleased with the entire system. The sound quality is fantastic, menu system is very intuitive and the upgraded earphones are well worth the extra cost. Only limitation is that the player only holds about 5 hours of music. I selected this model because of the FM radio/recorder feature - but limited storage could be a drawback.
If you want 1,000 song then I would go for the iPod Mini -- if you value FM radio and outstanding sound then this is the product for you.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Review iAUDIO CW300 256MB
Review: Review iAUDIO CW300 256MB

Quotation iAUDIO manual:
"iAUDIO is a multi-functional portable digital audio device that plays MP3 files, which is a new format of digital compression that reduces the size of files tenfold while maintaining CD-level sound quality. iAUDIO can be used to record lectures or meetings, and also for listening and recording FM radio broadcasts."

This is the description of the player from the manufacturer. It contains the general capabilities of that amazing gadget but of course not all of nice and powerful features.

If you order the iAUDIO player CW300 directly from the JetAudio online store or from a proper reseller, like Amazon or Ebay, the package will arrive with the following components.

~iAUDIO CW300 256MB player (of course ;] )
~Earphones (either Cresyn AXE 599BL or Sennheiser MX 400)
~one AA Battery
~Installation CD (including JetShell / JetVoice Mail / JetAudio)
~Manual
~USB cable
~Pouch
~Neck cord
~Remote Control

At first I will point out some of the PROs and CONs of the CW300.

PROs:
- Superb and unbelievable powerful sound
- Good elaborated and intuitive menu design and also the navigation, with the two jog levers is really convenient
- Upgradeable firmware
- Very customisable regarding album names, equalizer, scrolling speed of track information, display contrast,
adjustable input sensitivity for the microphone and so on
- Really small and efficient design (height 82.5mm x width 40mm x thickness 18.6mm)
- Extremely lightwight (42g without battery)

CONs:
-Low but high frequency sound in tuner mode if the backlight turns on
-Intensity of the display backlight isn't adjustable
-No line in connector
-No support for an alternative format of compressed music files like Ogg Vorbis
-pathetic remote control

Now I will discuss some critical points of the CW300.

Battery flap:
That's a point, which is very often discussed, both in the jetAudio forum and other reviews.
I had never really problems with that part. Of course you have to use it gently and without any force, but in my opinion it is well designed for its functionality.

LCD size:
A bit small, just 128x16 dot wide, but it shows a lot of important information (e.g. battery level, equalizer settings, memory usage, album and track number and time). Furthermore, it includes a scrolling line for track information, like data's saved in ID3 tags.

File support:
That is my pet subject. iAUDIO CW3000 supports the MPEG 1 / 2 layers 2 and 3 and the special format for voice or tuner record SC4. For the MPEG layers, the CW supports all bit rates between 8kbps and 320kbps and also variable bit rate (VBR), like every good player should doing this.
In this case the critical point for me is, there is no support for a proper alternative of MP3, like e.g. Ogg Vorbis.
But I strongly believe in iAUDIO and I hope that the next generation or the generation after next one will support a kind of alternative format.

Remote Control:
The remote control was the biggest frustration of that whole device. Of course, it is doing the job well, but I think it doesn't suit to the great design of the CW. The iAUDIO has a beautiful matt aluminium body and the remote control has a plastic one and all the buttons are jiggle around.

Playback Time:
Is there anybody who can give me the settings for 30 hours of playback? I couldn't find the right one. However, It's a matter of common knowledge that the real playback time is always a bit shorter than the nominal time, doesn't matter what for a brand.

Furthermore, the CW300 comes with the programs JetShell, JetVoice Mail and JetAudio and I'll give you some briefly overviews about the called components.

JetShell:
That is the software what you require to download or upload files. Except the *.mp3 files, they are just downloadable onto your CW.
It is also possible to encode WAV files to MP3 files or the other way around. If you like to encode directly from CD during the download onto your CW you can do it, with JetShell and the Frauenhofer encoder for MP3. For further information have a look in the manual (available on JetAudio webpage) of the CW where you can find some more information about JetShell.

JetVoice Mail:
This tiny program is as smart as small. You can record some sounds with the CW or with the your computer. Then you can change the kind of sound, e.g. into a similar sound like Darth Vader's voice. After that, you are able to attach the file on an email including a tiny player and send it to your friends. If you feel like to read more about JetVoice Mail check the manual.

JetAudio:
JetAudio is the suitable player for your computer. The current version is v5.18 and is available on the www.iaudio.com...for free. If you like to encode your CDs to MP3 or mp3PRO with JetAudio have a look in the online store for JetAudio Plus. For more details about JetAudio check out the manual.

Conclusion:
From my point of view, the iAUDIO CW300 is one of the best player on market and you can enjoy it for a long time (maybe a whole life) with wonderful sound and trustier technology...made in Korea.

The American violinist Yehudi Menuhin (1916-99) said: "I am strongly believe, that music extends your live."
And in my opinion, this is much easier to realize if you are using the iAUDIO CW300, because this precious gadget is really able to enhance your enjoyment of live.

If you feel like to find out more visite the JetAudio forum. We are more than happy to help you!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: WOW!!! I Absolutely LOVE This Little Gem!
Review: My brand new CW300 arrived today from Jetaudio. Right from the start it was a winner! The packaging was befitting a $200 item.

The quick start manual had me up and running with Windows XP in minutes. The software was extremely easy to use, so I had my MP3's loaded in less than 20 minutes. The manual was written in English, by someone who speaks English (no translated garbage, if you know what I mean....).

Buttons are multi-function, so it took a few minutes to preset my radio stations, but oh my gosh, the FM receiption is crystal clear. My old FM receiver headset is in the trash!

The Sennheiser ear buds sound just fantastic with this player, and I've never been a fan of this type of listening device. The belt clip case looks like it will be just fine.

Don't hesitate to purchase this little number -- you won't be disappointed!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: iaudio fan
Review: I just bought my second iaudio - the first was a Christmas present for my wife. It was so great I just had to have one. These players are everything they're advertised to be - and more. They are incredibly small and lightweight, the controls are intuitive and easy to operate, the software is easy to install and glitch-free (I interface mine with MusicMatch with no problems), and, best of all, the sound is incredible. The iaudio also comes with a belt attachment and armband, both of which are well-made and work great (I use mine for exercising). If you want a solid MP3 player that sounds great, buy this one. You won't be disappointed!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Does anyone know?....
Review: I just received the CW-300 and we already have an I-Pod so all of our songs are on I-Tunes, however we run a PC (Windows XP)....DOES ANYONE KNOW...how to download to the I-Audio....from I-Tunes.....HELP!!..I like the product but need to figure out how to use it!!!....Thanks, CG

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Shop around then buy this one!
Review: I shopped around for a month. Decided to buy this one. Boy, am I happy. This MP3 player has incredible sound with the upgraded earphones (MX 400). At home or in a quite environment I can hear parts of the music that I never heard before. In a loud environment like the gym, I can crank up the volume and it gets LOUD. The device works perfectly with no problems. The software works fine with windows XP, no problems. You can download music and any other type of file to the memory. The FM radio works well too, with good reception and clear sound. The device is light, small, and has good battery life. The only drawback is that you must connect the device to a computer with a cable and must use the software to transfer files back and forth. This is a great product--and I have had 4 mp3 players in the past.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: COMPLETELY Satisfied
Review: I was looking for a great MP3 player, and I've been very disappointed with some digital products from other companies, so I was very hesitant to purchase one. I also read several reviews about players from some other brands (particularly RCA, which is what I was wanting to purchase), and read about several problems and disappointing findings about the player. I bought this a few months ago and haven't had any problems. Even beyond that, this player surpasses everything I imagined. It is highly customizable, even letting you set how long the LCD lights when you push buttons, has very easy to use and effective software, is small, compact, reliable and even the FM radio (which had nothing to do with why I bought it - it was just a bonus) lets you tune up to .05. I keep finding stuff I can do with it.

It is well worth the price.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Best Sound
Review: You can read about the pro's and con's for this player everywhere, so I will only say that this player has unbelievable sound, and if you buy one, you will not regret it.


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