Home > Consumer Reviews > Archos 20 GB USB 2.0 MP3 Jukebox/Recorder/ FM Radio

I recently purchased this player. I did a lot of research and concluded that this was the best player in terms of features. Well, what good is a player with all the features in the world if the player does not last. I contacted tech support, having to wait 30minutes only to be transferred to a voicemail. When i finally did reach them, they explained to me that the player needed to be discharged and recharged several times, and that my player was not faulty. Well, I discahrged and charged 10 times, and still the player would not run longer then that! I suspect this player runs with a NIMH battery!! Infact on thier website, under thier specs, the top portions states,"lithuim ion" and on the bottom portion it states, "Nihm". I noticed this at first and thought that this was probably a mistake, but after testing the player for a week, i am sure it's a nihm!

The player looks good and feels good and sounds good, but highly unimpresive with it's performance.

I since returned the unit and bought the Nomad Jukebox 3, a huge differnace. Not only the player sounds better, it last for about 9 hours on continuous playback. Also, the interface is much more professional, for example, i noticed when i wanted to forward to the next track on the archos, it would take about 3 to five seconds to get to the next song. The Nomad is instant.

Bottom line, the archos does not have a good and reliable battery source to run this hard drive, let alone an MP3 player.

I am sharing this review with the hope of helping someone out there make a right decision and not be fooled like me!

Well done...."CREATIVE"

With the other review being so glowing, I find myself scratching my head for something further to add. I don't find myself out of the country or frequently travelling, my music tends to hover in three areas: work, home, and auto. The last two are covered, but getting music at work can be a bit trying. This is where this little jewel comes in handy. With as many hours of music as this wee metal box can provide, I'm never at a loss for different music to listen to.

However, I'm one of those odd open-source (i.e., Linux) types, so I'm always looking for a way to integrate different hardware. Archos is very platform neutral--while they actively support Windoze and Mac, this little guy works on Linux. So, I only have to rip my CDs once and then copy them down.

The website cites a Linux USB driver link, but that proved not to be to useful. If you're sporting the right Linux kernal, you need only configure it right (my distribution had it configured by default, making this almost plug-n-play), and the rest is a cinch (edit a text file, one command line command).

I also keep a few key configuration files on my Archos so if I need to start from scratch with an install I can bring back those configurations more quickly.

On other notes, it takes a little while to get used to the minimalist controls--that 'off' can also mean 'stop' doesn't register at first, so don't be afraid to experiment. The player responds to "m3u" playlists. I'm currently assuming that the USB connection also provides power to play and charge the batteries.

What can i say... this product is simply fantastic! it comes with no problems and no tech support. good sound quality, good everything. I must say that if you are seeking a hard drive based player STOP RIGHT HERE this is definitely the best there is. period.

This is the biggest piece of junk I've ever purchased. I'm on my FIFTH one and it still doesn't work properly- one froze, one wouldn't hold a chare, one shut off for no reason, etc. Too late to return it, though. Archos customer service is worthless. The manual it comes with is useless. I totally regret my purchase. Do yourself a favor and buy an Ipod or even a disc man.

Hello, I bought my Archos 3 days ago. It's great for listening to MP3s downloaded from the computer or the radio. I was looking for an MP3 Recorder that could record over 30 hours of audio through the radio. So I chose the Archos FM Jukebox. I bought The Archos because it had everything I needed. Recording with the Archos can be very damaging if you don't do it right the first time. When I started recording through the Archos's Built-In radio it was very disapointing. About every 45 seconds the Hard Drive would spin and create a interference and I would get static for about 5 seconds and it did this over and over and over again. So that was very irritating. Then I tried recording through the Internal Mike and every 45 seconds it would pick up the the annoying sound of the Hard Drive spinning. It was very Irritating.

AND HERE'S THE WORST PART OF IT ALL THAT CAN BE VERY DAMAGING TO RECORDINGS. I had to learn the hard way. And Archos does not mention this problem anywhere. When I started recording through the radio it created a file called "New Song00 pt1" then when I clicked NEXT it created a brand new file of the audio I was recording called "New Song00 pt2" clicked next again I got "New Song00 pt3". So I recorded through the radio and created these 3 recordings and then I clicked "STOP". They were IN THE FOLDER I created called Speeches. They were very important audio files. So an hour goes by and I have to record 3 more Audio files through the radio. So I'm Still IN THE FOLDER called Speeches and start to Record again and divide the Audio recordings into 3 new files. And here's what Archos FAILED TO ANNOUNCE and can be very damaging: when I went back to the FOLDER I created called Speeches there were only 3 files in it and I had made 6 files. I listened to the files and it turns out THE NEW 3 FILES I had Created HAD ERASED THE 3 OLDER FILES I CREATED FIRST. And those very important 3 files I created first were OVERWRITTEN & ERASED by the new recordings I made. THE ARCHOS REPLACES OLD RECORDINGS WITH NEW ONES IF THEY'RE IN THE SAME FOLDER. With no warning I was very very Disappointed. I'm telling this so no one has to go through the same thing I went through of loosing valuable Audio. So if your buying this thing for recording Audio I wouldn't recommend the Archos go for Nomad or Minidisc Instead. Hope this helps.