I have been toying with the idea of purchasing an MP3 player for about a year. Anyone who knows me knows that I rarely by something on impulse... I like to read reviews, check out stats and so on. I ahve looked at literally hundreds of different players, both large and small, but if the truth be known I was always a little dubious about taking the plunge and buying one. Then two weeks ago I gave in and bought myself my first MP3 player. It's an Archos 504 and I have to say it's awesome. I love it! I can kick myself for all the time I wasted when all along I should have gotten this all along.
This little beauty has a 4.3" LCD screen, 40gb storage, plays music and movies, displays photos, and can be used as a hard drive. The 504 I bought came with a package that included the optional docking station which allows me to record music, video, and cable via RCA, component and S-Video cable all of which came with the package. I also got a remote, USB cable, and separate power lead. All in all, I feel I got a good deal as I only paid $230 for this unit in the States from Target. In other stores the unit by itself was retailing for around the price I paid for my whole bundle... the docking station usually retails for around $75-100.
The sound quality does depend on the original source material but most of my downloads from Napster sound great, just don't expect the unit to make low budget music sound great. I am listening to the Kutless album "Hearts of the Innocent" as I write this and it sound pretty amazing through my separate Pioneer amp. I have recorded a couple of movies on it too using the docking station and they look awesome. I also use it as a photo viewer for all of my digital photos taken over the last five or so years.
My only complaint would be that the screen is a little dark but at least it's not going to burn out too quick.
As a pastor I like to record my sermons so that I can upload them to my church website. In the past I have had to record my sermons on cassette tape or mini disc and then re-record them in real time to my laptop and then upload them to the website. The process could take up to two hours depending on the quality of the source material. Now I simply plug this baby into the sound desk, press record, and voilà I end up with a crystal clear sermon that can theoretically be uploaded as soon as the sermon has been delivered. This little baby makes my job that bit easier in this department. I am also toying with the idea of using this unit for video recording my sermons... I'll look more into this in the New Year.
The machine has a pretty steep learning curve but trial and error is probably the best way to get to know how this unit works. As it is essentially a hard drive if you get it wrong you simply delete it and start again.
This is an awesome MP3 player/recorder that is so versatile it's a joy to own and use. What are you waiting for? Go and get one!
Still not pursuaded then check out this review by CNET.