[pookSter]

And don't forget the Digital Out as well. It plugs right into the digital jack on the home sterio and sounds better than my dvd player.
Just an update on the Archos 20 gig recorder. It can be had for as little as $220 now with the car kit at harmony computers. Hey Emass, are you using the RockBox 2.0 open source firmware for your Archos?? It adds so many more great features. They have even added a karaoke features for the Record . Its great to have an MP3 player that's software is updated on a daily basis unlike others that once you buy it you are stuck with what the factory offered.

well, enough boasting on this wonderful product.

 

[pookSter]

All you have to do EMASS is just drop the firmware file in the root directory of the Archos, and like magic, it boots to the new version...real simple and it will add about 25 features to your Archos model, extend your battery life,well, here is a list for ya
http://rockbox.haxx.se/docs/features.html

If you need some help...let me know.

 

[pookSter]

Sunstroke said:
How do you do that? I want to buy one of these!

How do you do what Sunstroke?
Copy it to the MP3 player?
All the Archos models show up as an extra hard drive on your computer as soon as you plug it in, so you not only have an MP3 player, but a portable 20 gig hard drive as well. Great for backing up/transporting files.

 

[pookSter]

Sunstroke said:
Seems like you like the Archos! Have you had any problems with it? Any problems withe Rockboxx software? Can't you download updates from Archos? Too many Questions! Any info on it would be greatly appreciated! I really like to research stuff befor I buy it

I really do like this. I had an IPOD before. It had a nicer display than the Archos, and was an good player too, but the IPOD lacked a lot of features the Archos has, and I could not justify paying twice the amount just for the Mac name.

I have not had any problems yet. You can download updates from Archos, but the company simply does not have the manpower or the desire to improve the software. They fix only bugs. The "Archos" software is no where near as good as the Rockbox. You will see what I mean when you get one. The stock firmware has all the features as most standard MP3 players like the IPOD, BUT only the users of the Archos player really know what features they want because they use it every day. This is what is so Unique about the ROCKBOX team. They are in touch with us the users. You need a feature that is not there, put in a request and someone works on it.

If you look at the list of added features here http://rockbox.haxx.se/docs/features.html you will see the difference between Archos and Rockbox.
This however is not the complete list as this is version 1.4 and they have added quite a few more features in version 2.0

You want to upgrade the Archos player's size from 20 gigs you say? Easy, just go out a buy a 60 gig laptop harddrive and it is a simple plug in install after you unscrew the case. ...See what I mean?
I would however recommend the Archos recorder 20 over the FM Recorder 20 simply because the one without FM has the older style AA Nickel Metal Hydrate batteries which last 10 hours. If you go with the FM recorder, its a newer design with a lithium battery that is not standard, and I am afraid that in a year or so when it needs replacing, you will probably pay a pretty penny from Archos for it.

Hope that helps..

 

[pookSter]

NP, I know you won't be disappointed

 

[pookSter]

I'm glad you're glad
Thats one thing I can't stress enough with the archos is after the sale support from an ever growing user base. And don't forget, when it gets full, just put in a new 80 gig notebook harddrive hehhe

 

[pookSter]

Hey Sunstroke...check out the newest firmware finished this week for the Archos MP3 players. The Rockbox firmware guys actually designed talking menus for this player. Excellent when you don't want to take your eyes off the road. I think they call the new feature "talkback" and you should find it in the daily builds. These guys are really getting lightyears ahead of ipod.

 

[pookSter]

Oh Sunstroke, another thing you can do for the 12 volt charger. There are universal adapters that convert to 12, 9, 6, 3.5 volts with different ends at target, radio shack, etc. Just make sure you get the polarity right or you will trash your player.
Another way is just to buy a 120v inverter. This way you can run your laptop, mp3 player charger or other small appliance in you E. I can show you where I mounted mine if you are interested.

 

[pookSter]

Sure..this is the 150 watt inverter. It is hidden under the drivers seat out of sight securred with my friend Mr. tie strap.

 

[pookSter]

It really depends on the wav file. I record talk radio in a compressed wav format, and just rename the extention to mp3. For all intensive purposes, no it just plays mp3 files.
Other files it will manage is txt files (you can read text files) and html. You are correct that you can store any file format. When you plug in the Archos to the usb port, the computer automatically recognizes it as a 20 gig harddrive which is nice because you don't have to carry around special software/drivers like other MP3 players.

I believe the topic of playing other formats other than MP3 was brought up to the Rockbox firmware team, but I think it was voted out by most because it was not a useful feature.

 

[pookSter]

mborkow said:
personally i have always thought that mp3s sound a bit hollow

I don't know what MP3s you have been listening to. Perhaps you have listened to ones that have been encoded at a lower bitrate. I have listened to songs in MP3 and Wav format on my ipod and I have to say, I can't tell the difference sonicly. (other than the fact that the playlists in wav format took 20 times longer to load because of the size).

Have you ever wondered why there are only 10 songs on a music cd? The reason is they were recorded in wav format (a standard decided upon before the MP3 compression came out). It would make no sense to listen to music on an MP3 player in wav format. The amount of space it would take up for say 10 songs in wav format, you could fit 150 songs in the MP3 format.

Owning both an ipod and Archos, I do like the ipod display, but the features on the Archos blows the ipod away. If you used both for a week, I'm sure you would agree.

 

[pookSter]

Theoretical ..maybe. Enough for a human to realize...probably not. This is the same arguement the "audiofiles" had when cd's came out. "records sound better man".
I am sure if I recorded in both formats and had you try to tell me which was which..you couldn't. And then there is the factor of you listening to the mp3 player through headphones or the stereo in the Element. There is no way you would see any difference.
Also, think about things like how long it would take to copy over a 40 meg song compaired to the same song at 3.5 megs in MP3 format. Then we haven't even dealt with the battery life issue in your MP3 player. If the Harddrive had to access 40 megs instead of 3.5 while song playback, think of how many more times your drive has to spin up to get that extra data. The battery life would stink. I could go on and on, but I will spare the readers of this post hehe..

 

[pookSter]

You are quite welcome. Either unit you can't go wrong. The reason I bought the Archos the second time around is because the IPOD was only 10 gig model. I thought it was lots of storage space when I bought it. 2 years down the road I found myself looking at the 20 gig because I ran out of room. I went the Archos route because in a couple of years, I am sure I will be in the same situation. The Archos can be upgraded to any size simply by replaceing the harddrive with a normal 80 gig laptop drive. And with the firmware being upgraded and new features added on a daily basis, and the talking menus on the Archos has sold me.

 

[pookSter]

Depends where you live. I am in Canada and bought mine online at www.jandr.com I have bought several things here with very good service. Harmony computers, Computer city are a couple others. Expect to pay $200-$250 . There are different models to choose from. One that records, one that doesn't, one with FM one without. Its nice to have the record features as the Archos has a digital in jack, so you can record from CD's directly to MP3 format.

I would however recommend the Archos recorder 20 over the FM Recorder 20 simply because the one without FM has the older style AA Nickel Metal Hydrate batteries which last 10 hours. If you go with the FM recorder, its a newer design with a lithium battery that is not standard, and I am afraid that in a year or so when it needs replacing, you will probably pay a pretty penny from Archos for it.

Hope that helps..

 

[pookSter]

The main difference is the FM and they have a propriatary battery now. I think the battery life is about the same, only when this needs to be replaced yuou will have to order one from archos. The Recorder 20 model comes with 1500 mah AA batteries which last 10 hours. Now availaible are 2200 mah batteries aftermarket giving you %30 more battery life, so if you dont need fm, I like the versitility for battery replacement.
As you can see, the new fm recorder is a bit sleeker in design and I'm not sure if Its an improvement or not.
I do know that they have an FM LCD remote coming out for the multimedia player which I know will work on the Recorder 20 in the future, so I will pick up one of those when available for the FM part.

As you know, the firmware upgrades I spoke about earlier which are changing on a daily basis give you more options on both models, but at the moment it seems that the most advances in features are in the Recorder 20 model since its been around longer. I am sure the fm model will catch up soon.

 

[pookSter]

I would also recommend you get the travel kit which give you the remote and the dc adapter allowing you to charge the batteries in your car.

 

[pookSter]

NP...tell me how you like it.

 

[pookSter]

No, its no ploy. The batteries are a very high capacity Nickel Metal Hydrate AA rechargeables. Since rechargeables are 1.2 volts and alkaline are 1.5 volts, you risk damage, not to mention that alkalines are not rechargeable, so you might damage the charging circuit.

You can however purchase some replacements from Radio Shack. The ones that come with your Archos are 1500 milliamp hours and last 10 hours on a recharge. The ones from Radio Shack (Canada) are 2200 milliamp hours, so they should last 30% longer. If you are using the RockBox firmware you will see a battery milliamp hour selection. Just match the capcity of the batteries in the menu and the charging system will top them off perfectly.
I would recommend those if you ever need another set. Just make sure they are AA Nickel Metal Hydrate type.

How many CD's have you copied over to your Archos Sunstroke?

I have copied over 180 full CD's and still it is only half full. Kind of amazing considering the whole thing is only the size of a deck of playing cards ! Best $200 I ever spent.

 

[pookSter]

Like I said, if you are using the RockBox firmware, just match up the battery capacity (it defalts on 1500 mah) with whatever capacity your Eveready brand has and the charging curve will work properly.

 

[pookSter]

Shut the unit off, then plug it in overnight for a full charge. You will notice that the first 5 or so full charges will start to creep towards the 10 hour mark. Also, 10 hours is straight playing. If you are cruising around the menus with the light on (which everyone does for the first few days to get the feel of it) time will be less. I am getting closer to 11 hours on the stock batteries.