Rating: 
Summary: Junk
Review: Where do I begin with this device, yes it is kinda cool with the Rockbox firmware but also firmware Archos should have improved on their own, not reqquire owners to literally hack the software from the device to make a fully functional device (NOTE ARCHOS NEVER DID GET EVEN REWIND TO WORK WITH THEIR FIRMWARE-With Supplied firmware this device with not rewind/reverse). My problems with the Archos Recorder is sheer durability...here is the problems I encountered...and though all this Tech support non-existant. If you do a return and use Rockbox firmware your warranty is voided! 1. Sides Separating from inserting batteries...had to have the board resoldered...paid 40.00 for a computer repairman to resolder this. 2. Power Adapter Just literally fell off when disconnecting the power...paid the same computer repairman 55.00 to open it back u
unsolder the original soldered boards and solder the power plug back on, soldered the boards back together 3. top middle button stopped responding, middle play button fell off. Had to repair this myself 4. Screen stopped functioning Opened it back up and repairman told me it wasn't worth fixing this time. 5. removed hard drive and threw the archos recorder in the trash in less than 6 months. Only buy this device if you plan on buying yourself a soldering iron here...hey does Amazon have soldering irons? Don't believe me check out www.funmp3players.com msg board or the archos groups on yahoo and do a search on solder lol. You will be surprised the number of people that have had to solder this device back together after it starts falling apart!
Rating: 
Summary: Not much to add for kudos but I'll try
Review: I purchased the Archos a couple of weeks ago, as my traveling days have started. It is so nice to be able to listen to ANY of my favorite tracks from my CD collection instead of a collection of disks I've burned. The reasons I purchased the Archos, which so far has been very good:
+20 GB capacity for any file type,
+AA rechargable batteries for power (non-proprietary),
+3rd party firmware "upgrade" (yes it is an upgrade now that I've loaded it. Rockbox should be more explicit that the 1.28 version preloaded on the unit by Archos is embedded and that you can add their hack firmware solution without risk; it's excellent and Archos should be paying the people at Rockbox something as I am sure it sells this unit),
+USB 2.0 and firewire support make moving files !FAST! It moves the files so fast I got tired just watching it work,
+Included MusicMatch player software, my player and ripper and burner software of choice (better than what M$ puts out),
+No digital rights management, so I can take files off at home and transfer them to a friend's computer with impunity.
+Size for all these features? About the same as a pack of cigarettes.
+Price for all these features? Not much more than a 256 MB flash player, and your $ per byte is considerably less. The only real negatives I see are:
-The headphones, I use the Sony noise-cancelling ones on the plane or Sennheisers at home,
-The case, if someone that makes those leatherette cases for cell phones would make one for this unit that'd be great, I'd buy it,
-Using the MusicMatch software to send your songs and playlists over is problematic. I've been dragging and dropping under Windows XP instead.
-I already have MusicMatch 8.0 Pro on my computer and Archos provides 7.0
Rating: 
Summary: My review..... or why I returned this item
Review: First off, the general idea is great. Storing all my MP3s on a portable device is amazing. However, the implimation, in this case, is lacking. Mainly, my problem with the device was that it is more of a hard disk storage device with MP3 capibilities than an MP3 player. In fact, I really did not realize what I was missing until I bought the RCA Lyra 40 gig for the same price (the Lyra comes with a car kit which is extra for the Archos). The Lyra lets you play by Artist, Genre, Album, and the like. The Archos is directory-based, so it play the MP3s in a file without regard to the MP3 encoding. .... and the directions are AWFUL! I disagree with the review that stated, sarcasitcally, that the directions which good "as long as you know how to read them". They are scant at best, and are only in detail in the on-line version. Also, I had some minor technical issues such as difficulity with playlists. It would not play any of the lists I uploaded. Turned out that it was some sort of bug which their tech support required me to reformat the disk. It is a week old, and I have to reformat and upload my stuff again! Not really what I signed up for. The one feature it has that I liked (that my Lyra lacks) is a "resume" feature. If resume is set to on, the player will pick up the last song it was playing when you turned it off. Very nice. But, it has no shuffle feature which does not bother me, but some folks will want that. All in all, I say pass on this one... By the way, I like the behind the head headphones that some other complained about. Wish I could have kept those when I sent the whole thing back.
Rating:
Summary: I love this thing.
Review: I've had my Jukebox Recorder 20 for over a year now and just noticed I hadn't reviewed it yet. Size - It'll fit in your pocket but you are going to have a bulge there. If you're looking for a skip free way to get through your 20 minute workout get something smaller that uses flash memory or an MD player. Capacity - 20 GB is a lot of space. It's the Jukebox recorder's #1 quality. Batteries - They recently went dead after like a year and a half so no big deal. They can be replaced with any NIMH AA so it may be a good idea to get a spare set. You can listen to it as the batteries charge by holding down on button as it loads. They will take most of the night to charge but they will last all day. Transfer - USB 2.0 transfer is fast. 1.1 is reasonable. You do not have to transcode your MP3s before you transfer them. Sound - As you know this plays mp3s. It will not sound as good as your CD or DVD-audio player. The headphones that come with it are junk and the Jukebox will sound like crap with them. Get yourself a good pair of Sony MDR-G72's. Studio headphone's will be put to waste with these because mp3s just don't sound that good. The equalizer is nice and customizable enough to get the sound you want without much hassle. I love it and I can't imagine how I managed without it. 4 stars cause I wish it were just a little smaller and the poor headphone thing.
Rating: 
Summary: A Very Worthwhile Investment
Review: Let me just preface my review (and give a brief caveat on my rating) by saying that (1) When buying an MP3 player/recorder, you need to have a clear idea of your intended use; and (2) 5 stars doesn't equal perfect. Read other reviews with 2-3 stars for reasons you may not like this device. That said, here are my thoughts. WHY BUY THIS MODEL? Several reasons: (1) A large amt of storage space. There are basicly 2 types of MP3/WMA players - those that use flash-based memory, and those that use a hard drive. Flash-based players are generally limited to a max 256MB of storage (most have 128MB or less). Some allow you to add storage with a SD (Secure Digital) or SmartMedia card, but this will get you no where near the storage capacity of hard drive-based players. Plus those storage cards cost money, can get lost, etc. I currently have 30+ CDs, several audio books, some language learning files, and other stuff on my AJR20 and have used only a fraction of the storage space! No need to ever buy/switch media cards. (2) You want to record (in MP3 format). If you want to record (voice, music, whatever), your choices of a quality player are significantly narrowed. If you want to record in MP3 format, the choices are VERY limited. I tried out the RipFlash Pro and didn't find it very appealing (small & light, but buttons were hard to use, record quality was very mediocre, etc.). Being able to record directly to MP3 is a wonderful feature. Who wants to waste time converting recordings (or even figuring out how to do that if you are not tech-savvy)?! With the AJR20, everything you record is saved immediately as MP3. See other reviews for details about the various recording options (you can adjust the settings for each to optimize the quality). (3) No need to install 3rd-party software. This was a huge selling point to me. I hate all the garbage that the myriad of devices install on my computer. With the AJR20, I simply connect it (via USB cable) to my computer, and the computer recognizes it as an external hard drive. I can drag & drop files as desired. Couldn't be simpler. The AJR20 comes with software to help you manage & convert your music files, but I've not tried it out. (4) It doubles as a portable hard drive. Drag & drop whatever you want to store on it - photos, a backup of your PC hard drive, whatever. Great for travel or exchanging data with others. (5) It supports USB 2.0 for high-speed transfers. Very few of the players currently on the market support USB 2.0. If you've got much music, this makes the AJR20 a strong stand-out. (6) Uses (rechargeable) AA batteries. Proprietary LiIon batteries (those used in nearly all models advertising "rechargeable battery") are expensive (and possibly difficult) to replace. If you travel or find yourself in areas where you won't have easy access to a recharger, what do you do? With the AJR20, I just carry an extra pack of NiMH batteries (a set lasts me 10 hours). WHY *NOT* TO BUY THIS MODEL If you want a small, light-weight model to take to the gym or on the plane and don't need more than 128MB or 256MB of storage, look elsewhere. If this is the case, look at the iAudio players/recorders. With 100s of reviews listed, these all average 5-star ratings. Can you beat that? Search Amazon for "iAudio". Some have mentioned how bad the manual is. Yes, it stinks. But the device is so easy to use that even non-techies won't have difficulty using it. HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR AJR20 I have not yet tried it, but you can EASILY and QUICKLY change the firmware from Archos' to something called "RockBox". ...
Rating: 
Summary: Get almost what you pay for
Review: I got this device at a huge discount. There was a 50-dollar rebate, and I found it cheaper somewhere else, so the store marked it down according to their price match policy. Ironically, after all that, it was still a bit more then than it is currently. The device has works perfectly when I connect it through the USB2 PCI card I bought for it, and I have almost 1GB of personal data files stored. That feature was one of the factors in buying it. I like the over all quality of the product, but it lacks some essentials, and other features are buggy. PLUS:
* Good sound and power conservation control.
* Sturdy design, so far no damage after three short-distance drops.
* Easy interface with Windows - I've hardly had to use the "Safely Disconnect" dialog, just plugging and unplugging at will.
* Decent sound quality and controls, though it could use a noise filter for known MP3 sound degradation (does this exist on other players?)
* Reasonable price
* Records on-the-fly to MP3 via built-in mic or line-in. Nice feature, though I haven't used it much. MINUS
* Manual misses some key points of device operation. Five languages, mediocre coverage.
* Some display/navigation glitches.
* High storage load can cause slow-down in load-up and button response. Also causes inconsistent freezes and sound errors. Defrag may potentially help this problem.
* Housing back seems kinda thin, making me nervous that the whole drive could break out if dropped hard enough.
* No further firmware development (as told to me by Archos support).
* Only supports MP3 - no WMA or OGG, and MP3Pro is compatible, but sounds nasty and causes even more errors.
* Not very useful for Linux users. Can read from the device, but writing is dangerous and could lock up Linux. Of course, this is true of most players.
* File naming for on-the-fly recording is really difficult and cumbersome.
* Could use more display area. As large as the device is, the screen could be bigger. Hard to sift through the hundreds of albums I've stored (even in a folder hierarchy) when I can only see five at a time. Another reviewer mentioned a car adapter. Which is fine if you have a tape deck, but if you have a CD player and need to use an FM transmitter to play through the car stereo, you're out of luck. This device isn't compatible with the ones I've found. This drive does the job for me, and until I can afford something higher-end, it'll serve my purposes. But if you can afford it, pay the higher price for a better player. I'll be looking to sell mine once I can put together money for something else.
Rating:
Summary: Great Player for Work
Review: Pros: compact considering 20g hd, WindowsXP interaction, inexpensive (by comparison), tech support Cons: 6-8 hour battery life b4 recharge, temperamental firmware,small viewscreen This is my second unit. The first one crashed and burned after one month, but Archos replaced it with a new unit. I must say that Archos Tech Support was more than helpful and my unit was replaced within 10 days. Luckily, I had mirrored the mp3 files on my laptop, so reloading the files on the new unit was not a problem....just click and drag thru Windows Explorer. This replacement has been in use 6-8 hours a day for a month now with no glitches whatsoever. It's plugged in by patch cord from the earphone jack on the jukebox to an auxillary line-in connection on the boombox I have in my office - sounds great. I would like to see how it sounds plugged into a Bose WaveRadio. Suggestions: Determine your file layout before storing your music files on the jukebox; set your software (I use musicmatch) to include the track number when converting from cd to mp3; be sure to click on "remove hardware" before removing the jukebox from your pc (I'm not sure, but I think that's how I [messed] up the first one). note: I have two friends with the same model jukebox - neither has had any problems with theirs.
Rating:
Summary: Great Product, but inherent problems
Review: If the Archos Jukebox functioned perfectly, it'd be the best, economic mp3 player on the market. Problem is ... ITS GOING TO FAIL. If you load this thing close to its 20GB max, you're in for a world of skips, pauses, and very annoying freezes that happen a bit too frequently. I've had my jukebox for a year and I am glad to have an mp3 player, but wish I wouldve just saved a bit more cash for an I-Pod. This thing is on it's way out my door.
Rating:
Summary: Battery Issues
Review: I've tried 2 sets of rechargeable batteries, and even the Rockbox software (which is WAY better than the standard O/S). I've NEVER gotten more than 2 hours of usage before it stops playing since it can't spin up the hard-drive. I'm sure there are some units without this battery issue, but even charging the batteries outside the unit and then putting them back isn't giving me the 8-10 hours I'm supposed to get. If you buy one, cross your fingers you get a good one. Otherwise, I LOVE this thing and it always works perfectly when plugged in to AC power.
Rating:
Summary: The Player that doesn't Play
Review: I was so excited for the first day when I received my player.
Sounded great played great easy to use. Then it just powered itself off. Never to turn on again. I sent the unit back to Amazon. They were great the next day a new unit was at more door.
The new unit played great for 4 weeks. Very happy with it. Then
kablam, the unit once again shuts down, never to play another note of music.
This unit seems to have a power supply issue. I have sent this unit back to Amazon. Don't have much faith the third unit will work muck better. But Amazon is great with their return policy.
Amazon might think twice about carring this product. It has extremly poor quality control as far as I am concerned. I wish the product would work because when it works it works great, but it doesn't last very long.
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