Rating: 
Summary: Archos Jukebox 6000 - Not quite ready for prime time..
Review: Got it for Christmas and ran it through the test. Here's how I see it.. POSITIVE SIDE---- SIZE - Really does fit in the palm of your hand. WEIGHT - Just right. Don't think this type of product could be much lighter. Case is 99% plastic. LOOKS - Definately a 10 on the "HIGH TECH" look.. Lots of Ohhhh's and Ahhhh's.. SOFTWARE - Didn't need it, just used it like a harddrive and dragged 20-30 mp3's on it and listened.. NAVIGATION - No problem once I figured it out.. USB - Driver installed easily and computer recognized JUKEBOX each time it was plugged in.. BATTERIES: Important change - Now uses Nickel Metal Hydride which the manual now says gives 8 hours of playing time. Also came with an extra set of batteries. NEGATIVE Aspects: USER MANUAL: Confusing because there were many changes to the final product that didn't jive with what was in the manual. Not really enough information for a $350 piece of equipment. HEADPHONES: Not bad looking but really cheapened the product because of their poor quality. SOUND: This is probably the biggest heartbreak for me because I really wanted to love this player. If you don't like ANY bass and prefer a MEDIOCRE midrange then this is the player for you. The headphones contribute to this but I tried 3 other sets of high quality headphones ($30 to $600) and got the SAME results!! Oh well... If the sound could be improved upon I would keep the player.. But alas, I will be returning it and waiting for something with a little more (lot more in this case) bass and sound control. I really like everything about this player except for the what I feel is the most important aspect. THE SOUND QUALITY..
Rating: 
Summary: a pile of ****
Review: ive had it for about a year and in the beggingin it ran great. now i cant even connect it to my pc. i have win 2k pro and win xp pro. as soon as i connect it, i get the bsod. ive never gotten the bsod b4 while runing xp or 2k. get a ipod, it costs more, but u get better quality and faster transfer speeds. in conclusion stay far away from archos products!!
Rating:
Summary: Waste Of Money
Review: I received a 6GB Archos in November of 2000. The original I received was defective and was returned for a different one; which wasn't much better. I didn't want an mp3 player so it sat on my shelf for 3 months collecting dust because I had no Mp3s to put onto it. I then started using it on and off for a while because it seemed easier than hauling around CDs. The batteries that came with it started dying after about a year and I was forced to replace them. It stopped after a year and a half charging to the electrical outlet cord. I then had to remove the batteries from the unit to charge. The battery connectors inside the Archos were poorly made so with the slightest movement the Archos would shut off and then sometimes it'd shut off for no reason. It crashed multiple times in a day. It finally died for good, not even reaching it's 3rd birthday. I was happy that day too, just had to wait awhile to find a replacement Mp3 player, I went with a Verge 256MB (Excellent!) which costs around 150 and is extremely light and easy to use with any Windows system and I also have a 3rd Generation 20GB iPod, also wonderful just because of the protection file sharing software it can be a pain and it can also be a pain to set up with a PC. Don't buy Archos products they're pieces of crap, look else where!
Rating: 
Summary: Great Product -- Poor Customer Support
Review: Great product with one exception (see below) -- I've found my batteries run out a little sooner than other reviewers (mine typically last around 4.5 hours). The ability to drag & drop files (to and from the Jukebox) via your file system is obviously a very smart, non-proprietary user interface. I used the standard headphones for about 10 seconds before putting them in a drawer (uncomfortable & unimpressive sound). A replacement pair of Koss plugs did the trick. I do get crackle w/ the bass maxed out (using incl software to rip CD's @ 128K sampling rate) but that's not crucial. Overall, the product (for the price) is very impressive.I have one gripe, however, and that is with their customer support. After a week's worth of back-and-forth emails, I finally broke through the double-speak to determine that they can't/won't sell you an additional AC adapter, and they will void your warranty if you use a non-Archos power supply. Since I simply wanted to charge my batteries in the office between commutes, this translated into a simple aggravation. If you lose your adapter, however, you are forced to either void your warranty or put your player on the shelf. Hopefully they will resolve this loophole in their policy soon. Overall: Good Product, Great Price, Customer Support Policies Need Improving.
Rating:
Summary: It makes me happy
Review: It took me a few weeks to decide on an MP3 player, and it was a recommendation from a friend that landed me on the Jukebox. Pros:
-Easy to load to and from. Rather than using a specialized program to manage files, it uses a regular drag-and-drop interface.
-Clear filing system. When selecting tracks to play, you get to set up the heirarchy of files however you like. For example, Genre -> Artist -> Album -> Song. Makes the one-line display surprisingly easy to navigate.
-File transport. I also use the player to carry larger files to share with friends (movie trailers, shared programs, etc.). Good for pals without broadband.
-USB. USB is fast! It took me about 1/2 hour to upload all my MP3s.
-Long battery life. I haven't had it die on me yet, and I usually only charge it every other day or so.
-Great storage. I have about 1GB of MP3 files, so I still have quite a way to go before it's even nearly filled. Cons:
-Only MP3. The current Firmware version still only supports MP3 format, so the few CDs I had stored as WMA I can't play (although WMA <-> MP3 converters are available).
-Boot up. Since it's a hard drive, it takes a few moments (about 30 seconds) to boot up. The only true kicker is you have to hold the power button the entire time, which is annoying if you're about to go out jogging.
-Moving parts. Since the unit is not solid-state (it's a hard drive), it's possible to make it skip, or severely damage it in a fall. So far I've only made it skip one time, and it was while leaping from a bus exit to the curb.
-No one-touch volume. Probably the biggest downer is the lack of volume buttons or a wheel on the unit. To adjust volume, you have to access the control from the main menu. It's only two clicks away, but a simple wheel on the side would have been nice. Over all, I'm very, very happy with this unit. If you just want a player for short jogs or the ride to work, a smaller, lighter unit would probably be better. But since I transport large files and like having a large selection of music on hand, the Jukebox 6000 is perfect for me.
Rating:
Summary: Not too shabby, if you can get it to work
Review: I previously owned a Rio 64 MB, which had great sound, but only stored 8 songs and not worth it. Then I found the Archos 6000, which I thought was a great deal (but still a bit pricey)! Installation was a pain...spent almost 10 hours trying to figure out why I was getting hard drive errors and why MusicMatch wasn't transferring songs from my computer. Although the manual was useless, the archos.com website was a bit more helpful. I finally just wiped out the archos hard drive and reformatted it. Then reinstalled the updated firmware 5.03 I downloaded from the website (forget the CD--it was useless). It worked like magic! I ditched MusicMatch, and just dropped the songs into the Archos directory using Windows explorer. Battery life was pretty decent, although I don't recommend charging it overnite because it might get fried (it does get pretty hot). I take it to the gym and was able to jog on the treadmill with it...no skips at all. The shuffle worked ok (I haven't created playlists and have only about 150 songs on it and it still works ok). The cons are (as other reviewers had mentioned): 1) the headphones -- if you wear glasses, its almost impossible to wrap those around your ears, all I did was purchase cheap ear buds and it was great. 2) Its a bit heavy and bulky. 3) Battery compartment difficult to access--I've already scratched it up trying to use a mini screwdriver to pop it open. 4) The sound quality isn't as great as the Rio, but I guess it all depends on how the music was downloaded. But overall for being able to store all my music in this little gadget, I think its worth the pain and suffering one has to go through to get it to work. On a side note, Archos has Audio and Car Jukebox Accessory Kit. It comes with a carrying case, backphones, cassette adapter, cigarette light adapter for charging in the car, and 4 more rechargeable batteries.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome MP3 Player
Review: I think i need to start by addressing the numerous bad reviews this mp3 player has gotten. Mine works fine, no problems, however, many people complain that theirs breaks or doesn't work. I think what happened was that many of the players that were made were defective. However, mine works fine, with no problems. Its a very good mp3 player. IT has soooooo much space, this is what led me to buying it. If you want a good quality mp3 player with a lot of spcae this one is for you. It;s pretty durable and i haven't had any problems with it. to add songs to it you just connect it to your computer with teh cord they give you, and tehn you drag and drop files onto it, couldn't be easier. The sound quality is also very good. The problem i have with the player are the extremely annoying headphones. They look cool, they're blue and silver, but they are too big, and the way that they are designed hurts your ears. The cool thing is that the earphones do have a volume adjuster on them. If you really think its a big problem, just go out and get some headphones. Overally, i really enjoy my mp3 player, and think it works really well
Rating: 
Summary: Great...till it stops working
Review: I had this for about 18 months. I was pretty happy with it, other than the annoying buzzing while it charged. The battery lasted for pretty long periods of time, it could hold a large amount of music, the sound quality was fine. But then all of a sudden I couldn't upload anything into it. I'm pretty good with computers so I tried to fix it, reinstall the software, anything I could think of. No luck, archos doesn't even support it anymore so I couldn't even read any FAQ info on it. Now I can't even use it as hard drive space. It's great while it lasts, but I wouldn't buy it without a warranty, maybe from best buy or something.
Rating:
Summary: Avoid like the plague
Review: I researched buying the product and was genuinely excited about buying it. When I got it, it looked great and hooked up easy enough to my computer. After i had loaded it up the problems started. The machine crashes day after day and now i use it as a door stopper. Dont try emailing for support, they won't reply. D'ont touch the product.....if you are unluckly like me, you will have wsted your money, and archos dont care. |Buy something else!
Rating:
Summary: Great When It Works
Review: I've been using an Archos 6 GB Jukebox 6000 MP3 Player for more than a year. When it works it's wonderful. The sound quality is outstanding. Unfortunately, keeping it working is a problem. The first one I received was defective. It took two months before the customer service department would even respond to my requests. They eventually replaced the device. This one worked well... for a while. Once again I'm in a holding pattern with customer service. The person who reccomended this product to me has had no trouble in nearly two years of use, so it might just be bad luck on my part and bad customer service on theirs. One more thing... Don't waste your money on buying the add-ons. I ordered the car kit and it turned out to be the same stuff I could have picked up at Radio Shack for twice the price.
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