I don't know how it happened, but somehow I managed to spend over 8 years on the Internet and never once listened to, let alone downloaded an MP3 music file. (besides hearing the horrible sounding clips at Amazon)

After Christmas I needed another PCDP after my fourth one in 16 years bit the dust. Somehow when researching new models online...the word MP3 kept popping up. No discs to carry and worry about? (I lost a whole wallet full of CDs, DVDs and CDRom discs once)So, after then researching the various MP3 players, I decided on the Archos Jukebox 20 Recorder.

Upon getting it home, I attempted to read the instruction book...got very confused and even attempted to sell it here on Head-Fi. Long story short..I finally forced myself to learn how to use it. Once I realized it was nothing but a portable hard drive...it was a snap. I learned how to "rip" MP3s from my existing CD collection and how to upload them to the Archos.

Finally this past weekend, I decided to fill it up with CDs from my collection. I have already converted over 100 cds and uploaded them to the Archos. I spent alot of time listening to my new MP3s using Porta Pros and even my Senn600s right out of the Archos headphone jack. This thing sounds fantastic!

It amazes me that I can fit the entire Springsteen catalog into a little 3x4x1 inch block and that it only scratches the surface of the storage capacity.

I still have not tried downloading MP3s from the net, but soon.

I like the Porta Pros with it, but I have a set of Ety 4S on the way from a fellow Head-Fier. I am looking forward to using them with the Archos.

Question....do any of you folks here use a portable amp with the Archos?

Sorry to go on so long...but this MP3 thing is really a great surprise to me. I know the quality is lower than CD..but it sounds pretty good to me.

congradulations... mp3 hard disk players are best portable audio solution available.

Definitely use an Amp with the recorder if you're using the 4S's. It creates a much fuller sound as oposed to unamped.

Good luck with your machine. I love my HD player and it currently is my primary source (Nomad Jukebox 3).

My memory of the Archos is that it very much benefits from an amp - especially if you're using it with the 4S. I'm not sure if the player will drive them super-loud.

I believe there is now firmware available for your machine which actually can improve the sound as well as its functionality - perhaps someone else here can advise you further.

ANYONE SITTING ON THE FENCE THINKING ABOUT GETTING ONE OF THE NEWER HD BASED MACHINES SHOULD DO IT NOW - REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED TO THE SOUND QUALITY OF THE DISCMAN TYPE PLAYERS ONCE THEY STARTED GETTING CHEAPER? THEY STARTED SOUNDING LIKE ****. BELIEVE ME THE LATEST HD BASED MP3 PLAYERS ARE BOTH ADVANCED AND SOUND GOOD - DON'T WAIT FOR THE NEXT BEST THING - YOU MAY BE DISAPPOINTED WITH THE SOUND QUALITY BUT BE BLINDED BY THE GIZMO FACTOR.

Sorry for shouting - it's just something I really know will happen.

Peddler, I think there is still room for improvement beause HD players havn't hit the "bubble"yet. They are still a very small part of the portable audio spectrum. I think that's going to change over the next 10 years but not overnight. I collect them so I'll have a meseum of sorts... "Legendary PDAPs"? It's hard to find websites that even care about this stuff yet. I ended up just making my own.

I'm not so sure. The spiral into crappyness is a lot faster now than it used to be. Everything these days is about form and gizmo appeal - not on sound quality.

I bet a gazillion pounds the next IPOD clone will feature a 5mw headphone output.

I have an Archos Jukebox Recorder 20, too, which I used to listen to all the time before it broke. (Bad solder joints.) (When it was broken, I bought an iPod. Then I learned how to solder enough to fix the Archos, and now my wife uses it and loves it.)

I couldn't listen to it straight with the Etys. It didn't drive them well enough. So I listened using the line-out, and an Airhead, and that worked very well.

Still wasn't perfect, though, because my Archos had a high-pitched whine or hiss which the revealing etys did nothing to conceal.

I got around that when at home by using the digital out of the Archos, into an Art Di/O, and then on into a headphone amp. (Creek). THAT sounded very good. No noise, great full sound.

When I fixed up the Archos for my wife, I installed RockBox. To my ears, that significantly reduced, if it didn't eliminate, the high pitched whine. I'd highly recommend Rock-Box. She listens straight out of the Archos with the elusive Koss KSC-35s, which is a very good combination, too.

Enjoy your Archos!

I have the Archos Studio 10 and find it much more enjoyable with an amp. I use an Airhead or a Super Mini with my PX200s or PortaPros and I'm very impressed with the sound. Without the amp, out of the headphone jack, I get a much more flat kind of sound, very little stereo imaging. I still prefer my PCDP but having 10 gigs of music at my disposal (I can't even imagine 20!) is really something special.

I just sold my Archos Multimedia unit so i can get the new one thats coming out this month. I've been doing this since I first had my Archos Studio 6. Once i had an Archos i couldn't go to any other HD players. I just love how its merely a hard drive and I can organize my files anyway i want, store any type of file on it, and i can do it all WITHOUT propritary software. very cool.

I used to keep my contact list on the archos as well because it can read and display text files. I just added a folder called 'contacts' to the root directory and made a seperate file for each person. Worked like a charm. Be sure to get the rockbox firmware for your Archos Recorder. It opens up the features of the unit and it sounds better to boot.

Not sure if anyone has ever mentioned this but since I saw the Archos posting I thought I'd offer the information.

If you own one of the Archos Jukeboxes you can probably go here:

Rockbox replacement firmware for Archos Jukeboxes

"where the community decided that the Archos Jukebox firmware sucked, and rewrote the whole OS." <<<--- This is quoted from a Forum at www.neurosaudio.com.

But if you go read up on what the Rockbox firmware can do you'll see that it fixes just about every single thing that Archos owners were complaining about, such as:

- fixing the background noise of the unit (the hiss and crackling)
- improved battery life (this alone is worth the firmware install)
- loading a 3000 song playlist in 1-3 seconds instead of minutes
- some games!! (Tetris, Sobokan, Snake)
- increased max songs on a playlist to 10,000
- improved the resolution on the volume control dramatically
- added a visual progress bar
and added ID3v1 and ID3v2 support (questionable with the Archos' original firmware).

In other words they've completely thrown out the original firmware and started clean from scratch and made everything better.

Check out some screenshots here:

Rockbox - Archos Screenshots

At the moment I don't personally own an Archos unit but a friend does and he uses Rockbox on his (that's how I found out about it). Let's just say that if I come across one at a good price or deeply discounted I may just get one before they disappear.

br0adband

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The next iPod clone may, but I'll bet the next iPod doesn't.

Steve Jobs is as much into audio as most of us. This is why PowerBooks have always been top performers right out of the box. I'm listening to DT880s, a difficult load by any standard, directly from my TiBook and Boney James (Sweet Thing) sounds terrific.

Congratulations on the Archos, John! These large capacity HD-based players are really bringing about a paradigm shift for many of us.

I honestly can't hear the difference between my CDs and 192-VBR rips, so walking around with the equivalent of hundreds of CDs in my shirt pocket is a staggering change.

Add a small amp such as the SuperMini and these little jewels will drive anything short of a K1000!

OK, I've changed the firmware in my Archos to Rock Box but it seems now that I can't make playlists on the fly from the unit. Is that correct or did I miss something?

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Yes indeedie...I really love having a whole collection in my pocket. I am using my Porta Pros right now but will be plugging in those CD3Ks as soon as they get here. I am using the OS Archos has installed and it is working out fine for me. I would like to try installing this RockBox everybody talks about. Wonder if I would have to reload all my mp3s again.

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No, all your music is still there.