[chefhow]

Hi all, being a relative newbie to the portable world and doing a lot of research here I have decided to leave the world of iPod and switch to either a Cowon A2 or the Archos 504. My problem is I have about 80 gigs of music most of which is on an external HD. My ?? has to do with Yahoo Music Unlimited. Does anyone use it, and what are your feelings? I plan on using it to download movies and music to the new unit and wanted to know if it has as wide of a selection as iTunes does. Thanks for all the help.......

 

[khbaur330162]

Not sure how your "??" has anything to do with the two PMP's you're looking at, but I'll try and answer you as best as I can.

I've never used Yahoo Music Unlimited, nor do I know much about it. First you need to check codec support. My guess would be that Yahoo uses WMA DRM for their music. My second guess would be that neither the Archos or Cowon unit supports this. You'll have to check the specifications of both players to know this.

Quality. The quality you'll be getting in both realms of audio and video will be questionable, not to mention you'll have to pay for it. I think it might do you well to rip and encode your own DVD's/CD's. Then you'll have complete control over what you get, and your expectations can always be met.


My opinion on the two units:
The Cowon A2 all the way. It's one heck of a player for the price. The LCD, GUI, battery life and aesthetics all complement each other very well. My only gripe would be Cowon customer support. My sister dropped her X5 and it took us almost 3 months to get in contact with their tech department, get an RMA, and simply ship the unit out to them. That doesn't even mention the month it took them to fix and ship it back... That said, Archos isn't that much better and has been known to find loop holes within their warranty so they don't have to service a unit. I've even heard that everything in the Av500 line is under warranty except for the LCD, which during the launch of the player, was having major difficulties with dead pixels and whatnot.

Good luck.

 

[ChicagoNB]

Has anyone seen a product called Zeon at Best Buy? It is only sold at Best Buy and you dock your iPod to it and it plays your videos or movies. It is the same size as the Cowon A2.

Anyone heard or used it.

 

[Breakdown]

link?

 

[3X0]

The new Archos units are considered to have questionable audio quality. The Cowon A2 has been considered by some to have better audio quality than most dedicated digital audio player units.

I've heard of that Zeon as well. IIRC it has a 7" screen, so it's considerably bigger than the A2 but also sports less battery life. Not too much of a practical solution IMO.

 

[pds6]

chefhow says,
Quote:

I have decided to leave the world of iPod and switch to either a Cowon A2 or the Archos 504.

Uniform praise for the Cowon A2. The only downside, they may be on backorder!

I was looking at the Archos. It seems to be more geared to video. The website places little import on sound.

EDIT: If you are looking at the Archos, the Woverien may be of interest:http://secure.serverlab.net/shop/mer...egory_Code=ESP

 

[RooX]

well, i was at best buy today and there was a 404 on display, i fiddled with it for a while and low and behold one of em ended up going home with me.

Got to briefly compare the SQ (with the latest firmware) to my X5 and my wifes ipod mini 6gig.

Long story short (i can expand upon it if need be) It sounds fine. I used my new AT phones, as well as some MS-1's, and a pair of portapros. Used the same files on each player.

Was better than the ipod right off the bat, clearer more authority, less veil.

VS the x5 with no EQ, it was too close to call imho. I couldnt pick em out if i was blindfolded i dont think. With eq, i think that the x5's works better, but i need to fiddle more with the 5-band on the 404.. ill keep you all posted.

 

[muckluck]

My Cowon A2 was replaced in 2 weeks when I dropped it off my bed. Not long at all. I would go for Cowon A2 based on battery life and codec support.

 

[austonia]

Cowon A2, if you value codecs like AC3, OGG and FLAC, double the battery life, frequent firmware updates, better build quality, better sound quality, etc.

Archos only if you need better video recording capability or higher storage capacities.

 

[khbaur330162]

Snaps. You've been graced with the rarity, and certainly somewhat isolated favoritism of Austin. Listen to what the man says, by Paul McCartney and the Wings.

 

[dr.morton]

The A2 does not support music with DRM as far as I know.
While the A2 is a wonderful player it is better suited for videos then for music IMO.
If you are more interested in music I would check out the X5.

 

[afobisme]

i miss my iaudio, the SQ is soooooooo much better than this stupid sansa i've got.. i'm so disappointed.

i've heard: a clix, sansa, and iaudio... and from my opinion, the iaudio SQ > any other portable player i've heard.

 

[pds6]

RooX says,
Quote:

i fiddled with it for a while and low and behold one of em ended up going home with me.

Would you mind posting an update in a few months.

I was looking at the Archos for movie replay only. It seems to have the largest screen, 100gb harddrive, runs on Apple and extra batteries are available to extend viewing. My only concerns: quality and support.

 

[RooX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pds6 RooX says, Would you mind posting an update in a few months. I was looking at the Archos for movie replay only. It seems to have the largest screen, 100gb harddrive, runs on Apple and extra batteries are available to extend viewing. My only concerns: quality and support.

sure, keep in mind i ended up with the 404, not the 6/504. Smaller screen, pocket sized etc etc. Same gui, style, and function. Just smaller. (and i think the screen isnt quite as good as its bigger brothers)

2 days later, im still enjoying it. x5 is great to though. ill keep you posted.

 

[proxops-pete]

Sorry for the late input... another vote for Cowon A2. I bought one back in July and except for the woeful (lack of) ID3 tag support, it's a beaut!