Peddler
1000+ Head-Fier
I know that there’s already a vast wealth of information concerning this player already available on the net – I know – I’ve looked it all up. This review is really designed to offer an insight into ownership of this player from a sound quality perspective in addition to its uses very much in a portable domain.
Portability
Firstly, I feel that I should only point out that this is a fairly large player. Same size in area as a typical portable CD player, but a lot thicker than most. Having said that I’m based in the U.K. so the player came supplied with an excellent carry case which allows you to strap it to your waist and when used like that, it’s really an easy player to carry. Care does have to be taken not to knock the buttons when carrying it in this way – although the player does feature a button lock and, on the latest firmware, can be fairly easily activated without having to wade through loads of menus.
I’m still waiting for Creative to release the in-line remote control for the unit – once I have that I think it’s fair to say that this will make an excellent portable system. Again, with the U.K. release of the product I got a wireless remote control with the unit but I’m not really inclined to carry this around with me.
Battery consumption in real world figures is close to the figures quoted – around 8 – 10 hours with normal usage – certainly enough for my purposes and would comfortable work all weekend if necessary I think.
User Interface
I’m afraid this is where the IPOD has it totally beat. Although navigating through tracks, albums, genre, artist, etc is no problem, it’s certainly not as elegant as the IPOD’s way of doing things. One feature which is most welcome on the latest firmware upgrade is the ability to search through albums by artists. Most people I think tend to select this music using this method anyway and it’s certainly the way I do it now. At the moment I don’t really make full use of the playlist function but it’s a snap to do on the PC. Almost all track manipulation is done on the PC and, thanks to the Firewire interface, it very fast and painless.
The PC software is fairly simple (but effective). I do have occasional connection problems which I still haven’t tracked down to either the PC or NOMAD – one minute I’m convinced it’s the PC that’s letting me down and the next I’m looking suspiciously at the player itself. Since I started using EAC/LAME for ripping though I’ve not really experienced connection problems – I’m really hoping it’s been cured with the latest firmware.
Upgradeable Firmware
As I have mentioned before, the NOMAD 3 features upgradeable firmware which can greatly improve both the performance and reliability of the machine. So far, to my knowledge, there have been two firmware upgrades so far – not bad for a machine this new. The latest firmware features better track navigation, a subtle remapping of the power button for button locking and slightly better handling of VBR files.
The Jukebox 3 can handle all the various MP3 formats as well as WAV and WMA. One of the most impressive features of the NOMAD is its ability to record – either from a line in or optical source. Various formats can be selected including uncompressed WAV and CBR MP3’s using the standard bit-rates. I have not really had the opportunity to test the analogue inputs but I can tell you that the optical input really does work as well as the Sony Portable MiniDisc units.
Sound Quality
This is what it’s all about as far as I’m concerned. There’s no point in having this excellent piece of hardware if it sounds like a bucket of nails. Previous to the NOMAD Jukebox 3 I had the Archos Jukebox Studio 20 player/recorder and I have to say that there’s really no comparison from a sound quality point of view.
What the NOMAD offers is a nice solid sound. There’s no significant emphasis on bass, mid or treble – it’s tonally flat in a nice way. The player is also powerful – I think the specifications rate it at 100mw output. There’s no significant line noise from the amplifier and, when fed with good quality MP3’s really sounds outstanding. Although I have not heard the IPOD, I have heard a fair few other players including the RIORIOT, SlimX and the Pocket PC and I have to say that the NOMAD easily outperforms them by quite a margin. The line-outs work fine and sounds sweet with my Airhead amp and Ety 4P/S. Yes, the player compliments the Etymotics headphones without any problems.
I must admit I have been eyeing the IPOD for some time now and really like its cool factor but I’m more than happy with the NOMAD and I expect it will be quite some time before anything comes along which will be significantly better. When I purchased my Nomad I also purchased a 3-year warranty which covers against accidental damage – this I’m afraid is a must as the hard drive based players are definitely not as tough as their MD and CD-based counterparts.
All in all I am more than impressed with this machine. The sound quality is absolutely first rate and when you take all the other factors into account – it’s unbeatable. Anyone sitting on the fence thinking about getting a hard drive based MP3 player shouldn’t hesitate – get the Nomad.
Portability
Firstly, I feel that I should only point out that this is a fairly large player. Same size in area as a typical portable CD player, but a lot thicker than most. Having said that I’m based in the U.K. so the player came supplied with an excellent carry case which allows you to strap it to your waist and when used like that, it’s really an easy player to carry. Care does have to be taken not to knock the buttons when carrying it in this way – although the player does feature a button lock and, on the latest firmware, can be fairly easily activated without having to wade through loads of menus.
I’m still waiting for Creative to release the in-line remote control for the unit – once I have that I think it’s fair to say that this will make an excellent portable system. Again, with the U.K. release of the product I got a wireless remote control with the unit but I’m not really inclined to carry this around with me.
Battery consumption in real world figures is close to the figures quoted – around 8 – 10 hours with normal usage – certainly enough for my purposes and would comfortable work all weekend if necessary I think.
User Interface
I’m afraid this is where the IPOD has it totally beat. Although navigating through tracks, albums, genre, artist, etc is no problem, it’s certainly not as elegant as the IPOD’s way of doing things. One feature which is most welcome on the latest firmware upgrade is the ability to search through albums by artists. Most people I think tend to select this music using this method anyway and it’s certainly the way I do it now. At the moment I don’t really make full use of the playlist function but it’s a snap to do on the PC. Almost all track manipulation is done on the PC and, thanks to the Firewire interface, it very fast and painless.
The PC software is fairly simple (but effective). I do have occasional connection problems which I still haven’t tracked down to either the PC or NOMAD – one minute I’m convinced it’s the PC that’s letting me down and the next I’m looking suspiciously at the player itself. Since I started using EAC/LAME for ripping though I’ve not really experienced connection problems – I’m really hoping it’s been cured with the latest firmware.
Upgradeable Firmware
As I have mentioned before, the NOMAD 3 features upgradeable firmware which can greatly improve both the performance and reliability of the machine. So far, to my knowledge, there have been two firmware upgrades so far – not bad for a machine this new. The latest firmware features better track navigation, a subtle remapping of the power button for button locking and slightly better handling of VBR files.
The Jukebox 3 can handle all the various MP3 formats as well as WAV and WMA. One of the most impressive features of the NOMAD is its ability to record – either from a line in or optical source. Various formats can be selected including uncompressed WAV and CBR MP3’s using the standard bit-rates. I have not really had the opportunity to test the analogue inputs but I can tell you that the optical input really does work as well as the Sony Portable MiniDisc units.
Sound Quality
This is what it’s all about as far as I’m concerned. There’s no point in having this excellent piece of hardware if it sounds like a bucket of nails. Previous to the NOMAD Jukebox 3 I had the Archos Jukebox Studio 20 player/recorder and I have to say that there’s really no comparison from a sound quality point of view.
What the NOMAD offers is a nice solid sound. There’s no significant emphasis on bass, mid or treble – it’s tonally flat in a nice way. The player is also powerful – I think the specifications rate it at 100mw output. There’s no significant line noise from the amplifier and, when fed with good quality MP3’s really sounds outstanding. Although I have not heard the IPOD, I have heard a fair few other players including the RIORIOT, SlimX and the Pocket PC and I have to say that the NOMAD easily outperforms them by quite a margin. The line-outs work fine and sounds sweet with my Airhead amp and Ety 4P/S. Yes, the player compliments the Etymotics headphones without any problems.
I must admit I have been eyeing the IPOD for some time now and really like its cool factor but I’m more than happy with the NOMAD and I expect it will be quite some time before anything comes along which will be significantly better. When I purchased my Nomad I also purchased a 3-year warranty which covers against accidental damage – this I’m afraid is a must as the hard drive based players are definitely not as tough as their MD and CD-based counterparts.
All in all I am more than impressed with this machine. The sound quality is absolutely first rate and when you take all the other factors into account – it’s unbeatable. Anyone sitting on the fence thinking about getting a hard drive based MP3 player shouldn’t hesitate – get the Nomad.