Okay, here is a micro review of iAudio 5, based on about a month of daily use.
On the negative side:
-The first thing I noticed is that the jogbuttons push-in function doesn't work that well. You have to press exactly straight down, and that's sometimes kind of hard when the thing is lying in your pocket. It would have been nice if you could press down even if you tilt the jog. But this is something you will get accustomed to.
And another thing about the jogs, they
not analog. I don't know if that's a surprise to you guys, it certainly was to me. I would almost have preferred normal digital buttons instead, although maybe digital jogs
are a bit easier to hit and "map to your mind".
-Battery life. iAudio claims 20 hours, but the most I seem to be able to get out of it is somewhere about 6-7 hours with all effects but BBE off and the volume at 60%. So if battery life means a lot to you then look elsewhere.
But battery chargers are inexpensive, so for me it’s just a matter of changing it every other day.
-The earpuds that come with player is not very good (although iAudio claim them to be high quality). They have a muffled sound, with an uneven frequency range. The wire inside the cable is so thin that it affects radio reception (reception got much better after I switched to my MS-1s).
-The volume scale seems to go up almost exponentially (firmware fix possible?).
-To get the whole manual you need to download a PDF from the JetAudio site. The supplied manual only gives you the basics. A bit cheap iAudio, and thanks for not telling me!
On the positive side:
-Sound quality is the best I heard from any flash or HD player.
In the default setting bass sounds a bit separated from the rest of the sound image and highs seem a bit too high, but a bit of tinkering with the equalizer helps even that out.
-Supplied software is pretty good but not exceptionally so.
You get JetShell (transfer/manage program) and JetAudio (media player and ripper) JetAudio is my default play on my computer now (better than RealPlayer and WMP).
-The design is nice, and you get extras like a protective holster, wire-strap, male to male jack-plug cable, USB cable and USB "dongle" (really short USB cable).
-A small surprise feature is the ability to but "bookmarks" in you files so you can listen to something else and then come back later. Very nice for audiobooks.
Overall a very good player with a few faults, some which might prove reason enough not to buy for a few.
My rating out of a hundred is 90.
