[shloosh3]

iv wonder what do you think about the 404 from archos??
what about the sound quality ? against the ZVM and other players....
and how is the player in all other terms...??


thxxxx

 

[Aardvarks]

Do you mean the 40 gig wide screen with a metal case?

My youngest lad has one, I have a 30gb Zen Vision M. The Archos is terrific for video and film, has a metal case and is very scratch resistant. Sound quality is as good as my ZVM, you can even swap the hard drive as it uses an industry standard drive as used in small note books etc. Good battery life, on video it exceeds the ZVM 30 gig.

Only downside is the size and the weight.

I would say that all in all it is a very robust and reliable machine, comes with a great leather wallet.

 

[boof]

I had a 404 for a while, just sold it. It worked as advertised, but it had a noticeable hiss when using Super.fi 5 pros. Also, my original one had a cracked screen due to a battery defect, but that may have been corrected.

 

[terrymx]

i dont have the 404 but i have the larger version 604wifi.

i think the 404 also only come in 30gb. it should not be possible to swap harddrive because it is locked. its possible with one of the oldest firmware, but you can't downgrade after you upgrade.

about headphone noise, i can hear the harddrive spin. but there is no hiss. if i have higher ohms headphones i'm sure i wouldnt hear them either.

i wouldnt buy just for pure music listening since its not solely design. but i heard the screen is even nicer than the touchscreen wifi version. for video it play very smoothly, i even use the external speakers sometimes. but the lack of removable battery for the 404 is a problem, because for a well encoded and lowest brightness setting you'll get 3.5hours. music battery life is good though, claimed 12hours, i'm betting around 8-9 although i never tested mine.