Archos mp3 player
 

Okay, I feel like I could get flamed for putting this in the wrong forum, but Music doesn't quite cut it... and there isn't a Tilted Electronics.. so I apologize in advance.. and hope there are some that can help me. Thanks!

I want to buy a 20GB Archos mp3 player because I'm on a limited budget and can't afford an iPod.. and I also really like the fact that the Archos players are pretty much a harddrive that plays mp3s. There isn't some elaborate CDDB tag mess that throws all your songs into a big list, it's still folder-based.. just like a hard drive. Anyway, my question is... there are two models on amazon.com and I can't for the life of me figure out the difference between the two. I figured maybe someone more familiar with either of these mp3 players could help me.. or maybe there's something I'm missing.

Archos 20 GB USB 2.0 Jukebox Recorder - $149.88
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...nics&n=3004381

Archos Jukebox 20 GB Digital Audio Player/Recorder/Hard Drive - $257.74
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...nics&n=3004381

Why are the prices so radically different.. when it looks like the cheaper one is the more updated version? I have no idea. I need help!

Thanks in advance.. and if it's a totally easy difference that I'm missing, someone just hit me.

Not sure but i have the 10 gig archos jukebox studio 10 and it rocks. I mainly just use it for music. it was 200 bones july of 2002.

yeah, i love the features and i am looking forward to using Rockbox as firmware.. it just looks like an overall cool mp3 player.

now if i can just figure out why the cheaper one is cheaper and buy the damn thing. :)

I saw the Archos and wanted to get it for my wife while she worked out. I actually saw it for $99 a few months ago. I saw skeptical, so I asked around. A friend of mine who commutes to NYC has it, but he replaced it 2 times so far. The reason it got damaged was not from dropping it. He is a very hard walker. He pounds his feet when he walks. All the pounding shook loose the mechanism inside of it. It is like a small hard drive inside, not a memory card. So far Archos replaced it both times for free for him. He loves it. I guess it depends on what you are using it for. If it is for workouts, it may not be for you.

I've had the second one mentioned for almost 2 years now and have had only one problem. The rechargable batteries finally gave up about 2 months ago. Other than that, it's been flawless. I bought it to use at work, I always have to be moving fast and music gets me moving fast. It's taken some serious shaking and bumps, and a couple of big falls. The big falls have shut the thing off both times, but these falls were from more than 10ft up. It handles vibration pretty well also, I DJ in clubs and I got it because it can record straight from the DJ mixer(something the iPod couldn't do). All the bass rattling the clubs have never caused any problems and if I take it with me out riding ATV's or dirt bikes, it holds up just fine. Occasionally lots of rattling(riding over seriously rough terrain for 15 minutes or more) can cause the hard drive problems and it freezes, but just turn it off and back on it again and its good to go. I highly recommend it. I hope this has helped some.

I've had a Jukebox Studio 20 for about two years and enjoyed it, though just got an ipod for Christmas, so Yoshi'll be taking over ownership of the Archos. It's a solid player, but I got a little annoyed with the weight of it (about 12 oz.). It also tends to freeze/lock up momentarily if your batteries are starting to get low or you bounce it too much as you walk.

Still, it's a real nice machine if you're looking for a relatively low cost/high storage capacity MP3 player.

I've got the 10 gig and it works great. I don't know why the newer one is so much cheaper, so i can't really help you. All i can say is that its a great mp3 player. :)

Can't really speak to the difference between those two units. I can say that I'm totally fricking inseparable from my Archos Studio 20. Love that thing.

The new 2.1 Rockbox firmware absoutely rules. Especially because they implemented a feature I requested--an option to fire up the backlight for a few seconds when changing tracks. The firmware that the unit ships with is atrocious from many standpoints. Buy the thing, and upgrade to Rockbox immediately.

$254.95 - Dual 20 GB digital audio player and hard drive
Stores over 330 hours of CD-quality music, or approximately 500 albums
2 MB memory buffer stores from 30 to 100 seconds of music to prevent interruptions
USB 2.0 interface for transfer rate up to 480 Mbps
Supports MP3 files; Windows and Mac compatible

$205.00- 20 GB hard drive, with up to 300 hours of music and/or data
USB 2.0 interface, USB 1.1 compatible
Record audio from any audio source
Rechargeable NiMH batteries with 10 hours of playtime included
Compatible with 98SE, Me, 2000, XP, or Mac OS 9.2 or X

Ok, the more expensive one... **Dual 20Gig**, 20MB buffer to prevent skiping, compatible will all windows and Mac OSs, the cheaper one, only with 98SE, Me, 2000, XP, or Mac OS 9.2 or X.

Does this help?
~Crack