2. Second one was a recorder. I could not record using any external source, just through inbuilt mic (but forget using this one- you hear rather noise of hardisk than the sound you wanted to record).

== I wrote to Archeos - email - long and polite - I included my date of purchase etc. - NO ANSWER from customer service departement!!!!!!!! (after 4 months still waiting it ...)
I am not from USA, I bought it there but I live in the Europe now. Any phone calls and snail mail is very expensive for me.
I threw my money for Jukebox -that is basicly good thing- but couple important details make Archeos Jukebox recorder 20 GB very expensive china garbage.
Think twice before you buy it. Good luck.

since the other reviews explain all the good things, ill just let you in on the other stuff/ advice

-dont lose the headphones it comes with cause volume adjustment is very hard on the player itself

-20GB is an overkill, i have 800 songs on mine and thats 2.3GB

-watch out for the warranty sticker. Mine fell off

-get a piece of cardboard or something of the sort and put it in the case in front of the player, itll keep it from getting turned on and stuff while its in the case

okay thats all

The sound quality is good. The headphones they send are really pathetic. To be fair to Archos, their customer support wasnt bad at all - and they were helpful. But the product itself is bulky - the one I had had an 8 MB buffer, which I thought would be good enough while jogging. I was dead wrong. The thing would freeze and skip often and I had to go back to my Sony G-protection CD Walkman. If I had not repeatledly used it whilst jogging - there probably wouldnt be a problem. The thing is also kind of heavy - it is as heavy as a small stone. But my friend has it - and he uses it mainly in the car through the cassette player and sometimes on campus - and he is quite happy with it.

In the end, if you are looking for a cheap HD player and are basically a couch potato then this player will not disappoint you; else I highly recommend that you give it a pass. I now intend to buy the Rio Nitrus - it does look like a good product.

The only shortcoming it has, just to get it out of the way, is weight. Its larger than some MP3 players out there, including some with similar capacity, like the new iPods.

However, I think it has some features that give the iPod a run for its money, especially at this price.

#1: RECORDING. The Archos Recorder does not compromise on this feature. It has a built in mic but also digital AND analog line-in ports, so you can record from ANY source. This is handy for digitizing records, doing interviews, or recording streaming audio content from your computer. Just hook up a cable between the headphone port and the line in and you can literally record anything you can listen to. You will need a miniplug-to-miniplug, MALE/MALE cable to do this, which is not included, but costs only a couple bucks at Radio Shack. The Archos records NATIVELY in MP3 format, with adjustable quality. Many so-called MP3 player/recorders record in some other proprietary format which needs to be converted later. Many cannot even play back their own recordings. The Archos recorder gets it right on every count. Incredibly useful.

#2: USB 2.0 with Mac/PC compatibility built in. Again, the Archos just gets it right, plain and simple. Many players, including the iPod, require you to manage your MP3 files through a music playing program on your computer. Not the Archos. Just plug in the Archos and it appears as a hard drive attached to your computer. You dont even need to install any drivers. Simply manage files on it like you would any files on any hard drive. I really enjoy being able to move, organize, rename, delete files the simplest way possible. And USB 2.0 is fantastic. Its backward-compatible with all USB ports, so you can count on the Archos working on any USB-enabled Mac or PC you have. *AND* if you are lucky enough to have a USB 2.0 card in your PC, you can take advantage of the high-speed connections of USB 2.0. Did I mention that with the simple hard-drive connection there is no copy-protection scheme whatsoever? You can copy files to and from as many computers as you want. You can even store non-MP3 files. I use the Archos as an emergency backup, and to shuttle files back and forth to work. Is there anything it cant do?? :)

#3: ROCKBOX. What is Rockbox? Well, to put it simply, its an alternative operating system for your Archos. The Archos was designed to allow other programmers to replace its internal software if they wished, and an independent consortium of Open Source programmers has done just that. Their OS is actually a huge improvement over the Archos OS. It increases battery life, improves the user interface, and gives you lots of new options. Now that Rockbox supports recording, there is no reason not to replace the Archos OS with Rockbox. Just type "Rockbox" into Google the day you receive your Archos, and load it up immediately.

#4. BATTERY AND DURABILITY. This thing is incredibly solid. Not only is the construction sturdy, its protected by thick rubber bumpers that will cushion a fall. You can place the unit face down on a tabletop, but the screen and buttons will not touch the surface, because the bumpers extend out from the case just enough to protect them. Its an elegant design that, once again, just works. The battery life, in my experience, is fantastic. I havent measured the precise life of a charge, because frankly, Ive never run out of juice. The 4 AA rechargeables inside are easy to reach without any tools, and carry enough juice to get me through a day or two of running around town with my headphones on. In this regard, the slighly larger size of the Archos pays off.

If maximum portability is your 1st priority, then you should consider a smaller player. But then again, I dont think the iPod is small enough to strap to your arm and job with either. Flash memory players are definitely the way to go if what you want most is a small/light unit.

But if what you want is a high-capacity player, with serious recording capability, a good-size screen with an easy interface, solid construction and great battery life, you cannot go wrong with this unit. In the year since it was released, nothing else has come close for me.

Some people have reported problems, but I have experienced none. Neither have my girlfriend or best friend, both of whom bought one too.

warnerr@digitalvideolightwave.com

-The Archos Jukebox is extremely durable. I threw it at the ground once in rage and it came back unscathed. Its been dropped countless times by my friends, and still functions.

-It also has surprisingly long battery life. Plus you dont need to buy 4 AA batteries every 10 hours because of the NiMH batteries and charger. You just charge it up at night and in the morning its ready to rock and roll again.

-Its sound quality, OH MY GOD. It is so good. Its like listening to a CD player.

-When I look at a menu for an mp3 player, I like it simple. Why must Apples iPod have such a complex menu structure? I dont know but the Archos menu system kicks ass. End of discussion.

Overall 10/10!

The overall size of the unit is quite big. Its like carrying a computer hard drive around in your pocket all day, and then putting about 1 or 2 inches of useless plastic over it. The overall shape and size of the Archos is way too bulky for my preference. It looks more like a bomb to me, and not an mp3 player.

Secondly, I found the sound quality to be sub-par compared to other players. I ripped an entire nirvana CD at the highest possible quality, and found that my iPod and my iRiver Slimx-550 still sounded better. Why? I have a feeling that this is because the amplifier in the unit is a bit weaker than those found in the iPod, for example. This is not a bad thing if you are a whimpy listener and only listen at medium volumes. I, on the other hand, have practically made it a goal to become deaf, and this unit wont help me accomplish that feat.

I found the Archos easy to control in my testing of it, however it was lacking in the "quick and easy" department. The controls are a bit awkward and hard to initiate unless you have the unit infront of you. If you just want to go to the next song on your list with the unit in your pocket, only experienced listeners of this unit will be able succeed in that. I constantly had to pull the thing out of my pockets and look at what I was doing. The unit is just too bulky and too complicated to understand without using your sense of sight.

My last complaint about this unit, while not a big one for most people, is the community. I am a Linux user, and when I did research on this mp3 player to see if I could get some 3rd party apps to get this thing direct-linked to my linux system, it was no-go. I really wish this player had a bigger community, or else Id have maybe kept this player.

In the long run, however, this player is still average. For the price, you get a nice package and you cant go wrong with that. The capacity of this unit is quite high for the price, and thats a good thing. However, I think that in this day and age, it isnt worth the money you save to get a player of such a lower quality. That is just my opinion. I am sure many people would like to beg to differ, but for a high-end music goer like me, I need something smaller and of higher quality. Can this unit benefit? It sure can! Just make sure that if you ever buy this, that you are not expecting to cary this in your pocket for on-the-run sort of things, or for school. For that kind of a unit, Id go for an iPod or the new iRiver device coming out soon. On the low end, get the newest Mp3CD player from iRiver, the SlimX 550. Its a great CD player and has features not found on the iPod and other similar units.

I hope this review helped. Overall, this is an average mp3 player. The reason it gets this average score is for the price that you pay to get such a high-storage device. Many features, such as the size, and sound quality, need improving, but you get what you pay for. :)

Check out this link for an upgrade guide:
.....

Before and after the upgrade the device would skip and lockup.
Archos was of no help at all. It was unusable.

Then I discovered an Open Source Project that wrote replacement firmware for the Archos that fixes all of the bugs and makes the system easier to use and more flexible. The Rockbox firmware is for the Archos Jukebox 5000, 6000, Studio, Recorder and FM Recorder MP3 players. Check it out here:
......

Since upgrading the firmware and the disk drive I love this player. If you dont upgrade to the Rockbox firmware, keep your reciept handy.

Good luck.

Your computer has to be fairly updated to run the software, because the average new computer doesnt have a 2.0 USB drive. If you werent aware, 20 GB is the equivalent of about 5,000 songs! Not only are you going to be 3 years older by the time you download all of those, youll prolly end up in jail after downloading THAT many songs! But on the FLIP side, this "Jukebox" is probably about 250% sturdier than others, and who knows, maybe you DO have 5,000 songs to listen to! If you are planning to buy this as your first MP3 player, DONT. Buy a less expensive one, and try it. The very inexpensive ones will be [cheaper]. One more thing: If you want this, but its not a top priority, then wait awhile. A whole new plateau of MP3 players is about to emerge, and they are more than any normally functioning human should need. So if you can, you should wait a few months until this product isnt the top of the line anymore. But its your decision!

so you find the artist you want, then pick the album, and off you go.

The thing is providing hours of entertainment.
Im keeping my eye on it, cuz of the negative reviews ive seen here, and rest assured, if this thing screws up, youll get a SCALDING review on here.

but until then, this thing is a gem!

Its about 2/3 the price of the other popular MP3 player.

With Rockbox, it boots up in 3 seconds.

The batteries are standard and easy to replace. The hard-drive is standard and replaceable/upgradeable.

The standard 2.0 USB port allows you to access Archos from your PC/Laptop as if its just another hard drive.

If you are going to buy this product, make sure you do some research on Rockbox. The standard firmware isnt all that great.

I should have demanded my money back at that time. The new one worked great for three weeks until it somehow cooked the batteries.

I now have been waiting for over two weeks for their "support" to call me back. I have sent several e mails and have been ignored.

They have a support line but it is NEVER answered. After two hours I just gave up. Anyway do not buy the new unit. It has a problem with the batteries and the offer NO SUPPORT.

Maybe because its a FRENCH Company they have shipped the defective units to the USA. I dont know or care at this point. So my advice to you is DO NOT buy this product!!!!

Ive also been getting great battery life. Probaby up to 12 hours if I am just listening and not using it as a hard drive. No problems with skips or noise

Also, it works great under Linux, at least with RedHat, contrary to what another reviewer said. You do have to be careful to connect it *before* you boot up a RedHat 8 machine or it may freeze the machine. No problems at all under RedHat 9.

I just wish you could somehow directly download from a compact flash card like with the AJ Multimedia model. Then I could use it to offload digital camera images, too.

1) The voice recording is dreadful! Theres a buzzing sound that makes recording quality awful. What about buying an external mic? Doesnt work. I used various mics but the result was the same.

2) Week battery life. Advertised to be up to 8 hours, youll get about 2 to 3 if youre lucky. If you turn the player on and off more than 4 times, youre looking at about an hour.

3) Skips. My old Sony Walkman with no skip protection had less skips than the Archos, especially if you have more than 50% of the storage capacity. I repeatedly had to play the music over and over again.

4) When recharging, the Archos makes this annoying buzzing sound thats loud enough to keep you up at night. The LCD light is also on, so you have to charge it in another room.

5) There are many more problems, many yet to be discovered perhaps.

Positives:

6) Currently, I think my Archos has a virus and is currently completely worthless. Itll probably make a pretty cool door stop. Thats all its good for now...

I cant stand this product! It was a big waste of money! Its a product made by a French Company, which lacks the consistency and proven track record of a Sony, IPod, or any others. I took an ill advised risk to my peril. I just hope my dreaded experience will lead unsuspecting buyers to "greener pastures." BUY AT YOUR OWN RISK!

1. Sides Separating from inserting batteries...had to have the board resoldered...paid 40.00 for a computer repairman to resolder this.

2. Power Adapter Just literally fell off when disconnecting the power...paid the same computer repairman 55.00 to open it back u
unsolder the original soldered boards and solder the power plug back on, soldered the boards back together

3. top middle button stopped responding, middle play button fell off. Had to repair this myself

4. Screen stopped functioning Opened it back up and repairman told me it wasnt worth fixing this time.

5. removed hard drive and threw the archos recorder in the trash in less than 6 months.

Only buy this device if you plan on buying yourself a soldering iron here...hey does Amazon have soldering irons? Dont believe me check out www.funmp3players.com msg board or the archos groups on yahoo and do a search on solder lol. You will be surprised the number of people that have had to solder this device back together after it starts falling apart!

The only real negatives I see are:
-The headphones, I use the Sony noise-cancelling ones on the plane or Sennheisers at home,
-The case, if someone that makes those leatherette cases for cell phones would make one for this unit thatd be great, Id buy it,
-Using the MusicMatch software to send your songs and playlists over is problematic. Ive been dragging and dropping under Windows XP instead.
-I already have MusicMatch 8.0 Pro on my computer and Archos provides 7.0

Mainly, my problem with the device was that it is more of a hard disk storage device with MP3 capibilities than an MP3 player. In fact, I really did not realize what I was missing until I bought the RCA Lyra 40 gig for the same price (the Lyra comes with a car kit which is extra for the Archos). The Lyra lets you play by Artist, Genre, Album, and the like. The Archos is directory-based, so it play the MP3s in a file without regard to the MP3 encoding.

.... and the directions are AWFUL!

I disagree with the review that stated, sarcasitcally, that the directions which good "as long as you know how to read them". They are scant at best, and are only in detail in the on-line version.

Also, I had some minor technical issues such as difficulity with playlists. It would not play any of the lists I uploaded. Turned out that it was some sort of bug which their tech support required me to reformat the disk. It is a week old, and I have to reformat and upload my stuff again! Not really what I signed up for.

The one feature it has that I liked (that my Lyra lacks) is a "resume" feature. If resume is set to on, the player will pick up the last song it was playing when you turned it off. Very nice. But, it has no shuffle feature which does not bother me, but some folks will want that.

All in all, I say pass on this one...

By the way, I like the behind the head headphones that some other complained about. Wish I could have kept those when I sent the whole thing back.

Size - Itll fit in your pocket but you are going to have a bulge there. If youre looking for a skip free way to get through your 20 minute workout get something smaller that uses flash memory or an MD player.

Capacity - 20 GB is a lot of space. Its the Jukebox recorders #1 quality.

Batteries - They recently went dead after like a year and a half so no big deal. They can be replaced with any NIMH AA so it may be a good idea to get a spare set. You can listen to it as the batteries charge by holding down on button as it loads. They will take most of the night to charge but they will last all day.

Transfer - USB 2.0 transfer is fast. 1.1 is reasonable. You do not have to transcode your MP3s before you transfer them.

Sound - As you know this plays mp3s. It will not sound as good as your CD or DVD-audio player. The headphones that come with it are junk and the Jukebox will sound like crap with them. Get yourself a good pair of Sony MDR-G72s. Studio headphones will be put to waste with these because mp3s just dont sound that good. The equalizer is nice and customizable enough to get the sound you want without much hassle.

I love it and I cant imagine how I managed without it. 4 stars cause I wish it were just a little smaller and the poor headphone thing.

The device has works perfectly when I connect it through the USB2 PCI card I bought for it, and I have almost 1GB of personal data files stored. That feature was one of the factors in buying it. I like the over all quality of the product, but it lacks some essentials, and other features are buggy.

PLUS:
* Good sound and power conservation control.
* Sturdy design, so far no damage after three short-distance drops.
* Easy interface with Windows - Ive hardly had to use the "Safely Disconnect" dialog, just plugging and unplugging at will.
* Decent sound quality and controls, though it could use a noise filter for known MP3 sound degradation (does this exist on other players?)
* Reasonable price
* Records on-the-fly to MP3 via built-in mic or line-in. Nice feature, though I havent used it much.

MINUS
* Manual misses some key points of device operation. Five languages, mediocre coverage.
* Some display/navigation glitches.
* High storage load can cause slow-down in load-up and button response. Also causes inconsistent freezes and sound errors. Defrag may potentially help this problem.
* Housing back seems kinda thin, making me nervous that the whole drive could break out if dropped hard enough.
* No further firmware development (as told to me by Archos support).
* Only supports MP3 - no WMA or OGG, and MP3Pro is compatible, but sounds nasty and causes even more errors.
* Not very useful for Linux users. Can read from the device, but writing is dangerous and could lock up Linux. Of course, this is true of most players.
* File naming for on-the-fly recording is really difficult and cumbersome.
* Could use more display area. As large as the device is, the screen could be bigger. Hard to sift through the hundreds of albums Ive stored (even in a folder hierarchy) when I can only see five at a time.

Another reviewer mentioned a car adapter. Which is fine if you have a tape deck, but if you have a CD player and need to use an FM transmitter to play through the car stereo, youre out of luck. This device isnt compatible with the ones Ive found.

This drive does the job for me, and until I can afford something higher-end, itll serve my purposes. But if you can afford it, pay the higher price for a better player. Ill be looking to sell mine once I can put together money for something else.

WHY BUY THIS MODEL? Several reasons:

(1) A large amt of storage space. There are basicly 2 types of MP3/WMA players - those that use flash-based memory, and those that use a hard drive. Flash-based players are generally limited to a max 256MB of storage (most have 128MB or less). Some allow you to add storage with a SD (Secure Digital) or SmartMedia card, but this will get you no where near the storage capacity of hard drive-based players. Plus those storage cards cost money, can get lost, etc. I currently have 30+ CDs, several audio books, some language learning files, and other stuff on my AJR20 and have used only a fraction of the storage space! No need to ever buy/switch media cards.

(2) You want to record (in MP3 format). If you want to record (voice, music, whatever), your choices of a quality player are significantly narrowed. If you want to record in MP3 format, the choices are VERY limited. I tried out the RipFlash Pro and didnt find it very appealing (small & light, but buttons were hard to use, record quality was very mediocre, etc.). Being able to record directly to MP3 is a wonderful feature. Who wants to waste time converting recordings (or even figuring out how to do that if you are not tech-savvy)?! With the AJR20, everything you record is saved immediately as MP3. See other reviews for details about the various recording options (you can adjust the settings for each to optimize the quality).

(3) No need to install 3rd-party software. This was a huge selling point to me. I hate all the garbage that the myriad of devices install on my computer. With the AJR20, I simply connect it (via USB cable) to my computer, and the computer recognizes it as an external hard drive. I can drag & drop files as desired. Couldnt be simpler. The AJR20 comes with software to help you manage & convert your music files, but Ive not tried it out.

(4) It doubles as a portable hard drive. Drag & drop whatever you want to store on it - photos, a backup of your PC hard drive, whatever. Great for travel or exchanging data with others.

(5) It supports USB 2.0 for high-speed transfers. Very few of the players currently on the market support USB 2.0. If youve got much music, this makes the AJR20 a strong stand-out.

(6) Uses (rechargeable) AA batteries. Proprietary LiIon batteries (those used in nearly all models advertising "rechargeable battery") are expensive (and possibly difficult) to replace. If you travel or find yourself in areas where you wont have easy access to a recharger, what do you do? With the AJR20, I just carry an extra pack of NiMH batteries (a set lasts me 10 hours).

WHY *NOT* TO BUY THIS MODEL

If you want a small, light-weight model to take to the gym or on the plane and dont need more than 128MB or 256MB of storage, look elsewhere. If this is the case, look at the iAudio players/recorders. With 100s of reviews listed, these all average 5-star ratings. Can you beat that? Search Amazon for "iAudio".

Some have mentioned how bad the manual is. Yes, it stinks. But the device is so easy to use that even non-techies wont have difficulty using it.

HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR AJR20

I have not yet tried it, but you can EASILY and QUICKLY change the firmware from Archos to something called "RockBox". ...

Cons: 6-8 hour battery life b4 recharge, temperamental firmware,small viewscreen

This is my second unit. The first one crashed and burned after one month, but Archos replaced it with a new unit. I must say that Archos Tech Support was more than helpful and my unit was replaced within 10 days. Luckily, I had mirrored the mp3 files on my laptop, so reloading the files on the new unit was not a problem....just click and drag thru Windows Explorer.

This replacement has been in use 6-8 hours a day for a month now with no glitches whatsoever. Its plugged in by patch cord from the earphone jack on the jukebox to an auxillary line-in connection on the boombox I have in my office - sounds great. I would like to see how it sounds plugged into a Bose WaveRadio.

Suggestions: Determine your file layout before storing your music files on the jukebox; set your software (I use musicmatch) to include the track number when converting from cd to mp3; be sure to click on "remove hardware" before removing the jukebox from your pc (Im not sure, but I think thats how I [messed] up the first one).

note: I have two friends with the same model jukebox - neither has had any problems with theirs.

Maybe this is a good product in "concept". However, the quality is really BAD! If you do not want to waste your time in returning and replacing. Avoid this stupid unit.

I am EXTREMELY MAD!

Sure the MP3 is a lossy compression format, but if you have a good source, and encode with VBR or 128kBPS or better, it sounds better than a cassette! I have actually have plugged this unit in to my home Dolby stereo, and while I can hear some MP3 artifacts, it still sounds GREAT.

Note that the unit also doubles as a hard drive, so you can store data (files, photos, videos) and transport them to other computers for use.

Supplied firmware is adequate, but Google for ROCKBOX and install it instead. Unit has been in almost daily use for over a year, and in the mobile environemnt, so if thats not a positive review....

Isnt technology fantastic!

The Pros: Sound Quality is great, my entire CD collection is on this device (~200 cds) with less than 1/2 the capacity used (I played with various mp3 quality levels - all are good - I use near cd quality), unit is very intuitive to use (manual is poor, as noted by other reviewers), battery life with batteries provided has been at least 8-10 hours, and the head phones supplied have been just fine. I use the unit doing yard work, hooked up to my stereo, in the car (any tape/cd converter will work ...), and at work. I use Roxio cd creator to convert cds onto the Archos player, and I use windows explorer to drag and drop to manage the files.

Cons: Unit shipped with wrong color (black), manual is poor, havent figured out playlists yet (I just create a folder of songs and move on), and the volume must be adjusted by going into the screen menus (however, the headphones with the unit have a volume control, so that works for me).

I havent used the recorder yet, but I have used it to transfer extremely large files with success. This is the first mp3 player I have bought, and did a fair amount of research on whats out there, and this appeared to be the best bang for the buck, and I have not been disappointed at all!

1) 20 gig capacity - not quite, more like 17. Quite a bit but not what the label says.

2)Contrary to some reviews, the documentations isnt all that bad. I wouldnt call it well written or well organized but the information is there - it just takes some digging and patience.

3) 10 hour battery life - not hardly. More like 2-3 if youre transfering a lot of files to or from your computer. Use that AC adapter.

4) When you plug in the AC adapter, the player goes into battery charging mode and you cant use the player until it has charged for at least an hour. Its not a funtion of battery power. You can fully charge the batteries for the 15 hours Archos recommends, disconnect and instantly reconnect the adapter and the 1 hour timer kicks in again.

5) Most of the accessories are useless or worse. The case is a cruel joke (needs more protection for the unit and storage for headphones and USB cable). The head phones are slightly useful thanks to their in-line volume control but you can easily buy better ones from other sources. The AC adapter and the USB cable are the only ones you really you need.

6) It would be nice if it came with a DC adapter so you can use and charge it from your car. You can buy one from them or go to Radio Shack and get one for half the price.

The good news.
1) Its not that hard to use. Its fairly intuitive and the on screen menus are easy to navigate once you get the hang of it.

2) Great sound quality and enormous capactiy.

Im glad I got this player because it is a good way to transfer large files between my computers, but, my CD based MP3 players will still handle the lions share of my portable music needs.

I must admit I loved this thing while it worked - what a quantum leap from what we were using in the 80s and 90s- remember when auto reverse arrived?!

The build quality just destroys it. This one simply stopped working while I was walking around. As with the other sufferers...a hard disk error. I tried repartioning etc etc and now give up. The tech support folk are useless french monkeys (I can say that cos Im half part stinky french man). This is a disgraceful product.

this thing is great. simple interface, batteries that you can recharge without taking out of it, removable batteries, a HELL OF A LOT OF STORAGE FOR [THE PRICE]!

some drawbacks: random is not so good. you have to have everything in one file. further, you cant delete files without plugging it in to the computer. the recorder has serious limitations if youre going directly from analog. unless youre recording through your computer, it names every file the same thing ("new song") so you have to disconnect the little [thing]and plug it back into the computer to rename the song before proceeding.

still, for this price I CANT IMAGINE NOT HAVING ONE. actually, im going to be buying a second (i have a lot of CDs and records, and id like my living room back. all the uncompressed media is going into the closet for storage.)

Being able to dump any files I want on the unit is a fantastic feature when business travelling.

I use playlists extensively. I build them while listening via Winamp and then save the list in the Jukebox 20. Having 100+ song playlists helps when asked to DJ a party on the spot. (Cables from Radio Shack make connecting the Jukebox to a big stero system a snap!) A full charge on the batteries will outlast the night during any party.

Still using the original rechargable batteries and have been using the unit 3+ days/week, 4-6 hours/day. Have only used the supplied AC adapter to charge the batteries. Still getting 5+ hours on a full charge with 192 Kbps.

Using standard AA NiMh rechargeble batteries is a very nice plus. I prefer standard batteries to exclusive "proprietary" overpriced ones. With the Jukebox 20, I dont have to worry about battery availability 5 years from now.

After a year of using the Jukebox 20, plenty of long bumpy road trips using a FM stero adapter, and many times through the airport X-ray machine, I have had no trouble with the internal hard drive. Even after a year, the Jukebox 20 doesnt skip while driving on bad roads. It has replaced listening to the radio!

For the size, features, capacity, ease of use, use of standard batteries, and long term perfomance, I cannot think of a better buy for the money.

It just behaves like a external USB storage when attached to a pa. While it works very well with Win2000, I suspect it probably has some driver related issue with Win ME. But I wont hold it against the jukebox.

I wish the manufacturers had built in 1. some antiskip/anitslip protection to make it more portable. 2. some kind of a ZIP/UNZIP circuitry to make it more effective for data/ music storage.

Cons
- Non-intuitive User interface
- Weak Playlist feature
- Heavy (not good for running)
- Throw away the headphones and get yourself some Sony earbuds

20 GB...it makes those 128 MB players seem like theyre from the 90s. 1/150th of the amount of space.

Definitely the best feature is the ease of connectivity to any NT based system (Windows 2000/NT/XP). Most computers that I have connected to do not require any drivers to be installed. Plus, the Jukebox shows up within Explorer just like a hard drive icon would. Copying music to and from the Recorder is as easy as dragging songs, albums, or playlists into it.

When I bought this I thought that I could fit my entire CD collection onto it. Well maybe not (since I have a ton of CDs and downloaded MP3s), but it sure holds enough to constantly have fresh music. I record typically at a 128kbps rate, and I have about 200 albums on my recorder.

The user interface is my only complaint. Sonic and other companies have done a much better job at having an intuitive interface. Archos, unfortunately, saved space by limiting the number of buttons. For instance, the Stop button is the Off button tapped once (hold it to turn off). These little things take a while to figure out, but once you do, its gold.

One last dealmaker is that unlike most MP3 players, Archos can handle ANY file types. Therefore, I store Word Docs, email files, pictures, videos etc. in my Jukebox and bring them between work and home. Its better than a zip drive and holds 20,000 diskettes. Sure you cant play the pictures on the Recorder (theres another model for that), but being able to bring them all to your friends place rocks.

For the price, buy it! (Keep your eyes out for the 40GB or photo/camera version though).

my big problem arose when i contacted tech support and was told repeatedly that it was a battery problem. it was not. upgrading the firmware somehow corrupted the unit, and i could not get it to work correctly to be recognized by my PC. in short, i spent several hundred dollars to use it for 1 year.

... Its so much cheaper than the iPod, and much smaller than the Nomad, I wanted to try it. Im keeping it.

The only downside that Ive seen so far is that the thing "crashes" occasionally. It will display the wrong song, or do something else strange but not major. About once every 5 hours of use, I find myself shutting it down, and restarting it. Other than that, agree with the general benefits in other reviews...

I like...

...having a high capacity, high-tech pocket-sized unit to show off to my friends.

...that Ill never again have to worry whether I have my favorite album with me.

...that I can record voice notes on the same device that plays my music.

...that Ive got a device that makes the SneakerNet viable again.

...the attractive, sporty look of the rubber bumpers, designed and placed in a way that protects the controls and display.

...that an overnight plug-in gets me a charge that easily lasts through the workday. So long battery bills.

I dont like...

...that I cant use it while the USB cable is connected--the unit becomes a dedicated portable hard drive, period, with all its other capabilities disabled while its plugged in. This is a minor flaw, though, given that most of the onboard controls are easily duplicated by Windows or the version of Music Match Jukebox thats included in the package.

...the lack of one-touch capabilities--a button that instantly recalls a favorite playlist, or a button that pauses the music to allow you to record quick voice note. Basically, the whole interface is very menu-driven with multiple button-clicks required to do even the simplest tasks.

There doesnt seem to be much to complain about, here--it does what its supposed to do, and it does it well. The controls and navigation could be improved, but I doubt many people will be doing in-depth playlist editing when theyre not sitting at their computer, so most people should find that with just a bit of intelligent organization, theyll spend a lot more time listening to music than searching for what they want to hear.

The good news: 20 gigs. Thats a lot of music to have readily available wherever you go. The price is 1/2 of what the I Pod would run you. Once you do get the hang of the player its great to have,

Pros: Excellent MB/dollar, very easy to use, digital out jack, good battery life with the REPLACEABLE standard NiMH rechargeable batteries, good transfer speed (if you have a USB 2.0 hub).

Cons (minor): The firmware that comes with the unit is a little buggy. The unit ocassionly locks up or displays the wrong track information if you push a lot of buttons in a short time.

Wishes: It would be nice if there was a random function that would shuffle between all directories. The current shuffle only works within one folder. Also would be nice if there was a search function.

...Its a little too expensive to take everywhere as portable player. I would fear losing it too much. but its certainly capable of being a portable.

I hope at some point a 40 gig comes out. 20 is good but not enough. Also an auto interface would be great.

Pluses: -analog recording works well, decent sound, decent battery life,excellent pc compatiblity (essentially another drive), rugged design, recording settings.

Minuses: user interface a little clumsy, headphones dont seem to work, takes a few moments to get going.

This ARCHOS Jukebox will have Ipods for breakfast any day!

Ive had mine for a few months now and absolutely love it. I live overseas and I dont get to listen to any American radio stations... that was until I got this Jukebox. Now, the only thing I have to do is record Internet radio directly into my Jukebox and Presto! I have any good ol US Radio Station that I want, and I can listen to it on way to work.

I have a music (MP3) download engine on my computer and I can download all the songs that I want, organize them in folders, mix and match, or play it any way I like in my Jukebox with absolutely no problems whatsoever.

Im pretty sure there are some slicker players out there, but if you want the most bang for your buck go for this one!

1) Good battery life. I get at least 8 hours out of it and I still have battery left. I havent had to use it longer than 8h ours so I dont know how much longer it lasts. Im sure if you do a lot of recording itll drain quicker. I think most of the people that complain about battery life are heavily using it for recording. Also, I think if you keep the backlight on a lot or you use shuffle a lot that can also decrease the battery life faster. I keep my backlight on the lowest setting and I only use shuffle occasionally.

2) Lots of space and FAST! Were talking 20GB here! I fit my entire mp3 library of 15GB on this thing so I can listen to all of my music at work or in the car. Its awesome! Also, the USB2.0 is so fast. I transferred my entire 15GB library in only 30 minutes! This thing can also be used as a normal hard drive. So I have another 5GB I can use to transfer stuff around.

3) No special software. You dont have to install the MusicMatch software that comes with this thing. Its a piece of junk anyway, and thats MusicMatchs fault, not Archos. The iPod also uses MusicMatch and it has the same complaint, except youre REQUIRED to use their special software! The Archos just hooks up, appears as a drive called JUKEBOX in your explorer, and you just drag-and-drop. I didnt install anything when I got mine; I just plugged it in.

4) Sounds great. This thing sounds just as good as my portable CD player. I havent used the headphones that come with it because I never use bundled headphones, but if you have a favorite pair of headphones, I think youll be pleased with the sound. Plus, the sound is very configurable to your tastes.

5) Firmware is EASY. The people that complain about the software and manual must be morons. I havent picked up the manual once and I know how all the features work. Its just so intuitive. A couple tips:

o) Hold down the play button for a couple seconds on a directory or on a song to add it to the playlist.
o) Yes, you CAN edit playlists from within the archos. Theres a menu for it right in the main menu.
o) Use the up/down keys to increase/decrease the volume during playback.
o) Charge the Archos for a few hours before transferring files over. Otherwise, it wont go as fast and your connection might be terminated because theres not enough power. When I first got this thing, I made the mistake and I almost thought this thing was flaky. I left for a couple hours, came back, and its worked flawlessly ever since.

Theres another firmware called Rockbox (you can search for it on Google) thats supposedly better. I used it for a bit, but I actually found the Archos firmware to be more intuitive so I havent messed around with Rockbox much. Ill prolly get around to it. Upgrading the firmware is really easy too. You just drag a file onto the hard-drive. If you accidently delete the archos firmware, you can just download it from their website.

Dont listen to others about their Tech Support reviews. Sure, I wish it were an 800 number, but Ive talked to them and they were fine. I had to RMA my very first one due to a malfunctional touch pad, but I got my new one right away and Ive been so happy ever since. Someone likes to use these shady statistics of "Oh, well 11 of 84 had problems so that must mean 130,000 out of 1,000,000 units fail!" You just cant compare things in that way. It doesnt take into consideration people that never reviewed, bought ones from other sites, complained but then had their units replaced and are happy, etc.

Save yourself hassle and money. The iPod is way overpriced and delicate. This thing is not bulky (even though some people say its heavy), and its not going to scratch from you breathing on it. People that say this obviously havent used an iPod. iPods are fragile and once you scratch it the first time, youll start crying because you spent A LOT of money on it.

Overall, this is the right unit for the right price. And, if you dont like some features, theres an active project to make new and enhanced features. Lots of people use this thing and are happy. Im one of them.

1. The instruction book that everyone else is complaining about is horrible. Its only good quality is that is shows the thinking behind this product. One of the main features of this Jukebox is that you can use it even if you dont have a computer, just import your cds straight from your cd player, so these geniuses give you an instruction book that can only be read on your computer (its on the cd for those that like me thought they didnt even get instructions)

2. The software it came with not only didnt work, it reconfigured XP so now I get NO SOUND FROM ANY PROGRAM! I have to find the windows disc and try to fix whatever this Archos garbage did to my drivers.

3. The headphones that people have been trashing werent even in my box! It was still factory sealed...they just werent there. I called to see if theyd send me a pair and they told me that I must have lost them. I said I opened the box five minutes ago and theyre not in it. They said there was nothing they could do.

4. It weights a ton compared to similar players, yet feels like a cheap piece of junk (think knock-off action figure) thats gonna fall apart if you breath on it too hard. Oh, and in real life it looks even more like a stick of deodorant than it does in the picture.

5. This is the big one: IT DOES NOT WORK, and THEY DONT CARE!!!! I charged it for the ridiculous 8 hours you need to charge before it will turn on the first time, and when it turned on I got a message saying that it couldnt read from the hard disk. I called Archos, and the operator told me that the wait for tech support was over an hour (by the way, their support line is not an 800 # and in my case the hour wait would be at a long distance rate from New York to California) She added that they probably wouldnt get to me before they shut down for the weekend (It was only 2:00 in California were they are). I told her what happened and she said that it was normal and I just had to charge the battery overnight. I was annoyed that I had just charged it for 8 hours and now I was being told I needed to charge it for another 8-10 hours, but I did it, and as soon as I woke up I tried it again. Same exact error message. It simply does not work.
My gut reaction was that I just got a lemon, but I went online and read more customer reviews and realized that out of 84 reviews 11 other people had defective units, thats 13%. That means if Archos managed to sell a million of these things, 130,000 WOULDNT WORK!!! Its insane. Some people are on their third unit! And whats more disturbing is that many people report that theirs worked for a few days and then just quit on them; so even if yours works, you dont know if it will tomorrow.

Even the good reviews of this item bash the firmware, the tech support, the instructions, the batteries, the software, the microphone, the display and other aspects....these are the good reviews! My thinking is that people are so blinded by the price tag as compared to the ipod that they dont care if the thing is any good. They want it so badly that theyll just make due with whatever they get.

In the end I returned the item to Amazon, and bought a Nomad Jukebox 3. It worked out of the box, and Im enjoying a 100 song custom playlist as I write this. It was a little more money, but when you figure in that I no longer need a to buy a USB 2.0 card, it comes out to be the same.

In closing, Im sorry that this "short version" was so long, but I really wanted to convey how frustrating this product is. There are at least 4 other 20 GB mp3 players that are less $$ than Ipod, and I strongly recommend you get one of them because short of a player that bursts into flames when you turn it on, nothing could be worse than this one.

1.For those of you who want to use random play for the whole payload:
Use rockbox firmware, it lets you have a 10,000 song playlist, just drag and drop all of your folders into the playlist editor of winamp, save the .m3u file in the root directory of
the jukebox, set the player to random play, then you load the playlist and play--PRESTO!!
(rockbox does not seem to support record mode currently, but it is not that big of a deal to go back and forth between Archos firmware and rockboxs firmware, just drag and drop the firmware file)

2.The unit does have volume control - press the up/down buttons

3.Unit does not need to use special batteries- it can use regular "AA" or other rechargeable batteries (yes I have tried).

4. Someone mentioned that they returned theirs because of a "Grinding" noise -this is normal, all hard drives make grinding noises, you just dont usually notice because you are not holding them in your hand!!

5.You can create playlists with winamp (free download) -winamp 3 allows you to sort by track to preserve album sequence, just save the .m3u file in the corresponding directory on the jukebox.

6.The unit DOES have a hold feature -hold down "on" for a few seconds - do this again to turn hold off.

7.The built in microphone is useless since it picks up the hard drive grinding, Archos sells an external pre-amplified mic on their webpage, which connects to the line in jack. for better microphones try minidisco dot com or soundprofessionals dot com.
So it is possible to record live music directly to mp3 format, giving you hours and hours of recording . Pressing the "F2" button splits the mp3 into a new mp3 (while recording). Or you could just let it record 1 huge mp3 which you could later split using an mp3 editor.

TIP: If your computer has USB ports on the side of the case, or a USB hub, dont use them for this. Use the ones in the back.

Also, if you need to call tech support, be prepared to wait a long time. The tech support people were very quick to identify my problem, though, and help me fix it, so once you do get someone on the line, just be patient and you should be able to get the player working.

-so far battery life has not been a problem. Im getting about 10 hours between charges.

-upgrade the firmware to Rockbox (better than the included firmware, which isnt terrible but less easy than rockbox)

-supplied headphones are awful.

-organize your MP3 files on your computer (before transferring to the jukebox) by genre,artist,title is a must if you expect to find specific MP3s easily.

The performance overall is great, and being able to carry so much music with you in a relatively small box is fantastic. It works as expected, and sounds great in my car using a cassette adapter. I would recommend this product for anyone who wants to carry lots of music with them.