Cowon 1GB iAudio U2
Feature-crazed player settles
for the bronzeIf software features added weight to a
digital audio player, Cowon’s iAudio U2
would have the heft of a bowling ball. It
plays MP3, WMA, WAV, ASF, and even
OGG fi les (but not protected WMA). It’s got
an FM tuner, a custom fi ve-band EQ job-
ber in addition to presets, and a handful of
sound-ballooning effects. Tweakers can go
nuts adjusting the scan speed, redecorating the intro screen, and even
setting the iAudio U2 to play tracks in the
order they were downloaded!
That’s nice, but the sound charts belowpar, with fuzzy bass that’s only aggravated
by EQ and DSP effects. That’s too bad,
because the bundled earbuds are excep-
tionally good, reproducing every click and
audio artifact that the iAudio U2 coughs up.The iAudio U2 lacks the beefy sound of
other players that are smaller and
equally well-appointed.5
COWON IAUDIO U2
$160, http://www.cowonamerica.comJVC 1GB XA-MP101B
Well, at least it’s not ostentatious
Although it’s compact and not-unattractive,
the XA-MP101B (a name unlikely to catch on
like Kleenex, Coke, or the iPod) appears to be
blithely unaware of the supercharged models
to the left and right of its seat on store shelves.
Those products offer more features, capacity,
and better design at roughly the same price.
For starters, the claim of USB 2.0 transfer
rates should be taken with a huge salt lick;
we experienced rates closer to USB1.1. The XA-MP101B is the only player in this
roundup to take a pass on support for playlists
or ID3 tag navigation—unacceptable in players
with capacities of 512MB or more.
On the bright side, you’ll get surprisinglygutsy earbuds, slightly above-average bat-
tery life with a single AA battery, and a cus-
tom fi ve-band EQ facility to compensate for
the traumatic presets. Of course, for another
10 bucks or so, you can buy a much better
MP3 player.If you’re deter-
mined to spend
as little as pos-
sible on an MP3
player, just wait
for bummed-out
music lovers
to ditch JVC’s
XA-MP101B on
eBay.3
JVC XA-MP101B
$190, http://www.jvc.comiRiver 1GB T30
The iPod for PC users
The T30 sounds fantastic, shoulder-to-shoul-
der with the iPod and Creative family of digi-
tal audio players. The earbuds are the best in
the roundup. A single AA battery dishes out
more than 19 hours of playback. Sorry for
rushing through the basics, but with an MP3
player that’s got enough features to fi ll a ship-
ping crate, brevity is necessary.
The T30 is the only player in the
roundup that allows you to gorge yourself
on music from Janus-protected subscrip-
tion music services like YahooMusic Unlimited or Napster To Go. You can
adjust the scan speed and playback speed,
and listening modes include sequential and
random playback of all tracks or just those
within a single folder. There’s a fi ve-band
custom EQ (which you probably won’t need,
as the presets are well tuned). The T30 can
play OGG fi les, the line-in recorder uses the
silence between tracks to create individualfi les from analog sources, and the voice
recorder even includes voice activation.
It’s a touch too large for our tastes, but
if you want more from a digital audio player
than a precious acrylic fi nish, the Apple logo,
and a bite-size formfactor, dust off the kayak
and paddle down to the iRiver.The T30 is to the iPod what the PC is to
the Mac: It might not have that luscious
iPod interface, but it’s still a power-listeners
dream come true.FORMATS MP3, WMA (not protected),
OGG, ASF, WAV
BATTERY LIFE 16:41 (hours:minutes)
WEIGHT 1.2 ounces
DIMENSIONS 2.9 x 1 x .7 inchesSPECS
FORMATS MP3, WMA (including
protected WMA)
BATTERY LIFE 16:19 (hours:minutes)
WEIGHT 1.5 ounces
DIMENSIONS 2 x 2 x .5 inchesSPECS
FORMATS MP3, WMA (including protected
WMA and Janus-protected sub-
scription services), ASF, OGG
BATTERY LIFE 19:22 (hours:minutes)
WEIGHT 1 ounce
DIMENSIONS 2.5 x 1.2 x 2 inchesSPECS
gutsy earbuds, slightly above-average bat-
tery life with a single AA battery, and a cus-
tom fi ve-band EQ facility to compensate for
the traumatic presets. Of course, for another
10 bucks or so, you can buy a much betterCowon 1GB iAudio U2
play OGG fi les, the line-in recorder uses the and paddle down to the iRiver.
silence between tracks to crsilence between tracks to create individual eate individualThat’s nice, but the sound charts below audio artifact that the iAudio U2 coughs up.
5
$160, http://www.cowonamerica.comJVC 1GB XA-MP101B If you’re deter-
with capacities of 512MB or more.
On the bright side, you’ll get surprisingly10 bucks or so, you can buy a much better(^3) MP3 player.
JVC XA-MP101B
$190, http://www.jvc.com
iRiver 1GB T30
SPECS
10 bucks or so, you can buy a much better
AUDIO PLAYERS DIGITAL AUDIO PLAYERS DIGITAL AUDIO PLAYERS DIGITAL AUDIO PLAYERS DIGITAL AUDIO PLAYERS
7
IRIVER T30
$150, http://www.iriveramerica.com
Cowon 1GB iAudio U2Cowon 1GB iAudio U2
DIGITAL AUDIO
DIGITALMEDIAMEDIAPLAYERS
9
48 MA XIMUMPC DECEMBER 2005 DECEMBER 2005 MA XIMUMPC 49