ARCHOS Jukebox Recorder 20

Play, record, and store digital media on a portable 20GB hard drive

by Doug Cornell

Any number of MP3 players are capable of providing about 1 hour of nonstop music, but the new Archos Jukebox Recorder 20 goes way beyond the 1 hour barrier.  So far beyond, that you'll forget which songs are even on the unit.  At this writing, I have more than 10 complete albums stored on the Jukebox Recorder.  That's 458MB - and there's still 18.1 GB of free disk space left!

A recent trip from Detroit to Los Angeles forced me to endure more than 10 hours of flight time, but with the Jukebox Recorder, I never heard the same album twice!  The miniature hard drive weighs in at 12.3 ounces, and is heftier than competitive memory-only units.  The Jukebox Recorder isn't ideally suited to extreme activities such as running or mountain biking, but for general travel use, this little devil is worth its weight.

The Jukebox Recorder is supplied with two sets of rechargeable batteries, which last about 10 hours per charge.  Also included are a set of above-average quality behind-the-head foldable headphones, AC power adapter/charger, portable carrying case, the excellent MusicMatch Jukebox software, and an operating manual.

From Vinyl to MP3

Loading MP3's onto the Jukebox Recorder is as simple as plugging in the supplied USB 1.1 (2.0 compatible) cable and dragging and dropping the files into the Jukebox Recorder.  On my Windows 98SE system, the Jukebox Recorder showed up as a regular 20GB drive.  There's no reason to only stick with MP3's, as the unit will easily transport any files you want to store.  Take the Jukebox Recorder to work, load it up with all of those MP3's you downloaded on your broadband connection, then transfer the files to your home computer.  An average 12 song (48MB) album transfer takes about 30 seconds.

But the most exciting feature of the Jukebox Recorder is that you can copy your vinyl recordings directly into the unit.  Plug the supplied RCA cable into your stereo, set the Jukebox Recorder to "record," and start the album.  You must record the album in "real time," but I had no difficulties converting two of my favorite records to MP3 format.  You may select various recording qualities, from 30 to 160Kbps.  It was odd to hear the occasional "pop" of the needle, but popular software such as SoundForge is capable of splitting and editing your digital audio files.  After recording an album, it is very simple to transfer the data to your desktop computer to burn CD's.

The Jukebox Recorder supports analog, microphone, and digital recording formats.

The Jukebox Recorder has no integral belt-clip, so I slid the Jukebox Recorder into the soft carrying case and attached it to my belt.  The unit felt a bit unsecured, as it bobbed around a bit. The 1.25" x 1" backlit green and black LCD screen provides all ID3 tag information.  Volume is controlled via a knob on the supplied headphones or via a somewhat cumbersome bit of button pushing on the Jukebox Recorder itself.  A wide range of tonal variations may be set, including bass, treble, loudness, balance, and bass boost.  Unfortunately, these settings are not remembered for specific types of music.  Still, the Jukebox Recorder offers more tonal flexibility than most portables.

My first test of the unit involved going for a short jog.  While the included headphones are adequate and provide volume control, I preferred my own headphones.  Unfortunately, changing the volume on the Jukebox Recorder requires 3 clicks on the front panel, which is difficult to manage while running.  This proved to be a moot-point, as the Jukebox Recorder's 2MB of onboard buffer memory was insufficient and the unit stopped playing before I'd gone 100 yards.  Walking proved to be no problem, and the unit never skipped in several hours of use.  Abundant use of rubber protects the Jukebox Recorder from the odd bump.  I didn't risk test-dropping my unit, but my guess is that a small drop wouldn't damage the drive.

I've yet to find a portable music player that levels the audio volume (called compression).  The Jukebox Recorder is no exception, and the various volume levels of MP3's has you reaching for the volume more than you'd like.

The play list menu is easy to navigate, and songs may be stored in play list format, regular folders, or hodge-podge on the drive.  Simply select a folder, select the first song, and the music begins.  There are also options for repeating and shuffling your files, as well as queuing and scanning.

One annoyance is that there is a noticeable bleed-through of hard-drive noise into the audio portion of the Jukebox Recorder.  While I couldn't hear this noise on an airplane or walking near traffic, the noise was noticeable in quiet areas.

Final Thoughts

The Jukebox Recorder succeeds very well at playing hours and hours of music.  Recording analog record albums is a joy.  The portable hard-drive capability is also a plus.  But the lack of buffer memory is an issue, and if you are thinking about purchasing a unit for running or other sports, stick with a memory-only unit for now.  If you are looking for mega-capacity for both office and travel use, the Jukebox Recorder is a winner.  Next time you travel from Los Angeles to Hong Kong, take the Jukebox Recorder with you and listen to your entire collection of LP's and CD's!

Order the Archos Jukebox Recorder 20 now!