Dick Smith MP3 player review
Mike
radio, SD/MMC slot, and in-line remote.
I hope HTML is OK for most newsreaders.
See also my review of the Coles model. I'm still whinging about the lack
of support for playlists or folders for albums.
The Coles model crashes on auto-scanning for FM stations, or recording
from FM. But lets face it, these are MP3 players, and the radio feature
is crap. So I'm voting with the Coles player, as it's cheaper, and uses
a AAA battery cell. If you don't want the SD/MMC slot, there are plenty
of others too.
John Saunders
Normal price
is $79, however a few guys at work got together and we
ordered 10 of them at once.
http://www.simlen.com.au/streamline.html
The difference in specs is the Simlen model only has 10 FM
presets, uses regular AAA instead of special rechargable,
an FM transmitter to send music to your car radio (although
it transmits on 100MHz which gets interference from a radio
station in Sydney), and a larger LCD.
However it might be thicker due to the AAA battery
compartment.
Mike
DSE 256MB MP3 Player review
Review of a Dick Smith Electronics (Australia) house-branded MP3
music player. Mike 17th March 2005
256MB flash player with FM radio and SD/MMC slot.
Advertised at A$128. Stock number A2284
http://dseau.resultspage.com/search.php?w=a2284
Testing in shop not possible, but 14-day money-back offered
instead.
This another SigmaTel-chip player (see
http://www.sigmatel.com/products/audio-decoder.htm), as might be
guessed from the feature list. (Another similar example is the
CONWA sold for $99 at Coles.)
Features listed on the Dick Smith website:
* 256MB On Board Memory with Card Slot for Memory Expansion
(Maximum 128MB MMC Card 64MB SD Card)
* MP3/WMA with ID3 display
* FM Radio, 30 presets
* Voice Recording
* LCD Display with Backlight
* 5 Equaliser modes
* Rechargeable Ni-MH battery
* Remote Control
* Plug & Play flash drive
Other features
* Note that while it claims a 64MB limit, I was able to use a
512MB SD card in testing.
* Uses USB mass-storage driver, so works on MacOS, Linux, etc.
Can store any file, e.g. for backup or transfer.
* "Built-in rechargable NiMH battery supports more than 8 hours
playback" (Actually, its removable.)
* neck strap included, though the relatively large size, long
earphone lead and remote control means its more suited to
your pocket.
* random and repeat play modes. "Random" seems to be actually a
shuffle mode, ie all in a random order.
* remembers random/repeat mode after power-off, but not song
number.
* The remote control is inline with the earphones, with just
enough cable to reach low pants pockets.
* size: 60 x 60 x 11 mm.
* Comes with "Hotel California" and "Say You, Say Me" demo
songs. (licensed? :-)
* Uses FAT or FAT16 filesystem on the SD card (not FAT32)
Power
The big weakness I see is with the battery. It uses a removable
but rare "F6 prismatic" size 750mAHr rechargeable NiMH cell.
This is a flat cell, but the player is no thinner than similar
players which use AAA cells, and is rather wider. There is no
DC-input jack on the player, so it can only be charged using the
USB cable. The manual says charging takes five hours, and should
preferably only be done when the low-battery indicator appears.
There is no "fully-charged" indication, so it seems to be a
dumb-charger. And it gets quite warm on charging, so battery life
may well be shortened. Where are you going to buy a new F6 cell
then? Not from Dick Smith! I think it may mean a special order
through a specialist electonics or battery supplier.
All this makes it unsuitable for use when travelling without a
laptop. I'd like to be able to just use the odd internet cafe to
change the music. However you use it, a second battery seems to
be needed.
The device will not play music while charging, but of course
you can transfer files between it and the P.C.
Possibly, some owners could rig up or buy a car-12V-socket to
"5V-USB" cable for charging in the car. This might work, and
maybe allow music playing at the same time.
Other problems:
* No audio socket on the remote control, so if you wish to use
better quality earphones, you loose the remote control
feature.
* Moulded labels on the black buttons (play,stop,prev,next) are
barely visible.
* LCD display is tiny - only 9x16mm, just 4% of the 60x60mm
face.
* The unit appears to have a handy one-touch-record button.
However the button is only active after turning the unit on
and navigating the menu to voice mode.
* The 'hold' switch on the main unit disables the remote
control, so you cannot use it to stop accidental button
pressing in your pocket while still using the remote. Worse,
the hold switch on the remote does not affect buttons on the
main unit.
Common problems shared with other SigmaTel and more players:
* Especially with an SD card, this unit can hold many albums.
But there is no way to select a folder or playlist, nor any
way to rapidly jump through the song list. With an SD card
it can hold 200 songs or more, so this is a serious problem.
Also, after power-off, it does not remember the position, so
you must skip each song (possibly 100 or more) one at a time.
The only alternative I see is to use 'random' mode, like
the Ipod Shuffle, but at least you can see the ID3 song title
on this unit.
* FM radio reception is poor, like most personal radios using
the earphone lead as an antenna.
* radio recording is low quality (8kHz sampling, IMA ADPCM, wav
file), suitable for voice, not music.
* incorrect timestamps on voice recordings (memos)
Missing features seen on other similar players:
* Cannot record from line-in.
* Cannot record to SD/MMC card.
* Cannot auto-scan to preset all strong signals for the FM
radio. It will auto-scan for a single station, ie must be
done one at a time.
* Cannot just swap the battery for another AA or AAA when its
flat. (Uses unusual size)
* USB 2.0 ?? Not mentioned on the box or manual, but I have not
tested it.
Support
Support is provided by the DSE service, 1300-660-054, during
Sydney business hours. Not tested yet.
Quality
This is intended as a review of less subjective aspects, but ...
Main unit looks solid enough, but I have doubts about the
clip-on in-line remote control.
It sounds OK to me, but I'd like the option to put better
earphones on without losing the remote control.
Mike
> http://www.simlen.com.au/streamline.html
>
> The difference in specs is the Simlen model only has 10 FM
> presets, uses regular AAA instead of special rechargable,
> an FM transmitter to send music to your car radio (although
> it transmits on 100MHz which gets interference from a radio
> station in Sydney), and a larger LCD.
That sounds good, but no expansion slot.
Have you had a chance to test the radio transmitter away from
interference? I've heard they can be rather poor quality anyway,
as is the reception with the FM receivers. Why don't car
stereos have a line-in to avoid this need??
John Saunders
news:423a3642$1...@quokka.wn.com.au...
I guess you pay for the expansion slot, although I don't think
I would need it.
I haven't tried the transmitter out of Sydney yet, too much
interference here. Pity it doesn't offer an alternative
frequency. FM reception is marginal, and changes as you move
around, but better than nothing when I get sick of the 100+
songs stored on the device. Line-in would be a great feature
for a car stereo to have.
Mike
> I haven't tried the transmitter out of Sydney yet, too much
> interference here. Pity it doesn't offer an alternative
> frequency.
(small FM xmiter in MP3 player)
How are you with a soldering iron?
You might be able to change the crystal oscillator,
assuming it has one. Otherwise, just a capacitor.
Fraser Johnston
"John Saunders" <ne...@saunders.id.au> wrote in message
news:423ad0b6$0$5597$afc3...@news.optusnet.com.au...
Most higher end decks have it. Alpine for example have it but you need a
special cable.
Fraser
robert casey
> stereos have a line-in to avoid this need??
It's probably something as stupid as a liability issue.
The line in jack allowing the user to use a loose in
the car audio source. That loose object getting tossed
about in an accident and causing injury to the driver or
passenger.
Yeah, I know.....
Mr.T
"robert casey" <wa2...@ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
news:reG%d.1097$S46...@newsread3.news.atl.earthlink.net...
Not really since there are a number of car stereo's with a 3.5 stereo
mini-jack socket on the front for a line in.
Then there are a few that have RCA line in sockets on the back.
Unfortunately it is true that the majority have neither input.
Personally I'd rather just play MP3/CD disks in my player as intended, so
the lack of line in doesn't bother me.
MrT.