There are many rumors and myths about this product so Im writing this review to sort everything out.The dreaded hiss - Firstly YES there is a hiss, but its so quiet it really is barely noticeable, listening to the player WHILE the USB cable is plugged in makes this hiss 100 times worse, so the rule is, unplug the USB cable.
FM Tuner - Unfortunately, the FM tuner isnt much good, it claims that it is tuned in Stereo, but the reception is poor - having said this, you can still make out everything that is being said/ played, there is just a lot of static.
Software - The included software is excellent it gets the job done just fine. MusicMatch Jukebox has looks as good as the player does. It features CD ripping, playing, and visualizations along with downloadable DSP effects. The Intel transfer software is so basic even a dog could use it - "Find file, click transfer" thats it. If you still insist on hating the included software, Intel has released a patch to allow you to use Windows Media Player to upload your songs - how kind.
Sound Quality and Headphones - Upon using the player on factory defaults I was extremely impressed. After 10 seconds of messing around I located the bass control, jacked it up to 8 and was blown away by the cleanness of the sound. I then turned the treble up to 8 and crispness and clarity got even better. The headphones, while looking slightly cheap provide absolutely excellent reproduction. The volume control has approximately 20 positions. Position 10 is very loud (in fact as much as I would ever need it), the player, however will only go to position 15 before distortion is made apparent.
The Unit and Functions - Ok, the popular myth is that the body of the player is made of aluminium - this is quite far from the truth. It is in fact made of transparent blue plastic with aluminium plates stuck on; however, with it being transparent plastic, it will be stronger because colored plastic requires colored filler (talc) which weakens the plastic. The use of the player is brilliantly simple but packed with features. In the settings menu, you can
1) Set repeat to the whole list, 1 song, or turn repeat off
2) Turn random on or off
3) Set bass from -8 to +8
4) Set treble from -8 to +8
From the wheel button menu you can
1) View the play list
2) Set a bookmark
3) Go to a bookmark
Bookmarks are used when playing a song. You can set a bookmark at any place in a song and then hit "Go to bookmark" and the player will commence playing from the book marked point.
The volume settings are digital buttons meaning that it wont keep getting changed in your pocket, furthermore, it has a nice hold feature integrated into the power switch. The switch goes from Off to On to Hold, when the unit is switched to Hold; only the volume controls are operable. Finally, the button above the power switch enables the FM tuner which DOES have auto scanning contrary to what another review said. You may also store presets.
Overall, this unit feels very well built, firmware and hardware wise. It doesnt creak in your hand like most plastic products do. Ive owned around 4 MP3 players, including the Archos 6 GB MP3 player which distorts at low volume and has no bass. This MP3 player is the best, except for the FM Tuner; I cannot flaw it - well done Intel.
If you are hesitating whether to buy this or not, dont worry, its a great player and I recommend it over the Archos 6000 and the MPMan F-35 t3.
