Archos 6 GB Jukebox 6000 MP3 Player/Hard Drive

It took me a few weeks to decide on an MP3 player, and it was a recommendation from a friend that landed me on the Jukebox. Pros: -Easy to load to and from. Rather than using a specialized program to manage files, it uses a regular drag-and-drop interface. -Clear filing system. When selecting tracks to play, you get to set up the heirarchy of files however you like. For example, Genre -> Artist -> Album -> Song. Makes the one-line display surprisingly easy to navigate. -File transport. I also use the player to carry larger files to share with friends (movie trailers, shared programs, etc.). Good for pals without broadband. -USB. USB is fast! It took me about 1/2 hour to upload all my MP3s. -Long battery life. I haven't had it die on me yet, and I usually only charge it every other day or so. -Great storage. I have about 1GB of MP3 files, so I still have quite a way to go before it's even nearly filled. Cons: -Only MP3. The current Firmware version still only supports MP3 format, so the few CDs I had stored as WMA I can't play (although WMA <-> MP3 converters are available). -Boot up. Since it's a hard drive, it takes a few moments (about 30 seconds) to boot up. The only true kicker is you have to hold the power button the entire time, which is annoying if you're about to go out jogging. -Moving parts. Since the unit is not solid-state (it's a hard drive), it's possible to make it skip, or severely damage it in a fall. So far I've only made it skip one time, and it was while leaping from a bus exit to the curb. -No one-touch volume. Probably the biggest downer is the lack of volume buttons or a wheel on the unit. To adjust volume, you have to access the control from the main menu. It's only two clicks away, but a simple wheel on the side would have been nice. Over all, I'm very, very happy with this unit. If you just want a player for short jogs or the ride to work, a smaller, lighter unit would probably be better. But since I transport large files and like having a large selection of music on hand, the Jukebox 6000 is perfect for me.

I'm a techno-klutz and I got this thing working well in about a day...but without any help, at all, from Archos or its manual. PROS: size and technical features are great.(I looked at a Nomad--this is significantly smaller and more portable). It works extremely well through my e-machine. Once I figured out how to do it (with no help from Archos) I found it easy to transfer CDs (through MusicMatch) to the Jukebox drive. I now have the transfer process down to about 12-15 minutes per disc.[you just record the disc/selected tracks through MusicMatch's recorder. Label the artist and album on the recorder itself. Go to MyDocs/MyMusic folder on your C drive and simply click and drag (or copy) the recorded files to the "F" drive, corresponding to the jukebox. You can then reorganize the files directly on the F drive. Neat!) I've now got the music files organized by artist/composer, and they're easy to find on the device. I found the sound--despite what other reviewers have said--to be excellent...at least as good as a decent discman. I did substitute good, small headphones with an in-line volume control, since access to the volume on the machine itself is difficult. Sound is terrific when played through a Soundworks 88--and is quite good when played only through small, amplified speakers. CONS: Archos' instruction manual is almost worthless. It is hard to read, confusing, doesn't define terms etc. etc. Graphics are non-existent. Instructions for the MusicMatch software are not much better. Archos webpage is worthless. No instructions at all about the device. No FAQs of any value. No instructions. Nothing! Archos technical support "hotline" is absurd--I called many, many times the first day, and each time the call was sent directly to a voicemail box. Not once--with four messages--did anyone call back. When I finally reached someone--after several hours of trying--they were of virtually no help...didn't know the machine, couldn't communicate well in English, didn't get back to me when I called with followup. If you need help on this, don't look to Archos. Although I love the machine--and particularly the idea of having 100 to 150 of my favorite discs accessible anywhere--I think Archos should think twice about marketing this on a big scale until they can get product support. I'm serious--they've got the worst customer support/product support operation I've ever encountered! That being said, if you're not particularly computer proficient--like me--but are patient and motivated, you will be rewarded!

The Jukebox 6000 has by far been the most disappointing piece of electronics I have ever purchased. I highly recommend that you do not purchase this product and seek other products. I recently purchased a Rio Volt to replace the Jukebox and I love it. The problems with the Jukebox started right out of the box. A small hairline crack just above the screen caused me worry. No damage to the box had occurred so I assumed that it was a small manufacturing defect and would be fine. The Jukebox worked well for about 2 days of slight playing. It would lock up about once every 2 hours. There is no reset button or off switch so the only way to reset it would be to take out the batteries. This task is extremely hard to do because of the design of the battery doors and will result at a very minimum of damage to the surrounding thin flimsy plastic. After looking over the very poorly designed website, with almost no tech support, I changed the batteries (special Jukebox batteries which can no be purchased at this time. So you only get 1 spare set so don't lose it) as suggested and recharged over night. This made the problem worse. Locks up and hard drive errors happened ever 30 mins or less. Several e-mails were sent to tech support, which received no response. After calling them on there toll number I was put on hold for 15 mins and basically told to check the batteries and make sure my USB cable was working. Which of course made no difference at all. At this point I exchanged it for a new, which only made things worse. The new player failed right out of the box. It would lock up during file transfers, and formatting the hard drive (another thing to try if you are having problems). It played for about 2 hours before the major lockups and crashed would start. It now locks up during every song around 1:30 and refuses to be reset. As stated before the batteries have to be removed and it has to be rebooted. Even if I had a working Jukebox (which I'm not sure exist) then there are many problems with it. The screen is hard to read and poorly backlit. The sound quality is terrible. It started to crackle and break up at around 7-8 out of 10. The headphones are cheep and flimsy and sound even worse. The controls are not intuitive and take a lot of getting used to. Switching between songs is slow and causes more errors. This is by far the worst product I had purchased in a long time. Save yourself a lot of time and money and look elsewhere.

Nice idea but poor execution. When I could get it to work with the computer, it's actual performance was mediocre. Sound quality was poor. Lots of distortion at peak volume levels. Volume levels hardly enough to overcome local noise. This was my fastest product return ever. Save yourself some time. Look elsewhere.

I got an Archos 6000 in July 2001 - love the unit. However, it shipped with a bad battery or two and I ended up using the "extra" batteries within two weeks. The USB cable is a non-standard A-to-A cable so if you have a lap-top you'll end up carrying the *only* USB cable around with you - don't lose it, you can't replace it. After three nice queries to "tech support" on purchasing batteries(1500Ma 1.2v AA), an extra USB and an extra wall wart I've gotten no response. It is a real shame such a good product is hobbled with such poor support. A simple e-mail reply and I'd be a more satisfied customer instead of one who is beginning to feel he could have spent [PRICE] a little better on another MP3 product. Check out Creative Labs Nomad before you deal with Archos.

...[It] does have a lot going for it... First, it works with any machine that has a USB connection. You can easily use it with your Mac, your Windows machine, even Linux drivers are readily available. Second, it's got 1GB more than the standard ...does. It doesn't have that wacky protection the ...[standard] has, so you can use it to keep your home and office collections in sync with one another. It can even store non-MP3 files... I keep only 5.5GB worth of music on it so that I've got 5ooMB or so to transfer files to and from work. Sure beats having 5 Zip disks floating around my briefcase. Oh yeah, and it's... cheaper than the standard... The bottom line here is that it does just what it's supposed to and it does it quite well. Once you get the navigation system down, it's easy to move around the menus and find what you're looking for. If you add this to your shopping cart, you should plan on spending a little more for headphones. The ones that come with it are functional, but you'd be better off with a decent pair of Sony headphones. Bottom line... if you're a Mac user and you like the idea of (A) supporting Apple's innovation, and (B) always having your music sync'd with your portable, then get the ...standard. If you're a Windows or Linux user, or if you like a device that's easy to hack into and mod to your heart's content, this is definitely one of the better portable MP3 player's out there.

I do love my Jukebox. My co-workers say that I must be a sales rep for Archos. Within hours of my having brought it in, the techno geeks from far and wide had found an excuse to swing by and take a look at the goods. Props were definitely received for being able to use it as a data storage unit. Once you get used to the idea of backing a HUGE data file off of your c:\ at work and schlepping it home while listening to your hottest tunes you'll wonder how you ever did without it. I find myself looking at other mp3 players and thinking "how quaint -- what a sweet little music-only device". And I smugly pat my Jukebox and feel superior. One thing - it can be a finnicky piece of machinery. Don't try jogging with it or bumping it around much at all. You'll regret it!

I purchased this unit, despite other reviews posted here, because of the disk size - there is not much point in having only one hour's worth of MP3 space when I listen to music all day long at work. Other users noted that the unit was hard to use. I haven't found that to be the case. The only glich I have noticed is that the player doesn't want to detach sometimes, and if you disconnect the unit before detaching and while Windows is still up, you will crash your PC. I have gotten around this by shutting down (or restarting) my PC and then disconnecting the unit once my PC has powered down. I have about 5 hours of music on my player so far and have used only a fraction of the drive space. Buy it! It's a good thing.