View Full Version : Cnet I5 Review
http://reviews.cnet.com/Cowon_America_iAudio_5__2GB_/4505-6490_7-31325011.html?tag=cnetfd.new
Looks like a fair score to me.
All iAudio players are in the 8.3-8.7-range. Nice :)
But I wonder why they call the players "Cowon America iAudio..." instead of just "iAudio...".
"Highly distorted line-in recording" ?
According to CNET the line-in is very bad compared to the G3. Line-in quality is a major consideration for me (extremely important - more important than playback quality, even.) I had never heard of this problem with the i5 before, but I'm now questioning whether the i5 is right for me. Perhaps the G3 would be a better choice.
Has anyone else noticed that the line-in recording quality is less than optimal? What would you suggest? Keep in mind that line-in recording is essentially my primary consideration.
ZimbuTheMonkey
04-13-2005, 14:54
If that's the case, perhaps you should consider an MD player, they have great line-in recording.
A bit strange review. They have not understand the folder navigation. You donīt have to navigate down to the singel track. You can just choose a folder and hit play and it will play all the songs in all folders below the selected. And battery time, Im more close to 20 than 15 h, but when You have such a large screen You have to shut down the coloreffects if you want long battery time. And line in quality is for me a secondary function. Its a shame that the give the I5 lover scores than the U2 and even the G3. Hope some fellows start a campain like they did to the first scoress of the G3. 8.9 should be a fair score...
doesn't Cnet change review scores when they feel like it ?
It seemed like they are correcting themselves but when you think about it, it is inconsistant..
it is like car magazines changing scores for past models because
new models came out..
8.0? its better than that
wondertwinzz
04-14-2005, 00:03
I think the audio alone and the feature set should at least bump it into the 8.5-9.0 range.
Overall, though, a very balanced and complimentary review...I actually learned a few things about my I5 that I didn't know before :).
']"Highly distorted line-in recording" ?
According to CNET the line-in is very bad compared to the G3. Line-in quality is a major consideration for me (extremely important - more important than playback quality, even.) I had never heard of this problem with the i5 before, but I'm now questioning whether the i5 is right for me. Perhaps the G3 would be a better choice.
Has anyone else noticed that the line-in recording quality is less than optimal? What would you suggest? Keep in mind that line-in recording is essentially my primary consideration.
I suppose my G3 ain't any better. iAudio really needs to improve on the Line-In recording quality.
notguilty
04-14-2005, 01:21
doesn't Cnet change review scores when they feel like it ?
It seemed like they are correcting themselves but when you think about it, it is inconsistant..
it is like car magazines changing scores for past models because
new models came out..Not really. The G3 (or was it the U2?) was changed because the reviewer was basically being an Ipod fanboy.
Oh, and this guy called the side dials three-way rockers. He's definitely a real geek. Why do they call them jog dials? Anyone who's picked up a soldering iron, or played flight sims (even if we were cheap and didn't actually BUY the nice controllers...), knows that they are 3-way rockers :).
I would largely agree with it, compared to the U2, and G3. For most people, the U2 will be the best choice out of the bunch, with the G3 second, and I5 third. This is likely why the releases were in this order, as well, to have plenty of U2 players out there.
I'd have gotten the U2 if I didn't know for certain that I'd forget charging *at least, after I found that Cowon will replace the battery in a couple years). I can carry a spare battery, no sweat. I could buy batteries, at inflated campus bookstore prices, no sweat. I couldn't get and replace that LP in the U2.
I'd have gotten the G3 if it came with the a->A adapter. Too good battery life to pass up...but I also want this device as a portable flash drive.
So, I got the I5, a comprimise between them. a->A adapter, and uses standard batteries. I don't like the case, and hope they make its successor with the case in mind.
First of all Id like to point out I think 8.0/10 is a very good score. However it somewhat looses its value when the n200 (among other players) get 8.3. I have in my possession both the n200 and the i5. The i5, U2 and G3 should have more or less the same score since they are very much alike. Here are some points in which I question the review:
"If there's one complaint we have right off the bat, it's that the player is on the pricey side; for example, the Creative MuVo Micro boasts the same features yet costs about 20 percent less on average"
Its pretty pathetic that they compare n200 v200 to i5. Anyone who knows anything or have used the micro series from creative know that you cant compare the two players.
"The play/fast-forward/rewind and menu controls use three-way rockers on either side of the unit; they're easy to activate accidentally, so you'll want to hit the hold switch when the device is in a bag or a coat pocket."
I can only speek for myself but I have used the hold switch once. I have the player often in my pocket and never ever have it accidentally activated something. That I think is the beauty with the jog wheels. I have another player very much alike the U2 with joystick, with this one I have to use the holdbutton since the joystick is far more sensitive in a pocket.
"Unfortunately, there's no armband, which would be handy for exercise."
There is! You can buy one as additional accessory and if you buy from suntecint.com you get it for free.
"For a small flash player, the Cowon iAudio 5 has a rather dense menu structure."
Well this must then be personal preference. I have not used another player with better menus. I see it as on of the biggest strenght of the player. I have compared it to Meizu, iRiver, JoS, Monolith among others and it's the best one. Im wondering if they complained about the structure in G3 or U2, im under the impression it's the same structure.
"The display itself is small but surprisingly wide and packs a lot of song information on the screen."
Small??? What other flash player in that size has a bigger display? I know of none.
"iAudio 5 scored an average of 14.5 hours of continuous playback from a single AAA battery. Not bad, but it didn't come close to Cowon's rating of 20 hours, and it was noticeably lower than the Creative MuVo Micro's time of 19 hours and the Cowon G3's impressive 36.8 hours."
I would say their estimate is fair, even though I have seen test getting 19 hours. However first of all, the G3 is powered by an AA battery and in theory that should be able to power the player for 70 hours if Im not too badly informed. Further more iAUDIO states 50 hours for the G3 so it gives 73,6 % of what it should according to spec. The iAUDIO according to their tests give 72,5 % of what they claim. How can the G3 get impressive while the i5 get average? Well finally I think still its strange that they are so impressed by n200 which, okey had 4 hours more than claimed, but it has a little screen, no sound effects no colour screen and lets face it the sound aint the same as on the i5.
"The iAudio 5's tricky controls are the only major negatives for this sweet-sounding, feature-packed player."
Again n200 has the same controlsystem but only with 1 jogwhell. So either not same reviewer or our boy at cnet cant use both his hand at the same time. My point is that n200 got no "major negative" for this.
Erasure4ever
04-14-2005, 03:56
That reviewer's gripes doesn't make any sense.
noac: good points! I agree about that you cant compaire I5 with n200. I replaced my n200 with i5. It was like going from lowend to highend. There is three adnvantages with the n200: its small, cheap and has long battery life. Everything else is for the advantage to the I5: soundquality, build quality, screen, menu system, functions. But Im not so surprised, The Cnet has done a lot of strange reviews. Hope they change the score for the I5. A swedish site (idg.se) gave the I5 9 out of 10 and the judgement: Top of the Line!
notguilty
04-14-2005, 08:22
N200 v. I5: The N200 is what people get, next to the Shuffle. IMO, the only bright side to the N/V200 are the cases and price...and you get what you pay for. Pretty minimal cost difference, too.
Hold: I've only accidentally hit mode and record when using the case. 20-30 seconds with a lighter and your finger to stretch that section of the plastic out (maybe less time is needed, but I didn't want to melt it), and that was fixed.
Menu structure: ...and that's a BAD thing?
Display: How can he compare it to the N200 and say the display is small?
However,
"The display itself is small but surprisingly wide and packs a lot of song information on the screen."
Emphasis added.
I still wish it were a full graphical display for file browsing.
Both hands at the same time? I use my I5 with one hand. Thumb on one rocker, middle finger on the other. I only use both hands when messing with menu options in which there are two dimensions to be precise with (color settings and EQ, basically).
My personal gripes:
1. Should be a full color LCD, not just backlights.
2. The G3 should come with the a->A cable.
3. Sound quality varies slightly by volume, worse with DSP options enabled. Note that I'm thinking of getting a headphone amp anyway, so this stuff is REALLY nit-pickly :).
4. There should be a single-button way to get out of the menu system and navigation system. IMO, holding mode or holding menu should do it (much like holding menu gets you into navigation mode).
5. It should come with crappier buds. I can't wear the ones it has, but I can't bear to throw them out, either.
6. A better case. If I haven't posted about that in my design thread, I'll do so here (got class, and I need to go NOW).
Actually you can get out of the menu system by pressing the "rec" button once. It will exit the menu without trigger any other actions.
A lot of I5's buttons they do not mention, you just have to press around. They need to better educate the functions that they put in.
Someone should write a letter to cnet and get them to change the score again :)
notguilty
04-14-2005, 11:29
rec for menu? Cool.
ser_renely
04-15-2005, 07:36
I wrote a quick user opinion on CNET, accurate review except for the controls. I would suggest other users to do it as well, only takes a few minutes, help correct some of the issues of the reviewer.
I wrote them and told them what I thought about it. Everyone should! B)
Hope the Cnet publish my review. I was not too happy about there way of comparing n200 and I5
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