View Full Version : iAudio A2 vs Archos AV530
desperado
10-09-2005, 10:45
Hi all,
I am thinking to buy either A2 or AV530. A2 is bigger in size while AV530 is smaller. The price here in Hong Kong for the two players are similiar, A2 is HKD4200 while AV530 is HKD4000. So anyone please give me some comparsion between these two players. My main concern are :
1. Sound quality
2. TV record and playback quality
3. USB host (OTG) compatibilty and copy speed (from HDD to memory card and vice versa)
Thanks !! :p
IronMonkey
10-09-2005, 12:28
If those are your concerns, A2, hands down.
desperado
10-09-2005, 19:42
Could anyone told me some bad point for AV530 ?! Thx.
Lack of ogg vorbis support, battery life of only 4.5 for movies, (A2 gets 10 :-D), I believe the screen of the A2 is better, (16 milion colours compared to 262k).... the rest you can find out for yourself by comparing them
http://www.archos.com/products/av_500/tech_specs.html
http://www.dapreview.net/comment.php?comment.news.2035
;)
desperado
10-09-2005, 21:00
Thx Allen
Dear all,
I am also looking for a pmp and just considering between AV530 & A2. I had simply tried both machines and found the screen quality of AV530 is better than A2, no matter for movie & picture viewing, AV530 is much brighter and sharper! I had asked the staff and they told me A2 was already set to the brightest!
For the sound, I can't compare as it is too noisy in the shop!
And what my main concern is A2 can only show jepg in max 4meg pixel? How come it can only show max 4meg as now most the basic dc also have 5meg pixel at least! If it is true, then no way I can chose it as I need it as a photo wallet. Can anyone tell me more about that as I am quite interest in this machine. Tks.:)
desperado
10-10-2005, 02:02
One of my concern is that AV530 is made in china while A2 is made in korea. Also, I think iAudio's sound quality should be much better than Archos. Please correct me if I am wrong. As for the screen quality, I believe it may be due to the source of the video file, from the tech spec, the screen quality of A2 should be much better than that of AV530.
Did you try that AV530 can support JPEG higher than 4mega pixel ? I can't find this kind of information in the internet.
And what my main concern is A2 can only show jepg in max 4meg pixel? How come it can only show max 4meg as now most the basic dc also have 5meg pixel at least! If it is true, then no way I can chose it as I need it as a photo wallet. Can anyone tell me more about that as I am quite interest in this machine. Tks.:)
You could always set you camera to shoot at 4 megapixel or less if you don't really need 5 megapixel photo's.
Desperado,
I can't try it but had asked the sales, he told me they had tried 8mega pixel w/o problem, but for A2, no one know as it is too new for them!
desperado
10-10-2005, 04:25
The things good for AV530 as compare with A2 are lighter weight and bigger HDD. For others, I think A2 should be better. This is my opinion.
What wins me over when it comes to the A2 and the AV530, knowhow of Cowon to have supurb music play back. So not only is it a video player but I can also expect exceptional music player as well. Besides this the players are essentially the same, with a few different tweaks here and there...
The screen of AV530 is brigther probably because the LCD screen is not covered by a piece of transparent hard plastic. So you can see the screen more directly comparing with A2. Good and Bad. The bad thing is as it's portable, I am 100% confident that the AV530 screen can be broken extremely easily (when you press the screen, you can feel the liquid...like you LCD monitor).
desperado
10-10-2005, 09:42
Hi all, here is my experience. I headed to the shop tonight for A2. When I compare the two player, the video quality and photo quality of AV530 is far more better than that of A2 !! I just can't pick the A2 after knowing the fact. Yes, Travis is correct that there is no plastic cover for AV530 LCD but the different is just so obvious !!
Finally, I bought the AV530 at HKD 3950 (around USD500). I will try the player tonight !!
Well either way congrats on your purchase :) You should post some pics of this screen;)
desperado
10-10-2005, 12:12
Allen, I am thinking to do add some review comment on the player but not sure if this is appropriate as this forum is for A2 !! :)
For anyone else that is faced with the same predicament as you... it might be helpful
desperado
10-10-2005, 12:19
Okay, I will do some review later tomorrow (now is 01:15 HKT). I am now trying hard to make my player can display Chinese characters !!
diesel212
10-10-2005, 12:34
Lack of ogg vorbis support, battery life of only 4.5 for movies, (A2 gets 10 :-D), I believe the screen of the A2 is better, (16 milion colours compared to 262k).... the rest you can find out for yourself by comparing them
http://www.archos.com/products/av_500/tech_specs.html
http://www.dapreview.net/comment.php?comment.news.2035
;)
however i believe the av530 has a removable battery......not sure if A2 does.......so even with the 5 hour movie viewing life, you can swap in a new battery
can anyone verify if you can do this with the A2?
desperado
10-10-2005, 12:50
Yes, AV530 has removable battery while A2 internal.
I suppose its a matter of preference... if you would rather carry along another battery or not..
desperado
10-11-2005, 20:41
For those who are considering A2 vs AV530, here are some of my comment on AV530 after using few days.
I try to summarise my review into different areas as below :
1. Music
Pros :
- Support sorting of the music library by ID3 tags, ie by artist, album, etc. Not sure if A2 support or not.
- The sound quality is good, as compare with my gigabeat
Cons :
- No EQ supported !!
- Cannot add the file to playlist during playback (may be I don't know how to do it)
2. Video
Pros :
- If you can feed a video file successfully into the play, the video quality is very good (for those with high bit rate of coz)
Cons :
- It is nightmare that I need to convert every of my RMVB video files into AVI before the player can play it !! For some AVI files from internet, I still need to use the bundled software to convert it to AVI (yes, AVI to AVI) before it can be played in the machine.
- The player only accept AVI and WMV (not all) format. It does not support MPG or MPEG format.
- The fact that I need to convert every video file before playing in the player is just frustrating.
4. Photo
Pros :
- The display quality is very good. For one of my 2.5MB JPEG file, it takes about 1 sec to open it. However, I need to zoom in the photo in order to have a sharp image.
Cons :
- It cannot display one of my 8MB JPEG file properly. I believe it is due to too high resolution.
5. USB host function
Pros :
- The user interface is good and easy to use. The speed is about 0.8mb/s.
Cons :
- Cannot detect my PSP
- The USB host cable is not standard USB mini B. You need to buy another one from Archos if you lost it !!
6. TV recording & replay
Pros :
- The vide recording quality is acceptable.
Cons :
- You need the TV docking (with AC power) if you need to record or play movie in the TV.
7. Overall
Pros :
- 30GB vs A2 20GB
- Light weight ~255g vs A2 ~300g
- Size smaller than A2
- LCD quality is better than A2
Cons :
- Need to convert most of the movie before play in AV530.
- No EQ function vs A2 has EQ function.
- The protective case is poor vs A2 leather case seems excellent
- No FM function vs A2 has (I am okay for that)
Cons :
- It is nightmare that I need to convert every of my RMVB video files into AVI before the player can play it !! For some AVI files from internet, I still need to use the bundled software to convert it to AVI (yes, AVI to AVI) before it can be played in the machine.
- The player only accept AVI and WMV (not all) format. It does not support MPG or MPEG format.
- The fact that I need to convert every video file before playing in the player is just frustrating.
my goodness.. that is not good for a video playing device..
doesn't the convertion process diminsh the quality ? even a little bit ?
just on this reason alone, I would have bought A2.. or even Creative Zen Vision..
desperado
10-11-2005, 20:55
my goodness.. that is not good for a video playing device..
doesn't the convertion process diminsh the quality ? even a little bit ?
just on this reason alone, I would have bought A2.. or even Creative Zen Vision..
Well, since most of my video file are RMVB which for A2 or Creative, I still need to convert it to AVI in anyhow and most importantly, the video playing quality in AV530 is just too attractive, as compare with A2. Besides, I only tried some AVI file in internet, may be there are others that don't need to convert before playing in the machine. Will explorer more later.
You know the A2 comes in a 30 gig flavor as well...
desperado
10-11-2005, 21:10
You know the A2 comes in a 30 gig flavor as well...
Yes, but the price will be more expensive and not sure when it will be avaliable in Hong Kong.
Anyway, I hope someone will give a review similar to mine for A2 soon.
just recently i heard of this RMVB format. i have never used one, but i read that it was popular in the far east.
lcd quality: how do u know that the Archos is better than the A2? i believe u need to have the same video loaded to both of them to decide.
re-encoding the videos: the A2 has better codec support but i doubt that it supports this RMVB format.
desperado
10-12-2005, 04:06
Yes, the RMVB format is far more popular here in east asia, China, Hong Kong, etc
As there is a plastic cover on the A2 screen, the video (the built-in one in A2) playing is not so clear. While for AV530, it does not has the cover so the image is very sharp and clear. Same happened to picture viewing.
misticaudio
10-12-2005, 04:51
One thing you have to remember... the RMVB format is relatively new even though it is more popular in the southeast asian area. The major manufacturers have not yet embraced the format and may not, therefore they only support codecs which are currently popular with their main markets i.e. Korea, Japan, the U.S and U.K.
For those of us here in the States it's a given that you have to encode everything you put on the player and really I would want to anyway because then I know exactly what I'm getting. If I want XviD at 1200kbps with AC3 audio then I can do that. If I want DivX at 500kbps with MP3 audio at 192kbps then I can do that. I like to have choices and not be spoonfed a certain format.
So are you saying there is no cover over the screen on the AV530? that kinda sounds like a bad idea...
desperado
10-12-2005, 19:38
Well, the idea is like those PDA screen, while for A2, you can think it is like the PSP. For A2, you don't need the screen protector and for AV530, you will need one similar to those PDA although you don't touch the screen so frequent.
desperado
10-12-2005, 19:43
BTW, I found that most of the AVI and WMV file could be put into the Windows Media Player and the conversion and transfer will be done automatically in one-go. So this is quite good a feature PMP should has. For other formats, you need to convert it yourself.
One more issue, I got a feeling that the AV530 will be broken at once if falling on ground while for A2, I think it can still survive after a few drops (my thought only !!)
tjpark1111
10-13-2005, 00:00
Hmm, is it true that the AV530 can't play back AC3 soundtracks? If so, I will have to re-encode EVERY one of my video files, and the AC3 codec is the standard for DVDs, and most video files...
the Archos cannot play AC3 sound, neither DivX 3.11 video. plus no subtitle support.
fedrique
10-13-2005, 01:51
Does anyone know that if A2 can display photo with more than 4 mega pixel?
according to some people it cannot.
I would expect this to be changed though... in some firmware up date...
An intresting detail I failed to pay attention to before....
The specs for the A2 screen... LCD: 4 inches, 480 x 272 pixels, 16 million colors
The specs for the AV530 screen...LCD: 4 inchs, 480x272 pixels, 262 000 colours
so if anything the screen of the A2 should look better when both players are playing the same movie or whatever...
desperado
10-13-2005, 19:51
An intresting detail I failed to pay attention to before....
The specs for the A2 screen... LCD: 4 inches, 480 x 272 pixels, 16 million colors
The specs for the AV530 screen...LCD: 4 inchs, 480x272 pixels, 262 000 colours
so if anything the screen of the A2 should look better when both players are playing the same movie or whatever...
Agree, this is also what I expected before buying the AV530. When I compare the two players, although with different video file, you can imagine the fact that even they are playing the same movie file, the screen quality of AV530 is better than that of A2. Not to mention that A2 is already playing with the build in movie sample which should be of the best quality.
fedrique
10-13-2005, 22:40
I think Human eyes can not easy to recognise the difference between 16M and 262K colours. And As per Desperado said that the AV500 didn't have a protection cover on top of the screen. So, the image would be sharper...
(just my opinion)
Hey guys, I was wondering, the A2 only has internal battery right? If tats the case, does frequent charging decrease the lifespan? Not everyone charges their set when the battery is completely depleted. After 1 or 2 yrs of usage, the battery life might become 4-5 hrs?
Yes it does have an internal battery Lithium battery ....
check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_battery
for more info...
Will the A2 have all the features that the X5 has? I would like to know if the A2 can record from the FM radio, and if it will work with an alarm feature like the X5 where you can set an internal timer to record a Radio program at a certain time. I cannot find a reference which states the A2 will be able to do this.
Or what about recording from the video input at a certain time?
(Making this a super portable VCR/DVR alternative.)
Also on DAP Review it says the A2 will support:
"Supports video formats: AVI, ASF, WMV, DivX 3.11/4/5, XviD, MPEG-4 SP, WMV9... at up 720x576, 30 fps"
This is great that it has the native AVI format playback, with the X5 you still need to convert the AVI to a MPEG format to playback. My digital camera (CANON) records AVI movies, and I was ready to purchase my X5L when I read that you have to convert (us a computer) the AVI to MPEG to playback on the X5L. With the A2 I could playback the videos my Canon creates directly from the camera (I wouldn't have to use a computer to convert the files.)
If this player is in the $3xx.xx range I would definately consider it over the X5L that I am currently considering.
Thanks!
Konechiwa
10-23-2005, 18:11
This is why cowon needs a bigger harddrive! The Ipod has a 60GB, so does creative, archos as a 100GB out right now.
How do they expect a PMP to use its harddrive? I bet each movie will be around 1-1.5 Gigs, and with 20 Gigs of HD space (or even 30) it won't be much room at all, consedering people will put their music on as well.
Yes it has video recording at a certain time, and I believe you do not have to convert the avi to mpeg for playback... as far as the fm radio recording... I almost certian,(almost ) this is a feature of the A2...
misticaudio
10-23-2005, 22:35
Will the A2 have all the features that the X5 has? I would like to know if the A2 can record from the FM radio, and if it will work with an alarm feature like the X5 where you can set an internal timer to record a Radio program at a certain time. I cannot find a reference which states the A2 will be able to do this.
Or what about recording from the video input at a certain time?
(Making this a super portable VCR/DVR alternative.)
Also on DAP Review it says the A2 will support:
"Supports video formats: AVI, ASF, WMV, DivX 3.11/4/5, XviD, MPEG-4 SP, WMV9... at up 720x576, 30 fps"
This is great that it has the native AVI format playback, with the X5 you still need to convert the AVI to a MPEG format to playback. My digital camera (CANON) records AVI movies, and I was ready to purchase my X5L when I read that you have to convert (us a computer) the AVI to MPEG to playback on the X5L. With the A2 I could playback the videos my Canon creates directly from the camera (I wouldn't have to use a computer to convert the files.)
If this player is in the $3xx.xx range I would definately consider it over the X5L that I am currently considering.
Thanks!
1. Yes, you can set the alarm function to record the radio at a preset time or wake you up at a preset time.
2. Again, you can set the alarm function to record video at a preset time. There is only one preset recording function available at any given time however so you need to choose and only one recording session can be set.
Opposed to the Av500... where you can set multiple dates and times to record material
Yes, the Archos 530 does have a much brighter screen.
The A2 20GB has dropped in price, it is now selling for HK$3890. The 30GB will be out soon and will sell for HK$4380. I think they just mis-priced the 20GB one when it first came out.
BTW, does anyone have a chance to look at the Maxian T600 (www.maxian.com)? The spec is very similar to that of the A2.
Playback time is a little weaker... but it doenst look that bad :)
Konechiwa
10-29-2005, 21:55
Whats the retail price for this thing, 399/449? Thats what the Vision has.
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