Review iAUDIO CW300 256MB
Written: Oct 28 '03
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Pros: vide review
Cons: vide review
The Bottom Line: You like to to enrich your life with superb music - use iAUDIO CW300!
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| trinix's Full Review: Cowon Systems iAUDIO CW300 (256 MB) MP3 Player |
Quotation iAUDIO manual:
“iAUDIO is a multi-functional portable digital audio device that plays MP3 files, which is a new format of digital compression that reduces the size of files tenfold while maintaining CD-level sound quality. iAUDIO can be used to record lectures or meetings, and also for listening and recording FM radio broadcasts.”
This is the description of the player from the manufacturer. It contains the general capabilities of that amazing gadget but of course not all of nice and powerful features.
If you order the iAUDIO player CW300 directly from the JetAudio online store or from a proper reseller, like Amazon or Ebay, the package will arrive with the following components.
~iAUDIO CW300 256MB player (of course ;] )
~Earphones (either Cresyn AXE 599BL or Sennheiser MX 400)
~one AA Battery
~Installation CD (including JetShell / JetVoice Mail / JetAudio)
~Manual
~USB cable
~Pouch
~Neck cord
~Remote Control
At first I will point out some of the PROs and CONs of the CW300.
PROs:
- Superb and unbelievable powerful sound
- Good elaborated and intuitive menu design and also the navigation, with the two jog levers is really convenient
- Upgradeable firmware
- Very customisable regarding album names, equalizer, scrolling speed of track information, display contrast,
adjustable input sensitivity for the microphone and so on
- Really small and efficient design (height 82.5mm x width 40mm x thickness 18.6mm)
- Extremely lightwight (42g without battery)
CONs:
-Low but high frequency sound in tuner mode if the backlight turns on
-Intensity of the display backlight isn’t adjustable
-No line in connector
-No support for an alternative format of compressed music files like Ogg Vorbis
-pathetic remote control
Now I will discuss some critical points of the CW300.
Battery flap:
That’s a point, which is very often discussed, both in the jetAudio forum and other reviews.
I had never really problems with that part. Of course you have to use it gently and without any force, but in my opinion it is well designed for its functionality.
LCD size:
A bit small, just 128x16 dot wide, but it shows a lot of important information (e.g. battery level, equalizer settings, memory usage, album and track number and time). Furthermore, it includes a scrolling line for track information, like data’s saved in ID3 tags.
File support:
That is my pet subject. iAUDIO CW3000 supports the MPEG 1 / 2 layers 2 and 3 and the special format for voice or tuner record SC4. For the MPEG layers, the CW supports all bit rates between 8kbps and 320kbps and also variable bit rate (VBR), like every good player should doing this.
In this case the critical point for me is, there is no support for a proper alternative of MP3, like e.g. Ogg Vorbis.
But I strongly believe in iAUDIO and I hope that the next generation or the generation after next one will support a kind of alternative format.
Remote Control:
The remote control was the biggest frustration of that whole device. Of course, it is doing the job well, but I think it doesn’t suit to the great design of the CW. The iAUDIO has a beautiful matt aluminium body and the remote control has a plastic one and all the buttons are jiggle around.
Playback Time:
Is there anybody who can give me the settings for 30 hours of playback? I couldn’t find the right one. However, It’s a matter of common knowledge that the real playback time is always a bit shorter than the nominal time, doesn’t matter what for a brand.
Furthermore, the CW300 comes with the programs JetShell, JetVoice Mail and JetAudio and I'll give you some briefly overviews about the called components.
JetShell:
That is the software what you require to download or upload files. Except the *.mp3 files, they are just downloadable onto your CW.
It is also possible to encode WAV files to MP3 files or the other way around. If you like to encode directly from CD during the download onto your CW you can do it, with JetShell and the Frauenhofer encoder for MP3. For further information have a look in the manual (available on JetAudio page) of the CW where you can find some more information about JetShell.
JetVoice Mail:
This tiny program is as smart as small. You can record some sounds with the CW or with the your computer. Then you can change the kind of sound, e.g. into a similar sound like Darth Vader's voice. After that, you are able to attach the file on an email including a tiny player and send it to your friends. If you feel like to read more about JetVoice Mail check the manual.
JetAudio:
JetAudio is the suitable player for your computer. The current version is v5.18 and is available on the www.iaudio.com…for free. If you like to encode your CDs to MP3 or mp3PRO with JetAudio have a look in the online store for JetAudio Plus. For more details about JetAudio check out the manual.
Conclusion:
From my point of view, the iAUDIO CW300 is one of the best player on market and you can enjoy it for a long time (maybe a whole life) with wonderful sound and trustier technology…made in Korea.
The American violinist Yehudi Menuhin (1916-99) said: “I am strongly believe, that music extends your live.”
And in my opinion, this is much easier to realize if you are using the iAUDIO CW300, because this precious gadget is really able to enhance your enjoyment of live.
If you feel like to find out more visit the JetAudio forum and we are more than happy to help you!
trinix
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 250
Recommended for: Beginners - Easy Enough for Tech Newbies
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trinix
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