Dr.-Ing. Peter Strassacker
Email: peter@lautsprechershop.de

MP3-Player - have they grown up?

In the past MP3 players were often little USB sticks. Tracks were loaded using a PC and then played back using an ear phone.

By now, MP3 players the size of a cigarette packet have caught on and show an outstanding performance.

These players include a hard drive of anything between 20 and 60 GByte, enabling the storage of 300 to 900 CD's in MPEG 3 format. Access to tracks using several search criteria is simple and quick. Operation is simple and straight forward. The sound quality of the top models in the medium price segment is more than adequate when using a conventional hi-fi stereo set-up for playback.

We are comparing three models that caught our eye:

Manufacturer / Type	Apple / iPOD	Apple / iPOD mini	Archos / Gmini 400
Hard drive capacity	20-60 GByte	4-6 GByte	20 GByte
Capacity equivalent to CD's	300-900	60-90	300
Accessories	medium	sparse	comprehensive
Track transfer	with PC	with PC	with PC or direct
Sound quality	good	(not tested)	very good
Frequency range with
connected main amp	extremely linear	(not measured)	extremely linear
50 Ohm ear phone (-3 dB)	30 Hz - 20 kHz	(not measured)	20 Hz - 20 kHz
Signal to noise:	90 dB	(not measured)	96 dB
Design	classic white reminiscent of Braun	oval, aluminium beautiful	modern
Video playback	no	no	yes
Price in EUR	from approx. 330	approx. 200-250	approx. 350

Home Speakers for MP3 Players