A Fine MP3 Player
Pros:
Sleek, stylish, good quality sound. AAA battery - no charger needed. Compatible with Windows 2000
Cons:
Fussy reader required changing some song titles to play in correct order
The Bottom Line:
Very happy with my purchase. I love that it runs on a AAA battery and is compatible with Windows 2K. Great sound & light weight. Fine travel player.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
Intro: I wanted an MP3 Player - my first - that was compatible with Windows 2K. Many of the newer models are not, requiring XP or Vista. The downside here is that this model apparently is not compatible with downloaded music encoded with DRM. I found the Philips SA2325, and I have been very pleased with my purchase.
Look and Functionality: The player is sleek and stylish, black and chrome. Its menu system is very intuitive. (A 12-year old I know was able to figure it out in seconds - it took me a bit longer.) I suppose that more expensive models have more functionality, but this player works fine for me. The SA2325 interacts with Windows like a flash drive. You can drag and drop files or folders into the player via a USB connection. What's really cool is that, in addition to the provided short USB cable, the player itself has a hidden USB port.
Sound: While I'm sure that there are better sounding units out there, this player sounds just fine for me. I tend to listen to classical, new age and jazz - music with some subtlety and dynamic range. The sound quality is full and spacious, and it has good clarity. At times, I can detect a slight electronic warble at the beginning of a song. But overall, I was surprisingly pleased with the audio quality. However, a true audiophile may want to look elsewhere.
Power: Another plus is that the player runs on a single AAA battery. This is great for traveling. No need for a charger or a computer connection. I've been listening to it off an on for a month without changing the battery. I think it is rated for 10 hours.
Annoyances: One problem I encountered is that the player initially was not playing my songs in correct order. I reached Philips consumer support in a few seconds, but they were unable to help me solve the problem. With some experimentation, I discovered that by renaming the songs on my computer in serial numerical order (e.g., 01, 02, 03, etc.) and then reloading them onto the player, the player recognized the correct order.
In Sum: I am extremely pleased with this purchase of a first MP3 player, which meets my needs and exceeds them. Someone who needs a DRM compatible player, will need to look elsewhere.
