Post by Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe on Mar 19, 2008 6:19:25 GMT -6
Sandisk Sansa C200 MP3 Player Review
(or how I will be listening to tunes during Astronomical Observations from now on)
(or how I will be listening to tunes during Astronomical Observations from now on)
As long as I can remember, I have always had some sort of tunes playing while observing at the telescope. Be it classical, oldies or ethereal sounds, depending on my mood, It makes a session more enjoyable. I have always tho, been a cassette man. Easy to create select tunes and record from vinyl, cd, tape and now internet. The medium has been faithful to me and selecting a tape to fit my mood was a snap.
But...
Transporting telescopes, accessories, chairs and now laptop to a observation site gets me bogged down. And if I want tunes, then I must also drag along the tape player and associated tapes...and it's gets to be a bit much. And at the end of a session, well...it gets to be a hassle.
All about me, others have jumped into the MP3 arena and going all digital and I thought I would too and join the 21st century. I wanted something small, with a radio and most importantly...affordable. After all, this will be my first MP3 player, and I did not want to overbuy something I might not like.
I did a lot of research, asked around and tapped into the vast data bank that is the internet. The reviews of other users were a great assistance, praising or trashing MP3 player experiences. And so, I add my own here on my selection...
Firstly, I did not want to dive into the Apple Ipod world. Me being a rebel of sorts, I always refused to follow the crowd. I did not like the inaccessible battery, hard drive and overpriced sell. Off my list. I looked into what Amazon offered and they had this nice looking MP3 player from Sandisk and it had what I desired...and more. After studying reviews and specs...I got the Sandisk Sansa c200 eventually from a on-line retailer called Buy dot com. The cost of the player was $24.99 and I also got a $10.00 speaker system for it. With free shipping it all cost a whopping $35.99...
The Sandisk site with details:
tinyurl.com/p9gx9
But some of the specs are:
Plays MP3, WMA, and protected WMA DRM
By capacity, holds large number of MP3/WMA songs and hours of playback (see above capacity matrix)
Affordable, compact MP3 Player with color screen
- Color screen (up to 64,000 colors) displays cover art and photo thumbnails
Easy-to-use interface for sorting and playing back your music
Digital FM tuner with 20 preset stations (European countries have an FM and non-FM version)
FM ‘on the fly’ recording and voice recording
Supports Subscription Music Stores
High-speed USB2.0 for fast and easy file transfer
Rechargeable & Removable Battery
MicroSD™ Slot
By capacity, holds large number of MP3/WMA songs and hours of playback (see above capacity matrix)
Affordable, compact MP3 Player with color screen
- Color screen (up to 64,000 colors) displays cover art and photo thumbnails
Easy-to-use interface for sorting and playing back your music
Digital FM tuner with 20 preset stations (European countries have an FM and non-FM version)
FM ‘on the fly’ recording and voice recording
Supports Subscription Music Stores
High-speed USB2.0 for fast and easy file transfer
Rechargeable & Removable Battery
MicroSD™ Slot
It arrived four days after placing the order, (ain't the internet a wonderful thing?...
) and nicely packed...
I was home at the time, and I heard a thud on my doorstep, I peeked out the window and saw the FedEx guy leaving. Excellent! Everything was present and accounted for. I took a chance on a "Recertified" player, as others have had good experiences for the most part on the player I read. A brand new player is starting around $60.00 and not what I want to spend on my first.
It's small, but not tiny.
At first I did not know how to navigate around the menus, as I kept pressing the silver button in different directions - like a hat switch - and all I was getting was the same thing.
But then I discovered that the black raised frame around the button is in itself three navigational buttons and the silver button the select. Navigation is simple.
On the bottom of the player are two buttons. One for voice recording and the other to lock down all the other buttons.
Side view shows the headphone jack, Mic and lanyard attachment.
Top shows the volume control see saw button and the an expansion slot for a Mini-Sd card. This was a primary option for me, as it no longer remains just a 2 Gig player, but if you put a 2 gig card in, now becomes a 4 gig...and with more cards... limitless...
Now I can regress back to my cassette days and dedicate a card to any genre of tunes. I think flash media is truly remarkable.
On the other end is the connection port for the data link/USB cable. The player has a lithium battery that recharges via the USB cable and is supposed to run for 32 hours on a full charge. We will have to see on that.
On the rear is the battery compartment and stamped "Refurb" in chrome letters.
I also bought a speaker system to listen to my tunes without the encumbered use of ear buds...not cool when attending to public events. I got the KensingtonFX 300 Portable speaker. It's primarily sized for an Ipod, and my Sandisk swims around inside, but that's ok...I can use the extra space for the extra cards and other things.
It takes two AAA batteries and a green LED burns to tell you it's on and turns red when the batteries need changing. The LED should be on the outside rather than inside, as one is apt to forget and leave it on. With an external volume control knob, it is loud enough to listen to comfortably with no distortion. With the included safety hook, I can attach it to a telescope leg or accessory tray and keep the tunes close to me.
Back to the player.
The FM radio works fine and has a auto station feature which presets 20 of the strongest stations. You can record off the radio as well and that works quite well. I do wish it had a AM option, but oh well.
I have downloaded tunes to it and thru the Windows Media Player V.10 on my laptop, it was just too simple. It's a matter of drag and drop and you are done. I ripped some Cd's and that too was easy. I have yet to tackle transferring my vast tape tune collection. I think I need to burn them to cd first then transfer to the player.
The player allows one to shuffle, repeat or randomise your tunes. You can also select by artist, album, genre, playlists, recordings or individual songs. It contains a EQ function, which is nice. The ear buds that come along with it are just ok and can't handle a lot of bass. I plugged in my Sennheisers headphones and the sound took on a deeper and fuller attitude. Better ear buds would compliment the player.
It also has a photo album that you can download to, but the resolution is not that great and not going to be used much. But it does display the Album art of a song, which I found quite cool.
A full manual is available online and I did not need the program disk for it. Windows Vista recognized it and played nice. There is a program called "Rockbox" that some are recommending to install to the player, as it offfers more versatility and more options than the Sandisk firmware, but let's keep it as is for now. I do need a protective pouch and armband for it for working out and other outside activities. And if it works well, I will also need a FM transmitter to play MP3 tunes to my car stereo. My cassettes will be jealous...
I have 90 days to see if I want to keep it, but let's see how it performs on my next upcoming astronomical session and a full review will be posted on the experience.
It's a great little player for twenty five bucks.
#Yay#
