Bargain MP3 player / recorder from Amazon Xen EMP-200

craigy_2

Stompa wrote:

http://www.microdirect.co.uk/Produc...?ProductID=8485

The same player, £10 more for twice the memory

More like another £16 once you've included P&P. It does seem to be a later model though (EMP-400 rather than EMP-200) so has a lithium polymer battery rather than using AAA's, it has a coloured display, and is a bit smaller.

The down side with both of them is that they're USB 1.1 but perhaps that's not much of a concern given that they don't have much memory anyway.

More info here:

http://www.ez-av.com/eng/

Stompa

It may have twice the memory and that would make it a better buy for some people. But if you are travelling around a lot I find that running of AAA batteries is a real advantage most of the time.

don.westcoast

craigy wrote:

I bought one of these a few weeks back for the full price of £99 and was blown away by it. Amazon is doing it for £34.99.

It can record direct from a line input / built in microphone and built in FM radio. It also acts as a UBS flash drive.

Get it while you can. I don't think they'll stay around for long.

Xen EMP-200 MP3 Player / Recorder on Amazon

Mine arrived today and delighted with it! Thanks

robonz

a friend of mine has one of these and is really happy with it

craigy_2

don.westcoast wrote:

Mine arrived today and delighted with it! Thanks

Hi Don, glad you like it. I'm still amazed that they are so good for such a small and cheap item,

seth

don.westcoast wrote:

Mine arrived today and delighted with it! Thanks

Did you get any accessories with it?
I was after someting with an arm strap / holder?
I assume it has a built in mic and ships with earhpones?

Did you get the 128m version that takes AAAs?

Re: Xen mp3 player from amazon
Quote:
Originally Posted by seth
Thanks you seem very happy with it.
I want it for podcasts (I use odeo and iPodder) and burn them to mini CD (5cm) takes about a minute and hold 220megs. I use CDRW for this. Works fine but the CD is sensitive to motion etc.. the Xen is all solid state.

I assume the arm strap and the belt holder are good quality?

Thanks for the battery tips. I think I might got for the 128 meg as it takes AAA and I have some 950mAh from the recent BOGOF deals at maplin. What is the comet deal?

I noticed Amazon shops are selling the unit (new) for £29.99 now.

Seth.

Quote:
Originally Posted by don.westcoast
Quote:
Originally Posted by seth
Did you get an arm band for the player?

How many track can you store?

Does it need software to copy tracks to from a PC?


Hi,

1) You get an armband and also a belt holder

2) not very sure how many tracks it stores as I have been using it for downloading from the radio but I can download 1.5 hours of programmes. The memory is probably a bit small so if you can get the larger one.

3) Didn't need software to use it directly from the Mac but a cd is supplied.

What I have liked is that it has a 'line in' connection and you can plug it into your PC/Hi-Fi and download live radio or Records/Tapes without any bother.

I've been very please with it though it is a bit heavy on the batteries (2xAAA). (Comet are doing a great deal on batteries at the moment)

Cheers

Don




Hi.
Armband and belt holder are just OK. I don't use them as I just stick it in my top pocket.

Didn't mention it before but unit comes with 2 cables. 1 USB and 1 for in-line use.

The Comet deal is £3.99 for 8 batteries (either AA or AAA) Duracell M3 type. Batteries packaging is marked 'Special Offer' therefore it may not just be confined to Comet but no doubt someone will be able to get them cheaper!!

Hope this helps.

Feel free to stick this on the forum.

Cheers

Don


I looked at the site on Amazon offering it for £29.99 but they wanted £5 P&P so order of Amazon. Looked at my slashdot review downloaded MP3 and 2.25 Hours was 122Meg.

Hope this comes with a Microphone!!

seth

craigy wrote:

I bought one of these a few weeks back for the full price of £99 and was blown away by it. Amazon is doing it for £34.99.

It can record direct from a line input / built in microphone and built in FM radio. It also acts as a UBS flash drive.

Get it while you can. I don't think they'll stay around for long.

Xen EMP-200 MP3 Player / Recorder on Amazon

Did you get a mic with yours? I know it comes with an arm band?

don.westcoast

seth wrote:

Hope this comes with a Microphone!!

It comes with a built in Mic but an external mic can be used via the line in.

Cheers

Don

robonz

just wondering why the 256Mb version is £119 when this 128Mb one is £35. seems a bit odd to me???

seth

robonz wrote:

just wondering why the 256Mb version is £119 when this 128Mb one is £35. seems a bit odd to me???

It is what the market will support. The cost of an MP3 player is basically

1) chipset
2) memory
3) Tooling for factory
4) accessory, advertising, packaging & accessories

Then factor in what the competition is charging to get a retail price.

The market seems to be polarising into low cost minimal feature players at the low end. These are the £10-£12 units that take SD cards. So they use a low cost chip set (no recording or extras) so item 1) is small. Memory is comoditiy flash so item 2) drops to zero. Also no lost value during the time the unit ships until it is used as a 20% drop in memory prices can be expected every 4-6 months. They use long productions runs possible due to zero memory so 3) is reduced substancially, as they can take advantage of memory price drops even after the unit is made, so can the consumer. 4) the low cost items ship with headphones and a bit of string to hang the player on, and take normal (cheap) batteries no rechargable.

The mid and high end players offer more features but cost more on all aspects. IF THEY HAVE ENOUGH memory to look credible then they can command a £100+ price. But the 128M model is small by todays standards, so is the 256K but people are still buying I think after Xmas the 256 will come down, the 128 will have sold out these are just old stock. There will be more 256 in circulation, but these have not been made for a while. The price is historical "Value" with a dose of realism.

Many of the top and mid range vendors are feeling the squeeze between IPod, et all at the top end, the mini ipods in the mid range and the cheap £10 players that can take 1Gig SD at the bottom end. Xen may go the way of RIO and stop making units if the market is too small.

I hope vendors who make quality products that are not just players can stay in business!

Remember:

The 256k model has colour OLED the 128 is black and white.
The 256k model has LiPolymer Battery the 128 is AAA so item 4 costs are different.
Also the 128 model comes with arm strap and other bits to make it more attractive. Again the 256 has fewer accessies to keep 4) down into what is an increasingly competetive market.


Hope this anwers the why the huge price difference question?

PS

If you want a player only that is a mid range unit with SD card support try this:



£19.99 at argos!

Portable solid state.

8 hours of playback.

128MB memory.

Stores up to 120 minutes of MP3 tracks or 240 minutes of WMA tracks.

MP3/WMA/WAV compatible.

Repeat, random, play, skip functions.

LCD display.

USB cable (supplied).

Software supplied.

Minimum PC specification Windows 98 ME.

SD card slot.

In ear headphones.

Requires 1 x AAA battery (supplied).

Weight 390g.

Size (H)1.4, (W)6.9, (D)4.7cm.

Please note that this product is excluded from the 16 Day Money Back Guarantee. This does not effect your statutory rights.

Cat Code 513/1448


http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10001&langId=-1&catalogId=3801&productId=148454&clickfrom=name

peteraj

Play.com have one for £14.99 inc delivery
http://play.com/play247.asp?pa=srmr&page=title&r=ELEC&title=646427
Takes 1 x AAA bettery too which has got to be better than units which have an internal battery, after all how to you recharge when you are on plane, up a mountain etc. I'm no expert but it just seems to make sense to me.