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(More customer reviews)(Updated February 21, 2010).
First, a word about built-in Lithium Ion batteries versus removeable AAA batteries.
This Hisonic model (despite what may be said in Amazon's product description) runs on a single, replaceable AAA battery.
I have tried other models which have built-in Lithium Ion batteries. It would appear that the Lithium-Ion batteries last, at best, about 4 or 5 months until they are unable to hold a charge any longer. In addition, rechargeing it beyond 4 hours at a time can fry the battery and render it useless. It does not cut off power when the battery is fully charged. You have to watch the clock like a hawk! This has happened at least four times to me with less expensive brands which I have gotten from other merchant websites. It is not that the phones are defective. It is simply that Lithium-Ion batteries of the kind used in some headphones are not capable of lasting any longer. And after the battery is dead, you have to throw away the headphones because the shell must be broken in order to replace the battery. In addition, such an operation is more expensive than the headphones cost to begin with. In summary, MP3 PLAYERS WITH BUILT-IN LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES SHOULD BE AVOIDED! They don't last nearly as long. Removeable AAA batteries are the way to go!
Now that I have that concern out of the way, let us focus on the Hisonic model.
I now own no less than 3 of these phones. It takes about 20 to 25 minutes to load 2 Gigabytes of music (about 16 to 24 hours'-worth depending on what bit rate you use) from my computer to the phones. Consequently, I like to load them and keep them loaded with different styles of music. I just grab whichever phones hold the type of music I am in the mood for and go about my business (I like LOTS of variety). Sometimes I bring all three players with me.
Some comments have been made by other reviewers who use these phones for vigorous, sweaty exercise that the sweat from their heads is shorting out the electrical connections in the player and killing it. This may or may not be true. In any case, I have a simple, easy solution for the problem: Wear a hooded sweatshirt and place the phones on the outside of the hood slightly above your ears. The cloth will wick-away the sweat from the phones in sufficient quantity that there will be no drips on the phones. They will be protected. I can speak from personal experience!
Now, some of you will say that this arrangement will allow the phones to slip off and fall on the ground or you won't be able to hear them clearly. Bullfeathers! These headphones are quite capable of being heard quite brilliantly through cloth - and then some! As for the slippage problem, all you need to do is attach a piece of string or twine to the connecting rods above the earpieces and place it across the top of your head (measure it first, of course). I guarantee the headset will stay securely on your head even if you are running in long, pounding strides or doing jumping jacks. Another alternative is to link some rubber bands together and use the band as a chin-strap (not too tight, however).
Will this player-headset last forever? Of course not. Nothing does. However, I believe you can expect at least one year of reliable service from this player. After that, it will slowly degrade in playing duration until it quits altogether a few months after that.Note: My other two newer Hisonic players still work just fine. They are 16 months and 13 months old, respectively.
Is a year's service worth $49.95? ($44.95 from some merchants listed on Amazon as of February, 2010). You bet it is! Despite the player's few minor shortcomings, I wouldn't be without it. There is nothing better or more reliable out there in Amazonland.....or anywhere else, for that matter.
How does it sound? The overall sound quality of this Hisonic model is, in my estimation, "pretty good but not breath-taking". It depends on the source and recentness of the recording. I often listen to old 78-RPM, monophonic recordings from the 1930's and 1940's. So, take my criticism of the audio quality with a grain of salt. In any case, I doubt if any of the other brands of phones in this style sound any better than this one. Any headphone that sits ON the ear is not going to yield as much bass response as those earpieces that are lodged INSIDE the ear canal. But then, with the IN-THE-EAR plugs, you have to deal with those annoying cords! Who the heck wants that!? Certainly not me!
The Hisonic has 6 equalization (tone) settings. The only one of the settings I found to be satisfactory is the one named "Bass".
To save space on my hard drive, I ripped most of my CD's into WMA files (using Windows Media Player) with a variable bit rate of 85 to 145 kbps (the intermediate setting). The sound quality is adequate for my purposes. You may be able to achieve better sound quality by adopting a higher bit rate during the ripping of your CD's to WMA files (though it will take up more space on your drives). If you insist on using MP3 format, be advised that you will not likely hear any difference between music saved at 320kbps (the maximum) and music saved at 160kbps. Most people cannot hear any difference between 320kbps and 128kbps. So, you might as well save space on your hard (and flash) drives by using a lower rate.
This Hisonic model runs on a single AAA battery. Regardless of what the manufacturer is claiming, I recently placed a fully recharged rechargeable battery in this headphone and listened continuously for 12 hours before the battery finally quit. I think that is pretty darned good. Alkaline batteries may last longer.
Incidentally, if you are going to use rechargeable AAA batteries, don't use Sony brand (they are just a millimeter too long to fit in the battery compartment of this model). Instead, I found that Energizers (also available here on Amazon) will fit just fine in this model. By the way, in response to the gentleman who suggested hitting the battery on the tip with a hammer to make it fit: That is a good way to wind up with third degree burns and schrapnel in your face. Really, now, Sir! What could you have been thinking?
How many hours of music will it hold? I was able to fill up 2 Gigabytes of storage space with 484 Monophonic MP3 files of 3 minutes duration each (taken from CD reissues of old 78 rpm records). That brings the total to a WHOPPING 24 HOURS! (Hisonic also makes a 1GB model for less money but the 2GB model is a much better value for only a few dollars more). If you are using a high bitrate and your tracks are stereo, the player may not store as much music.
AAA batteries are small and easy to find. A spare is easy to carry in one's pocket. So, if you have a spare battery (or two) in your pocket, you can listen practically ALL DAY and ALL NIGHT without having to repeat any music! It is like having a never-ending Juke-Box in your head only much less cumbersome.
At least one other reviewer said he had a problem with the battery being drained somewhat during file transfer from the computer to the headphones. While that is possible, it should not even be an issue as the battery need not be installed at all in order to transfer files. In fact, the instructions recommend removing the battery before transfering files. Whatever power the headphones may need for file transfer (if any) is derived directly from the USB port of your computer.
The Hisonic is VERY programable and you can choose to play the tracks in the order in which they were loaded or in random shuffle order and some variations there-of. It even has folder-partitioning capabilities so you can jump directly to other music genres depending on your mood without having to crawl and wade through many contiguous files to get there. You can also program it to select tracks from only one folder or from multiple folders alternately and randomly. If you choose sequential order, be aware that re-sorting the fields of the metadata sections (in the "Details" view of your computer's filing system) prior to loading the files on the Hisonic's flash drive will NOT have any effect on the playing order. The Hisonic player will play the files in the order in which they were loaded on its internal flash drive. So, take that into account when you are loading the files if programatic order is an issue. Otherwise, choose Random-Shuffle order to really scramble them.
The thin lever on the underside of the right earpiece that is used to enter the display menues and navigate through them is somewhat flimsy and seems as though it might break if handled clumsily or carelessly. However, I have not experienced any malfunctions in 16 months of intermittent use so far. It is somewhat confusing at first to figure out how to manipulate this lever to go where you want to go. Pushing it forward or backward simply moves it to play the next track or the previous track. To enter the menues and sub-folders, you have to gently push the lever straight in upon itself, hold it in, and then move the lever forward or backward to navigate through the menues and functions. Watch the display like a hawk as you are doing this or you may wind up where you don't want to be.
As others have observed, transferring MP3 or WMA files from your computer to this headphone's flash drive is simple and easy but somewhat slow (about 20 to 25 minutes to load 2 GB worth of music). It may take even longer if you are transfering from one external hard drive thru the computer and out again to the MP3 player/phones. The amount of actual storage space is approximately 1.89 Gigabytes. This is common with flash (and hard) drives. The actual storage space is always rounded up to the...Read more›
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