iAudio X5L 20 GB Multimedia Player Black Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I've had my iAudio X5L for several weeks now -- it's been with me through two road trips (on just ONE battery charge!) and many commutes to work.I am even *happier* with this purchase then I expected to be!Highly recommended as an incredible gift to yourself or someone you know.This is THE digital music player and then some.I'm thrilled with mine.

First off, I must confess that I was also debating between an iPod or other media players.After reading the reviews at Cnet.com, PCmagazine, and here at Amazon, I went with a 30gb X5L from iAudio.Here's what you get with iAudio that you won't get on the iPod:

- listen to radio AND record from radio
- 24 radio station presets (FM only)
- a built-in mic to record lectures, poetry readings, dinner conversations (you have to be close to the speaker, though, I'm going to expirment with the line-in and see if an external mike can be plugged into that)
- a line-in jack so you can record from old cassettes, records, minidiscs, you name it ... from anything with a headphone jack
- looong battery life, it really does give 35 hours
- much stronger case, a beautiful black finish with a texture that won't scratch and show fingerprints like the iPods; I don't even have a cover over mine, I just keep it in my pocket and it does fine
- oh yeah... and you can watch videos, but I use my X5L while walking or driving so this feature doesn't even matter to me

There are some good tips to know about your iAudio:

-almost all questions can be answered at www.iaudiophile.com/forums... a fantastic resource for all iAudio users
- sure, it doesn't have the sort-by-tag software of the iPods, but I haven't even found that I miss that. I keep my files organized in folders by Artist\Album\songs and I'm a playlist junkie ... iTunes never does auto-create a playlist that I like anyway.You don't even need to install the software that comes with the iAudio.I use MediaMonkey to organize my music, but I just use Windowns Explorer to drag 'n' drop files into my iAudio's music folder. The Shuffle mode keeps me very happy, and having my favorite radio stations just a couple clicks away is WONDERFUL.
- When you first receive your X5L, you'll have to charge it for 6 hours. Hey, long battery life requires some serious power to start with.But once it's charged, you'll find that you already have a sample song and some sample videos so you can show off your toy right away.(They're basically iAudio commercials, but they are good for showing how good this treasure sounds and looks.)
- using the little button control is pretty simple when you get the hang of it ... press it down briefly in order to see a list for your current mode (ie. list of presets for Radio, list of songs for Music, list of movies for Video...) or hold down the button for a couple seconds in order to get to the main menu.Some people didn't get that, but it really is easy.
- the power, line-in, and USB ports for the X5L are on a little supback that you plug into the bottom of the X5L; it also comes with a line-in cable that you can plug into the headphone (or line-out) jack of any other equipment.Some people complain about having these little "things" to keep with the X5L.I got the Universal MP3 Player Travel Kit from CaseLogic and it has perfect little compartments for the iAudio accessories plus a pocket for the player itself.Or you might try a digital camera case with a couple external pockets - the iAudio X5L would fit in that very nicely, too.That's what I used before my CaseLogic order arrived.
- the only problem I had was actually with my music files, not with the X5L; my songs had been ripped with a mix of id3v1 and id3v2 tags, which meant that some albums would only show on the X5L with the filename instead of the tag info while playing.I used MediaMonkey to clean off the id3v1 tags and that worked very well.Voila - tag information would show on my X5L.

So all in all - the iAudio X5L has performed beautifully. I only wish I had waited and gotten the 60gb.Being able to record from radio and old media has filled up my memory more than I anticipated.
If you're still not sure about getting any digital music player in the first place, let me give this example ... I have 500 CDs, but I was only listening to maybe 30 of them regularly because so many just weren't the kind of albums that would be listened to in one sitting.Now I've culled the best tracks from those CDs and they come up on my X5L's shuffle as a nice surprise from the past.I'm remembering just how much I like this music or that artist.It's a wonderful rediscovery of my own collection!And when I don't recognize what I'm listening to, I just look down and all the info is right there for me.I'm finally starting to tell the difference between my Dave Brubeck and Charles Mingus albums (jazz fans, forgive me) but I'm also hearing nuances that I never noticed before from my Erasure and Hotel Costes albums.In some ways, this is like hearing your music for the first time all over again.

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Product Description:
The iAudio X5L 20 GB Multimedia Player Black combines an MP3 player, video player, FM radio, voice recorder, and digital photo album in one tidy package with a smooth aluminum finish. With its capacity for up to 5,000 songs, 2,000 folders, or 10,000 files, and a lithium-ion battery that provided up to 35 continuous hours of play, the iAudio X5 is the ideal way to take your digital music, music videos, and digital pictures on the road with you.
The iAudio X5 supports blazing fast USB 2.0 download speeds of up to 480 Mbps, obliterating the need to wait for your files to transfer from your computer. The 260,000 color TFT-LCD screen displays both text and image files, with text files viewable even as you're listening to your music. A built-in, high-fidelity microphone lets you record voice at the same quality level as dedicated voice recorders. Listen to FM radio and record it onto the iAudio X5 just by pressing a button, and use the preset feature to save your preferred radio stations. The iAudio X5's direct encoding technology lets you digitally record input from audio devices such as a Walkmans, mini disk, record, or TV.
The iAudio G3's JetShell software enables the creation and editing of playlists directly on the player, as well as CD ripping and file transfers. You can save non-music files to the iAudio X5 and say goodbye to clumsy floppy disks and data CDs, and the JetAudio software enables simple video conversion onto the iAudio X5. If you're on the road and need a wake-up call, just use the built-in clock's alarm function.
The iAudio G3 is compatible with Windows and both Linux and the Mac OS, and comes with superb Cresyn headphones, giving you superior sound reproduction with a balanced tone. It supports MP3, OGG, WMA, WAV files, as well as the FLAC format, which compresses files without quality loss. Up to 12 minutes of anti-shock protection ensures that you'll enjoy your music no matter how bumpy the road, and the custom-made protective leather case fits perfectly to your iAudio X5.
What's in the Box
X5L-20BL digital music player, AC adapter, USB 2.0 cable, audio cable, USB host cable, earphones, subpack, installation CD-ROM, and user's guide.