e.Digital Odyssey 1000 (20 GB) MP3 Player

MULTIPLE - E A R G A S M S!!!!! NOW FROM GATEWAY

Written: Nov 13 '03 (Updated Jun 17 '09)

Pros: Amazing sound, WOW technology, Voice recording, FM tuner and MORE.

Cons: buttons are hard to navigate while wearing on a belt. Gateway now makes this unit

The Bottom Line: What a GREAT MP3 player... too bad Gateway now makes them.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

criteeker's Full Review: e.Digital Odyssey 1000 (20 GB) MP3 Player

NOTICE: BEFORE YOU READ THIS, PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT GATEWAY PURCHASED THE TECHNOLOGY FROM e.DIGITAL. They are now producing it as the DMP-X20. It's identical but the Gateway version is without the voice navigation feature.

===================================================================

If you're considering a large capacity MP3 player with all the bells and whistles, buy e.Digital's amazing Odyssey 1000 MP3 player! I was seriously considering Apple's iPod, but when I compared the two machines, e.Digital's product is FAR superior!

In the box: At the time of this review, there are three models to choose from with a custom size available upon request. They are 15 gig, 20 gig and 40 gig. For a bit more money, the tech (Walter) at e.Digital will build you a 60 gig model if you really feel the need for that much storage of music or data. Also included are: a collapsible pair of ear-bud type headphones, a black leather-like carrying case, a USB 2.0 cable (backward compatible with USB 1.1 technology), RCA stereo adapter (for playing MP3s through a home stereo or boombox with AUX in capability), a manual, e.Digital Music Explorer software, Universal DC power adapter/battery charger, installation CD with quick start guide and free pre-loaded music samples.

In the world of the higher-end MP3 players, iPod has set the benchmark... That is until now. In order to fully demonstrate what it is about e.Digital's Odyssey 1000 that is so much better than the iPod, I will show a side-by-side comparison:

Design note: The Odyssey 1000 resembles the iPod with its shiny silver back. Where they differ is the Odyssey 1000 is all chrome and silver in front, while the iPod's face is all white.

Recently, at a job site, instead of listening to the same stuff over and over, switching CDs or tapes or listening to commercial-filled radio, it was nice to be able to hook up the Odyssey 1000 (via the supplied cable) to a boombox. The sound was amazing and kept everyone entertained all work day long!

Storage capacities - iPod: 10gig (2500 songs) $299, 20 gig (5,000 songs) $399, 30 gig (7500 songs) $440 and 40 gig (10,000 songs) $499.

Storage capacities - Odyssey 1000: 15 gig (3,700 songs) $299, 20 gig (5,115 songs) $$349 and the 40 gig (10,800 songs) $399.

So right off the bat, the 10 gig iPod and the 15 gig Odyssey 1000 are the same price, but the Odyssey 1000 gives you 5 gigs more for the same price. The 40 gig models have a $100 price difference between the brands - OUCH!

Weight: the iPod weighs between 5.6 and 6.2 ounces. The Odyssey 1000 weighs in at 8.2 ounces. Not a huge difference. If you factor in the fact that this unit has a built in FM tuner and voice recorder, the size and weight issues become moot.

Dimensions - iPod: 2.4" x 4.1" x .62" (except for the 30 or 40 gig models the thickness is .73").

Dimensions - Odyssey 1000: 2.8" x 4.4" x .8" for all three models. Again, no big difference between the two brands.

Battery Life - iPod: Up to 8 hours when fully-charged and new - significantly less as time goes on.

Battery Life - Odyssey 1000: 10 - 12 hours.

A word about batteries: Both brands use a Lithium-Ion battery, but if (or when) either battery dies, there is a big difference with respect to service. With the Apple iPod, you'll need to take it (or send it) to an authorized Apple repair facility. This will cost you about $200 for parts & labor - they use a proprietary battery. With the Odyssey 1000, you send it to e.Digital and it'll set you back around $50 parts and labor, unless you purchased the extended warranty... Then it's free.

Both brands will allow for either wall charging or automobile cigarette lighter charging.

Display - iPods use a 2" grayscale back-lit LCD display while the Odyssey 1000 sports a 2.5" blue-green back-lit LCD display. One plus for the iPod is that it will display the time and date on the screen as well. The iPod will also act as a sleep timer and alarm. Something I wish the Odyssey 1000 had. I was, however, informed that future versions of the Odyssey 1000's firmware will incorporate these features. E.Digital produces new firmware updates every month and all of their registered customers are notified via email.

At this time, only the iPod supports Mac music formats. Again, e.Digital DOES have plans to support the Mac and its formats in the near future.

Supported Windows formats - Both units support MP3 (32 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VR, and WAV, but the Odyssey 1000 will (very soon) read WMA files while the Mac side of the iPod also supports AAC, AIFF and Audible.

More positive notes for the Odyssey 1000: Unlike the iPod, the Odyssey 1000 has a built-in FM tuner with 12 pre-sets. The Odyssey 1000 also has a built-in voice recorder. This is great for taking notes or recording meetings or lectures. Belkin has just released an add-on voice-recorder module for the iPod to accomplish the same results, but it's an extra expense and adds bulk to the iPod unit. And unlike the iPod, the Odyssey 1000 has a voice-activated (Voice Nav) system. You can speak out commands to play a certain song. I find that I rarley use this feature and it will only work with American English. Can you imagine someone standing on a street corner, yelling into an MP3 player looking for a punk band song with swear words in the title? LOL So unless you're a total gadget geek and/or need to impress people with your MP3 toy, this is kinda pointless. Just as buying a newer iPod for the game playing capabilities is pointless. MP3 players are for MUSIC - c'mon!

Another GREAT feature with the Odyssey 1000 is the fact that it incorporates SRS Labs WOW technology. This is a richer and more 3-D effect for the listener.

Sharing is caring: I would suggest going to a Radio Shack or electronics shop and buying a 2-way splitter for the headphone jack. That way, you can bring along a second set of headphones for your honey...or meet someone new and share your music and some smiles. Speaking of sharing, I wish e.Digital would drop the VoiceNav feature and allow the Odyssey 1000 to view pictures to share. It could be a mobile photo album.

I would also suggest buying a pair of more substantial noise canceling headphones like my Sennheiser PXC 250 for trips and use the included ear buds for a back up or to share the tunes with a friend.

A personal experiment: My friend brought over his iPod. I loaded a song on his iPod that I already had on my Odyssey 1000. Using the SAME headphones, I listened to the same song on both machines. I can honestly say that the Odyssey 1000 sounded MUCH better than the iPod. The sound quality was richer and more enveloping. Add my noise-canceling Sennheiser headphones (yes, please see my review) and I have total bliss.

One small bone of contention is that I wish the buttons on the Odyssey 1000 were NOT flush mounted. That is to say that while wearing the unit on my belt, it's hard to navigate the buttons blindly. The case conflicts with button access at times. The buttons could be bigger. But the scroll wheel is very nice and easy to use. it can even be programmed to scroll slow, medium or fast.

Minimum System Requirements for the Odyssey 1000: Windows 98 SE, ME, 2000 or XP. Pentium-class processor 233 MHz or higher. At least 64 megs of RAM. At least 90 MB free disk space. At least ONE available USB port 2.0 or 1.1) and a CD ROM drive.

Still more e.Digital specs: Signal to noise ratio is 90db, Audio output minimum 50mW and it will appear as "mass storage device" on your PC when using it as a portable hard drive. It has normal, shuffle repeat and intro play modes and it has a programmable equalizer.

The Odyssey 1000 comes with a 180 day limited warranty and I suggest purchasing the extended warranty for $29.95. E.Digital also includes 100 free downloads from Emusic.com.

A note on e.Digital accessories: The Odyssey 1000 was introduced to the USA in the Spring of 2003, so it's relatively new. Accessories are coming out all the time. As this product grows in popularity, so will the list of accessories as well as vendors who make 3rd-party accessories. Yes, there are plans to make a more substantial case. The leather-like and optional real leather cases are nice, but offer little protection against drops.

Buying advice: If you just need a simple no-nonsense MP3 player, spend less money and buy a model that holds 512K or so. If you need to store a ton of music so you'll need to download less frequently, or need mobile storage solution, or even a voice recorder for the field, buy this impressive device from e.Digital (now Gateway). The 15 gig is more than enough space for most people, but if you think you'll want to use it for storing data or pictures, you might consider the 20 or 40 gig models. I think I'm going to upgrade to the 20 gig model soon. Please note, that when storing pictures on this unit, they are not viewable. Who knows, that might change as technology evolves.

A note on mobility: These days, since more and more people are buying MP3 players, car stereo companies are installing mini jack audio inputs right in the front face plates of their head units. This way, you can plug your MP3 player right into your vehicle's audio system and have hours of music at your fingertips. Much better than CD changers and without the skipping.

I was so impressed by this product (and Walter's advice) that the night before a last-minute trip to Chicago, I drove from Los Angeles to San Diego just to buy the 20 gig Odyssey 1000. Crazy? Believe me, it was well worth it.

UPDATE: Just in case there are any of you who might think I work for e.Digital or benefit from this review (other than Epinions)... You're wrong. I just get passionate about my feelings about things that need to be seen by the public.

UPDATE 2: I just recorded my first phone conference call. I was actually amazed how clear ALL sides of the conversation were on playback. One thing to remember, DO NOT have a cell phone anywhere near the device while recording. It makes the audio very hard to decipher - even when dialing. I can remember recording conversations with a micro cassette recorder and my voice was always louder than anyone else's. With this recorder, the other side(s) of the conversation seem to be evenly balanced as far as volume and clarity. That's a nice feature.

UPDATE 3 If you factor in the fact that the iPod is on its THIRD generation while the Odyssey 1000 is on its FIRST and FAR superior, you'd know which machine is the one for you. Unless you need it NOW and it's for your Mac only computer.

UPDATE 3: Wow...I was shocked to find out that e.Digital is (really) an R & D company. They developed this technology, much IN THE SAME WAY that another company (other than Apple) designed the technology for the iPod. So e.Digital sold the technology to Gateway without the Voice Nav option. e.Digital will continue to service the people who purchased the Odyssey 1000 units (and extended warranties).