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Sansa slotMusic Player Conclusion
Submitted by jwhitakr on Thu, 12/04/2008 - 17:54.
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Sound Quality
After popping in the earbuds and inserting the slotMusic card with Nelly – Brass Knuckles album that came with the player, I listened to the album a few times to get a good impression of the sound quality.
The overall sound quality is not particularly impressive, but at the same time it’s more than acceptable for general day-to-day music listening. Vocals and high-frequencies sounded flat, and the low-end of the audio spectrum had very limited impact. The included earbuds are the most likely culprit for the so-so sound quality. If you are used to using standard MP3 player earbuds to listen to your music, I very much doubt that you could tell the difference between listening to music with your current MP3 player as compared to the slotMusic player.
The comfort of the earbuds was also perfectly fine, even though the single-sized earbuds did not provide the same custom-fit feel as more expensive earphones that include small/medium/large ear tips. I had them in my ears for over 30 minutes and did not feel any discomfort, and I expect that most users of the slotMusic player will not be partaking in any 3-4 hour long extended listening sessions.
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| Controls | microSD slot | Volume and headphone jack |
Sansa slotMusic Player
With no DRM related headaches to worry about, simplicity and ease-of-use are the major advantages offered by the slotMusic player. A single battery, a single slotMusic card and literally only play/pause, back and forward controls makes the slotMusic player a no-brainer to use. If audiophile level sound quality and an extensive feature list are not high up on your wish list, and you have $20 for the player and $15 for a slotMusic card just burning a hole in your pocket, it is definitely worth a try.
On the flip side, there is a limited number of artists available in the slotMusic format and they are only sold at a few stores (Best Buy and Wal-mart are the biggest retailers that carry the slotMusic cards). There are a few popular artists who have already signed on to the format – including Katy Perry, Rihanna, Kiss and Nelly – but the selection is extremely limited compared to online MP3 stores. If you can find an artist that catches your eye, then I could see this is a very nice gift for a family member who is reluctant to take the plunge into digital music players.
Pros: Extremely affordable, extremely simple to use.
Cons: So-so sound quality, limited navigation capabilities, album offerings for slotMusic cards are very limited.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
