General Asylum: REVIEW: Creative Labs Muvo2FM 5GB Other by Audiopolous

Model:	Muvo2FM 5GB
Category:	Other
Suggested Retail Price:	$199.99
Description:	Micro MP3 player with FM Tuner and 5GB storage
Manufacturer URL:	Creative Labs
Model Picture:	View

Review by Audiopolous ( A ) on April 05, 2005 at 13:32:07
IP Address: 192.91.75.30

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Over View:
MP3 land, here I come. Yet, it is not a bad as some may say, especially when the manufacturer makes it easy to operate! The Muvo2FM is a very robust unit, made from good materials with a handsome finish that comes, basically in the rainbow. All control is done by a small and awkward knob on the front that is pressed in for "enter", up, down , left, right for maneuvering, track selection during play, and volume. It comes with very nice and easy software that supp orts CDDB, and many tweaky features such as the ability to change the bit rate, and make it constant or variable. The best feature... You can change the battery if need be yourself! It is available through creative and creative retailers, and allows a full 12hrs (yes, I verified that number) of play time on one charge. As for sound, well with a 98dB SNR, it is very pleasing, at least CD quality through decent headphones using a 192 bit rate... Immediately I was impressed.
Functionality:
First the joystick (if you can call it that) is extremely awkward. If you have big thumbs, you will wrestle around with it hoping not to hit an angle, which may or may not take you where you want to go. If it does not, you are plunged into the depths of the menu at which point you best just start over! Otherwise, it is functional, and simple. Crisp and audible clicks (mechanically on the unit, not over the music)help you know when you have made a selection. The Joystick is also well built, and does not seem to want to break very easily.
It comes with a remote. Yes a remote that is wired with the headphones and it gives you all the basic functionality of a traditional CD player-FF, REW, Pause, Stop, Play, and volume. A slick feature on the remote is the lock feature, so no buttons get hit by accident. I find it useful to clip to your shirt so you are not wrestling to get the unit out of it's OPTIONAL belt clip. Of coarse it's Optional for $199 what did you expect?! It costs at least 6 cents to manufacture! However, it is a nice $15 addition which is well, built, sturdy, and stores a 4" USB cord to grab someone elseâ€™s music or data on the fly.
The Menu system is clean, and easy. You have root folders (ie blues, rock, etc.) then folders inside the root with the album name. You can also make nice custom play lists that are saved in memory. So if you want all of your Michael Jackson music on one list, you can have it to go! Easily used, functional, nothing you don't need, I like it. Accessing through music is very fast and downtime is less than 1 second at any given moment during use. THAT is nice.
Other nice features....FM Tuner! However, the reception is fair at best, but a nice change to listen to when walking outside or bike riding. EQ as well. It has several presets and a customizable one with 4 points (100Hz, 800Hz, 4KHz, 12Khz). There are several other tweaky features you will be better suited to read on their website than my awkward explanation, however I will say that they are all functional, easy to use and well thought out. Little things like screen contrast and idle off adjustment can save a deal of frustration.
Interfacing:
USB 2.0 is faster than I expected! Your PC has to support it though. Literally plug-and-play. Your PC will recognize it as a removable drive and you can place whatever you wish on it. You have 5GB, use it!
Software:
It comes with Creativeâ€™s own flavor of organization software. Creative Media Center. You need not thou faithful instruction manual for thine enjoyment! It is self explanatory with big easy buttons and it hides the tweaky features so Joe not-so-tweaky user does not get tempted to touch and need technical assistance. Tweaky you ask? Ok, You can adjust all the bit rate setting in and out, as well as how you would like it to handle wave files. It supports CDDB (CD data base) which allows you with one click to insert all the names, titles, genres, Artists...etc of the CD you are about to rip to make it easier to categorize and organize your player. You can Charge the battery through the USB port as well.
Conclusion:
Easy to use, Under $200, can live with the flaws, and the tank of a build quality make this handsome little MP3 player (and I do mean little! 2.5"x2.5"x.5") an 8 out of 10 in my book. Although the Joystick is awkward, and the headphones miserable, I think it offers exceptional value at a price point that is more aggressive and meaningful than other famous brands.

Product Weakness: Stated Above
Product Strengths: Stated Above

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	n/a
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	n/a
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	n/a
Speakers:	n/a
Cables/Interconnects:	n/a
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	All Types!
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	n/a
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

Product Weakness:	Stated Above
Product Strengths:	Stated Above