Accessories

Very poor music player
The quality of music played back from Archos players is terrible. This should not be advertised as an mp3 player, it's that bad at music playback.

don't do it!
bought and had to return. Volume was miserably low during video play back, could barley hear on airplanes. Archos service was terrible, plugins cost too much, video playback battery life too short, internet browser too clunky and ridiculously slow.

Amazon return service was great, still fighting Archos for refund on plugins.

A multi-media powerhouse!
The list of what this video player can do has been well stated in previous reviews. So let's get to the good stuff! First and foremost, I received my 705 WiFi very quickly. That said, I opened the box to find everything neatly boxed and easy to find. This baby does everything and for the most part comes with everything you need to start experiencing your music and videos in a whole new light. Connecting to my home network was a breeze! DETAILED instructions are provided within the unit. They are easy to read and understand. While I was playing around with the device, my wife configured Windows Media Player. She does not dabble nor care much for electronics. However over the years I have ripped alot of her music into WMP and felt she should help setup this new toy. Within minutes we were listening to our favorite tunes, wireless. Granted the OPERA web browser isn't all that fast but it is adequate and better than my cell phone browser! I would recommend any and all of the plugins that interest you. I have the web browser, video enhanser, Dishnetwork plugin (free) and the Widget plugin. All were easy to download and install. Oh yeah, being able to record movies from my satelite dish...PRICELESS.

I love it but products never work as they show or advertise.
This is a great device. This can play almost any type of media file including AVI, MP3 WMA and many others if you pay archos for them. I however haven't bought extra decoders and plug-ins from them yet, because it can get really expensive. It does not come with any software for your computer, you must use your own software that you have, or bought, or download, or something.

The main problem I think with this is the sound. Yes the sound reproduction is good but the volume is WAY TOO LOW even with the volume turned up all the way. No, I'm not deaf and yes, I know you have to turn the volume up all the way on the headphones themself that come with it. When I talk headphones I mean earphones or earbuds. This will not work with large headphones. Still even when I use other headphones the volume is just too low. Now, it can actually be loud though depending on what you listen to like good quality recordings of (rock, pop, rap and other stuff I don't like) and if you're not in a loud place, but for what I like to listen to such as classical recordings you'll miss a lot because you can't hear it. Forget about using this device in the city, a car or in other loud places. I haven't purchased isolating headphones yet but it may help a lot with this. Still if I compare the volume to other MP3 players such as the Toshiba Gigabeat and the creative Zen the volume is less than a third of what theirs are. Even the new models of the 705 have this problem (and all of archos players for that matter). Archos claims they did this to protect your hearing and to comply with international law. Maybe they did, but it's still a shame.

The second problem although in no way as big as the first is the battery life. Even reviewers here claim 20 hours of audio. Well, they simply haven't tried out the product and timed it because you will really get no more than eight hours of audio with the wifi turned off the screen to 20 seconds and hardly any messing around with it. Doesn't matter the bitrate or the format of the audio, it's all the same. No, there isn't anything wrong with my battery or unit, it's just the way it is. I do have a large 2X extended life battery 704 battery (supposed to work with 705 and it's not made by Archos) coming from an amazon merchant and I hope this remedies the poor battery life I'm getting. I have heard though that this battery is large, sticks out and is hard to fit. I haven't tried it much for video but I was able to watch an hour and a half video on it and it took off half of the bars from the battery indicator. So, if the indicator is right, and it seems to be, you should be able to get two and a half hours of video(gotta say less than three). Funny how audio playback doesn't last many more times then that. in Comparison to other products that I use for audio my Sony CD MP3 player that runs on ONE AA lasts 13 hours and the Gigabeat lasts six and the Zen four. All these have great volume levels too.

The thrid problem with this is you have to keep buying more. Now I haven't bought a whole lot yet, only a car adapter, a 2x battery and a fanny pack so I can take it hiking but just getting this means you're going to spend at least a 150 more just to get it to work right. The web browser is an extra 30 bucks and you must buy that if you plan to use the interweb on this thing. Not to mention the extra decoders that you must buy to play certain formats such as AAC(don't know if it's supported actually), MPEG2 and 4 and such.

I did buy this mostly for music and to take hiking. There is a problem though, this thing is big and heavy. Basically think about something the weight of a brick and thinned out into almost a one inch thick tablet. Another problem is this has really no places to hold on to it, it's just a slab. The solution?, a large fanny pack. Just put the screen lock on to keep from it doing stuff when that thing bounces around in there. There is yet another problem with that thought that can drain it's already mediocre battery life even more. Any touching of the screen will turn it on, even when it's locked, it just won't do anything. So you got to make sure you put it in a good spot and try not to bounce around too much or touch the fanny pack.

Still, it works better and has more features(even if you have to buy them) than any other media player I have ever owned. Just be aware of these things if you decide on the 705 or any Archos products.

Update: well I returned this product to Amazon and I'm hoping for at least most of my money back. Why would I return a product I thought was good? Well after more use the more I realize this thing is not worth it. The sound volume is just too intolerable, it really is that low. It also sounds pretty bad, just a lot of hissing and wind blowing sounds with all headphones(earbuds and earphones). The battery life for music is terrible and it's a big and heavy battery yet it still has a short life. Then there's the plug-ins, I had problems trying to purchase them and Archos is no help. Plus it is almost as big and heavy as my computer yet it costs more and does less.

Love it!!
I've had my Archos 705 for over a month now and love it. I also like the big screen (others may not). I have the 80 gb and have already run out of space so if you like recording movies get the 160 GB. Now I don't have to boot up my laptop every time I want to watch a movie. Archos is very convenient and holds over 30 movies!!

On the down side the volume on play back is not that great and I had a hard time listening to my movies on the plane. I'll try a good noise reduction headset and see what happens. Also on the downside is all the extras you have to purchase.

Overall, I like the convenience and have no regrets purchasing it.