Exclusive! Jukebox 3 By Creative Labs – THG.RU

Introduction

Jukebox 3 has all the features you’d expect of an MP3 player in this quality and price range. Its 20GB hard drive is big enough for all your files, both audio and data, and the SB1394 connection makes it much faster than the USB 1.1. Not only does it record in WAV format, but also directly in MP3. Its operating system and ergonomics have been redesigned to make it easier to use. So we end up with a product smaller and easier to handle than before, plus a number of new features which make it a real technological treasure.

To sum up, it has a 20GB hard drive, an IEEE 1394 port (called SB1394 here, like Audigy sound cards), 11 hours of play for a single battery, 16MB buffer memory, and all this for a size and weight of one-third less than the Jukebox 1.

Small But Powerful

One of the main criticisms of the first Jukebox was its size. This has now been addressed, and the makeover has produced the Jukebox 3, smaller by one-third and much lighter. But it is still too big to carry around easily, so unless you have a big jacket with deep pockets, you’ll have to lug it around in a backpack. Still, this can be forgiven, since it can hold your entire music library and plug into any device with its two mini-jack analog line outs.

On the surface, the Jukebox 3 looks pretty much the same as Jukebox 1, with its rounded shape and metallic blue-gray color. Creative Labs has even thought of removable fronts for the fashion-conscious. The only trouble is that the plastic used is a bit tacky for a device of this class and price. All you need to do is compare it with the Apple iPod to get the idea. The same goes for the 132 x 164 LCD screen which, though impressive, is undermined by an oversized font and a display somewhat lacking in style. By the way, it can lit with a blue or green background.

The Jukebox 3 does pretty well for buttons. There are the four standard buttons for sound playback: play/pause, fast forward and rewind. Its chief advantage is the scroll button on the right, which makes it very easy to browse through the menus. On the left is the Menu button as well as an EAX button for setting environmental effects and the line outs for the speakers used (stereo or surround). The two buttons on the front right are for volume control and the three just above the LCD screen are for search, menu scrolling and MP3 library display.

Why A 20GB Hard Drive?

The hard drive on the Jukebox 3 takes up a lot of this little box only 3.5 cm thick. It is a 2.5″ Fujitsu like the ones usually found on laptop PCs, a 20GB MHR2020AT model. It runs at 4200 rpm, so consumption is fairly low (2.30 Watts when running), as is noise pollution. Note too that its weight (99 grams) is just one-third of the total weight of the Jukebox 3.

This capacity and the ability to store any kind of file and not just sound make the Jukebox 3 a true mobile 20GB hard drive, and with an IEEE1394 connector to boot. The only trouble is that it is not recognized as a logical unit in Windows. In this state, the only means of accessing files is to use PlayCenter 3.0 software (for sound files only), or else “File Manager,” a little utility which comes on the CD and serves to transfer any file format in any direction. So it’s all rather tiresome, and we strongly advise you to use the “Notmad Explorer” program explained further on in this article.

But now back to more technical matters. If we suppose that a typical track lasts four minutes and is recorded in MP3 at 128kbps, then the storage capacity of the Jukebox 3 is 5000 tracks. This means a continuous playtime of just over 330 hours; in other words, it’s quite a substantial music library. Note that if files are encoded at a lower rate, the number on the hard drive is set at 8000 by the manufacturer. It should be remembered that the Jukebox 3 has a library of all the tracks on the hard drive, so the more files there are, the harder it is to manage the library, which will take a long time to rebuild if the device is reset.

A 20GB hard drive on an MP3 player may seem a bit over the top, but you soon realize that it is actually a real boon here. Not only can you carry around the equivalent of 300 CD Audios, but also any file, such as a DivX-compressed film.

Connections

The Jukebox 3 connections are all on the front and side of the device. There are the 1 and 2 line-outs managed by a Philips chip. For headphones, it is best to use the pre-amplified output on the right side of the player. All three outputs are of excellent quality and much better than most MP3 players. There is no distortion, and the Jukebox 3 can only improve on your hi-fi or automobile sound system. On the other hand, the headphone output is a bit short on power and its top volume a bit weak for using the Jukebox 3 in a noisy environment like the subway. This may be due to the fact that we could not test the phones usually delivered with the Jukebox 3. We will check this aspect when we get a hold of them.

The Jukebox 3 uses SVM technologies, for Smart Volume Management, and Match Volume. These normalize the volume on all tracks, no matter the volume at which they were initially recorded.. In addition to these outputs are the SB1394 port (actually a FireWire/IEEE1394 port) and the USB 1.1 port for plugging into a PC. While the presence of the SB1394 goes without saying, given that this interface is found on Audigy sound cards, it’s a pity Creative Labs has not thought ahead and integrated a USB 2.0 port, too. Right of the ports is the 5-volt DC-in for mains connection to recharge the batteries. And on the left is an analog input combined with digital optic input, where you can plug in either a classic mini-jack or a digital optic cable. Then you just select the relevant source in the Jukebox record menu to make your recordings.

Battery Life

Short battery life being one on the chief failings on the first Jukebox, Creative Labs has paid special attention to this aspect of Jukebox 3, which comes with a Lithium Ion battery supposed to last 11 hours. But in addition, it has a second bay for doubling playtime to 22 hours of continuous use. The standard package contains just the one battery; a second one will available via the Creative Labs site for a price which has yet to be announced.

Our tests showed that in practice, the figures are not quite as high as those claimed by Creative Labs. The battery lasts a bit less than 9 hours in continuous use with the headphone volume at half its capacity. With two batteries, playtime should reach nearly 18 hours, which is quite phenomenal.

Use

Just to remind you, the first Jukebox, with a hard drive of 6GB, could play back sound on two stereo channels and integrated EAX environmental effects. It was undeniably innovative and useful, but had those little shortcomings of youth. The rechargeable batteries only lasted four hours, the only connection available was the USB 1.1, it could only record in WAV format via an analog input and its operating system was slower than the Jukebox 3. It was due to wanting to correct these failings, which are pardonable in a new product, that Creative Labs has come up with the Jukebox 3.

With its fast operating system and scroll wheel, the Jukebox 3 is a pleasure to use. You just scroll through the menus and select objects to make up a playlist or find a track. It is very quick to start, especially as it goes into idle mode for a preset time before switching off completely. Obviously, if you increase the idle time, the battery time will be affected. But when it is in idle mode, it can start again instantly. Beyond the preset time, the Jukebox 3 needs about forty seconds to be operational, but be warned, if you reset the device, it will restore the file library on the drive and this can take up to five minutes.

For playback, Jukebox 3 has a number of functions:

• Smart Volume Management and Match Volume (explained above)
• Time scaling: to slow down or speed up play without affecting the pitch
• Environmental effects: Like the SBLive! and Audigy sound cards, the Jukebox 3 has a real-time environmental effects DSP, so several kinds of environment can be used (like Concert Hall, Cathedral or Arena).
• Advanced EQ: The Jukebox 3 includes several kinds of predefined adjustments such as rock, classical or acoustic.
• Multi-channel effects: The Jukebox 3 has two analog outputs to plug into 4.1 speakers. You can apply a spatialization or 3D effect to these outputs.

Recording

The Jukebox 3 supports direct recording in both WAV and MP3. In WAV format, you have a choice of sampling frequency: 48kHz, 44.1kHz or 32kHz in 16 bits. MP3 encoding is in 64, 128, 192 or 320 kbps at constant output. The Jukebox 3 does not encode in VBR (Variable Bit Rate), but it can read the files. The recording module is really easy to use. For digital recording, you just plug in an optic cable, like the ones on SBLive! and Audigy Platinum cards, and for an analog source, a mini-jack cable. The analog-to-digital converter is pretty good quality for a device of this sort, even though it is not entirely faultless with regard to low notes and distortion. We advise you to use the optic input with 48kHz sampling to get the best recordings.

PC Connection

To link to a PC, the Jukebox 3 comes with PlayCenter software. This has a fairly clear and well-organized interface. The PC elements, such as CD or hard drive, are shown on the left and the mobile ones (Jukebox, Nomad II, etc.) on the right. The two “Transfer” buttons are used to send files to and from the hard drive and the Jukebox 3 PlayCenter 3.0 is also an encoder since it can rip a CD Audio in MP3 or WMA to the Jukebox 3. You can also select a special format for encoding any transferred file, so the Jukebox 3 can be smoothed by, for instance, opting for only MP3 at 192kbps, whatever the original file format. And PlayCenter 3.0 is a burner program since it can be used to record CD Audios and connects automatically the CDDB to obtain data on an album. So all in all, it is a successful multimedia package both for the PC and the Jukebox 3. Still, it is not without its faults. It is, with the small File Manager program, the only interface provided with the Jukebox 3 and can only handle audio files. The track filing system is rather a muddle: PlayCenter 3.0 is incapable of displaying a straightforward list of all the files and directories on the Jukebox 3. You have to choose between a full non-ordered list (unusable when you have more than a thousand MP3s) or a list ordered by author or album, which is not always very practical either.

This is why we strongly recommend you keep a lookout for the next version of “Notmad Explorer,” which should support the Jukebox 3. This software was developed by Red Chair Software and Alain Schellinck of DevConcept. It uses an SDK called JBDirect, independent of Creative’s. It means you can use the Jukebox, or its Nomad II, directly from the Windows explorer as though it were a logical unit. This software is not free, but there is a free restricted version on the Red Chair Software site where you can get an idea of its excellent possibilities. It can transfer and display all types of files on your PC or Jukebox. And that is definitely better than the interface you get with PlayCenter 3.0, no matter what else it has to offer.

Lastly, there is the AudioSync program, which automatically synchronizes the Jukebox 3 file library with the one on the PC, a bit like a PDA. On connection, AudioSync checks for any differences between the PC and the Jukebox 3 and exchanges the files if necessary.

Connection Benchmarks

We ran a test to compare the two connections on the Jukebox 3 and find out whether the SB1394 port is the best bet. The tables above speak for themselves. There is a distinct advantage for the SB1394 port, which has a rate of 4MB/s on a copy of several MP3 files totaling 100MB to the Jukebox 3. With a rate of less than 1MB/s, the USB 1.1 is a real snail. It goes without saying that the SB1394 is by far the best interface for file transfer.

Interview with Neal Leggett, European Brand Manager

THG: For what kind of use do you think the JB3 is meant?

N.L: Creative have designed the Creative Jukebox 3 first and foremost as a portable music playback device. With its 20GB capacity you will no doubt want to rip at a higher bit rate to experience higher quality audio. Therefore, we have added high quality components to maximize your listening experience. As you have experienced, we have excellent audio quality output up to 98dB which is on a par with high-end expensive HiFi separates. We can also record up to 48Khz Wav ( on a par with DAT) and encode in real-time in MP3 up to 320Kbps via the analogue/digital line-in, which opens the JB up to a whole host of other music recording environments, i.e. in the studio to record your mix and share with your friends. We can play back Wav, MP3 and WMA. We have improved the User Interface and added a scroll wheel selector to vastly improve the speed and ease of managing music on the Creative Jukebox 3. We have a host of audio features integrated in the device: Smart Volume Management (SVM), which normalizes tracks; Advanced EQ settings; Spacialization; and Time Scaling, which are not found on other devices.

As the Creative Jukebox 3 has a 20GB disk drive and can hold up to 8000 songs (800 Albums @ 80Kbps WMA), which the average person is not likely to have (I don’t!!), it means that you are likely to have some space to carry around other data files such as pictures, presentations etc. We have therefore added the additional function of using the Creative Jukebox 3 as a portable data storage device. Non-music files are managed with the Creative File Manager application, which allows you to manage your files as if you were in Windows. We have also made this application small enough to fit on a floppy, which means you can carry the floppy and the Creative Jukebox 3 around with you and transfer to any PC via USB or 1394.

Interview with Neal Leggett, European Brand Manager, Continued

THG: Will the Jukebox 1 still be available?

N.L: We will continue to ship the Creative D.A.P Jukebox in a 10/20GB format across Europe and we have no plans at this time to discontinue these.

THG: How did you manage to improve so much the battery life compared to the JB1?

N.L: We are using LiON batteries for the Creative Jukebox 3. The unit will ship with one as standard, giving you up to 11 hours of playback, and you will be able to add an additional one when they become available, which will give you a massive 22 hour playback time.

THG: What about an USB 2.0 port instead of the USB 1.1?

N.L: We decided to add 1394 and USB 1.1 because they are the most popular interfaces today, meaning we have a product which can address almost 99% of the PC market. For those that want to take advantage of the very fast data rate that 1394 gives you, you can upgrade your PC with an inexpensive 1394 card or Audigy Player Sound Card, which has 1394 as standard. For those using a laptop, you can buy a very inexpensive PCMCIA adapter for around $43.00. A major feature of 1394 is the fact it does not require a host, which in theory means two 1394 devices can connect and communicate. Having 1394 on our devices gives us some cool advantages for future development and as our devices can be upgraded via the firmware, who knows what we may have in the pipeline 🙂

THG: Is there any possibility to see Notmad Explorer integrated in the JB3 drivers to be able to use it from Windows Explorer for any kind of files?

N.L: At present, there are no plans to integrate this application. As mentioned previously the main purpose is music playback and secondary data storage. We believe we cater for both. As to whether this will work with the Creative Jukebox 3, I am sure the guys at Nomad will get their hands on an SDK at some point, which will enable this to work with the Creative Jukebox 3.

THG: Why can we not see the Creative Jukebox 3 in Windows Explorer?

N.L: We use a proprietary Disk Operating System designed specifically for the Jukebox. This was done at a strategic level to give us some advantages over the FAT Disk Operating System, for example: FAT cannot support file sizes over 2GB, the Creative file system can support a single file size as big as the disk. For file sizes 5-10MB, it reduces the amount of disk movement to access the file. This results in a lower power consumption while playing the files. Therefore, extended battery life. The Creative file system understands metadata. This allows our UI to access a file’s metadata without scanning the whole file looking for ID3 tags. Again, this improves our overall performance and reduces the power consumption. By using a proprietary HD operating system we have created a major barrier to hacking. FAT is difficult to manage via firmware. Obviously, on the down side, the Creative Jukebox is not seen in Windows when connected, but with the primary reason being music playback, the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. We believe we have produced an application which can now handle users’ requirements for data storage management in the form of Creative File Manager. It is only one double-click away if it’s on your desktop – the same as Windows Explorer, if that’s on your desktop. We have also addressed the issue with using the Creative Jukebox 3 on other machines that do not have the drivers. There is an application which creates a single driver/application which enables you to connect to any PC with a single floppy.

THG: Did you use specific chips/components to reach the 93dB SNR on the outputs?

N.L: All I can say here is that we are a very experienced Audio company, we have very experienced and knowledgeable engineers and we use high quality components. And with these ingredients, to my knowledge, we have produced the highest quality HD based music playback device in the market today.

Interview with Neal Leggett, European Brand Manager, Continued

THG: Will the docking station be available shortly? At what price? What are its benefits?

N.L: We are producing a number of accessories one being the PC Dock, this is under test at the moment and will be available shortly. It means you will be able to dock your Creative Jukebox 3 to your PC, making it more convenient to use. All I/O’s are connected to the Dock and the Creative Jukebox 3 communicates via the PDE bus on its underneath. It will be a simple snap in and out operation, and once set up, you will not have to bother with the connectivity of the cables.

THG: Do you see a bright future for portable MP3 players?

N.L: Yes, it’s still in its early stages, even though it has been around a few years. It may not necessarily be MP3 in the future, as this has issues associated with it (e.g., Peer to Peer sharing, not secure, etc.) but the likes of WMA with DRM are being adopted by the major record labels to support their web-based distribution methods. MP3 will have its place though for a while and is the driving force behind ours and other manufacturers’ devices.

THG: Is there any plan to develop anything like the Archos Multimedia Jukebox 10 (color screen, Divx compatibility for playing AND recording)?

N.L: Creative is always analysing technology and looking at other potential markets. Who knows what’s in the pipeline? In this instance we will have to wait and see. From my experience multi-function devices have their place but do not necessarily appeal to the mass market. People tend to like having separates and upgrading their component parts as necessary.

Conclusion

The Jukebox 3 has most decidedly corrected the youthful mistakes of its predecessor. Its battery life is good, its size small, it can record directly in MP3, has a substantial hard drive and an attractive SB1394 connector. Of course, it could be criticized for its appearance (which is perhaps too rounded), its debatable portability and the lack of a USB 2.0 port. But overall it is a success, a mobile solution which allows you to carry not just your entire music library around with you, but also any other kind of file. And it has advanced audio features and an outstanding wealth of connections.

The usefulness of the environmental effects is open to question, as is the inclusion of the two analog outputs. But that does not detract from the product itself. It would be a good idea for users if Creative Labs revised the overall ergonomics of the software and drew inspiration from the Notmad Explorer and its rival Archos. Not being able to use the player as a logical unit in Windows does not make for easy intensive and intuitive use. And the price $399.00 of the Jukebox 3 means it is still only for the wealthy. For those who like the system, don’t forget the Jukebox 1 is still around and, though less attractive than its descendant, its price has gone down $140.00 and this makes it a very good alternative.