Resilient - but it's no iPod (Creative Muvo Sport C100 128 MB)

Member Name: JeremyC

Product:	Creative Muvo Sport C100 128 MB
Date:	13/12/05 (130 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Robust, good sound quality, lightweight, expandable memory (SD Cards) and water resistant

Disadvantages: Poor ergonomics, no playlist facility, dire headphones, relatively heavy on batteries

I've had the 256mb version for about a year now and it still works as well as it did on day 1, despite having spent a fair bit of time outdoors in the rain. Unfortunately the control buttons are as bad as they were on day 1 - they're rubbery and unresponsive. Sound quality is on a par with most Creative MP3 players and is therefore better than average. Unfortunately the same cannot be said of the supplied headphones. Their bass, midrange and treble reproduction is horrible right across the board. Ok so they're waterproof but frankly the sound of rainfall while out on my bike would be more appealing. Change them for a pair of Sony's EX-71s if you like bass at the expense of midrange (I've used those while commuting in bad weather and they seem just as weatherproof as Creative's own headphones) or a good pair of Sennheisers if you like a more natural sound.
Don't be fooled by the claim that the C100 has a radio onboard; I've never once managed to make it pick up an FM station in my area and I live within 2 miles of the hardware used by my local radio station.
As for battery life, I use 192kbps WMA files and I usually get 5-6 hours out of a good alkaline AAA at mid-volume, which seems a little poor. Dropping to 128kbps files ups that to 7 hours but the drop in sound quality is too severe for me.
I would have recommended this player were it not for the fact that choice in the flash MP3 player market has improved markedly in the last 12 months.

Summary: Resilient and good sound but the control system is poor and the radio is rubbish.

Processing/Quality:
Reliability:
Ease of use:
Features:
Sound quality:
Download speed: