Gear Review: GPX Two Gigabyte Mp3 Player
Need something to work out with, and won’t pony up the dough for a Steve Jobs clone? Say, are you also walking around in a Family Dollar? Curious about that reduced price mp3 player on the rack? Here’s your review kiddies.
Afternoon everyone!
So, today I’m reviewing the GPX MP3 Digital Audio Player. I bought the 2 gig version because it was an impulse buy, and 12 bucks isn’t a whole helluva lot to ask for something to listen to while I jog.
First impressions being everything, I should say frankly I’m really impressed with the design. Roughly the size of a box of Tic-Tacs…sleekly put together with a curved body and a small LCD screen, the color scheme of silver black and white is really pretty appealing. I especially like the cobalt blue back light on the LCD. Given that it’s an antiquated design, It’s aesthetically very pleasant.
Running on a single AAA battery, I’m unsure of the battery life, though the manufacturer says it should be roughly a couple hours. More than enough to go to the gym with, considering my considerably out of shape self.
Out of the box, I hooked it up to my PC with the supplied cable, and without a battery, it kicked right on, and was TRULY plug and play. Super easy drag and drop, absolutely capable in that regard, I was truly amazed by just how easy this set up.
There are some significant interface flaws with this model, which one hopes have been smoothed out over the subsequent design phases and updates to this model. Most annoyingly, once you’ve got the music loaded and you’re ready to set off, your ability to FIND the album or the song or the artist you’re looking for is INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT. Several read-throughs of the instruction manual didn’t make it easier. Hit Pause, hold Mode, the Search feature comes up, then you have to click through the entire alphabet to type in your search query. Let’s say you don’t remember which albums you put on before you set out. Boy, you’re fucked. Or, let’s say you can’t quite recall how Neutral Milk Hotel spelled “Aeroplane”? Once again, you’re fucked.
That aside, let’s talk about sound.
The supplied headphones should go straight to hell, along with the ass who decided to supply them. They’re every bit as good as putting tater tots in your ears and calling them ear buds. Really though, nobody uses the supplied ear buds on these things anyway. If I catch you using these supplied buds, I’m gonna fucking SNATCH them from your skull, and beat you in the head with my MASSIVE audiophile boner whilst lecturing you on the proper buds to buy.
With an upgraded set of ear buds then, you get your choice of sound equalization. Normal, Bass, Rock, Pop, Classic, and Jazz. Normal is flat as HELL. Bass is lush, but a bit on the distort-y side if you crank the volume in your head. Rock is like hitting a fuzz box, and not in a good way. Pop is indistinguishable from Normal. Classic is tinny, and somewhat washed-out sounding. Jazz brings out vocals and your treble range, in a somewhat satisfying way, dependent entirely upon the song.
Personally I keep it on Bass and the hell with it. Two Door Cinema Club sounds really nice that way.
Next to the headphone jack, you get a little slider for “Off-On-Hold”. It works, and that’s good to see. Sometimes on the low end, a hold button means, “Sorry bro, skipped your track when you looked at me wrong”.
All things considered? Decide how you’re gonna use this. Are you looking for a dedicated MP3 player with tons of audio settings, a sleek interface and a ton of storage space? Go get an iPod touch, or a reasonably priced knock off. Do you just need something you won’t feel awful about breaking? Something that you can use like an iPod Shuffle, that doesn’t cost more than a tank of gas?
Stop by the Family Dollar. Pick up one of these.
Final Verdict: 3/5
