1. Introduction

Once a geek thing, audio players are now definitely a chic thing. Think back. Not long ago, only techno-maniacs ready to invest several hundred to be able to listen to their music everywhere had flash-memory audio players. Since then the product offering has achieved a mainstream status among the average-joe consumer set.

Almost all the big names in the computer and Hi-Fi world have at least one audio player in their catalogue. Memory capacity has increased - from 64 to 128 MB at the start, players now have 256 or 512 MB. Certain ones, like the new version of the YP-T5 from Samsung, can even go beyond 1 GB. And in parallel, prices are dropping and have stabilized at about between $100 and $250, depending on capacity. Even audio quality - with a few exceptions - doesn't vary much from one brand to another. In the final analysis, only two factors will determine your choice: The player's design and its functions. Can it also serve as an FM tuner or Dictaphone? Does it have a USB port for connecting it directly to your computer? Are adjustments easy to make?

To help you make your choice, we've selected 11 new products from among the manufacturers' various models. Some, due to their design or their sound quality, are real little technological gems. Others are resolutely oriented towards practicality, play or sports. And others, unfortunately, despite their makers' reputations, are in fact low-end products - often at high-end prices.

Identical Criteria

Buying an audio player is often a little like falling in love. That being the case, we felt there was no point in making a single - and necessarily subjective - ranking of the units. On the other hand, to give you a basis for comparison, they were all tested identically. We used the same playlist - a mix of rock, pop and classical music - to check the sound quality of each player, first with a reference set of earphones (Sennheiser MX 500), then with the earphones supplied by the manufacturer. We also tested the quality of the FM tuner and Dictaphone in the same way on models having these functions. Another important point was ease of use - in particular the usability of the controls under everyday conditions.