Archos 15b Vision 4GB review

Cheap and fairly cheerful, but sad to say the Archos doesn’t sound great Tested at £25

What Hi-Fi? Verdict

Cheap and fairly cheerful, it’s a shame the Archos doesn’t sound better

Pros

  • +

    Videos, photos and music

  • +

    voice recorder

  • +

    interface is intuitive

  • +

    cheap

Cons

  • -

    Sad to say, but it simply doesn’t sound all that great

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This seems ludicrously cheap, does it not? Offering the best megabyte per pound ratio in this test, Archos has chosen simply to shrink a standard MP3 player design to the size of a coin pocket on a pair of jeans.

The 15b Vision slaps all the controls on the front of the portable, with no side buttons, so it’s easy to hold without accidentally pressing anything. Using left/right keys to go up/down isn’t very intuitive, however.

The small colour screen looks fine and the interface is obvious and soon familiar. It supports videos (though on such a tiny screen, that seems overkill) photos and music, and there’s a voice recorder, too.

Our WAV files found their way to the ‘files’ rather than music folder, complete with track information, but the sound struggles to inspire.

Yes, the Archos 15b Vision is cheap, but with thin and bright sound – and bog-standard bundled buds – it’s hard to get behind.

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What Hi-Fi?

What Hi-Fi?, founded in 1976, is the world's leading independent guide to buying and owning hi-fi and home entertainment products. Our comprehensive tests help you buy the very best for your money, with our advice sections giving you step-by-step information on how to get even more from your music and movies. Everything is tested by our dedicated team of in-house reviewers in our custom-built test rooms in London, Reading and Bath. Our coveted five-star rating and Awards are recognised all over the world as the ultimate seal of approval, so you can buy with absolute confidence.

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