Features
Speaking of missing features, the GoGear SA4000 series has a few. Philips may have left out a few extras--such as the ability to sort tracks by genre or define recording quality modes--to streamline the user experience. But there's no excuse for leaving out an FM tuner, a key feature that nearly every competitor in its price range--save for the stubborn iPod Nano--includes. For a budget player geared toward a workout-centric audience, the absence of an FM tuner is a deal-breaker. The GoGear's close competitor in price and size, the Creative Zen Nano Plus, not only includes FM and station presets, but also lets you record FM.
The GoGear does deliver built-in voice recording that encodes 32Kbps mono WAV files to a dedicated directory that's accessible right from the GoGear's start-up screen. Unfortunately, there's no line-in recording function which, again, the Creative Zen Nano Plus includes. Thankfully, the GoGear does include fast USB 2.0 transfer speeds along with support for Windows Media Player Plays for Sure and WMA DRM10 subscription content. There's also playlist support, shuffle and repeat modes, and four equalizer presets: rock, jazz, pop, and classical--none particularly compelling.
Performance
The GoGear SA4000 series' included earbuds sound predictably thin. Using our test Etymotic ER6i isolating earphones, however, we could hear plenty of musical detail, especially in the middle to high range (vocals, strings, and percussion really stood out in the mix). We started looking through the EQ presets post haste to add some low end to the somewhat flat sound but were disappointed to find all the EQ presets noticeably quiet. All seemed to drop the playback volume by a few decibals, pulling the music's energy back rather than forward. We tried playback using a cushy, closed-ear headphone, which added some of the low end I was looking for and increased stereo spatialization. While removing the headphones from the minijack, we noticed that the GoGear produces a sharp, crackling pop in the headphones while plugging or unplugging. I experimented with a few different headphone types and a few different brands of players, and while temporary connection noise is fairly common, I felt the GoGear's was pronounced enough to mention.
We found the GoGear's voice recording easy to use, and it produced fair results despite allowing no control over recording gain and no choice of recording-quality formats. Our test recording did sound a little muffled when played back, however.
Battery life is rated at an unimpressive 10 hours. Thankfully, CNET Labs tests beat the rating, but 12.6 hours is still not that great.
What You'll Pay
- Set Price Alert
