Samsung Napster YH-920GS review (20GB)

As a recorder, the YH-920GS records directly to the MP3 format. However, the maximum bit rate of 160Kbps will likely disappoint audiophiles, as will the lack of support for uncompressed recording. To work with an external source, you simply plug in the included cable, throw the Record switch, and start playing from your source. You can monitor the recordings via the earbuds, which makes it admirably quick and easy to, for instance, copy cassettes from an old Walkman. One point of confusion, however: you have to navigate to the Playlists menu to listen to line-in recordings; there's no entry for them in the main library, as there is with voice recordings.

Because Napster holds half the branding on the YH-920GS, some discussion of the software and service is in order. Napster 3.0 debuted shortly before the time of this writing; we found we could no longer run version 2.5 (which came with the player) without upgrading. We also had to download and install new device drivers.

The big news in Napster 3.0 is Napster To Go, a subscription-based service ($14.95 per month) that gives you access to most of the company's million-song-plus library. You can download or stream all the songs you want, but you get to play them only as long as you're a subscriber, and you must buy them to burn them to CDs. Even with those limitations, Napster To Go represents a compelling alternative to the likes of iTunes and its 99-cents-per-track brethren because users may untether tracks from the PC to a Janus-compatible apparatus (Creative's Zen Micro and iRiver's H320 are two such devices). Unfortunately, despite the aforementioned installation of new drivers, the YH-920GS doesn't currently support Napster To Go, though we have to assume that oversight will be remedied soon.

As a music manager, Napster 3.0 offers an attractive and generally intuitive interface, with features that mostly rival those of iTunes and Musicmatch (notably absent is any kind of autoDJ option). However, playlist building remains a bit awkward, and the software falls short in providing information on the currently playing artist or album.

Impressive features and a low price do not a great player make. The Samsung Napster YH-920GS comes up short in a few key areas, not the least of which are sound quality and battery life. Although Samsung promises more than 10 hours of play time, the YH-920GS petered out after just 9 hours in our tests. The latest iPod lasts about 12 hours between charges. (Of course, the Creative Zen Touch buries them both with its incredible 27-hour battery.)

You can drag and drop data files to the YH-920GS, but you must use Napster or Windows Media Player to transfer songs; otherwise, they won't appear in the player's library. The irony here is that the USB 2.0 interface delivers blazing drag-and-drop performance (14.15MB per second in our tests), but it tanks when Napster gets involved. File transfers via Napster were considerably--and inexplicably--slower; it took nearly two hours to copy our 7GB song library.

Given the YH-920GS's 90dB signal-to-noise ratio, we expected better sound quality. We tried a variety of headphones and earbuds with the YH-920GS, including our beloved Shure E3c, and came away with the same feeling every time: The player just doesn't sound very good. Music seemed hollow and slightly ragged, with none of the fullness, depth, or detail we've experienced with other players. To confirm this assessment, we also tried Samsung's earbuds in several other players, and the same test tunes all sounded noticeably better. Bottom line: most listeners will find the YH-920GS passable, but if you insist on absolutely pristine audio, you may want to shop elsewhere.