Archos 3 Vision - The Definitive Review

The Archos 3 Vision is a distinctive MP3/MP4 player that stands out among Archos’ impressive lineup with its range of standard features. Positioned as a mid-priced competitor to the iPod, it offers functionality that the iPod lacks. Here’s my review of the Archos 3 Vision.

In a few words, the Archos 3 Vision can be described as performance, style, and quality. This MP3/MP4 player is impressive due to its elegant, sophisticated, yet simplistic design. So, let’s start with the music playback.

The audio quality is crystal clear and offers a great range of low and high tones. Music playback is the core feature of this device, and Archos has executed it exceptionally well. The sound equalizer surpasses that of many other MP3/MP4 players, allowing you to personalize the sound to your liking. The music sounds excellent, and navigating through the menu system is easy and intuitive. You can choose special playback modes that shuffle your collection and keep you guessing about the next track. The touch screen is responsive, and the overall visual appeal of the device is quite attractive.

However, the Archos 3 Vision offers much more than just music playback (which, by the way, supports multiple file formats: MP3, WMA, OGG, FLAC, and WAV). It’s called the Archos 3 because of its beautiful 3-inch touch screen, which displays vibrant colors and sharp images and videos. Yes, you read that correctly. This Archos device can play videos as well. This is a remarkable feature because it essentially turns your MP3/MP4 player into a portable DVD player. What makes this feature even more impressive is that there’s no need for file conversion; simply drag and drop your video files onto the device from your PC using the included Archos Media Management software, and you’re good to go.

With 14 hours of battery life for continuous music playback and 4 hours for continuous video playback, you’ll have plenty of time to watch a couple of movies or fall asleep to soothing melodies that continue playing even when you wake up.

In terms of storage, it offers a generous 8GB of memory, which is enough for 3000-4000 songs, a few videos, or tens of thousands of pictures (or a combination of all three).

One of the coolest features is the ability to record voice memos. I often find this feature handy, as brilliant ideas can strike at any moment when a notepad is not readily available. But what’s even cooler is that the Archos 3 Vision can also record FM radio signals, which leads me to the next impressive feature: it has an FM tuner.

Have you ever felt tired of listening to the music in your collection and craved something different? I certainly have. That’s why I love this feature. Sometimes, tuning in to the radio is exactly what I need. While a few MP3/MP4 players have an FM tuner, this one truly stands out.

And now, for the cherry on top. Not only does it have an FM tuner, but it also has an FM broadcaster. This is an incredibly cool feature. You can select any music from your collection and broadcast a short-range radio signal with the Archos 3 Vision. You can choose the frequency to broadcast on and then tune your radio to that frequency, instantly becoming a DJ! This feature comes in especially handy in the car for wireless playback through the car speakers.

Manuel Marino

Manuel Marino is a seasoned Senior Producer, Music Composer, and Artist with over a decade of experience. He specializes in branded entertainment across various mediums, including video games, films, and advertising campaigns. With 20+ years as a game music composer, Manuel has worked on numerous platforms, creating diverse orchestral soundtracks. HIRE ME