Yes — manufacturers — make more devices like this one. The Monolith MP3 player is fused into a solid 1.5mm aluminium casing — not stuck together with glue or screws. It’s a unique manufacturing process pioneered by the manufacturer, Estar Laboratories. Testers have run the player over with a car, shot the player with a BB gun, thrown the player against a brick wall — all without breaking the unit. It has 512 MB memory and an internal lithium-ion rechargeable battery (featuring over 19 hours of playback time).
It can be recharged through a USB port (or purchase the optional AC Power Adapter) and the player will be fully primed for action in 3 hours time. The Monolith Premium’s audio heart is a 24bit Wolfson sigma delta DAC, driving an impressive 28mW of sound output per channel (combined output of a market leading 56mW).
Available from Advanced MP3 Players for about $155.
512 MB is very inefficient for an MP3 player in 2006. The leading portable players offer over ten times that much storage.
Yes, but those players are not “Indestructible”. You can work with 512MB quite easily. I have player with 128MB.
If this device is indestructable then it might never need to be replaced – I can’t imagine many manufacturers rushing to produce products like that.
Does anyone know where I can get another one of these?
Which would make it Estar playa number 3 for me
ok ok – I KNOW everyone calls this the indestructible player – it ain’t.
It IS very tough though – will tolerate more abuse than many others.
The greatest feature is serviceability: you can format, low-level format, soft & hard reset the unit.
It’s NOT “fused” into anything; yes, the unit has a lovely CNC machined Alloy chassis – with the main PCB held in place by stand-offs.
Super fixable – I’ve resoldered damaged buttons and parts inside several times and got my player back to life when other would have gone into the bin.
Warning: DO NOT (if you can still find one) buy the slide version; its lame and the “joyless” stick breaks down super fast + is on the reverse side of the main PCB – with the main controller BGA on the other side (Who the fuck though of that one eh?)
Buy one if you can still find it, also badged as an Elson Iaudio in some asian countries