Joined on 09/06/03
Questionable specs, but the price was right
Pros: Fans run quietly, the no-load voltages appear reasonably close to nominal, and you just can't argue with a free-after-Newegg-rebate price.
Cons: The combined output ratings add up to only 380W, and the 12V 15A rating is alarmingly low for any modern PC (where most of the total load may fall on the 12V rail).
Overall Review: Interestingly, while the plaque on the unit itself reflects the same ratings that the Newegg 'details' section lists (and additionally notes that the combined draw from the 3.3V and 5V rails is limited to 180W), the shrink-wrapped box in which the unit ships indicates that the HP585D has TWO 12V rails, one 19A and one 20A - which would be more than sufficient if true and would raise the total deliverable power comfortably above the 585W figure. Since I'm careful never to drive inexpensive power supplies anywhere near their rated limits, I would only use this one in a system with very modest power requirements.
You may not get what you ordered
Pros: Great price (at the moment), fast shipping.
Cons: If you order this you may instead get the 4 MB cache version (as I just did last week) which Newegg has been shipping under this product description for years (they say that there's no reasonable way for them to test the units that ASUS sends them so they just pass them along to the customer). The reported difference between the two is that the 8 MB version is made by Lite-On and the 4 MB version by LG, and many people believe that the LG version generates most of the problems that get reported here (which is why I asked Newegg to pay the return shipping on mine, which they did without demur; the 8 MB cache version that I bought about 3 years ago is still working fine, and I wanted another just like it). You can use the free ImgBurn utility (Capabilities section) or the trial version of Opti Drive Control (Drive Info section) to view the drive's cache size, firmware revision (the Lite-On's is 1.03, the LG's is 1.0), or model number (the LG's has an 'a' appended at the end).
Love the 5 that I have, couldn't pass up a 6th for the current price after rebate
Pros: Using these in our PCs makes it easy to do backups at full SATA speeds without the need to open the boxes or use eSATA connections. Given the sale prices Newegg frequently offers I actually use another in each PC to hold the system drive as well, just because removing or swapping the system drive easily is convenient once in a while. Have never had any problems with the 5 that I already own nor with the two black ones that I bought before them, and significantly prefer them to alternatives that require mounting drives in caddies that I've used in the past. Nice rugged cage, though connectors may be fragile (see below). Attractive. Less expensive when on sale or after rebate than any other cages I've ever seen.
Cons: None for me, but possible ones include no fan (the aluminum cage conducts heat away well, our boxes have good air flow, and the cage has a mounting point and power connection for a 40 mm fan if you want to add one), potentially fragile connectors (comments for the black version say that when you attach the internal cables it may be wise to have a disk locked in the cage to give the connectors added support, though I tend to handle connectors gently and have not encountered any problem myself), and I have one drive (an old WD Black) whose connectors aren't quite ideally aligned when it's inserted and that thus requires some care in inserting.
2nd generation pair not as good as the 1st
Pros: Price when on sale at less than half what the current price here is (if the price here was that low I'd have given them at least one additional rating star). Light-weight and comfortable (not too tight but tight enough to stay in place even during moderate exercise). Single cord to the left earphone rather than a 'Y' cord to each. Efficient (higher-than-normal volume for a given input level). Fold to pack flat in luggage.
Cons: Mid-range and bass are a bit muddy, bass is kind of boomy as well. High range is fairly clear but not exceptional. A bit delicate (our first-generation pair broke at one hinge after 4 years of light use, and the new pair appears to be identical in that area).
Overall Review: We bought our 1st generation pair from Newegg on sale for about half the current price and at that price they weren't just good, they were phenomenal: clear and even throughout the frequency range, with the other advantages described above. When they eventually broke I managed to repair them so that they were usable but we decided to buy another pair as insurance since we liked them so much. The 2nd generation pair were not on sale at Newegg (though I think they had been recently) but were available from an at least comparably reliable source at about the same sale price, so we don't believe they were damaged in any way: they simply didn't reproduce music as well (though some seem to think that headphones require a 'burn-in' period before reaching best performance so that could be a factor). Perhaps we just got a lemon, as many other recent reviewers seem to be very satisfied with them; if the vendor is willing to replace them with another pair we'll give them a shot and I'll report back if they're noticeably better (otherwise I'll just return these and perhaps try a different well-known brand mentioned by another recent reviewer here at a similar price that has had good reviews).
Ridiculously over-priced
Pros: They are significantly lighter and more comfortable than my 40-year-old Koss Pro/4AAAs - my standard for comparison, and which I seem destined never to find a good replacement for at any sane price (as I recall the Koss 'phones were $70 - $80, possibly on sale, in the '70s and were considered high-end studio headphones at the time).
Cons: The sound is muddy compared with the Koss 'phones, across the audio spectrum. The bass is somewhat accentuated (I've always thought that the Koss units were pretty close to linear), but not to a point that would be a problem if it were clearer. The highs lack the brilliance and clarity of the Koss units. Information on the JBL web site is minimal
Overall Review: I base my 1-egg rating on the current (list or close to it) price. I got these on sale for less than 1/6 that so if they were still available at that price I'd probably rate them at 3 eggs. Haven't tested the microphone yet, as I bought these primarily for listening. The one thing I haven't done yet is test them using a splitter just in case plugging them directly into a normal stereo output jack might compromise their sound quality (something I did try to research on the JBL web site but, as noted above, there's nothing useful there).
Works fine, runs hot unless you raise it
Pros: Works for us, but our service doesn't stretch its bandwidth capabilities at all. Set-up was smooth though had to call our non-Comcast ISP to have them register its MAC address as one they recognized. Great price after rebate (even better last December as I understand, but I'm not complaining).
Cons: Boots and connects kinda slowly (maybe it's optimized to connect to Comcast?), but booting happens rarely anyway. Runs hot enough that I'd worry about its longevity unless you raise it to give it better air circulation underneath (after which it doesn't even get very warm).
Overall Review: If this lasts nearly as long as our Motorola SB4100 (13.5 years old and still going strong, but our ISP is phasing out support for DOCSIS 1/1.1 modems) I'll be very happy.