iGuerburn
J. C. Smulyan
This is an amazing player. We filled it up with 4,200 songs for our friend's birthday. He's been playing it nonstop. Super easy to use. There is an on/off button, volume control, and a back and next button. That's it. If you unplug it, the songs will start over, so try not to unplug it! I recommend it.
Hill Country Life
This is probably the best thing I have bought for my mom since her dementia got really bad. It is so easy for her to use, she pretty much cant do it wrong. The video shows all the buttons, and you can load whatever music you like. She will randomly go in her room just to listen to the music, it is really heartwarming to see on camera.
Keith G.
The iGuerburn Simple Music Player for Dementia Elderly Seniors player is very simple to use once the music is downloaded. We struggled at first because we downloaded a CD to the music player app on our computer. It was difficult trying to convert it to the right format though. We were able to accomplish this but then figured out we can download CD's to itunes and drag them right in the file and it automatically converted it to the correct format. It is also easy purchasing music on itunes and dragging it to the file to be used in this music player. I think this will be a nice gift for my 92 year old mother.
Don
The device is perfect for it's intended purpose. But a partial refund would be acceptable.
Thank you for your time to read this.
Don Missel
HKG-Snohomish
Simplicity and ease of use are truly desirable traits that attracted me to this product. There is no radio, WiFi or Bluetooth to fiddle with so this is an item that can be used by multiple persons without one’s use messing things up for another. There are only five control options: ON OFF < > Volume, none of which will likely cause any other user any difficulties.
For my in-home use there are no problems related to MP3s because I have so many CDs I can convert. I just read that a 32MB Micro SD card can hold about 8,000 to 10,000 songs, and at an approximate time of 2.5 minutes each that is about 360 hours, which means that a tiny Micro SD card can store a whole month of listening at 12 hours a day without replaying. Amazing! Of course your repeat pattern could be a lot different depending on what you load onto the card.
***NOTE: This player is shipped with a blank Micro SD card. If your purchase will involve gifting this to a compromised individual, please read my IMPORTANT CONSIDERATION comment below.
OBSERVATIONS:
All the necessary physical components are in the box, and are easy to assemble. The missing part of the player is whatever you are planning to listen to which must be audible files in MP3 format. Although this player does not provide an audiophile type of listening quality it’s plenty good enough for filling the air in an otherwise silent space. Adding a nice level of bass would make this amazing. However, not everything has to sound like a concert and improvements tend to increase prices a. Another use feature we noticed is that should a phone ring or someone knock at the door it is very easy to shut off the player quickly.
IMPORTANT CONSIDERATION:
There is a lot of good to say about such a player as this one, but it should be clearly understood that with giving this to a compromised person, there comes a responsibility to help the recipient by creating selections of MP3 music, books on disk, or even ongoing adult improvement classes if applicable. The initial gifting of this item can be augmented with you providing (and installing) additional Micro SD cards from time to time during visits; holiday music for example. It can be a wonderful, thoughtful thing you can do.
SUMMARY: We like this iGuerburn branded MP3 Player for its usability as described above. I wouldn’t mind at all if the sound quality was better, but for general background it is definitely listenable. Within the scope of my testing, the player works as expected. My ratings start at mid-scale (average) 3.0 Stars and this item earns an additional 1.0 Star for easy usability, and has a deduction of 0.25 Star as incentive for the manufacturer to improve sound quality as described above. Total 3.75 Stars, above average. See my rating system that follows for more information on fair rating of products.
FYI - MY GENERAL RATING SYSTEM
For all items, product listing claims are checked to verify they are realistic and appropriate. All 3rd party ratings and certifications will be verified if possible and must prove to be accurate and relevant to the exact item being considered. Product should be appropriately packaged for shipping.
• Simple goods that are typical, average, common items will usually be placed in the middle of the scale (3.0 Stars). “AVERAGE” Items are good quality, well finished, and priced fairly however nothing stands out.
• Above Average ratings are not automatic, they are earned by exceeding expectations (4-Star) or by greatly exceeding expectations (5-Star).
• Below Average ratings of 2-Star or 1-Star will be earned for products in varying degrees below expectation.
CustomWebProgrammer
I wanted an easy to use MP3 player, and this checks a lot of boxes! To confirm and clarify some of the other reviews, this has no problem accepting a 64GB tf or microSD card. The file format is not choosy: I just copied entire folders and my MP3 directory to the card, and created several cards for different moods. The player just walks through the folders alphabetically. So if you’ve got a folder for Weird Al Yankovick, then subfolders for each of his albums, you’ll hear every song in order on his first album, then each track of the next album, and so on until the entire Weird Al folder has been played, then it moves onto the next alphabetical folder, say “Wild Side” for example. I do not have a 128GB tf card - that’d be something for the next reviewer to try!
One review mentioned randomizing the playlist. I was not able to find anything that did that, either in the documentation or by experimenting with long-press, double press, or other button combinations. It’s always alphabetical, and then it loops back to the beginning.
I think it would be a great upgrade, worth another $30 to $45, if the player had an LCD display for the song name (file name) and folder name. Especially for memory impaired listeners, it’s very nice to say, “I like that song! Who is it? What’s the band? What’s the name or year it was released?”
Liz
The iGuerburn Simple Music Player for Dementia Elderly Seniors is a really simple speaker to USE. To start playing, all you really need to do is turn it on with the big button. It does need to have music loaded on to the provided memory card (32 Gbyte). So somebody with supported music files (MP3, WAV, M4A, etc.) will need to load those songs on the card before using it. Once loaded, the memory card goes in the back. It is pretty small so somebody with decent dexterity will be needed to insert it properly.
It also comes with an adapter with USB-C and USB-A so that you can connect it to a computer to load the song files. The back has ports for power, memory card, headphones, Aux (audio) in and power. The Aux in automatically plays from whatever is connected and will not play what is on the memory card. In order to switch back to the memory card you simply unplug the aux in device.
It is a good size unit and the sound is decent. There is a volume control on the right side of the unit. Buyers should be aware that there is no control over the songs played. It simply plays from where it stopped last and goes in order of what is on the card. There is no random/shuffle or selecting a song in particular. With the buttons on the top, you can go to next or previous song played from the memory card.
Again, while noted that it's a simple player, somebody does need to load song files on the card before using it-- that will take someone with a song library, ripping songs from CDs or buying them off a music site.
Mike
I installed this product in my bedroom, and it has been an excellent addition. As someone with poor vision, I find this music player incredibly user-friendly and straightforward to operate, even though it’s designed primarily for elderly seniors.
The speakers deliver crisp audio with excellent mids, providing a high-quality listening experience. Additionally, the system includes a slot for a microSD card, allowing it to play MP3 files natively, which is a convenient feature.
Overall, the sound quality and functionality are impressive for its price range. The product is well-made, and I love how it sounds and how easy it is to use. I highly recommend this music player to seniors or anyone seeking a great-sounding speaker system that’s simple to operate.
Billy
A family member with Alzheimer's had stopped listening to music because the stereo became too complicated to operate. I made a playlist of "Jump Jive and Wail" songs from the 40's & 50's. When she listened to the music she started singing along remembering most of the verses from every song and that really elevated her mood. Recently she moved into assisted living. I got an MP3 player and speaker so she could listen there. Then realized how complicated it would be for her to operate and troubleshoot. I found this player online and bought it. I transferred the playlist to it. Now when she wants to listen to music it is as easy as off and on. If she forgets which way the toggle goes, just press it and the music turns off or on. She listens all the time. This was a great purchase because it delivers, just one step to turn it on or off. BTW, the sounds is very good. There is a dial on the side for the volume but she doesn't adjust the volume.
skatefan
I'm glad this product exists and appreciate everything that came with it so no extra parts were needed, but mostly this is to thank reviewers whose comments helped me to set it up quickly and easily because it would have been confusing otherwise. I had my sharpie ready to color in the raised letters, and there is a small plus and minus sign on either side of the volume dial I colored in and I made a volume label as shown in the pics.
I also had my music files ready in a folder labeled Songs as reviewers recommended. I used letters to arrange the files in the order I wanted since some said numbers do not work. So the songs in one genre I renamed to "a- song name" then the next genre or grouping I started with"b" etc. I had 70 songs total and they play in the right order. I deleted the preloaded songs first.
The included flash drive/memory stick is pretty easy to use. The TF card is in the player. You push it in gently and it ejects, then push it in the slot in the flash drive. Take the cap off the end of the flash drive you want to use - I plugged the bigger end into my laptop and just dragged the Songs folder to it. Take out the TF card, pop it back in the player and you should be ready to go. The sound quality is good too, which it should be for the price.
I hope this will bring my loved one and yours comfort and enjoyment.
Sally
I got this for my Dad who is 82 and has dementia. He could no longer use his CD player and this was the perfect remedy. Loaded up his Irish music and now all he has to do is push the “On” button and he has his music.
I used a sharpie to enhance the labeling.
StanfordBear
PROS
+Very easy to operate. Large On-Off Button. 2 buttons for going to the next or prior music track. 1 side dial for Volume.
+Good quality sound overall
+Included 32GB microSD TF card
+Includes a TF memory card USB reader in case your home computer/laptop doesn't have one built-in.
CONS
-No Built-In Powerbank. This has to always stay plugged into a wall outlet for power.
-Hard to organize music into a specific set playlist. As far as I know, there is also no shuffle setting. Music pretty much plays however it is loaded to the TF card.
SUMMARY
Originally I got this speaker for my elderly parents. But then my elementary school son suggested that I let him use it since I had told him that I wanted to control what non-explicit music he was allowed to listen to. His suggestion was actually a great one! With this player, I can put onto it exactly what songs I think are appropriate for a young child to listen to. Since my son really likes this system, I will plan to pick up another one for my parents.
Merlin
Bottom Line Up Front: A bit Pricey but otherwise Super Simple to operate with Great Sounding Audio. Song selection requires a competent person to transfer music files to the MicroSD (TF) card - but after that almost anyone will be able to operate this.
I think they missed the boat regarding potential users. I think this would be great not only for those with Alzheimers or the Elderly with Dementia, but also for the many younger folk with impairments like Downs or Cerebral Palsy. Supported music formats include MP3, WMA, FLAC, M4A, and WAV. The files you transfer MUST be in a folder named "Songs", AND they CANNOT begin with a number - otherwise the system gets confused. This is a BIG heavy box 9.4 x 4.9 x 4.7" weighing in at 2-1/2 pounds - however there is NO internal battery - this will not work unless plugged in. The box contains left and right bass/midrange speakers, and a central tweeter. Connections include the power plug, memory card, music in (for connection from an external music source), and a headphone jack. Controls include a huge On/Off switch, Next and Previous switches, and a volume control. That's it. My criticism here is those controls are NOT well labeled and very hard to see. I used a red marker to better define the functions (Yeah - Fine. I've lost the ability to color within the lines).
The included power supply is quite unusual - so don't lose it! It is not 5, 9, or 12 volts - rather it makes 8 volts at 1.5 Amps and connects via barrel and NOT a USB connector. The package also comes with a 32GB Lexar memory card (nice touch - but no indication in the manual of how BIG a memory card you can use) and an adapter that will connect to USB-A, USB-C, with slots for SD and MicroSD memory cards. There is no display screen to list the file name of the song playing, and there is no way to search for a desired tune - only previous and next song buttons.
This player does not connect to WiFi, Bluetooth, or to the internet - so no way to select sources like Pandora, I-Heart Radio, etc - only the tunes on the memory card. An extremely Important feature is this player Remembers where it was when switched off - and will Resume from there when turned back on (providing there hasn't been a power loss at the wall socket).
For testing purposes I copied a couple of 194KB/s MP3 files and some FLAC files to the memory card. There were 4 tunes on the card: Nobody's Darling But Mine.m4a, Over The Rainbow.wav (sounds like Judy Garland to me!), The Trolley Song.mp3 and You Are My Sunshine.flac. These songs (OMG - from the '40's or earlier - the tone was typically as was characteristic at that time) played just fine from the root directory of the TF card - I did NOT have to create a "Songs" directory as mentioned by some.
Just for grins - I copied over He LLs Bells (AC DC - a 14MB file - Live version, Bon Scott & Angus Young)-MP3 at 320 kbps. This box does get serious loud, crisp highs and reasonably good kick from the bass drum. This box is perfect for the targeted user - but a bit pricey.
