Frequency Response (9.70) 
The first aspect of performance that we look at is frequency response; how well does the media player play back frequencies from the low to the high? Our test syetem ascertains this, and plots this graph that shows the response.
Our ideal here is a flat line, which would indicate that all frequencies are played back at exactly the same level. The Archos 5 is very close to perfection here; both channels have a very, very flat response with just a few very small bumps. But these are small enough that you won't hear them, and overall the Archos 5 has excellent frequency response.
Distortion (3.15)
The Archos 5 was less impressive in our test for distortion, where our testing system looks for changes from the original sound. These can be caused by things like amplifiers that are pushed too far or a problem with the digital to analog conversion of the audio file. Wherever the problem lies, there seems to be one with the Archos 5; we found significant distortion, particularly in the left channel. But both channels had some significant distortion in there, which could lead to your music not sounding the way it should.
Crosstalk (7.92)
Crosstalk is where the sound destined for one channel gets into the other. It happens because there is always some electrical or signal leakage from one channel to the other inside the player, but the Archos 5 didn't have a significant problem here; we measured it at around -65.2 decibels, which is a bit more than some other players (the iPod Classic, for instance, had much less crosstalk at -104 decibels). But this minor amount of crosstalk should not be a major issue; it is low enough that most people won't be able to hear it.
Output Power (2.15)
A media player like the Archos 5 outputs an electrical signal that drives the headphones, and one aspect of this signal is the output power. The higher this is, the better job the player will be able to do in driving a set of high-end headphones. Many high quality headphones have a higher impedance, which means that the media player has to output more energy to make the diaphragms inside the headphones move. And it can't do that if it can't output enough energy, so we measure this by determining how many watts a media player can output. The Archos 5 was a little disappointing here; we measured it at a rather paltry 8.6 milliwatts. This is much less than many other players; the iPod classic could output a much more impressive 29.5 milliwatts, and even the diminutive iPod shuffle managed 18.6. This rather low figure for the Archos 5 would limit the usefulness of this player for audiophiles who like to use their big, expensive and hard to drive headphones with a media player; the volume level will not be particularly high and the audio quality will be lacking.
Noise (9.65)
All media players add some level of noise to the sound they output, but the noise level of the Archos 5 was very acceptable. We measured the signal to noise ratio (the ratio of the signal, such as music, to the level of noise the player adds) at a very acceptable 85.1 decibels. That's low enough that the noise the player introduces is not going to interfere with the music; you'll only hear the music.
Included Headphones (3.31)
The Archos 5 is an expensive media player, but the headphones that come with it are anything but. We were not impressed with the quality of these shoddily built earbud style headphones; they had poor frequency response, distortion problems at the low end and they blocked little or no sound; when using them, we could clearly hear things going on around us. On the upside, they could handle plenty of volume, but that came at the cost of a significant amount of leakage; the music being played over them was clearly audible several feet away. Overall, they were very disappointing; all but the most casual of listeners and viewers will want to think about getting a better pair of headphones. However, the rather lackluster output power of the player will limit the choice; higher impedence headphones just won't get much volume from this player.
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