iRiver SlimX - Best Mp3 CD Player
Written: Sep 08 '02
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Pros: Slim, light, incredible remote, great sound, rechargeable batteries
Cons: None that I know of
The Bottom Line: The best mp3 CD player on the market. You can't go wrong with this player.
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| jazz976's Full Review: iRiver iMP-350 SlimX Personal CD Player |
After reading all the highly rated reviews here and on cnet.com, I couldn't resist, and I went out and bought the iRiver SlimX. Everything about this player is great. Its design, interface, size, EVERYTHING is well thought out and works perfectly. This is simply the only mp3 cd player that you should be looking for. And, the price is right.
Design
First off, this player is small. Very small. It's about three quarters of an inch thick, and almost exactly the width of a cd. The remote is also tiny, but I'll talk about that later. The main unit is very simple. The cover is thin metal (that should make it more durable), and the buttons are on the sides. There are only 6 buttons on the main unit, play/pause, stop, forward, backward, and two volume controls. However, if you hold them down, they control different things. There's also a line out port, a headphones port, a remote port, and two power ports, one for the AC adapter and one for the AA battery adapter. But I don't really use any of the controls on the main unit because of the...
Remote
iRiver really thought about this remote, and they did an incredible job with its design. The remote itself is about 3 inches by 1 inch (smaller than you'd think), with 3 multifunction buttons, two standard buttons, and a hold latch. There's a belt clip on the bottom, and a headphone jack on the side. It has a relatively small LCD screen, and I've heard complaints about how the text is too small, but I don't understand them. The text looks great to me. The multifunction buttons are like mini-jog dials. They can go left and right, as well as down. Probably the best thing about the remote is the backlight. It's blue, and it lets you see everything on the screen in low light situations. A real life saver. This remote tops all other remotes ever. Because, if you're going to use a remote, wouldn't it be more useful if you could do everything with it?
Interface
The interface takes a few minutes to figure out, but once you've got it it's great. The LCD screen shows the name of the track and artist, as well as the directory, and the type of file, the kbps, play mode, battery level, and the khz. Press one button, and you can see the root of the cd, and can easily navigate through all of the mp3s and wmas on the cd. There's also a very detailed menu that allows you to customize every single feature on the remote, from the backlight timer to the language (afrikaans, anyone?). There are multiple play modes, including various shuffle modes, repeat modes, and a program mode. And there are a few equalizer settings, including a customizeable one.
Sound
I've been listening to 128 kbps mp3s and 192 kbps wmas, and the sound is simply incredible. I'm even using the included earbuds which are crap to any audiophile, and the sound is great. I've heard complaints about how the sound level doesn't get high enough. My response to those is probably that when you ripped or downloaded the mp3s, their volume decreased in the process. Because the volume goes from 1-40, and I'm at 20 and it is LOUD. It's hard to believe that sound this good can come from something this small!
Accessories
iRiver doesn't fall short with accessories. The player comes with an AC adapter to charge the rechargeable nimh batteries, the remote, a pair of half decent earbuds, an external AA battery adapter to extend the battery life to 23 hours, and a polyester bag to hold everything. The only iRiver accessory that doesn't come with the player is a backpack on sale at www.irivershop.com.
CD-R and CD-RW
This player played everything I threw at it. I burned a data CD-RW with mp3s and wmas, and everything worked. I burned an audio CD-RW with mp3s and wmas, and it worked. I copied a regular audio cd to a CD-R, and it worked. It seems to not have any problems playing files. The firmware is also upgradeable, so if some fantastic new type of file emerges, you can upgrade the player so it will play it (download from www.iriveramerica.com).
Other Stuff
The unit comes with 2 rechargeable batteries which go under the cover. When fully charged, they will play 13 hours of mp3s. Add the AA battery pack, and you can play 23 hours of mp3s. CD audio eats up more battery.
The documentation is good, and it explains everything with nice graphics. : - ).
There is an FM tuner on the remote which works well and has great reception. I'm not sure, but I don't think using the tuner uses a lot of battery power.
Conclusion
I laugh at my friends who are impressed with their Rio Volts. This player has all the features of any good mp3 cd player, only in half the size, and with everything on the remote (I consider that a good thing). And you can get it cheaper than a lot of those other players. I got it in the mail yesterday, and I've been listening to it non-stop ever since. It is truly a great buy.
Thanks for Reading
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 140
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Epinions.com ID:
jazz976
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Location: Lexington, MA, USA
Reviews written: 19
Trusted by: 1 member
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