It was an easy choice to make when I decided to purchase the H120. I had done my research and every other player was not up to par with the H120. The iPod had terrible battery life; Creative's Hard Drive Player had too many little problems; Archos Players looked like the cheapest thing on the market (Also heard bad things); and that was the buying point.

I read many reviews for the H120. After learning how it performed from day to day bases I knew it was the Hard Drive Player for me. It has FM Tuner, MP3/OGG/ASF (FLAC, ALAC, Wavpack, Shorten, and MPC formats supported with Rockbox Firmware) Playback, 16 Hours of Playback (NewerTechnology 2,100 mAh replacement battery gives 28 hours, but is for iPod and requires modification of battery, more on this later) from one full charge of the battery, and the most useful feature of them all the LCD Remote.

I realized that I wanted a Hard Drive MP3 Player when I had gone on a long road trip. At the time I had a CD/MP3 Player. Battery life on it, CD/MP3 Player, was great, but during the trip I realized that it wasn't a problem to recharge the battery every night. There was one major issue I had with the CD/MP3 Player. It wasn't easy changing CDs after every few albums that I went through. This is especially difficult when I was sitting in a speeding automobile. I realized that my music collection was too big for use of CD-Rs. I knew it would be difficult to get a Hard Drive Player for the prices were way out of my budget. Somehow I saved up and purchased one from www.Compuplus.com for $335 shipped Next Day Air.

I am going to break my review up into segments to make it easier to read. The segments will be:
1. Introduction
2. Accessories (What the H120 comes with)
3. Daily Use (Battery, Anti-Skip, Startup Time, etc.)
4. Sound
5. Features
6. Conclusion
7. Firmware Updates
8. UPDATE

1. Introduction

The iRiver H120 comes in a plastic blistering pack that I am not too fond of. The package itself is nice when just looking at it, but it's the opening part that was a problem. Using a knife was the only way I could get this plastic package open. This made me VERY nervous. I didn't want the knife to touch any wires or the player. I did finally get it opened and here's what I found inside the package:
-iRiver H120 20 GB MP3 Player
-iRiver Leather Carrying Case
-iRiver/Sennheiser Ear buds
-AC Power Adapter
-Install CD for iRiver Music Manger (Not required to use H120 with PC)
-Line In/Out Cable
-USB 2.0 Cable
-Printed iRiver H120 Manual
-iRiver LCD Remote
The first thing that I examined was the H120 Player. It was smaller than I thought it would have been. Also the lightness of the player was incredible weighing in at 160 grams. The build quality was also good. The case of the H120 is made of metal and the entire player felt bulletproof.

2. Accessories (What the H120 comes with)

As listed above the accessories that come with the H120 are all that you need. All of the accessories do exactly what they are meant to do without any hassle or problems.

The two accessories that I liked the most were the iRiver LCD Remote and the iRiver H120 Leather Carrying Case. The remote is great! With this little thing you can view any menu and you have every control that the main unit has. Also the backlit blue light is really nice in the dark.

The Leather Carrying Case is real Leather. It smells good too. It is very useful for keeping the player scratch free. Also protects the player from any kind of drops that might occur. There are holes in the leather case for every button that is needed for operation of the player. This makes it easy to have the case on and use the functions. The back of the carrying case has a loop, so there's a way to carry it on belts.

The Line In/Out cable can be plugged into any jack that a mini-jack headphone can plug into and record. That means if you can plug your headphones into a jack and listen to whatever it is that you are listening to then the H120 can record it. This accessory was useful for recording radio stations. This is because the H120 cannot record directly off of its FM Tuner, but it can off of another source through Line In.

UPDATE: A year ago I did not understand the usefulness of the optical out, but now I do. Basically with the optical out you can connect separate audio components to the H120. For example, a DAC (Digital to Analogue Converter) with a optical in can be hooked up to the H120's optical out. Then the DAC's output to a headphone amplifier. Then the headphone amp can power your headphones. This setup can basically drive any high end headphone. The set up isn't very portable, but it definitely is "trans"portable. This would be great for long airplane rides and long road trips.

The Ear buds that came with the H120 are the Sennheiser MX 300. They are awfully good for stock Ear buds(I hear from others), but I bought the Sennheiser PX 200 anyhow.

3. Daily Use (Battery, Anti-Skip, Startup Time, etc.)

It has been 6 months (since the time I bought it and writing this review) and there hasn't been one day where I have stopped using the H120. I use it everyday on my daily bus ride and at home. During this time I must say it has never failed me once.

First off the battery in the H120 is really great. The 16 hours that iRiver claims is fairly accurate. I haven't done any tests, but the battery has never died before I could get it charged. I've gone up to 4 days without having it charged. I'll have to add that I use the player about 3-4 hours a day. All though when I did get around to charging the H120 on the 4th day it was on its last bar (4 Bars when full). (Update: the battery can be replaced with a "NewerTechnology" 2,100 mAh battery. It is meant for the iPod, so it'll require some modification. Go to www.misticriver.net to find directions on how to modify the battery. Also you can find out where to buy the battery from www.misticriver.net. Just do a forums search.)

The Anti-Skip is probably one of my favorite things about the H120. I am not too sure if this is the case for every Hard Drive Player (H120 is my first Hard Drive Player), but the H120 is marvelous when it comes to loading its buffer. When I first bought the H120 I thought that Hard Drive Players would require more care. This meaning that I couldn't subject the Hard Drive in the player to many shocks. This doesn't seem to be the case with the H120. During my walks with the player in my jean pockets I never have to worrying about the player needing to load up its buffer. It is able to load the buffer up while being exposed to shocks. Though I have never jogged or ran with the H120 playing, I am sure that it would be up to the challenge.

The startup time is the time it takes the player to load up to the menu that allows it to start playing music. Or basically the time from when you press the power on button until the player is able to play music. I only use half the space on my H120 and the startup time for me has been 4-5 seconds. I don't use the Music File Organizing System that the H120 comes with, so that may be the reason for the fast startup times. I am happy using the file tree which is really simple and effective.

During my trip on the bus every morning I always use my iRiver H120 LCD Remote. It has been very useful during these trips. It's much easier to keep the remote in my hands than to try and navigate the H120 unit while the bus is moving. After using the remote for so long I don't even need to look at the little LCD screen to navigate the menu. I have memorized the location of most of the songs I listen to and I can get to them without the display. If I do get lost navigating my collection of music blindly the blue backlit LCD screen really is nice for getting me back on track.

Getting use to the LCD Remote isn't easy. When I first used it I didn't know what the buttons and scrolls were for, but I read the manual and found out that the remote could be used to access every feature the H120 had. That includes recording, using the FM Tuner, navigating music, and changing your preferences in the player's main menu. Ever since I learned how to use the remote I never forgot. Now I can use every button without even needing to think about it.

During my ventures outside of my home the iRiver Leather Carrying Case always comes in handy. I only take it out of the case when people are interested in taking a look at it. Other than that the player is in my pocket and in its case. The case really does protect the H120 from scratches. Also from accidental drops which have happened to me. When my H120 dropped I was very glad to have had the case on it. If it weren't for the case it may have severely scratched the player.

4. Sound

I cannot be considered an audiophile, for I only care if it sounds good. I don't get into all kinds of specifications and whatnot. With that out of the way I must say that I LOVE the H120's sound production. When my H120 is paired up with my Sennheiser PX 200 (Check out my review on Sennheiser PX 200) the sound is just lovely. The bass is strong and the highs are also nice too. I only use UBASS equalizer for I am a basshead.

One time I had a week or so to use my H120 with a pair of Sony MDR V6. It was a marvelous experience. First thing I noticed was that the UBASS setting was too much for the Sony MDR V6. I decided to customize the equalizer to fit the Sony MDR V6 a little better. Interestingly enough the player had no problems with providing these headphones with enough power.

Throughout the week the Sony MDR V6 was fun to listen to. Though I wouldn't trade them for my Sennheiser PX 200 because I am always on the go and couldn't handle carrying around such huge headphones. The sound was crisper than the Sennheiser PX 200 and the bass was very noticeable, but with the customized equalizer setting also not too over powering.

I never used the H120 with the stock Ear Buds which were the Sennheiser MX 300. I believe the H120 can make beautiful sound, but it does require you to invest in some quality headphones. I took a few weeks to make the choice on buying the Sennheiser PX 200. It was a perfect pairing for the Sennheiser PX 200 sound great with the H120 and it's also as portable as the H120.

5. Features

The features on this player just amaze me. This was the buying point for me. The features include:
-FM Tuner
-Line In/Out Recording (Also Optical Line In/Out)
-Internal/External Microphone Recording
-16 Hours of Battery Life
-Plug and Play to PC
-Use as an external Hard Drive
-Text Viewer
-Firmware Upgrade
-Playback of MP3, OGG Vorbis, WMA, WAV, and ASF (FLAC, ALAC, Wavpack, Shorten, and MPC added with Rockbox firmware)**NO WMA format with Rockbox
-Multiple Equalizer Settings


The FM Tuner was a major reason for purchasing the H120. Not many Hard Drive Players had the FM Tuner option which was important to me. When traveling I like to listen to the radio and if my Hard Drive Player doesn't come with it then I would have to buy another item for my radio listening needs. My H120 picks up every station that I ever tried to listen to. Strong signals are clearer though.

The Line In/Out Recording feature is very fun to use. Though the H120 cannot record off of its own FM Tuner it can record off of another FM Radio's tuner. I have used this feature for that reason on several occasions. The H120 allows for many different quality sound settings. You can either record in WAV format or MP3. The MP3 format allows in different bitrates ranging from 32 kbps to 320 kbps.

As for the Optical Line In/Out I read that it is for recording from a Optical Line Out, but never did see any Optical Line Outs to record from. This feature was never used for me and I don't believe I would ever use it. (UPDATE: Well I was wrong about this... I am very interested in using the Optical Out feature in the future. I plan on having my H120, with other audio components, be my Hi-Fi "trans"portable setup.)

The Internal/External Microphones are great to use for recording ambient sounds. Sounds such as: people speaking or just sound that is around you. I have used this feature to record some of my classes. In school this feature is useful if you tune out to the teacher sometimes. When I get home I can listen to the class all over again. I like using the External Microphone better because the recordings are clearer and louder. There is a flaw to recording with the Internal Microphone. It is that when recording long files you will hear the Hard Drive spinning because the H120 needs to fill up its buffer every once in awhile. Basically the Internal Microphone is only good if you are recording files that are about 15-30 Seconds long. The times depend on the type of file you are recording in.

During the time of purchase the 16 hour battery life was second to none. As of now there are contenders. To name a couple: the iAudio M3L and the Sony NW-HD1, NW-HD3,and NW-HD5 which have battery lives ranging from 30-40 hours! Though I think 16 hours of battery life the H120 provides is sufficient, it is no longer dominating this Hard Drive Player market feature. (NewerTechnology battery raises battery life of H120 to 28 hours! Check out www.misticriver.net for information)

From personal experience over my 6 months with the player the battery is just fine. I recharge the battery every two days to make sure that I am good to go every morning. Though I have gone up to four days without charging, it makes me nervous to cut it that close. I use my H120 ALL the time and the thought of the battery cutting out is an issue I have to deal with. That's the reason why I ALWAYS make sure it's charged. There's really nothing to worry about if you are an average user of your Digital Audio Player. You can ask anyone of my friends and they will tell you that I am ALWAYS using my H120. Even though I do, the battery life holds up just fine.

When I first received my H120 I opened it up and let the battery charge. When it was finished charging I knew exactly what to do. Knowing the player was "plug and play" I plugged the H120 into my Desktop's USB 2.0 Port and started moving files on to the H120. It was easy as 1, 2, and 3. There wasn't any reading of the manual required for this step. (I do recommend reading the user's manual though) This was also a reason why I purchased the H120. Through "plug and play" I could go to anyone of my friend's house and take stuff (data that is) off their computers. That is if they have Windows 98 Second Edition, Windows ME, or Windows XP. I don't know anyone with anything other than Windows XP, so it was never a problem for me.

The text viewing feature allows the H120 to view .txt files on the H120's Main Body Screen. This feature doesn't work with the LCD remote. I never used this feature, but I could imagine how it could come in handy.

The fact that the H120 could be upgraded through firmware was another reason to buy. I liked the idea that the H120 could only get better as new firmwares came out. (UPDATE: Now with Rockbox firmware the H120 is bascially the BEST mp3 player.)

I like the idea of how the H120 can playback MP3, OGG Vorbis, WMA, WAV, and ASF files. (More with Rockbox firmware) There are so many files that it can play! I never did use anything other than MP3 on the H120 because I've been encoding my music to MP3 for years. Never had a good reason to switch to anything else, so I never did. I am sure the H120s are capable of playing all of the other formats, for members at the MisticRiver.net (iRiver user's messegeboard) forums have not had any major issues playing them.

The H120 has many different possible equalizer settings. I only use the setting that I prefer which is UBASS. I love hearing the deep bass the H120 produces. The other equalizer settings are useful, as I have mentioned, for other headphones. The H120 also comes with something called SRS. (It stands for Sound Retrieval Systems) This equalizer setting makes the H120 produce sound as if it were in front of you. This is also known as 3D sound. I don't like the effect it has on my music and I never use it.

6. Conclusion

The H120 is a perfect player for so many reasons. You can use it to listen to tons of music with its 20 GB Hard Drive space, listen to FM Radio; record from a line out/headphone jack or record ambient sounds, or you can also use it as a portable Hard Drive. The possibilities are endless with the H120. If you have to ask if I recommend this player then I have to say "YES!". With the features that it supports I feel that the H120 will be fun to own for many years. (UPDATE: With Rockbox the H120's capabilities has increased beyond imagination. Just about EVERY desirable function has been implemented with Rockbox!)

7. Firmware Updates

The major issue with the player is the fact that iRiver never release any quality firmwares. They promise this and that, but never have the firmware released on targeted dates and the firmware is never what it is suppose to be. Meaning the firmwares do not support new features that iRiver promises to implement. For example, gapless playback (no gap when the player goes from the ending of one song to the starting of another) and on-the-fly playlists (making playlists on the H120 without a computer) were suppose to be implemented months ago, but iRiver never got to doing it.

The newest firmware upgrade for the H120 is Version 1.66. It can be downloaded at www.iriveramerica.com.

8. UPDATE

It has been more than a year since I wrote this review. Since then I have sold my H120. It was sold in the beginning of Fall 2004. I replaced my H120 with an iAudio M3L. The iAudio has proven to be a GREAT player. It's a great player with great battery life, 35 hours.

I've been looking for a mp3 player to add to the stable. (Haven't sold the M3L and don't plan to.) Some considerations that I had included: the iAudio X5L, Toshiba Gigabeat MEG-F20 and MEG-X30, Kenwood HD20GA7(TOO expensive and only in Japan), iRiver H10, and even Hi-MD Players. In the end I remembered the H120. With the Rockbox firmware out I thought about buying the H120 again!

After much consideration I purchased an iRiver H120, used, off of ebay.

I must say that most new HDD mp3 players are not impressing me. Most of the new features on these Video HDD mp3 players are additional features and not truly improvements. After much examination of the HDD mp3 player market I have retrograded to the H120. I personally think it is better, for it is simple and effective.

Also with Rockbox here the iRiver H120 truly leaves current HDD mp3 players in the dust!

A few new features with Rockbox:

-Gapless playback

-Playback of FLAC, ALAC, Wavpack, Shorten, MPC, MP3, OGG, and more) **NO WMA support with Rockbox.

-On the go playlisting (A feature I've been waiting for iRiver to release, but they never did. One of the reasons why I sold my first H120.)

-Customization of menus and "while playing screens."

-And so much more...

www.rockbox.org

Go to the website for more information. Also www.misticriver.net has lots of information also.



Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 335
Recommended for: Music Lovers - High Capacity Storage for an Entire Album Collection