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Topic: iriver iHP120 - comments please? (Read 15392 times) previous topic - next topic
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iriver iHP120 - comments please?

Reply #25 –
Quote
I was looking for similar info myself, i just cant decide between this and a rio karma!

anyway heres a bit more info

From there general FAQ

http://www.iriveramerica.com/support/H100_FAQ.aspx

Q. How does the H100 sort files?
A. By default, the H100 will sort files and folders numerically or alphabetically based on a folder's title or file's iD3 tag. Once the H100 has been updated using the Database function, the Player will be able to dynamically sort files by Artist / Album / Genre / Title / File-Folder.

hmm does a track number id3tag override alphabetical song title sorting? hmm..

Also found this problem which put me off a bit

http://misticriver.net/index.php?name=PNph...b729834f3cae934

Check out the numerous problems I've had with my Karma:
http://pcclub.com/forum/messageview.cfm?ca...&threadid=12017

Also, visit www.riovolution.com forums and notice how many people have HDD and scroll wheel problems.  Did I mention the 90 day warranty?

iriver iHP120 - comments please?

Reply #26 –
Due to my job's requirements I have to take several trans-Pacific flights per month.  Using my H120 with ogg -q8 gets me about 12 hours of non-stop music.  Enough to take you from Detroit to Japan.

Even with the few firmware issues (slated to be fixed soon) the player does for me what the ipod could never do.

imho

rs
Somebody has to do something, and it's just incredibly pathetic that it has to be us. Jerry Garcia-Grateful Dead

iriver iHP120 - comments please?

Reply #27 –
Quote
Also, visit www.riovolution.com forums and notice how many people have HDD and scroll wheel problems. Did I mention the 90 day warranty?


Also at Riovolution, you'll notice that many more people are quite happy with their Karmas.    Bottom line is that both the iRiver and the Karma are quality DAPs, and which one is "best" really comes down to personal preference as to what features are most important. 

As for iRiver research, I second the misticriver.net recommendation.  Good group of people over there that I'm sure would be able to answer any lingering iRiver questions you might have.  Best of luck. 
Rio Karma --> e4

iriver iHP120 - comments please?

Reply #28 –
Pros:
Solid, durable, well designed all-metal body
Large, clear side-lit display
Excellent remote
Long battery life
Optical in/out(!)
OGG!
usb-storage class!

Cons:
No gapless playback
No FLAC
Recording length limitations (~76min max per recording)
Obtuse, clumsy user interface
No jog dial / scroll wheel

The pros outweigh the cons for me, and at least the first 4 cons can hopefully be fixed with firmware updates in the future.

iriver iHP120 - comments please?

Reply #29 –
FWIW, a Finnish computer magazine "MikroBitti" reviewed some portable HD-based  players. The iRiver H120 won (the second and third were the iPod and the iAudio M3, IIRC - I don't have the magazine handy). 

The interesting part was that where they measured the frequency response of the players. The iRiver H120 had a totally flat  frequency response,  and the 3G iPod was measured one of the worst in terms of sound quality.

iriver iHP120 - comments please?

Reply #30 –
Quote
The interesting part was that where they measured the frequency response of the players. The iRiver H120 had a totally flat  frequency response,  and the 3G iPod was measured one of the worst in terms of sound quality.
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=223159"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]



same here in Germany!

I know 3 top-rated computer magazines and one HiFi magazine which gave the iRiver iHP-120 the crown and NOT the iPOD. the main reason was the superb frequency response of the iRiver compared to the iPOD.

-hd

iriver iHP120 - comments please?

Reply #31 –
I also came across several reviews that praised the sound quality of the iRiver iHP-120 - especially its line-in encoding features. Check out this link.

http://www.tnt-audio.com/sorgenti/iriver2_e.html

You may also want to take a look at the newer H300 series - it's essentially the same player with a colour screen. The joystick is also replaced with a set of buttons. I just bought 1 last week and am still fiddling with it. The interface is easy to use, is solid, and has line-in and line out, USB 2.0.

iriver iHP120 - comments please?

Reply #32 –
Quote
I also came across several reviews that praised the sound quality of the iRiver iHP-120 - especially its line-in encoding features. Check out this link.

http://www.tnt-audio.com/sorgenti/iriver2_e.html

You may also want to take a look at the newer H300 series - it's essentially the same player with a colour screen. The joystick is also replaced with a set of buttons. I just bought 1 last week and am still fiddling with it. The interface is easy to use, is solid, and has line-in and line out, USB 2.0.
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=225961"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


It's not essentially the same player. The H300 series don't have optical inputs or outputs, and no internal headphone either, I guess? It's also bigger and heavier. However, image viewing and USB on-the-go support may be nice if you do a lot of digital photographing.

iriver iHP120 - comments please?

Reply #33 –
rickshaw > Using my H120 with ogg -q8 gets me ...

Any -q8? Have you run into any ogg that wouldn't play (or play correctly)? Have you tried a -q10 just to test? Still trying to decide between Karma/Nueros/and now...iHP.

xen-uno

edit: I used to encode to -q 8 but now that I do EAC>flac and store on DVD, I've dropped ogg encodes down to -q 7.
No one can be told what Ogg Vorbis is...you have to hear it for yourself
- Morpheus

iriver iHP120 - comments please?

Reply #34 –
Quote
FWIW, a Finnish computer magazine "MikroBitti" reviewed some portable HD-based  players. The iRiver H120 won (the second and third were the iPod and the iAudio M3, IIRC - I don't have the magazine handy). 
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=223159"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


The tested players were (in ranking order)

iRiver iHP-120
Apple iPod 20G
iAudio M3
Philips HDD120
Creative Zen Xtra 60G
Archos Gmini 220

They were ranked by (in descending order of importance)

Sound quality (objective and subjective)
Usability
Battery life (measured, continuous shuffle)
Size and bulk
Transfer speed
Capacity
Connections and accessories
Software
Headphones
Construction

iriver iHP120 - comments please?

Reply #35 –
finally ! - some response from iRiver regarding some feature requests.

iRiver firmware schedule update

perhaps they'll stick to the release date this time.
we'll see...

bye,
Sebi

iriver iHP120 - comments please?

Reply #36 –
That's a nice list of updates.  I'll be happy when they release the firmware update.  But currently I am very happy with my H120.
Nero AAC 1.5.1.0: -q0.45

iriver iHP120 - comments please?

Reply #37 –
Quote
That's a nice list of updates.  I'll be happy when they release the firmware update.  But currently I am very happy with my H120.
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=231623"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Very happy with my 140 as well. Gapless would make it just about perfect.
flac > schiit modi > schiit magni > hd650

iriver iHP120 - comments please?

Reply #38 –
Gapless was on the list if I read it right.  Dream Theater gapless on my portable would be just awesome, but now I put up with the tiny gaps.  I debated between this and a Rio Karma because Vorbis support was a must but I'm glad I chose my 120.
Nero AAC 1.5.1.0: -q0.45

iriver iHP120 - comments please?

Reply #39 –
Love mine.

I did a lot of research before hand and it was obviously the best. All reviews I've read say iRiver sound quality slightly better than iPods. Never worse. All you have to do is ask to listen before you purchase; there's no way they can say no if you're spending that much money; a lot of stores will have both iPod and iHP, just find one, it's what I did.

I listen to mainly techno and trance on the vbass setting and it's uber. Very nice. The guy who said he needed more volume must be deaf. Max sound is 40. I use about 8 in a quiet room, 15, when riding, 20 for awesome "turn it up" song; any louder and I'd do damage to my hearing.

Pros
+16hr battery life means I only recharge about once a week. I love not having to buy batteries anymore. It's just an amazing independent little player
+size and weight
+nice black leather case with belt clip comes with it.
+Sound quality
+In built radio
+easy transfer of songs - just plug it in and windows automatically detects as harddrive, drag and drop. Basically it doubles as a portable HDD. I've never used the database, wonder what it's like.
+easy recharge, just plug in cord, green light comes on and you're recharging. Leave the recharge/power cable in if you don't want to use up the battery for home use
+optical out - I don't need to buy a stereo, I just plug the optical out into my speakers.
+ recording is easy and mic is built-in - they crammed a lot of stuff into this little thing.
+ allen-key screws in clear view for easy battery upgrade - someones swapped in a 2200mAh and is now getting 28hrs battery life .
+ reminds me of Darth Vader: refer to this thread "The real reason the iHP is better than the iPod..."

cons
- don't like navigation
- blind navigation not intuitive. They could really improve navigation buttons a lot.
- fastforward songs too slow. Just fine for normal length songs, but hr long mixes it's a pain. Should be able to ff to specific time in song
- no gapless
- Size of text on screen too big - should be able to reduce text to what ever you like. I don't like that it only fits 17 characters, and when there's more  than that in a heading scrolls across slowly.

The bottom line is the pros are all the right pros; the cons I can live with. Did I mention I love it
 

iriver iHP120 - comments please?

Reply #40 –
I can't speak with much authority on the iHP-120, but I do have a 3G ipod and an iRiver SlimX.

From my own tests, the SlimX does have better audio output--both louder and more accurate, which I believe are both intertwined.  The ipod's amp is actually quite good, but it starts showing distortion at about 75% volume or so, which is where I put it, whereas I usually listen to the SlimX at around 55%.  No, I haven't properly ABX'd them or measured frequency response, but I did subject them to my normal test whenever I enter a new editing room or studio: a good healthy listen of The Fragile, just about the most sonically detailed digitally recorded album I know of.  My reference at home is a pair of Alesis M1's, so I have a pretty good idea of what all the details are supposed to sound like.  iPod skimps a bit more on the very low lows and seems a tad less detailed in the midrange.

But it must be noted that the ipod's physical interface is, in the most literal sense allowable, a dream, and that it has an amazing "play me!" feel, as contrasted to the iRiver's "fiddle with me!"  This may sound like a stupid thing to consider, but think of how much time you're going to spend interacting with the interface to whatever player you buy.  "Fiddle" versus "play" is an important consideration--as is the Darth Vader vs. Luke Skywaker factor.  I personally went with the ipod's "play!" feeling and I love the scroll wheel on it, it's intuitive and responsive.  Similarly, the navigation on the ipod is much simplier and easier than the SlimX, and I really like how it prefers my ID3 info over the file names.

The computer interface isn't too bad; I completely ditched iTunes and use foo_pod exclusively, which can automatically transcode all of my FLAC or OGG or MPC files before sending them to the ipod (if any of you foo_pod people are reading this, you rock!).  I did, however, have a world of trouble trying to connect it to USB2, and settled on buying a $35 firewire card, in which it worked perfectly.  This is supposedly not as much a problem with the 4G.  Also, the ability of foo_pod to line up ReplayGain data with Soundcheck is, IMHO, one of the greatest features ever devised for music playback.

I do have to confess one thing: I got a brand new 3G 40gig ipod with dock, remote, & case at a fantastic price of $300.  Compare that to the lowest current iHP-120 price of $270.  If I had to do it now, with current prices, I'd probably buy the iHP-120.  One thing to keep in mind are the accessories--a big factor in my buying the ipod was Contour Design's Showcase case for the ipod, which is wonderful, form-fitting and durable and accessable.  I don't know what the iHP comes with, or what's available, but make sure you see the real costs of the accessories you might buy with it.

I know most people say battery life is a big concern, and I do too, but here's one accessory thing to keep in mind: for my flight this weekend I'll have my 3G iPod with it's paltry 8-hours-under-ideal-conditions internal battery, but I'll also have along the $30 belkin backup battery port (I was going to make one myself for about $5, but was too lazy) with eight AA 2100mAh NiMH batteries.  Combined, that's about 30 hours of battery life under my normal use of constant shuffling of large files, and it really isn't that bulky or heavy.  Does the iHP have that ability?  I know the SlimX has a little AA addition.

I haven't dropped the iPod yet, but I dropped the SlimX a lot and it kept going.

So, FWIW, that's my experience.  iRiver does produce quality products, but make sure you've looked for what you really want in a player.  If you want radio, recording, and you think internal battery life is very important, by all means get the iRiver, it looks better than anything else out there on the market.  For me, the iPod's wonderful interface cinched the deal, as I am routinely scrolling through over 200 artists.