iRiver SlimX iMP-400 CD/MP3 Player (Silver)
[Archived in $100 - $200, MP3-CD Players, Portable Audio und Video, Portable CD Players, Products, iRiver]
Manufacturer: iRiver
Price at amazon.com: $159.80Usually ships in 24 hours
Used & new from $99.00
List price $199.99
- Supports MP3, WMA, and ASF formats as well as discs burned with Winamp playlists
- iRiver wraparound headphones included
- 4-line LCD offers plenty of track and disc information
- Plays discs in Packet Write format so you can use CD-RW discs like PC hard disks
- Upgradeable firmware allows compatibility with additional formats in the future
Product Description:
The iMP-400's chrome-style design and incredible features redefine expectations for what's possible in a portable CD player. From its circuit design to its final manufacturing spec, iRiver has channeled all its efforts into delivering the best CD and MP3 sound quality. The player supports WMA and ASF formats as well as discs burned with Winamp playlists. Additional formats, such as AAC and MP3 Pro, will be supported in the future through simple firmware upgrades, by which iRiver can add and modify player features. The iMP-400 comes with quality iRiver wrap-around headphones, offering far superior quality to standard CD player headphones. The player offers eight preset equalization curves and one user-defined curve (choose from normal, pop, rock, jazz, dance, classic, metal, U-Bass, and user EQ). Auto EQ changes automatically according to ID3 tag information, and a battery indicator lets you know when you're low. The player also performs perfectly in the face of external shocks because of iRiver's unique anti-shock algorithm, iRiverShockFree. This feature maintains supreme control over the server, so it can accurately read data even in the face of extreme vibrations, letting you listen to continuous music. An easy-to-read, four-line LCD shows every bit of information needed, and an FM tuner comes in handy when you're traveling by tracking the frequencies to maintain reception as you move. The iMP-400 uses 16 MB Flash memory to support the display of Chinese characters (traditional/simplified)--37 languages are supported. The player also recognizes discs in Packet Write format, which enables you to use CD-RW discs like PC hard disks, offering the ease of using discs and of saving and deleting songs. Finally, the player prevents its rechargeable batteries from overcharging, and a discharge function fully discharges batteries before recharging, thereby preventing the diminishing of rechargeable battery capacity.
Description from Manufacturer:The iMP-400's chrome-style design and incredible features redefine expectations for what's possible in a portable CD player. From its circuit design to its final manufacturing spec, iRiver has channeled all its efforts into delivering the best CD and MP3 sound quality. The player supports WMA and ASF formats as well as discs burned with Winamp playlists. Additional formats, such as AAC and MP3 Pro, will be supported in the future through simple firmware upgrades, by which iRiver can add and modify player features.The iMP-400 comes with quality iRiver wrap-around headphones, offering far superior quality to standard CD player headphones. The player offers eight preset equalization curves and one user-defined curve (choose from normal, pop, rock, jazz, dance, classic, metal, U-Bass, and user EQ). Auto EQ changes automatically according to ID3 tag information, and a battery indicator lets you know when you're low. The player also performs perfectly in the face of external shocks because of iRiver's unique anti-shock algorithm, iRiverShockFree. This feature maintains supreme control over the server, so it can accurately read data even in the face of extreme vibrations, letting you listen to continuous music.
An easy-to-read, four-line LCD shows every bit of information needed, and an FM tuner comes in handy when you're traveling by tracking the frequencies to maintain reception as you move. The iMP-400 uses 16 MB Flash memory to support the display of Chinese characters (traditional/simplified)--37 languages are supported. The player also recognizes discs in Packet Write format, which enables you to use CD-RW discs like PC hard disks, offering the ease of using discs and of saving and deleting songs. Finally, the player prevents its rechargeable batteries from overcharging, and a discharge function fully discharges batteries before recharging, thereby preventing the diminishing of rechargeable battery capacity.Average Customer Rating: 
Comment: Fantastic, will be close totop of line for at least 2 years! Rating:
This player is the best one can ever own for at least the next 2 to 3 years. It has possibly everything one could want in a mp3 cd player, including firmware upgrades! I admit it is a bit overpriced at 150 odd dollars, but hey I bought mine at 190 and was very happy with what i got. (I still am happy with it) If you look at all the stuff youre getting for the bucks, you might look at the price tag a bit differently.
Like everyone before me has said, you should research all the players available before you take the plunge. i would recommend checking out sony, which some pretty hardy ones that have the minimum necessary features. If youre looking for a player that can play mp3 cds and regular cds and don't want to spend too much, then a sony is your best bet. But if you want to take control of what youre listening to, you must check out the iriver stable.
in terms of what is available from iriver, the 400 seems to be the best of the lot, compared to its siblings, the 550 and the 350.
the 550 comes with digital optical output, which apparently helps you if youre wanting to pass this output onto another system. They also claim that it looks better, but i guess that might vary from person to person. i for one am very happy with the looks of the 400 and i think it wont look dated even after 4 or 5 years! Besides i dont notice too much of an improvement in the 550. It seems like you pay an extra 30 - 50 bucks for a different look and an optical output capability.
as for the 350, for starters, I don't like the look of the player. It looks like its dying to get dated. Its too sleek, possible great looking for 2002, but I don't think I like it. I definitely prefer a cleaner look on my player! As for the features it doesnt have as many preset equalizer modes, and it has 16 mins of buffering as opposed to the 32 mins on the 400. honestly im not sure if that makes a big difference in performance! but where the 400 scores is in the sheer value of the entire package. you get a headphone for starters, which most of us prefer over earphones, it also comes with a complete car kit and i guess these would cost about 35 to 40 bucks if you wanted to buy them separately! of course on top of this, you get a much better and easier-to-use remote. the 350's remote has fewer lines and it doesnt have the clean button interface like the 400. Id say, if your next meal doesn't depend on the 40 odd bucks you might save (if you went for the 350) youre better off with a 400, considering what an awesome deal it is!
if you read all of this, and are still interested in the 400, lets get to the good and the bad.
The 400 has "VERY" good battery life. i dont think it goes for 12 hrs like the company claims. but it does about 7 to 8 hours (with all that constant fiddling i do!) which is fantastic!
the other thing thats great about this player is that it has a discharge and charge mechanism and an auto-cutoff mechanism which means you could leave the player plugged in(to recharge) and walk away someplace. if youre wondering how that helps, thats because most rechargeables last longer, if you dont leave them plugged on after theyre fully charged and also if you can run them to a complete discharge once in a while. this was a total opinion swinger, when i was looking for a player! I was looking for a player that had a builtin FM receiver, and yes this has it, and whats better it comes with 20 presets! (and the reception is decent for a portable player) Finally, Its got firmware upgradability which is a HUGE plus!
as for the cons, the one thing i dont totally admire is the lack of a stop button and a volume control on the main unit. there have been times when i dont want to have the remote - like when im jogging or something. It would have been great if the main unit had this basic functionality, so I could play audio cds. But I guess that's only noticeable, if you sorely need that ability. i knew about this when i bought the player, and willingly decided to put up with it. so if you think this isnt a big deal, hey thats great!
Theres one thing that no one seems to have pointed out. this player has a "SUCKY" battery indicator. basically the battery indicator on the remote has 4 bars (4 for full and 0 for almost out) For some reason, the indicator cant seem to make up its mind between displaying 3 bars and 1 bar. at times you boot up, to see a single bar (which can be worrisome if youre going out for a long trip someplace). but then hey crank up the volume up a bit and let the player play for sometime, and chances are youll see three bars?? what on earth is that? I guess its some stupid bug in the design or probably something with the way batteries work (because ive also seen this happening in other battery operated devices) But this thing in no way affects your battery life.
in summary, this is a fantastic package and you must go for this, if you think you need a very smart player (with FM capability) at a very good price. i am sure you will love it as much as i did. In fact I worship my player these days!!
Pros:
Battery life
Discharge and Charge option + auto cutoff during recharge (great for rechargeable batteries)
FM player
Firmware Upgradability
Worshippable!!
Cons:
No stop or volume control buttons on main unit, for standalone operation
Sucky battery indicator (cant make up its mind at times)
Comment: Nice product Rating:
I'm very happy with my iMP-400, I was worried about some bad reviews about the battery life, but it has been working very good for me. In my first trip, the battery lasted 12 hours. In my second travel of 7 hours, the MP400 continued working well. I Only use it in my car, so, the headsets are not a problem for me. I don't know if the others are having problems reading discs with MP3 in directories. To the MP400 tooks like 1 minute to read a CD with 139 songs stored in different subfolders before beginning to play the music. For me, it's too much time. So I had to burn again my MP3s but without folders, and after pressing play, the MP400 immediately began to play the songs. That is the only "but".
Comment: Well Designed Rating:
After much searching online for a good mp3 CD player, I decided that the iMP-400 looked like the right CD player for myself (unfortunately this was just a little before the release of the iMP-550). It had many features that appealed to me, and I have remained happy with it over the last 9 or so months.
On the upside, I have loved all the features about this player, with the ability to play mp3's, audio CD's, AND have the radio function to be the most prominent features. The svelte styling of the player has impressed many people, along with the slim size of it. I also have defiantly put it through its paces by taking it camping/hiking along with my everyday use. The layout of the remote control, although somewhat tough to learn at first, provides instant access to all of the important functions. Also impressive is the inclusion of many minor features such as the inclusion of an audio-out port to connect the player to a sound system (I have also used it to connect a second set of headphones to share music with a friend). Another is the ability to select the next track to be played with out interrupting the current song; this ability is still available during random mode. The fact that the player uses firmware has allowed updates to include new modes and features, and even a snake-style game!
On to the bashing section of my review:
One of the faults previously touched on by other reviewers is the time that this system takes to power up. When I want music, I want it NOW, not 30 seconds from now.
Recently, the remote control's center button stopped responding. By taking apart the control (and probably voiding its warranty) I determined that the cause of the problem was that the pin attached to the backside of the button to depress the capacitor had inadvertently snapped. Although annoying, the problem was easily solved with the use of some gel-like super glue.
The player turns off when it is connected to, or detached from, the AC adaptor, which means that I have to go through the long boot process again.
My final grudge (although not too much the companies fault) is that only non-protected WMA's can be played (something I only found out after I had encoded most of my music library with the protection on)
All in all, if you want a mp3 player that also plays your CDs, the iRiver series is as good as they come. But if you don't plan to use its ability to play standard CD's too often, you may be better off with a hard drive player.
Posted at November 11, 2003 07:58 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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