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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.
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.
I don't care for the fit of the headphones. I had to sand down sharp edges over the ears before I could comfortably wear them. The imp 400 is slightly expensive but if you need all the accessories coming with it, which I do, it is actually a great deal. I've dropped it with no consequences. I would recommend it.
Given that sort of anecdotal background: this is the perfect player. Interface is easy to use (passes the "spouse" test once again), music quality is good and it is very tolerant of shake, rattle and rolls.
I only rate it as 4 out of 5 because I personally don't like the disk form factor. If that's your thing, though, this is the player for you.
But the radio was worthless!!! It was only possible to listen to the strongest radiostations, standing still and holding up the earphone cable. Tried it at the absolute center of Stockholm (the capital of Sweden), and could bearly hear anything.
...so I returned the player to the store and, with some hesitation, bought the iRiver SlimX 400 in stead. I became very positively surprised! The radio in iMP 400 is very good, I can use it almost anywhere, maybe not in the subway but rather far down the stairs to the subway. However, the batteries only last for 5-10 hours (but charging is easy), and putting the mp3 on takes about 45 seconds and a usual audio-cd takes about 20-30 seconds (iMP 550 had the same delays), but I can anyway strongly recommend SlimX 400.
One reviewer complained about all the wires with the remote and odd battery pack attached. I find that when I use the case provided and attach it to my belt, with the remote, there it stays. You can manipulate as much as you desire and only have to handle the remote. If for some reason the 7~12 hour battery life isn't enough, just attach the AA battery pack and slip it into your pocket. You don't even know it's there. As for the remote clip being opposite the buttons causing you to inadvertently change the controls as this same reviewer complained, use the hold switch and this will not be a problem. I'ts right on top of the remote and very convenient to unlock/lock before and after fiddling. Then when you press the clip to retrieve or tuck it away nothing is changed. This is way better than smudging the display and was well thought out.
At times when exercising or bike riding, I prefer not to use the remote so I just plug the headphones directly into the unit. In the event I should need to change something, the multifunction jog wheel on the side lets you play, pause, next track, previous track, switch modes between cd and fm, change FM presets when in preset mode or search next/previous station when not in preset mode and finally adjust the volume. A lot for one little jog wheel to do!! The volume is adjusted using next track (volume up) or previous track(volume down) and holding the wheel until the desired volume is reached. The one quirk is that you cannot adjust the volume this way when in FM mode. For the few times I've needed to do this, I switched to CD mode, set the volume and switched back to FM. Switching modes is done by holding in the play/pause (pushing in the wheel) until the mode switches. The only thing I couldn't figure out is how to turn it off from the wheel. No sweat though, just open the lid and the unit shuts off but only does this when in CD mode, another quirk. With all these controls available, although you cannot do everything, the unit is very usable without the remote. Unfortunately the manual doesn't tell you any of this.
Overall if your in the market for a CD MP3 player buy this, its top of the market, but if your just wanting a portable MP3 player, go look at MP3 players that don't use CD's.
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)
Summery:
Good:
1) There are actually firmware upgrades
2) Snake :D Even though the screen is small, if you are not blind it should be ok. It is simply something to do while there is nothing to do.
3) I dont know where the short lived batteries came from but I played with the snake game (which causes the leaves the back light on) for ~40 minutes--while i listed to music--and I listened to the player for about 2 hours total today when I brought it out. Unless the battery indicator was lieing, It had not decreased by 1 box out of 4 which is good considering some reviews claim that the cd player only lasted 2 hours.
2) There is a line out in addition to the normal one used for the remote+head phones. I believe line out and the headphone line are exactly identical and interchangable. I was able to plug two headphones in and they both work except the sound was a little softer which--to me--is acceptable.
Bad:
1) As said before, the without the remotes the cd player is almost useless
2) The cd player makes sounds resembling ones of remote control toy vehicles. This is ok for me but to other people this might be a problem
3) Not enough bad problems to deal with j/k(joking) ;D (had to put this here)
Depending on what CD it is playing it can take 20 seconds to turn on! Criminal really. My £15 walkman never did that.
Pros
----
The sound quality is pretty good, a lot better and louder than my walkman and plays at the right speed too.
I can play all my exsiting CD's + new MP3 ones.
Sexy looking.
Cons
----
Battery life is terrible, I get about 3 hours for CD's on batteries, so I have to charge it every other day. I expect the battery life playing MP3's will be close to 10 hours. Don't believe their site.
Bulky, too big to fit in my pocket, I had to buy a bag for it.
They've just realesed the iMP 550 and it looks sexier.
Skips like on most damaged CD's.
All in all, seriously consider you options, it's ...a bit of a pain to transport if you are travelling because you can't fit it in you pocket.
The package comes with a car adaptor setup which I was not aware of until I got it, which was very nice. Two rechargable batteries, an ac adaptor an external battery pack for AA's. Also comes with a handy pouch/carrying case. Headsets sound great not top of the line but very durable.
The remote is very, very cool looking with the blue backlight. I always keep it lit. You cant operate the player without the remote. I hope iRiver comes out with a wireless, that would be sweet!
The firmware upgrade from the iRiver website works but got a bit tricky. Its not very well explained and I found by trial and error you have to unzip the .exe files to your HD then burn the .hex files to your blank CDR. Do not burn the .exe files to your CDR. Only one .hex file per CDR disk. The unit comes with version 1.00, You can't upgrade from ver 1.00 straight to 1.20 you have to upgrade in steps from 1.0 to 1.01 to 1.02 to 1.2. On some tries to install the firmware I got a "no disk" msg meaning the player is not reading the disk. Just retry a few times, the player will eventually catch on. When the upgrade is completed I did not loose any presets which was very nice.
I had this in my car for a few months and never skipped once. The unit itself looks delicate, I dont believe this would be the unit to buy if you want to go jogging everyday. I would buy this for you car or as an attactment to a audio component you already own.
The sound quality is outstanding. Has very nice equilizer adjustments and about 8 default equilizer presets. Has a multitude of other settings to keep you busy. Once you get used to the iRiver format it becomes simple to understand and navigate through. Compared to another portable mp3 player I used in my car before using this one, it does seem to take a bit longer to queue up music, even on a disk without folders. Its not a complaint just something I noticed.
The FM stero works great and picks up all the stations in the Los Angelos area. 20 presets help make navigation very easy.
I highly recommend the iRiver-imp 400 (in red!) and gave it 5 stars!!!
First, the unit recognizes none of the mp3 CD-R's I recorded on my G4 Mac's SuperDrive (under MacOS 9.2), even those these are easily read by my Kenwood CD player in my car. Second, often, while playing an audio CD under non-jolting conditions, the player just stops and does nothing. I have to select another track on the CD to get it going again, and then select back to the track the player had originally stopped on. Third, the remote unit is very difficult to 1) see, because of the microscopic size of the characters on the LCD, and 2) operate, because it is almost impossible to not inadvertently push a button while clipping the remote onto or off of your clothing.
On the positive side, the iMP-400's FM tuner is the only digital unit I have encountered that will tune to a frequency that ends in an even number (e.g., 90.2 megahertz). This is important for those who watch TV in health clubs that have wireless audio transmitters, which are usually tuned to even-numbered frequencies so as to not interfere with broadcast FM stations, which always have odd-numbered frequencies.
The sound quality of the unit is very good, but to get it you have to spring for some nice occlusive ear buds (...). The headphones that come with the iMP-400 don't sound good at all.
I found the manual to be very well illustrated, but the text is way too sketchy and obscure. To figure out how to do something simple, I have to read the page over several times. The battery charging function is very weird. Instead of just plugging in the unit to charge the battery, like every other device I have ever owned, you have to 1) turn on the unit, 2) push the Stop button to put it in charge mode, and 3) select whether you want to just charge the battery, or charge it after completely discharging it.
The remote has been re-designed from the 350. While I find the new arrangement of buttons and switches to be better looking, the controls are not as easy to handle in 'sightless' mode, as when I'm using it in my car. Their positioning versus the spring attachment clip is also a problem, making it difficult to attach the remote without inadvertently hitting one of the switches. But when trying to go through multiple directories of songs, navigation is much easier than with the 350, and you don't really need to refer to the manual to figure out how to do this or to get to any of the other option settings.
Skip control has also been improved (not that the 350 was a slouch in this area), so it is now almost impossible to make the player skip, even when jogging with the player in a vertical position. And while jogging, the included wrap-around headphones are just fine, remaining on the neck and ears without bouncing all over the place, although their audio quality is only fair.
As my main usage for this is in my car (car manufacturers, take note - cd players need to know how to read mp3s!), the included car kit is nice, and helps justify the extra cost of this player. The small size and slim outline of the main unit means that I can keep the player inside the central armrest storage area, out of sight and not subject to slipping all over the place on sharp curves. Running on the car accessories power adapter also means I don't have to worry about battery consumption, though that seems to be just fine at about 8-10 hours per charge.
When running this player through either my car or my home stereo, the best feature of this player becomes obvious, its absolute clarity of music reproduction, absolutely perfect for classical music while also doing just as good a job on everything from Pink Floyd to Blink182. Some may find this clarity annoying, as every imperfection in the original recording becomes obvious - given the production quality of some modern day songs, this may show up more than you might think. The provided equalizer modes seem to be more than adequate, but you can create your own if feel the need.
In short, this is the player for those whose life just wouldn't be complete without having their music with them, regardless of where they are or what they are doing. And for this type of person, the relatively high price of this player is small compared to its net benefit.
--- Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)
Basically its a very state of the art CD/MP3 player. To the people that complains about short battery life, did you know that the battery included are only about 1/3 charged? I used it all, charged it overnight, and it lasted the promising hours it said it will. As for damaged headphone included or any other broken part are impossible. The SlimX come in a BOX, unlike other CD players which usually come in some hard-plastic covering. You probably bought it used if you have damaged parts.
The SlimX delivers what it promise's. Great sound, great radio, great battery life, and great protection with antiskip. And for the people that say there players cannot work on the first try, or skips alot, try turning on the ROOT fucntion, if you dont know what that is or dont know how, then you probably dont even own this product.
Good stuff:
-Remote was easy to use
-Came with nicer, upgraded, padded case instead of "a" velvet pouch I thought I'd be getting
-Pretty, thin, and light
-EXCELLENT shock protection--I used the ... thing as a drumstick against my desk for like a whole minute to test it and it literally did not skip at all
-one VERY notable thing is that the sound quality is very clear. For example, I understood every word in every song....some are songs that I've been listening to for years, and now I can finally understand what all the words are! I wasn't used to that kind of quality; I also heard new melodies and instruments in the background and they startled me! I wondered where those new sounds were coming from and they have always been there! I was just never able to hear them with any of my ...stereo equipment....yay iriver!
-you can program it to say your name every time you turn it on :)
-radio reception is great but....
Bad Stuff:
-..........you can't adjust equalizers while listening to the radio
-No Sennheiser earbuds in sight; just behind-the-head generics (but it turned out ok after all because I didn't really want earbuds anyway) though the bass on them is not very good
-lots of restrictive wires
-can't use the car kit cuz my car doesn't have a tape player :(
Overall I'm pretty happy with it and can't wait to burn a whole bunch of mp3 cds to play on it
A word of caution regarding the playback of recordable CD: use the slowest speed (1x or 2x) to record the CD. At higher speed, the player will start to skip and play at the middle of a song.
Pro
1. Nice styling, slim, light, doesn't feel cheap.
2. Good sound.
3. Upgradeable Firmware = Flexible, future proof machine.
4. Iriver Customer Service is good.
Cons
1. I do not like having all the readout on the remote. The remote gets tangled with the headphone cord and it becomes difficult to manage. While playing CD's from the unit without remote is possible, it is very limiting, you have no ability to control volume for one thing.
2. Remote design is flawed somewhat. While everyone has been been giving iriver kudos about the 4 line LCD and the new directional buttons, they have not mentioned which becomes immediately obvious once you buy this player. Whenever you go to clip remote on your belt or wherever, you inevitably end up hitting the song skip button. In order to avoid this you have to put player in "hold" mode each time you clip and unclip remote. This is kind of annoying and could have been solved by placing clip release or buttons on different sides of remote.
3. Price is a little high compared to other units (I know it will come down eventually). They could have left out car kit, and brought down msrp a little. Car kit is nice, but: a) not everyone has a car, and b) chances are, most people probably have a car kit from an older/other player.
I believe the carrying case has been redesigned for US release as it has a belt clip unlike the one in some early release pictures.
Cons:
But the Imp 400 needs to work on the price. ... the price of the player is a bit expensive. For [a little] less you can get the Imp 350, It has the same features as the Imp 400 but the style is a bit worse. The weird rectangular battery shape is a downside. Not many stores in the USA sell these types of batteries.
Summary:
You should buy the Imp 400 if you want the latest style and features and dont care how much it costs. But if u want more bang for the buck buy the imp 350
I had heard much about the qualities of Iriver and their mp3 players, and with their new IMP-400, I expected an even better product. Bear in mind that this machine definitely deserves 5 stars, IF AND ONLY IF the IMP-350 never existed. As a mp3 player that is over 70 dollars more than the 350 model, I don't think the player itself is any better in functionality and quality. What does separate it from the IMP-350 is the fact that the headphones are much more better and that the design of the lid is different. However, would I spend 70 dollars more? No, I would rather get the IMP-350 and a pair of nicer headphones such as a Sennheiser 570 or Grado SR60 that are far superior than the supplied Sennheiser earbud phones. I do have to give credit to Iriver for the battery-overcharge feature, however I have heard that the 350s do the same.
You might be asking why I didn't get the 350. Well, I got the 400 in Korea with American currency, which pretty much means i got the 400 for about the same price as the 350, so why not? =)
All in all, if you want the nicer-looking CD player, get the IMP-400. Bear in mind, it's only the looks. As far as functionality, it's the same as the IMP-350, which I think is the better value.
All of this is my opinion of course.
You can't cheat the phone company.
Q: How many Harvard MBA's does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A: Just one. He grasps it firmly and the universe revolves around him.
