Advanced iRiver Sound quality in a stylish, wearable design. 512MB of internal memory for up to 17 hours of music, extended battery life of up to 40 hours on one AA, and an FM Tuner and voice recorder. It also records music from any Audio source. Plus, this ultra-light, skip-free player can be used to store music or transfer files of any type.
1 Great---If it Works
I loved this player's size and features, but then it stopped working. Just dead. Won't turn on. E-mailed iRiver support---no reply after two weeks. As I write this review, I've been on hold with iRiver customer service for 22 minutes and have yet to speak to a human. First and last iRiver product I'll ever buy.
2 Amazing sound, great battery life - 4.5 stars
I've been shopping around for a flash-based mp3 player for awhile now, and have weighed my options between quite a few players. I ended up finding the iRiver iFP-795T for a good price, so I went for it...and couldn't be happier! It's everything I could need in a player.
Pros:
- best sound I've heard from an mp3 player - clear and rich, with high output
- long battery life (I got 30+ hrs. off a single 1800mAh rechargeable AA)
- easy to use, efficient interface
- large, clear screen
- quality radio tuner
- LOTS of user-preference settings
- fast transfers via USB 2.0
- line-in recording up to 320kbps
- streamlined, useful software
Cons
- slightly bulkier than the competition (such as the Creative Muvo N200, or iAudio U2)
- even after flashing with the latest firmware, Windows doesn't recognize it as a removable drive (something that may be fixed in the future)
The other 512MB flash player I was leaning towards was the Creative Muvo N200. Seeing as my roommate already had one, I got to directly compare it to the iRiver. Here's what I found:
Sound
- the sound on the iRiver 795T was far superior to the Creative N200; the Creative sounded muffled and dull compared to the iRiver, which sounded clear and rich, with a good separation of frequencies
- the iRiver also has a much more advanced EQ system, and more customizable sound options
Size
- the N200 is smaller in size, and seems almost weightless
- the iRiver is larger and heavier (mainly due to using a AA battery), but still isn't really that large
Interface
- the N200 uses a clickable scroll wheel, which I found kind of a pain to use; has a small screen which displays minimal info
- I found the iRiver's joystick controller a lot more useful for navigating (and it has a quality feel, unlike the N200's wheel); the screen is twice the size as the Creative's
Accessories
- the Creative's belt clip and arm band were perfect...good quality and very functional; the ear bud headphones are mediocre
- the iRiver's arm band is cheap and useless; neck strap is nice; mediocre ear buds though as well
So after much deliberation, I'm glad I ended up with the iRiver over the Creative. For my personal preferences, sound quality and interface functionality matter more than accessories and size. Nice work, iRiver.
3 Getting Best Sound from iFP-795 over all players read this!
I have heard many FLASH MP3 players. iRiver' 512MB 795 has the most neutral, clean and open sound of any player FLASH or Hard Drive player I have listened carefully with Sennheiser HD600s or Sony ear buds (read below).
The programming is a breeze. Interface is via USB.
The software is the best I have utilized.
I also have a ZEN Micro, which is way too muddy sounding (veiled) no matter what EQ I set it on.
The single AA battery is great. I have gone a full month of listening at 2 hours each night and 1/2 hour in my car before needing to change a battery. I have also used the MAHA re-chargeable (2300ma) AA and those are great!
1. IF you want the best sounding and most robust player, the 795 will do the trick...as long as you don't cheap out on head phones or ear buds. Sony's new $40 ear buds come with 3 different size ear canal inserts. The audio engineers at SONY have managed to design an ultra-compact set of headphones with impressive sound quality. Fans of clear treble and robust bass will be equally satisfied by the EX70LP. Also, soft silicon "earplugs" are definitely the right step towards to a more involving musical experience. When used together with very light weight drivers, the soft silicon enables an EX70LP to be comfortably used for hours on end. The only complaint is the rather odd carrying case that comes together with the headphones.
2. WMA is excellent. Follow the recording bit data rates in the iRiver manual for the best sound and best total album capacity.
3. I got mine on sale at Circuit City for apx $100. I've seen them here for $129-139.
4. I agree that the supplied ear phones are not comfy. Get the Sony.
5. You can slam this player around, bump it, drop it (onto a carpeted floor) knock it into walls and it will be fine.
6. The armband is tight on my biceps. I wear it off my neck with its lariat.
Buy one and enjoy the music,
TC
4 Great Product
I have had my iRiver iFP-795T for a little over a week and I really like it. The controls, as other reviewers have said, take a little getting used to but then it is super easy to use. I chose it because I had a RCA Lyra which was crap. I heard iRiver was the way to go if you didn't get an iPod. I like the iPods but I didn't want to get stuck using only iTunes and only Apple's formats.
The iRiver will play Mp3, WMA, and Ogg files. It also has a voice recorder, line-in recorder, and a FM radio tuner which you can record. The screen is really nice and easy to see. The battery life is way beyond all other mp3 players. The only down side is the included armband. It works, but it is crappy.
Based on my experiences, I highly recommend this product.
5 Incredible sound! Tiny but powerpacked!
This is the first MP3 player I have ever purchased and I am new to the whole business. But, I recorded our Easter Vigil Mass from the choir loft by setting it on top of the organ base and the entire Mass came out fabulous! Even the singing of the Exultet by the Associate pastor! The sound is great! Now, if I can just figure out how to transfer it to a CD so I can burn it for everyone in the choir!!!
6 !!!AMAZING, AWESOME, KICKASS LITTLE PLAYER!!!
I bought this iRiver about 3 weeks ago and I am extremely pleased with it. AWESOME!! I came back to amazon after buying it and have discovered that many of the complaints are untrue, so I am going to make a list of Myths and Truths:
MYTHS AND TRUTHS
(valid point, or just a hothead?)
1) Not enough capacity
I am in high school, and I love music. Nirvana/Blink 182/Billy Talent/Sum 41/Our Lady Peace/ACDC/Aerosmith/Linkin Park/etc.
Those are just a few examples of the artist I listen to. There are many more. I agree that 125 songs or so may not be enough ppl, (I could use more songs) but it really depends on what kind of a person you are.
Bottom Line, 512mb is pretty good, but if you love music, and have a few extra bucks to spend, 1Gb might be a good idea
2)Foam covers on the ear buds come off easily.
This is a minor issue, but it is true. I have almost lost one of them two or three times. Use different earphones, or be very careful with these.
3) Software causes other programs to stop working/Doesn't work
When I first installed the program, the computer could never detect that my iRiver was connected, I couldn't get it to resond. I then reinstalled it and it worked fine. No other problems to date. All of my other progamrs still work.
4)Earphones suck/poor sound quality
Apart form the earphone covers coming off, the earphones are fine, nothing wrong with them.
5)The case is bad and extremely cheap
Not the best case in the world. Still, it will protect the player from scratches, and still lets you use all of the buttons. Not bad, but could be better.
6)Tried to record live music, but the sound came out distorted.
The mic is extremely good. Almost TOO good. It picks up minute background noises when you are recording something. If you want to record a song or something, and you want a good recording, make sure it's in an otherwise quiet environment (no one talking or crying in the background, etc.)
7)Small Screen can be hard to read
GET SOME GLASSES! Screen is pretty big, shows everything you need, doesn't look cluttered at all, and extremely easy to read with the backlight on.
8)Arm band is too small, hard to use
I haven't used the armband much. tried it a couple times, and it fit pretty well, but I'm only 15 so its probably true that it is too small. It is kind of hard to adjust though.
9)Battery Life is much less than 40 hours
This seems to be half-true. I get an average of about 15-20 hours a battery, but I usually keep the volume high (15+) and the backlight is almost always on. When the volume is a bit lower and the backlight is shut off, it uses a lot less. Also, recording from anywhere uses the battery pretty fast, so try and use it sparingly. Maybe use rechargable batteries.
10)Interface is hard to learn, need to chack the manual a lot.
OMG people will complain about anything these days! IF YOU THINK THERE ARE TOO MANY CONTROLS, GET A CRAPPY MP3 PLAYER WITHOUT ANY FEATURES!!!!! You do need to check the instruction manual for the more advanced things, but the basic features are a no-brainer. I had the player figured out within a day.
11)No playlist support, except a single list on the player that can only be edited on the player itself
OK, fine this is pretty much true, but I either use shuffle or use the list thing on the player itself, I find it easy and it's not a problem for me.
12) Only the filename scrolls across the screen while the song is playing, not the foldername, so if the folder name is too long, you won't know what it is.
This is also true, (it only displays aboud 9-10 characters) but there is an easy way around this. ABBREVIATE. For example instead of "Red Hot Chili Peppers" use "RHCPeppers", or "RHCP". Instead of "American Idiot" AIdiot" or "AmerIdiot" or "AI". Unless your unwilling to do this, you will have to live with the minute inconvience of not seeing the whole foldername. Poor Baby!
13)It is easy to delete things, like songs or radio staions if you accidentaly hit the "delete" button.
THAT'S WHAT HOLD IS FOR!!!
If you have read up to here, I will be suprised, but it is worth it because all of the flaws ppl describe don't really matter much, or are non-existent (at least on my player).
BUY THIS. PRETTY CHEAP. EASY TO USE. GREAT SOUND. GOOD SOFTWARE. LIGHT AND SMALL. NO REAL PROBLEMS. IT'S ABOUT AS CLOSE TO PERFECT AS AN MP3 PLAYER CAN GET!!!
7 Kickin' Little Player
I really, really like this little player! It's so much fun. I really like the sound, and compared to other earbuds that come standard with players, these are a very nice set that deliver exceptional sound quality. While there are a lot of button combos you could make use of (and get confused by), you really only need to remember just a few for everyday functions, so it's a snap to learn to use. My only problem was installing the software that went with it. It didn't seem to be functional. I have MusicMatch Jukebox, and it took over the functionality, as far as I can tell, automatically. It works great with Windows Media Player--it was recognized right away and synced right off the bat. If you have RealPlayer, 10.5 with Harmony recognizes it, too (if you use RealPlayer, definitely upgrade--free--to w/Harmony before you try install a new device through RealPlayer). All very easy to use, so I don't think I'm missing a thing. I wish I had more $$$ so that I could buy one for everyone in the family--that's how much I like it.
8 Aswome Product
Pros:Small , Portable , doesnt skip while i jog my miles ;D. would recommend it for all runners , its not heavy at all.
Cons:capacity , if you can shell out the extra cash for the 1 gig version i suggest you do it.
Wait for a sale in amazon like i did , is the best time to get it.
9 AWESOME little player
I have done extensive research and have read many reviews about different mp3 players out there, and finally had settle on this one. I purchased it here on amazon and just got it a couple of days ago. Overall, the built quality is very impressive. Although it's small in size, but feel very sturdy, and of course, the sound, flawless, and powerful. The included headphone is not bad at all, actually it's quite good. I purchased a creative MuVo 256MB for my sister a couple of months ago, and the sound on this one is definitely better than the MuVo one. I guess if there's one complaint about it, that would be the included armband, too small. I read that in a review somewhere, but told myself that it'd probably fit me right since I'm not Arnold or even close, but nope, I was wrong. So I'm back on Amazon now to buy me another armband for this player. But overall. I highly recommend this player to anyone who's looking for a flash-based mp3 player.
10 GREAT MP3...BUY THIS
i was choosing between a sandisk 512 mp3 and a iRiver 512 mp3.... they're both the same, but the iRiver dominates
Sandisk can't record songs from the radio
Sandisk has less space for songs
Sandisk is color blue..i hate blue
Sandisk's design is pretty simple
Less battery life
So, I chose the iRiver even though it was a little expensive but it was worth the bucks
So, what if a new song appears on the radio that u like?? jst record it from ur iRiver, but u cant save it to ur computer
this feature appeases record companies
i highly recommend this mp3 since it was worth the hard money earned
i like the feature that u can record from the radio
it can handle a hefty amount of music
it has a great backlight
the black color really suits me
the design is perfect
i dnt see any flaws this far, but the only 1 star review ddnt have to do with the product itself....
BUY THIS MP3..its worth the money
I BOUGHT MY iRIVER during the discount sale... i saved a lot of money through amazon
11 BEST IN MP3!!!!!!!!!!!!
hi,
after reading many reviews and doing a good survey
i finally decided to shell out my hard earned money on iriver , IFP 895( this is the 800 series i bought from iriver site),
belive me when i say this is truly worth its name.
First of all the best thing it has compared to the Ipod, is the single AA battery which will last from 30-40 hrs!!. Best if you have rechargealbe batteries.
Second thing the compatibilty of having a mic(voice recorder), a FM tuner and a line in recording plus an mp3 player!!!!!!!!!!!!
i know line in recording is cool, now if i like a tune a music which is not on PC , but has a headphone jack i can download it for my personal use!!!, i like that, listening to what i love.
Third thing, OK creative too has these features, i did know this because i did a compelte survey on mp3 players, but this thing iriver IFP 895, is cool , in its design, better than creative, this sound is superb belive me superb!
Fourth thing, the joystick, you can actually move it with your thumb and once you read the manual you can do it with your eyes closed!!!
BELIVE ME THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST PLAYERS FOR ITS PRICE.
12 Awesome! ...but, the earbud covers! LOST! Where are they?!.
Okay! Got this player at circuit city a few weeks ago and I couldn't have been more excited. I had to go straight to school after I bought but that was okay because the thing comes with a battery and a few songs that aren't terrible. So I get home it takes a few minutes to install the software. Then I just go to "my music" on my computer where I have all my uploaded CD's. Plug in the USB cord and then it's just a matter of drag and drop. I currently have 13 full CD's on here and I love it. Good sound, light weight, the included case isn't made out of kevlar or anything but it will prevent your player from getting scraped up(other reviews complain that the case is a piece of junk), I can wear the head phone wires underneath my clothes and just take out the ear buds at the start of class, LCD is backlit blue(nice looking) and the text is NOT hard to read(complaints that make no sense). Another idiotic complaint that I would like to lay to rest is the" it's too easy to hit the record button on the player" what a bunch of whiners...that's what the button lock is for! I've never researched something so extensively before purchasing this player. It is THE BEST you can get for the money! A few facts about hard drive v.s. flash players. The Iriver being flash, it is lighter than the iPod(hard drive), it takes less power to operate as there are no moving parts, it can take rigorous abuse and jostling(excercise). Additionally, iPods and other popular hard drive players are infamous for crashing, i.e. freezing up, or just plain losing all of your songs. Another thing about the iPod v.s. this iRiver player is the battery life. You get 40hrs per AA battery out of the iRiver. The iPod will give you 12 on a full charge. And, eventually the iPod battery will stop accepting a charge and you have to send it in to apple for a replacement battery(READ THE REVIEWS)!
I highly recommend this player. I've been listening to it for a week at work on my computer speakers on the same included, AAx1 battery! 8 hrs for 5 days straight.
No problems with file transerring. The included software is almost identical to Windows Explorer.
And you are able to get firmware updates for your player as they are introduced on the iRiver website meaning that this player will never become obselete.
The only thing that I could possibly find to whine about is that the foam covers on the earbuds keep coming off and I've almost lost them twice. But the Sennheiser! earbuds that come with it aren't altogether, uncomfortable without them.
BUY THIS AND ENJOY IT, you won't be sorry!!!!!
SECOND REVIEW:
Hey! I'm back a little over a week later to let you know how things are going with my Iriver. Since my last review, I've made some very usefull improvements to my player by downloading the UMS firmware upgrades. I can know put new songs on my MP3 Player with my work computer using windows explorer and window media player. I can also use the player as a flash drive(transferring files in and out, from one pc to another). I am so incredibly satisfied with this thing! I don't even listen to my car stereo anymore. I leave the house with the earbuds in my ears and they don't come out until I get to the office. At which point I just plug the PC speaker plug into the headphone jack on my Iriver(never even missing a beat in the song). If you love music as much as I do then you know the feeling of not wanting to get out of the car in the middle of one of your favorite songs. Now you don't have to...bring it with you! Another firmware upgrade that I downloaded to my player was a radio recording endtime for the auto timer. Now, if you want to record a radio morning show(Stern) from start to finish, you just setup the timer and it will end recording when the program is over.
For those of you who are having trouble downloading the firmware upgrades:
You plug your mp3 player into your PC using the included USB cord, then goto www.iriver.com where you will have to look through a list of updates to find the most recent installments for your specific player, then save the zip file to your desktop. Once you've done that you'll need to extract the files(right click the zipped icon and select extract files), then open your iriver software. There you will find a button that says,"install firmware updates", next you just drag and drop the extracted firmware file into the browser file name bar. Your player should then say something about installing updates on the LCD. It takes about 5 minutes.
I would also like the mention the sound guality. On my last review I had only allowed myself a few days to develop an opinion of the player. Now, I can honestly say that the sound quality as well as everything else about this Iriver player is superb. I just put a new album on my player yesterday that I'd been listening to on my car stereo for months and the difference was unbelievable. I was hearing tiny intracacies and details that I'd never known to be present in the music. The sounds are so crystal clear and rich that you'll find a whole new song in a song that you've listened to for years. This player is amazing!
In closing, I would like to add that I HAVEN'T ACCENDENTALLY STARTED THE RECORDER A SINGLE TIME! You just have to lock the buttons before you put it in your pocket. Also, the included case (said to be poorly made) is still in excellent shape and the player hasn't recieved a single scratch thanks to using it.
BUY THIS PLAYER QUICK! The, newer, 800 series players are about 10% bigger than this one and there haven't been any changes made to the features...but how do you improve something that is practically flawless?
Hope this review helps!
13 Awesome sound
I just got this today so it wouldn't be fair to pop a 5-star rating on it after only having it for a few hours, but I'm listening to the unit as I'm doing this review and the sound quality is better than I ever imagined MP3 was capable of sounding. After loading a few songs on it after initial hook-up to my PC, and playing them back, I noticed a 2 or 3 songs just stopped in the middle and another song would start up. But that was with MP3 files that had been on my computer for a week or more, so I did a fresh transfer of CD tracks to the PC, loaded them to the iRiver and it's played them all like a champ. I think those couple of MP3 files that stopped may have been corrupt. So, hopefully, this won't happen again and I'll be grinning from ear-to-ear every time I play this little thing - it's simply unbelievable the quality of sound something so small can produce. It takes some getting used to the tiny controls and menu but with a combination of trial and error and referring to the proper pages in the manual, you should be fine. Also, please ditch the silly earbuds and get a pair of regular Walkman type headphones. The earbuds have lousy sound and are just irritating to try to wear. Overall, I think this unit is a serious bang-for-the-buck competitor to the iPods.
14 Don't buy this piece of junk
I purchased the iriver IFP-795T several months ago. When I installed the software, it causes my keyboard to be disabled... there's some type of a driver incompatibility problem. The only resolution was to reinstall the original driver set. This is a repeatable compatibility problem.
I've tried contacting iRriver multiple times for resolution to get it to work with my PC. They are totally unresponsive.
In the meantime, I have a choice... use my MP3 player or use my keyboard. Some choice!
I can accept that there's an incompatibilty problem. What I can't accept is that iRiver won't help me fix it. They won't even respond to my messages.
This product is junk. Don't buy it if you have any doubts about compatibility with your equipment.
15 Great player... but headphones stink!
Am having a ball with this player! Did some research and it seemed the best option. It was also on sale where I got it!
However when I first turned it on,I was about to drive right back to the store. Teh sound quality was terrrible (I am a bit of a snob about such things)!
But calmer heads prevailed and I tried some other headphones I had instead (Sonys.. they are the clip on ear ones). WHAT A DIFFERENCE! So in my opinion get it, but get new headphones!
16 Better than the Ipod shuffle
I bought the iriver while waiting for the rumored Ipod flash player. I'm so glad I did. The iriver has many more options- fm play, direct encoding, long battery life, easy transfer of music from my pc to the iriver, high quality sound.
For those who want UMS there is currently a firmware upgrade on the global site to convert the player.
I wear it around my neck and simply plug it into my car adaptor or the computer at work.
The only cons are ones already mentioned. The case, which I don't use, is cheap plastic. I had to refer to the manual several times until I figured out the controls.
17 Over 1 year of use...iRiver still rocks my world...
This is a testament to the durability of iRiver players; please note that I am discussing model 395T, which has the same amount of memory but is otherwise inferior to the model that is pictured above. I have field tested my iRiver as a cycling commuter (in the dank winters of Seattle, sometimes with moisture getting on the unit), and also in the below-freezing temperatures of Alaska. After one year, I still have no real complaints to report. It could be improved with a direct link to the brain, but until cybernetics advances that far, I'll just settle for my iRiver as is.
The radio reception is decent, and I frequently record classroom lectures: the results are consistently fantastic (better if you sit near the lecturer, of course). However, I tried to record a live musical event and it came out distorted -- but what do you expect? Well worth the money, in the long run it turned out better than another brand that I have owned and reviewed [on Amazon]. The continued online support from iRiver has also been a boon.
I don't even like to take a walk to the store without it! (Yes, I know I sound like a company spokesperson, but I honestly love my iRiver that much!)
18 Excellent player
I was looking at this player vs. an HP iPod... it was a tough call. I liked the high capacity of the iPods, but on the other hand -- I really can't listen to more than 6 or 8 solid hours of music anyway! Also, I was concerned about the proprietary batteries and hard disk on the iPod.
I listen to MP3's while camping, so long battery life and easy to replace batteries were very high priorities. Easy loading capability (via USB Mass storage) and at least 4+ hours of music. I actually bought the 256K model first, and then gave that to my daughter who wanted an MP3 player and I upgraded to the 512K model. No regrets - I'm really pleased with this machine!
Pro's:
* Small size - I use the "necklace" attachment and wear it around my neck. It's easy to forget you are wearing it, and it's great while exercising or working around the house.
* Excellent sound, and the headphones are very good
* Built in FM radio
* Uses a single AA battery that lasts a LONG time. I can go camping for a whole weekend and MAYBE have to take 1 spare battery. :)
* Connects to the USB port and acts as just another disk, allowing drag and drop. This required a one time firmware upgrade from iRiver, downloaded via the web, but this was really easy and took only a few minutes.
* Backlit screen when button pressed - easy to see in the dark.
* Ability to record FM radio or voice with no additional accessories.
* Good price - less than $200 in late 2004.
* Sturdy and stylish
Con's:
* Ease of use - VERY confusing multiuse buttons. Once you have them memorized, it's OK, but count on referencing the manual MANY times
* Small screen can be hard to read, ESPECIALLY at the default settings.
* The arm band that comes with is not very intuitive to use or connect.
* The small foam earphone covers come off easily and I haven't found replacements.
If I needed lots of storage space and rarely used the player away from a power outlet, I would probably lean towards the iPod. But if you want a small sized, great sounding player that can play ~8 hours of music that runs on a standard battery, then this is a great one to get! Consider the 1G version as the prices come down...
19 iFP-795 kept me out of the dog house.
Background; I'm a technogeek. I work in high tech all the time and my wife, well she doesn't. You get the idea, she never appreciates the electronic stuff I pick out for her. So here I am posed with providing her with a "CD player she can take to the gym to experciese with" and the lure of "MP3". I don't think she has ever burned a CD so the cheap option which mind you was bulky yet "what she asked for" would hold as much water as being able to "drag and drop" files onto her player. Next was variety. Which in this instance meant capacity and function. I could have gone cheaper with a 128 or 256 flash system but given my experience with my wifes' varying music taste, there would be a bit too much dropping for her liking.
So I choose this unit based on reviews and gut feeling. Had to have good sound range and ability to EQ it to the earphone set being used. Let's face it they all are a bit different. Also the FM radio function. Even if you can fill it with over 70 songs, sometimes you just don't want to be a jockey. Then last but not least which was the hardest in my opinion to take a chance on because you couldn't garnish enough from reviews to tell if the one was better then the next, was "arm band" The standard one that came with this one was pretty good. It functions with one hand easily and doesn't restrict like a tourniquet.
She has tried it and I was given a "Hey, I REALLY like that player" responce to it the other day.
As far as I'm concerned this unit did the trick and kept me out of the "Christmas Present Doghouse"
You have to load the iRiver software to push songs onto the unit but WinXP sp1 had no problem. Remember to load software first then connect the unit to USB. Intially we just placed all the songs on the "root" directory since it shows up first for listing the songs, then we'll ajust to a folder method after she gets used to surfing the units menu.
Sound quality was above average,
Fit and finish was above average,
Display would be nice if it were color for contrast help,
Upload speed was very good,
The Music Manager software is a bit slow to build a list of directory on your computer though. Seems like the software program could be faster on the main computer side,
All in all $200 well worth it.
20 I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW MUCH FUN THIS THING IS!!!!!!!!!!
I am a huge music lover. I am totally in love with my new MP3 player from IRiver. It is totally compatible with at least two pay for download services (MSN Music and Musicnow). Just download a song from one of these services. It falls into your Windows Media Player library. Then you just "sync" it to your player from there. It takes all of maybe 1 or 2 minutes. The other great thing for me is the in-line recording feature. You can hook it up to any recording source (cd player, casette walkman, computer speaker) and record. You can choose what speed you want to record (64,94,112,128 Kbps and so on). Than you can upload those files to your PC, the software the player comes with will prompt you to convert those .REC files you just uploaded to .MP3 files. At that point you can transfer the music to your player or burn to a CD. SO just subscribe to Napster or any other download service that allows you to play full length tracks and record to your hearts desire. This thing is saving me lots of money, and my music collection has doubled. Once I am tired of a song I just delete from my computer. I am also now able to convert some casette tapes I have to MP3 files. SWEET! I an seriously considering buying a new Iriver with more memory.
21 A River of Bliss
an awesome Mp3 player, im my opinion the best on the market
last year i had a 128MB player and i upgraded to 512 this year.
i recommend converting mp3's to wma's to save space and gettin a set or rechargable batteries is ur a music fanatic like i am.
arm band is sound useful at first but its way to small for my arm... (im a high school wrestler but so i have some muscle but the arm band's size is ridiculous.
anyway, get this mp3 player. if u really wanna have it made sign up for napster when u get it. $10 a month for unlimited, legal downloads. music BLISS
22 Overall a good buy, but be aware
I've had the iRiver iFP 795T MP3 player for 2 months now. Overall I'm happy I made this purchase. A few things buyers should be aware of though:
THE BAD----------------------------
1. The battery life is MUCH LESS than 40 hours. With the backlight disabled I get no more than 25 hours (much less if the backlight is enabled). I think iRiver blatantly lies about the 40 hour battery life.
2. The controls and joystick are awkward. The joystick is used to both increase volume and advance songs from the same menu - it's VERY easy to accidentally advance to the next song when all you really wanted to do was increase the volume.
THE GOOD-------------------------
1. The FM radio record feature works very well. You may need to download and install the firmware upgrade though (there is a fix for the lack of a end time for timed recordings).
2. Sound quality and overall features are impressive.
I recommend this product overall for the price/value. Just be aware of the BAD listed above, and the firmware upgrade you should run after your purchase.
23 An excellent player overall, but with a few annoyances...
I just purchased and received an iRiver iFP-795 a few days ago, after spending a bit of time comparing it to other products. Other potential competitors (in terms of similar storage capacity and physical size) include the Creative Nomad MuVo TX FM and the Cowon iAudio 4 (Note: Cowon has recently announced a newer player, the iAudio U2, but it hasn't been released yet). Overall, I am very satisfied with the iRiver. I had some initial doubts before my purchase, but I've grown to really like the thing. Here are the details...
The Good:
- Battery. The claimed 40-hour battery life far exceeds the 15-20 hours of the other players. The player uses standard AA-sized batteries You can them in pretty much any store, so running out of juice while you're traveling should never be a problem. You can also use rechargeable AAs, so just go and get yourself a nice set of NiMH rechargeables if you don't feel like constantly replacing the batteries (I'd recommend the Rayovac I-C3 15-minute charger/battery set). Using AA versus AAA might make the unit a little bigger than its competitors, but it's still small enough to fit comfortably in a pocket and the increased battery life is worth it.
Also, using AA batteries means that you never have to worry about an internal battery dying as the player ages.
- It's feature-packed. The Hi-Speed USB 2 transfers, FM radio, line-in record and voice recorder are all great. They aren't found in all competing products.
- It's very customizable. There is an extensive config system that lets you change almost every little detail of the player, from how long you want the backlight to stay on to how you want the song titles to scroll.
- Sound is clear and can be turned up in volume quite a bit.
- Direct MP3 encoding is a nice plus. It lets you record directly into a MP3 file (at one of several available quality settings). The iAudio has this same feature, but I'm not sure whether the Nomad MuVo does.
Unfortunately, there are also a few bad things about the player. To me, these are more annoyances than major problems, but judge for yourself:
- The interface is hard to learn. It's very confusing at first and you'd never guess how to access the functions unless you either read the manual or randomly try each and every button/screen combo.
I wish they just used a control-stick based menu instead of having each button on the player perform a different task depending on how long you hold it down for and what screen you're currently on. It's hard to memorize all the combos.
Once you've had the player for a few days and start learning how everything works, it isn't as big a deal anymore... but I still wish they put more thought into the initial design. However, I haven't been able to try the MuVo or iAudio's menus, so I can't say whether they're any better.
- No UMS (USB Mass Storage) support yet. This means you can't just plug in the player and use it as a disk drive. You must use iRiver's proprietary software to transfer your files and music. The included software is good, but just not as good or as convenient as regular Explorer. In other words, to transfer files to or from any computer, you have to go through the tedious process of installing the iRiver software first.
Most other players support UMS, and I'm very disappointed that the iRiver doesn't. However, I knew about this before I purchased the unit and was willing to make the sacrifice for its other features.
iRiver is supposed to release a firmware update in early September that will enable UMS functionality for this unit. However, iRiver has a history of being late with their releases, so it may be wise to wait before you buy if you really care about this functionality.
- As far as I can tell, the player has no playlist support except a single on-unit list that you can only edit on the player itself.
- There's no way to sort your files on the player. The files appear in whatever order they were in when you transferred them using the iRiver software. I think alphabetical order would make more sense.
- The included armband is too small unless you're a girl or a guy with thin arms. You can buy a "better" one from iRiver, but I don't know how good it is.
- There are also a few really stupid design choices/possible oversights:
Only the filename (or Title/Author, if you enabled ID3 tag parsing), not the foldername, scrolls across the screen while a song is playing. This makes it hard to tell what album you're currently listening to if its foldername is too long.
There's also the fact that you can set a start time for a timed FM recording but you cannot set an end time. The player will keep recording until it runs out of space or batteries. This makes the function all but useless. The September firmware update is supposed to fix this issue, but we'll have to wait and see if it does.
Also, you cannot upload MP3s from the player to a computer using the iRiver software. This is supposedly an anti-piracy measure, but it's very annoying. There is a workaround, though, which is renaming your files to *.REC before uploading. The UMS firmware, if ever released, would also make this a non-issue.
It may seem like there are more bad points than good, but most of those are really just minor issues. Ultimately, I still really like my iRiver.
24 Absolutely fabulous
The sound quality is the best I've ever heard from any piece of audio equipment. That's saying alot since the unit weighs less than the AA battery that powers it. With half a gig of space, this thing stores about 16 hours of CD quality music or 32 hours of radio quality music, in something roughly the size of a lighter. Being flash memory based, it won't skip like a CD player or Ipod. It needs better earphones though and the armstrap, although of high quality, only fits women (I can't even get it over my forearm, let alone my bicep *flex* One thing not mentioned anywhere is the microphone is extremely good. The unit will record about 33 hours of high quality sound, making it perfect for students who like to record lectures (the unit has a mode specifically designed for this). Again, this is amazing, considering the size and cost of the unit.
25 Best flash player ever bought...
I was willing to pay extra for extra features w/ this player and those extras are worthwhile. What the descriptions and iriver site doesn't tell you that this player has a clock and timer.
Joystick does not look like the picture on Amazon or iRiver's US site. It looks like the iRiver North European site: irivernordic.com You can also get a USB Mass Storage (UMS) firmware from that site but I haven't tried it yet.
Alarm function just plays the last played MP3. The timed radio recordings work great but I don't know how to stop it, yet. Look at the manual from iriver's website and see the features for your self as I'm limited to 1,000 words on this review. Sound quality is great and volume even greater. Can go up to 40 but plays loud enough at 20 setting. EQ settings and 3D settings sound really nice, even on the included headphones. The headphones don't have too much bass so I used different ones. Can also adjust battery display setting for alkaline or rechargeable. I hated how previous players displayed inaccurate battery life because they base it on alkaline batteries.
Line-in and radio recordings sound great because I am able to record up to 320bps compared to others like the Samsung that can only go up to 128bps. Recordings are in *.rec format that the included windows utility can convert. The windows utility shouldn't be taken lightly. You can enter,label,& save all your radio station presets from it to save time. The radio reception is alright but what do you expect from such a small device? PLL? I use my home stereo which gets great reception from a Cable TV adapter and use the line-in recording.
The supplied armband is very well made and looks nice. People w/ humangus muscles or just fat arms can't get it around their arms though.
The only cons I see are:
If hold is not in place it is easy to accidently delete radio station presets and other settings. Once you set it don't forget to lock it as there are many options to change.
Can't copy songs from player to computer w/ the included software since there is no official US UMS support. Their version of DRM?
