OK, so now what do I buy for the wife?

[gdog]

I have an iHP0-120. Love it. Now I want to buy something for my wife, but of course her requirements and tastes are different than my own. Going out to iRiver I see two that may fit the bill, iFP-190T or the 390T. My thinking is that with 256Mb she'll have enough music to last her 2-5 days of usage (she's not able to work and listen as I am, so her playlists should last longer).
What I need to know, after being spoiled with my 120 is, will it be too much of a pain to have to purge the thing each time she needs a fresh download. Also, are these players drag and drop, like the HDD players are? Should I bite the bullet and get something with more space?

Any advice on these questions, as well as anything else anyone might point out would be as usual, much appreciated.

Thanks,

gdog

[seadzz]

gdog,

The 1XX series is not exactly as robust as the 3XX series in particular there were some complaints about the battery door on the 1XX being something of a marginal design. This is not to say the 1XX is a bad player which it is not. Just that you may need to be a tad careful with it.

Both of these players use 1.0 USB which is slower than the 2.) used in your ihp. Also 256 sounds big but if you encode at high bitrates >200 then you can only fit about 5-6 CD's on the 256 MB. If you can swing the extra cost the 512MB is far better. Expect 10-12 CD's at mid to high bitrates with the 512MB. More if you encode at 128kbps.

On file transfer, both the ifp players use a iRiver software package called IMM to transfer date from the PC to your player. Unfortuntely this software will not permit you to upload files from the player to the PC. To use the drop and drag like in the ihp you will need to download the UMS software package.

Last point and it may mean nothing to you....ogg is not supported in the 1XX series. It is supported in the 3XX.

As far as sound quality expect the ifp to sound real close to your ihp given the same earphones. The stock ones that come with the ifp are okay but upgrading should be on your to do list.

good luck.

sdz

[gdog]

Thanks for the advice seadzz. I've done some searching on cnet since I posted and saw much of what you said (do you work for them?). I think, if we do make the move, it will probably be the 390. She just doesn't need the space like I do, and I just hate to spend the extra ~$100 for an extra 256Mbs. (on the 395T). The price points make me think either iRiver is overcharging for the flash players or seriously undercharging for the iHP players. I'd buy her the 120 if we could justify it, if only because the storage is so much less per Mb., but it truly would be overkill for her needs.

I saw the post you responded to in the Support forum, concerning IMM (ifs?) vs. UMS. The latter is definitely the way I would go, if in fact I understood it correctly and it would enable me to just drag and drop like I can on my 120.

This is such a great Board. It and others like it have taught me to search them out before plunking my money down, and have saved me money and aggravation (from bad purchases), on more than one occasion.

Thanks again,

gdog

[seadzz]

gdog,

no problemo, No i don't work for them but have owned both types of players. Actually passed my ifp-395 on to my kid (enabled me to justify purchasing the ihp-120).

I agree with you on iRviers pricing being somewhat suspect. I think on the HD players they keep the price point where it is due to ipod's . If you look at iRiver pricing around the world however you will quickly realize that the US market gets the best retail pricing.

Not exactly sure why that is since Asia represents iRiver's largest volume market.

In any event you wife should be thrilled with the player and using the UMS firmware should allow you to both share music. How romantic!!

sdz

[gdog]

Now the challenge is to find one locally. I only order from etailers that allow me to call in my order, and I haven't yet found one, though even at that I try to buy local first. Got my 120 at local CompUSA, but so far all they show is the iFP-190. I agree with you that the 390 would be a better purchase, so I'll have to hunt one down somewhere. BestBuy has them on the web, but I'll have to call the local store to see if they carry them.
One side benefit to this is that I downloaded CDex and used it to rip a couple of dozen of my wife's CDs so that I could load them up on a couple of discs for her MP3/CD player. First time I had used anything other than WMP. It's a nice little app.

Thanks again for the good advice seadzz. It was funny haha how much your observations mirrored Cnet's. Big difference is that I'm sure you don't get paid by iRiver to endorse their products

Regards,
gdog

edit: btw, smooth move on your generous gifting of your 395! I've done that too in the past in order to justify computer purchases

[gdog]

Hey seadzz. As luck would have it I was searching for some info on a new computer I'm researching in preparation to buy and I happened upon a sale at BestBuy for the iFP-390. So I picked it up today for my wife. I had already given her a pair of PX-100s this week so now she's all set. And she loves the thing.
XP was a little relunctant to install the software, but I finally got it to work. I had also already ripped some of her CDs for her and used them to experiment a bit with IMM. I had forgotten about the UMS until I revisited this thread. Guess I'll have to check it out now. Oh well a geeks works is never done

Regards,

gdog

[seadzz]

gdog,

just a note of caution: when you do switch over to the UMS during the conversion process the player formatts the flahs memory. deleting all music files in the process...you knew that any I guess.

sdz

[gdog]

Thanks for the warning seadzz. I had only downloaded a single folder prior to that, but I did know it was going to happen. I flashed it and like it much better this way.
My wife's computer doesn't have USB 2.0. It sure takes a looooong time to copy 4 folders over. I'm not convinced that ripping them takes longer.

edit: Just noticed your signature. It's been awhile since I've been around. I take it you don't remember the old 78s?

gdog