First post & impressions

[InsjaHH]

First of all, I would like to compliment this community for such a great forum with lots of information and nice people! I've been around quite a time now, but didn't post any reply but went studying regarding the H-140 player. Seems like it's a habbit of mine or something, I do that with every forums .

I'm living in the Netherlands, here they sell the H-120 in the "famous" champagne/black colors, but also the H-140 in silver/black colors. In the beginning, I already thought the early H-100 were very incredible (at the time), but I soon realised that 10 GB wouldn't be enough for me.

After long time of saving up some money (considering I'm just a plain upcoming student without a job) and doing some things regarding webdesign & helping out people, I finally got my long and desired H-140 yesterday.

My first impression was the fact that it was *so small*, it's even smaller than I expected. Heck, if I didn't knew the measures of both iPod as the H-series, it looked slightly smaller to me (yes I know they are the same size).

Because of some *negative things* about the joystick and the navigation control, I was a little bit "scared" in the beginning; but after some minutes of fuzzing around with a little bit of help of the manual, it seems all very clear and easy to me... no hard feelings about the joystick (although you really have to get used to the thing, sweaty hands doesn't make it easier to handle) and i just love the silver/black colors.

The brown case was also *an issue* at most forums I visited, most people say it's really ugly and too big for the player: imho, the dark brown color isn't that bad and ugly, but I realise that it's indeed a little bit too big/bulky for the player. In the beginning, I was a little bit scared seeing some pictures of the brown case, but from what I recall, the one I've got with my H-140 has got a different design (again?). Oh well, I think pictures say more than words, so you guys owe me these... will make them as soon as I got some time for it.

Furthermore, it's been an really easy trip; as soon as I got the player, plugged it right into the adapter, let it charge for 3 hours, put the latest firmware on it (v1.40 EU) and voila, we're off to transfer 25 GB's to the player in no-time (I think it was say 30 minutes or so).

Because I had plenty of time to get all the names and tags right before the holy day (yesterday), I choose to use the Filetree-system instead of the DB-system; it's already very easy to navigate when you got the Artist / Album / ## - Title.* system up and running. Heck, I even made playlists for each album volumes. Setup the FM frequenties of radio stations I sometimes listen to, it was all "as easy as iRiver" (or was it Dell?).

An other problem was the choice of headphones / canes, at first I looked at the Sennheiser PMX-60 neckband; looked very nice and I've got some nice experiences also with those neckbands, but I realised that I didn't want to disturb other people in public (train, at home etc.) and since these were open headphones...

So I went further in my search for some good ones and saw the PX-200 headphones. I was a little bit afraid of the folding system, that it could brake or something (just like I don't like folding mobile phones such as the Samsung series and other brands), but I don't regret the purchase of them: they fit very nicely on my ears, were a little bit too tight in the beginning, but what a sound!! I know it's personal and I don't have any "good" comparison to make, but I definately like the sounds of it.

Although I had to put the bass-boost at 16-18 and the treble-boost at 4 in order to get the desired sounds (for my needs, genres such as pop and trance, which are the most ones I listen to of my large genres database).

Oh well, it's getting late here (01:07 PM), so I better stop writing and leave you guys alone with this *extreme long* first post.

I just wanted to make clear that you guys have got a new, enthousiastic and very happy member of his H-140 in this great community. First thing in the morning, I'll also sign the petition considering the firmware updates and HDD-bug, at the time I'm eager to get some rest .

Thanks for reading my post,
Herwin.

[jeff]

Hi, Welcome to MisticRiver. Great to see such a nice, long and informative post about your initial buying experience.

[maylane]

don't be afraid of anything.

i was going to say "ever" but.....i dunno...huge wasps.

and anyone who openly wears a swastika. (saw one last night, couldn't believe it....i thought humanity might have evolved - clearly not.)

[turdburglar]

Originally Posted by maylane

and anyone who openly wears a swastika. (saw one last night, couldn't believe it....i thought humanity might have evolved - clearly not.)

<off-topic>
Nope, humanity hasn't evolved one bit.

I had a friend I hadn't spoken to in 2 years. He had been to jail a few times, etc.. Came back one day with a shaved head.

I casually made a joke asking why he shaved it, and he told me.. he was now a skinhead.

We had a 3 hour heated argument, during which he hailed Hitler as a great man, and said the holocaust never happened. What contradiction.

At the end of the argument, as we were walking out of the bar, he said "I'd never hit you, cuz you're white." I replied, saying "I'd never hit you, cuz you're not a total asshole."

We haven't spoken since.

It's a real shame how easily some peoples minds are corrupt.
</off-topic>


ANYWAY welcome to the board, sorry about getting off track like that!

I'd love to see the pictures of your brown case, as I've been wondering whether it would be worth it to buy one for my H120 (I hear it has a front flap, that I like..)

[XavierGr]

Welcome InsjaHH!
My iHP came too with this case you are talking. Before I see it I thought it would be uglu. But I will agree with Insja. The case isnt so ugly, I hardly notice that it's brown. (maybe because my eyes suffer from discoloration...)
And yes the belt clip is fantastic!

[fobicfly0]

Okay
i've looked at more iriver vs ipod posts then any human on the face of the earth, and i can't decide lol

The one and only thing that i have against the iriver at this point is that i have read that there is a 52 character limit on each file name and that this is not only too small, but can slow down the scrolling when you are using the id3 tags.

If someone could just explain to me if this is as serious of a problem as many of the forums on other sites say it is, that would be GREAT


thanks for the info,

hopefully will be buying one soon!

[turdburglar]

the 52 character limit isn't a big deal at all (to me at least)
the ihptool program shows you what files will have problems, and it's easy to fix.

Most people use the directory structure Artist/Album/01 - Song.mp3 anyway, so it's rarely a problem, and when it is, it's easily remedied.

The 52 char limit should be the LAST thing you think about when comparing the iPod to the iRiver.. think battery life, compatability, price, etc..

Just my opinion, for what it's worth.

[sweetspot]

Supposedly the 52 character limit is gone with the new Mood logic DB software ? Not sure though...There seems to be "something" still up with it though...someone said that it only takes iD2 tags ?

edit: Oh..sorry, welcome InsjaHH...I'm so freekin tired right now..head is all over the place ! Glad to have such an enthusiastic person aboard. Sit back and enjoy the ride !

[InsjaHH]

Originally Posted by maylane

don't be afraid of anything.

i was going to say "ever" but.....i dunno...huge wasps.

and anyone who openly wears a swastika. (saw one last night, couldn't believe it....i thought humanity might have evolved - clearly not.)

I don't really get your point, but I think you're commenting on the fact that I was afraid for things (that it could be ugly, it could be an difficult navigation, the headphones could brake etc.), right? In that case, you're totally right, it's something people have developed in the years or something. Just like they search their brains out on the Internet for reviews and impressions of other people after they have ordered a device; like they want some sort of conformation that they've done the right thing .

Originally Posted by turdburglar

ANYWAY welcome to the board, sorry about getting off track like that!

I'd love to see the pictures of your brown case, as I've been wondering whether it would be worth it to buy one for my H120 (I hear it has a front flap, that I like..)

Thanks for the welcome. I think I'll try to get some pictures later on today, thought I wanted to make them high quality by getting some big, white papers first and use they for the background; seems like it's holiday time today, so that won't be the thing I guess :P. I'll just use a cleaned desk and try to make some clear pictures then... I'll keep you guys posted about this. (Yes it has a front flap indeed, with open holes for the remote control/headphones, hold button, navigation joystick, dc and usb ports. Oh well... like I said earlier, pictures say lots more than words .

Originally Posted by XavierGr

Welcome InsjaHH!
My iHP came too with this case you are talking. Before I see it I thought it would be uglu. But I will agree with Insja. The case isnt so ugly, I hardly notice that it's brown. (maybe because my eyes suffer from discoloration...)
And yes the belt clip is fantastic!

No, I don't think you've got discoloration or something, you're right about the fact that you can't really instantly tell it's dark brown. Clip belt, didn't used it yet, but I'll be using the H-140 without it and just put it in my pocket of my jack; or even put it in my Eastpak bag which has a special thing made just for CD player and my lovely iRiver . Although, I don't think it's safe enough to put it in the front pocket of my bag when I'm just walking around on street, but it's definately going to be nice since the holidays are coming soon. Finally some *good* music since it's a 18 hours trip with the airplane to Indonesia (I hope the H-140 is going to make that with some lower sound output and not non-stop listening to it of course).

Originally Posted by Sweet Spot

edit: Oh..sorry, welcome InsjaHH...I'm so freekin tired right now..head is all over the place ! Glad to have such an enthusiastic person aboard. Sit back and enjoy the ride !

That's ok, I know the feeling of being very very tired . Thanks for the welcome and I will certainly enjoy the ride!

[InsjaHH]

Just to be clear that this is a question for everyone, I put it in a new reply to this topic.

I don't know if this fairly little bug has been discovered already, but with the v1.40 EU firmware, after I've loaded my H-140 and I see the overal number of folders and songs, I started playing a random song and start listening.

When I then put the sound volume on a random numbers, e.g. I use volume 25 and I go to Menu/Sound/Sound Balance (which is standard put on 0), I hear the volume getting louder a little bit; and because of that, I have to turn down the volume slightly down since it's just too hard.

After doing this once, I can't reproduce this very little bug anymore. Furthermore, I think it's a 1 time bug; when it's loaded up for the first time, started playing a random song and by going to the Sound Balance.

@Sweet Spot
Is it correct that we can sign the petition by just going to that online form? And is it safe enough to post your serial number via that same form as well or could I give the already registered serial number to you by e-mail? I hope we get enough members of the community and others to sign the petition and get the attention of iRiver towards their customers!

[pdx]

I can answer that, I'm the guy who set up the petition Yes, it is safe, once you add your name/email/serial, it is sent to a secure database that only Sweet Spot and myself have access to. Your information will only be sent to iRiver when we decide to print and send it, no prying eyes will see your serial number. If, however, you feel safer sending it to Sweet Spot, go right ahead, the more signatures the merrier!

Here's the address for the petititon: http://pdxonline.host.sk/p/petition.php

cheers,
pdx

[InsjaHH]

Ah, thanks for the reply, I've asked it also in the Petition thread to Sweet Spot and he also said it's ok if I sent the serial number by e-mail (which I've just done while signing the petition). I also appologized in advance for some extra troubles because of my own paranoia, I hope there aren't any hard feelings towards me .

Anyway, you've done a great job building the online petition; and just being curious, with secure database you probably mean a MySQL one? (the famous couple of course ).

[elwood]

Originally Posted by turdburglar

We had a 3 hour heated argument, during which he hailed Hitler as a great man, and said the holocaust never happened. What contradiction.

Way off-topic I know, but over the weekend I was handing out anti-nazi leaflets in our town centre (they are standing in our local elections next week) and I got talking to an old boy who was part of the war crimes tribunal during the war, and went into Belsen the day after it was liberated.

He saw the lot, and you can imagine what he thinks of the BNP denying the holocaust ever happened.

[InsjaHH]

Back with some impressions after a long weekend spent listening my ears off . I really really enjoy the PX-200, they deliver the basses correctly and have a fine middle / high range; that's for sure. At least, at bass-boost 18 and treble-boost 4, they sound pretty damn good to me. Oh well, they only thing I have to compare them against to is the Labtec AXIS 002 headset, Nokia headset (radio) and the currently MX-300 (the bundled ones which I got from iRiver are those right?). I'm currently "burning in" those MX-300's and I must say, they don't hurt in my ears at all like some people are complaining about on serveral fora. Perhaps it's just me having some large ears or something (don't blame me ).

What's really weird is that these ears plugs can deliver much more sound than the PX-200's. I mean, they go louder than the other headphones... even though (if they are the MX-300's) they have the same impedance (32 Ohms). Is this "normal"? Perhaps it's the fact they're a couple of ears plugs which actually go into your ears, but they aren't those things that go into your ears like the EX71's.

Further I'm really really pleased with the quality sound of the H-140, the quality it provided for the line-out on my 5.1-system, it's really an awesome player to get! . I figured that the joystick is somewhat "harder" to handle when the case it put on, without it, for me it's easy like making pancakes (hmmm... as a matter of speaking that is :P). Although we don't want iRiver to copy iPod's navigation controls, but I've touched the wheel of an 3rd G iPod and it's fancy to browse a bit with it (belongs to a friend of mine). Although I would never turn towards Apple since I would just misout the features the iRiver has extra (such as radio, recording etc.).

Although I really hope iSkin is going to make some progress, since I definately want some sleeky, well-made and good-shaped case which doesn't make it as bulky as the one that came from iRiver; so that's easier to put into your pocket e.g. We'll see how that goes.

Furthermore, I'm not suprised that the new firmware got delayed, it's something "normal" these days; happens to everything lately . I mean, look at Half-Life2... first they make all people very positive and happy about the announcement, then they delay it because they can't handle the deadline; imho it's moreover good old marketing strategy (or how do you call this again... can't recall the word). Let's hope they can manage to include extra features (or fixing the HD bug?) with the extra time they needed, making it a "suprise" for everyone .

I still didn't got the chance to make some photo's of my H-140 and the case, but I hope to have some time for it later today or tomorrow. I'm planning to get some white papers first so they photo's will look better; although I'm too lazy to get them from the stores .

[FlameGrilled]

(off-topic) elwood, you and me both.. re the wannabe nazi-inspired crowd. I too know the benefit of talking to veterens from boths side of the nasty source of the legacy including some who were sympthetic til they realised just how wrong the acts were.. and have to live in the anguish of guilt.

No matter what groups like BNP say or claim, it's bloody clear that nothing they say is free of association with the horrors of what they deny association to.

I recall, as a teenager, when the BNP's forebears (the NF) were holding a demo in the local main town - i was denied my right to have a day in town, because of the police and law protecting their right to demonstrate and air their views to an extent - damn those NF supporters that day, as it prevented me from visiting someone who (like the vets prev mentioned) would have taught the ignorant sods a lesson if he had been not aged and infirm.

Dammit, if the only good that comes out of this batch of elections, is to show the BNP and it's associated horror-story sympathisers for what they are.. it'd be a start and open some eyes.

Sorry for going way off topic...

(/off-topic)