T30 to T60... good idea?

[BongMong]

I'm having trouble. Should I upgrade my 1gig T30 to a 4gig T60? Would I regret it? I could really do with a bit more space, but I'm not sure I want a Clix2 when I don't really do video and I just want great iriver tunes tagged onto the end of my PX100s taking up no room.

So, can anyone answer my questions?

1) Is the battery cover a bit more solidly attached to the unit than the one on the T30?

2) Does it still sport WOW SRS 2? Or is it an even higher version? Is it as good sounding as the T30?

3) Can I convert it to UMS with ease?

4) Have iriver introduced anything annoying to or removed anything great from the unit compared to the T30?

5) Is, in your opinion, my upgrading from a T30 to a T60 anything other than a storage space upgrade? Will I think 'Wow, 3gig more space and they've made it even better than a T30!' or will I think 'Wow, 3gig extra space and even iriver couldn't make it any better than a T30 already was!'?

Thanks for your help. I may get a clix2, but it will be more expensive, I wouldn't use the video and it would be too big and hard to swing round my neck whilst I'm grooving. Plus I'd get mugged. If someone's going to get mugged I'd rather the chap with the ipod than me.

[fcormier]

I never used the T30, only my T60 and I very briefly checked my friend's T10.
1) I don't know how solid (or not) the cover of the T30 was, but mine holds quite well and I never had any issue with it.
2) I know it was WOW, but I don't know what version, I would have to check. I guess WOW sounds OK, but I usually prefer straight sound.
3) Mine came already UMS. There is a software that con convert it between MTP and UMS, but I never needed it. It formats your player when doing so.
4) I think the T30 had a line in, the T60 does not.
5) That's up to you, maybe it'll be: "Same great iriver player, 4 times the capacity"

And I think it's small enough to be worn around your neck.

[BongMong]

Originally Posted by fcormier

I never used the T30, only my T60 and I very briefly checked my friend's T10.
1) I don't know how solid (or not) the cover of the T30 was, but mine holds quite well and I never had any issue with it.
2) I know it was WOW, but I don't know what version, I would have to check. I guess WOW sounds OK, but I usually prefer straight sound.
3) Mine came already UMS. There is a software that con convert it between MTP and UMS, but I never needed it. It formats your player when doing so.
4) I think the T30 had a line in, the T60 does not.
5) That's up to you, maybe it'll be: "Same great iriver player, 4 times the capacity"

And I think it's small enough to be worn around your neck.

Hmm. Well, the T30 battery cover only lightly clips in. It needs keeping an eye on which is annoying. If the T60 solves this then that's great. If it has WOW SRS then I doubt it would be less than 2, I wonder if it has got better since the T30? I'm a post-processing fan, so I am keen on this. One of the reasons I love iriver (the other being ogg of course). Nice to know I can get it UMS. Being in the UK usually results in MTP I'm afraid. No line in hmm? I wonder why? Still, my T30 has no FM tuner, and I'd make sure I got a T60 with one so I wouldn't need a line in so much. Still, I think it was an odd thing to drop. If they'd replaced it with a line out I could have understood.

Yep, thinking about it, I don't think I'll get a Clix2. It's not so grab-n-go and all for the sake of video. I'll watch that on my telly. 8gig is nice, but expensive and probably more than I need.

Any buggyness I should be aware of in the T60? Any build quality issues? Sounding good so far. Are we expecting a new version to come out any moment that I should wait for?

[rprrpr]

Originally Posted by BongMong

Any buggyness I should be aware of in the T60? Any build quality issues? Sounding good so far. Are we expecting a new version to come out any moment that I should wait for?

Sound quality = great
Battery cover = improved
SRS = good if you like that
Line In = gone, but even though it seemed like a great feature I never used it

Some of the questions you ask are more related to personal preferences than quality issues. I love my T60, but I still prefer the T30's all-button controls over the T60's joystick. I tend to think and navigate in a file-tree and menu mindset and the buttons of the T30 worked great that way, though I've heard that many people hated that interface. But now it seems like a lot of folks don't like the operation of the mini-joystick either! It seems like iriver can't win on this one - maybe it's because most people are used to various GUI's, mice, and clickwheels on all their computers, gadgets and video machines these days...

The only "buggy" thing to report is that, from what I understand from reading these forums, the startup time of the T60 can be pretty slow depending on how you organize your folders. I do everything in a UMS folder tree kind of configuration (music/artist/album/songs) and my startup time is about 11-12sec - doesn't seem bad to me considering that I'm almost loaded to the full 4G. But others have reported as much as 30sec to start.

In the end, if you liked the T30, don't care about video or text files, and appreciate the use of standard batteries (but please do try to use rechargeable AAA's!), the T60 will probably satisfy you.

-rpr

[elektorronikci]

Once I had a T30, and then upgraded to T50. There is not any considerable difference between them except the AA battery performance. So I think that the 4 gb T60 which uses AAA battery will an upgrade for the memory, nothing else. They didn't do anything that must be improved about the firmware functionalities. If you are happy with T30, go on with T60. But don't expect more than the memory.

About the color screen, I don't think that it is an upgrade because it is not reflective and goes completely black when backlight is off.

My T50 died because of my some foolishness, and I don't think to buy any T series dap anymore. I bought a Clix 4 gb for a cheap price not much more then a T60 and waiting the shipping process. I also don't mind about the video specialities, but I know that the 320x240 screen forces everything to be improved.

[BongMong]

Well, I like the T30's AAA battery system. It is quite handy to be able to slam in a AAA when I need to, though I generally use rechargeables. 1000MAh AAAs charge in about half an hour in my charger.

I did read about the startup thing, but for all we know the T30 has that, but with 1gig it would not be noticed. I know my Sony/Ericsson walkman phone takes a fair few seconds to scan the MP3s. I use a sensible directory structure so I don't expect difficulties. It would be interesting to test a T60 with 1gig used against a T30.

The screen going black when the backlight goes off sounds like a real pain. That's not good. Thank heavens for a decent battery cover though.

I would probably like the joystick. I could use it without having to unzip my coat. I don't know why iriver don't simply have the T30 button layout with a joystick as well though. Simple, everyone's happy.

Well, the screen thing is putting me off a bit. My Sony walkman phone is like that and it's really annoying. Still, that's colour for you I suppose. I doubt the Clix2 would do otherwise. Lord only knows why the T60 needed a colour screen. I wonder what they felt they couldn't achieve with the T30 screen?

One more question...

Does the T60 use USB power when you are sending files to it from the PC, or is it still vulnerable to going brick if the battery packs in whilst transferring? If it doesn't use USB power, does transferring still drain the battery at a huge rate like the T30 did, making the problem worse?

If that's solved it would probably swing it for sure away from the Clix2. If not, I'll have to think on some more and count my pennies before plumping for one or the other.

[elektorronikci]

T50 doesn't use USB power and also I am sure that it spends power faster than T30. I think T60 isn't different. Very bad shame for iRiver..

The vulnerability you said is I think much lesser than T30 or there is not such a vulnerability. My t50 was shutted off twice or more during the file transfers due to low battery but nothing bad happened. (UMS) They are tough both for the hardware and the software.

[fcormier]

The T60 does not use USB power, and the battery drains fast when transferring because the screen stays on.

The T60s joystick needs some getting used-to, it is very sensitive to direction. When you're not used to it, you may skip a song when trying to change the volume or change menu when trying to select a menu. The trick when using it with the thumb is to have the thumb resting on the player when using the joystick with the end of your thumb
, this way it is more precise.

[FritzNewton]

Just one more vote: I switched from the T30 to the T60 and, with the reservations expressed above, am quite happy. (I've kept my T30 as a dedicated voice recorder. The sound quality is astonishing.) The added memory is nice, and while the joystick is imprecise, it's doable--easier to use, overall, than the T30. You also pointed out something that remains true: few MP3 players take a regular battery. This one does.