[Skipinder]

Hi,

I am looking to buy a MP3/CD player. I am currently thinking of buying the iRiver imp-450. It looks like the best player out there, other than the imp-550. Do you guys have any advice on what I should get?

Thanks in advance

 

[Mouzike]

i'd take a strong long look at the new sony d-ne300. seems like the best deal out there right now. I'm going to pick myself one soon. i personally have the IMP550, and it's fine except for all the wires and the necessary remote. and you could save the extra money for music and new headphones.

 

[Skipinder]

Thanx for the reply Mouzike. Does the d-ne300 sound like the d-ne900? My friend has a d-ne900 and I don't really like it. I have never really liked sony's cd players. Has anyone done a sound comparison between the d-ne300 and an iRiver?

 

[Eagle_Driver]

If the iMP-450 is anything like my iMP-350 as far as the internal DAC is concerned, expect boosted bass and treble response and recessed mids that cannot be corrected at all even with the bass and treble adjustments - those adjustments cannot reduce the bass or treble levels; they can only boost the already boosted bass and treble even further.

But if the iMP-450 is closer to the iMP-400, then expect considerably rolled-off treble response (though not as rolled off as the Sony PCDPs made in 2001 and 2002) and relatively shallow low-end extension with that player.

 

[terrymx]

hmm that sound scary. can you point out what part about the sound you didnt and what headphone was you using? i had the iriver imp350 and imp450. i also have the sony dne1 which is twice as much as the dne300. the sony have a cleaner and richer sound over iriver, like night and day out of a good headphone. i'm not saying that iriver sound bad either.

about the comment above about the imp400: yeah i do agree the imp400 doesnt go too low on the bass. i dont know about the treble being roll off though, what firmware version are you talking about. i have the new 1.70N (from korean website) and they have plenty of treble power. i think the low treble might be weak, but the very highs are sometime too sharp and harsh.

 

[Skipinder]

Thanx for the replies. I was using the cheap $10 headphones that came with it. It might have just been the cd he had in it. I'll try to listen to it again with better headphones. I guess iRiver is out. I'll check out the Sonys. Thanx again.

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Quote:

Originally Posted by terrymx hmm that sound scary. can you point out what part about the sound you didnt and what headphone was you using? i had the iriver imp350 and imp450. i also have the sony dne1 which is twice as much as the dne300. the sony have a cleaner and richer sound over iriver, like night and day out of a good headphone. i'm not saying that iriver sound bad either.

I can detect a very slight graininess to the sound from my particular iRiver iMP-350. But that (and the less-than-flat frequency response) is not the worst part about that player - it is the chronically horrible battery life. IME I've never gotten more than 6 hours of run time between battery recharges, even with 128kbps MP3s.

 

[terrymx]

i got 2.5hours for cd playback and 5hours at most for 192kbs mp3 for my imp400.

dont completely disregard iriver though. i was only talking about two of their older player and dont know about the improvement of the new ones: imp450, imp900, imp1000 and imp1100.

i have to say some irver are very well built. my imp400 didnt get one scratch for the 5months i own it. this is my dne1 after one week of normal use and no abuse: http://terrymx.homestead.com/files/dne1scratches.jpg

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Which is why I will be bringing both players to the next Head-Fi meet that I will attend. There, I will have others judge for themselves.

And don't assume that all of the current 2004-model Sony D-NE### series of PCDPs use the same DACs or headphone op-amps. Models made in China (where my particular D-NE300 was made at) may use a different DAC and/or op-amp than models made in Malaysia (where all of the higher-end D-NE### series PCDPs and the D-NE10 PCDP were made at).

 

[bangraman]

Skipinder and bangraman on the same board? I thought I was being original

Eagle_Driver's measured responses don't really stand up to what I'm hearing. (Not so much Beware of Greeks bearing gifts, but Beware of Americans bearing Headroom-style graphs)The iMP's sound a little muffled in comparison to the Sony but its not a terminal problem. The Sony's on the other hand have various functional limitations that the iRiver doesn't.


I did an iMP-550 vs D-NE900 comparison a while ago. You might like to search for it.


Edit: Ah yes, found it. And all my pictures have disappeared? WTH? Oh yes, server move... damn. http://www5.head-fi.org/forums/showt...mp-550+d-ne900 edited now.

 

[Skipinder]

Thanks for all the quick replies.
Eagle_Driver,
Wouldn't the Sony's sound very similar though? Usually the models from the same manufacturer have the same sound.

terrymx,
The new iMP-450 is states that the battery life is 55 hours, the same as the iMP-550, so hopefully it will have at least 20 hours of life.

bangraman,
that review was very helpful. It made me consider the iRiver again. I actually stole the name Skipinder from the British show Goodness Gracious Me.

I will try to visit the Sony store and listen to the D-NE300 and try to judge it for myself. Sound quality is my main concern, the features are just nice to have.


Thanx again.