[Orpheus]

hey guys.... i finally decided what to ask Santa for Christmas....

what do you guys think is the ABSOLUTE BESTEST of the BEST portable CD player that can also play MP3's?

thanks,
orpheus

 

[Orpheus]

the iRiver slimx 400 looks pretty good... anyone know where i could buy it for less than the $199 list?--it seems pretty hard to find.

 

[Orpheus]

or do you guys prefer the RioVolt SP350?

 

[imdisturbedbyyou]

the imp400 is really not orth the 90 bucks more to shell out(i know a place where yu can get the slimx for 110 with no tax or s&H and thats after rebates) the imp400 may look better(my opinion) but sound quality has not changed in the players and the loading time is the same (recently discovered if you check out iriver forums) and the only difference is the remote, and radio. All features are teh same...how could iriver charge so much for an item thats not that much changed? oh well...in my opinion youd be a fool to buy rio volts 350 even though there isnt much info on it yet, but iriver makes rio volts products and all past rios have been disapointing compared to the iriver products. the riovolt 350 is at 170$ which is a total waste of money, and its only 3 line lcd display.... my opinion just go with the slimx best buy and nothing has changed form the 400...

just thought id ad

 

[Orpheus]

yeah... i know, when you say it like that, it doesn't make much sense to buy the slimx 400.... but i have this thing about buying the best.

but let's put it this way... you recommend the slimx 300 right? over the riovolt products?

if so.. then i probably would end up getting the 400, though it is a little wasteful....

what do you think? avoid the riovolt, no matter what?--and any specific reasons why? ...i mean, what makes the slimx better than the riovolt?

 

[bdb55]

The SlimX 350 looks pretty good IMO, and even better in person. Look at it this way: you can get the 350, or pay $90 more for the exact same thing with only cosmetic changes.

LOL - I probably shouldn't be talking, though. I just ordered a Sony D-25S because my D-25 is kinda beat up. Just 'cause the 25S looks sooooo nice. Well, I can justify the purchase by saying that I would want an extra if one of them broke

 

[Orpheus]

thanks....

but how bout comparing the slimx models to riovolts..... which is better, and why?

 

[Tachyon]

I looked into this before, and actually still a fence sitter at the moment.

For me, its between IMP400 and Panasonic CT-800. Read through Tina's report about the bad headphone out on the Pana CT-800 and I went to some stores to check it out... I found that its actually not THAT bad to my ears.. it wasnt MD quality, but its not like the Iriver is either, with its "Hiss" problem. (No hiss on the Pana). But no heavy bass either

With that being said, I think if I become an Audiophile later i can still use the CT-800's line out (identical to the 470/570 quality from Tina's report) and use an amp. It also have a optical out too. The Pana also have a riduclously long battery life (120 hours). thats 500% more then the Iriver.

IMP400 has seems like it has alot of features, and firmware is upgradable. Its a big plus, and its got the radio too. But I wonder if I will keep my player so long until .wav and .mp2 are extict. Afterall, its 15 years since CDs are out, and not like they are going anywhere.

So in the end its still a toss up. with the IMP400 at 22,800 yen here and Pana about 16,000 yen, and IMP350 17,300. I think Panasonic CT-800 is a pretty good deal. Now if I can just get over the fact it has no radio..... (my last CD player was Sony Discman's first model of AM/FM/CD player forgot the model.... anyone remember what it is? you guys think its good? Still have it, but the adapter plug is loose...)

 

[Orpheus]

mmm.... thanks. but panasonic never really thrilled me. they always had good quality stuff.... but nothing extraordinary or exciting.

......but you raised an interesting issue. HISS on the slimX? that's not good. how loud is the hiss? anyone else hear this problem?

thanks.

 

[bdb55]

Quote:

Originally posted by Orpheus ......but you raised an interesting issue. HISS on the slimX? that's not good. how loud is the hiss? anyone else hear this problem? thanks.

There's no hiss on my SlimX 350...

 

[imdisturbedbyyou]

first lets tackle the hiss, i heard the hiss problem is very low and not even worht considering anegative, the rios have a bigger hiss noise i heard.

why iriver is better than rio's
iriver makes rio
rio copy iriver
iriver has better shock protection
irivers have more features and firmware updates meant for irivers only (but friggen riovolt customers hack their players to update firmware)
iriver to me looks better
iriver is planning on imp500 next year that is 13.4mm


why 350 over 400
imp500 is coming out next year and its just gonna be a waste of money for the same thing.
all the same just looks and different radio.
and much cheaper

 

[Orpheus]

i see. maybe i should wait for the slimx 500 then. you know when it's expected ot be out?

thanks.

 

[imdisturbedbyyou]

no i dont, plus there will always be new mp3 cd players and better and better cmoming out....just get the 350, the 500 is supposeduly su[pposed to come out next november(RUMORS!)

 

[Tachyon]

Quote:

Originally posted by imdisturbedbyyou no i dont, plus there will always be new mp3 cd players and better and better cmoming out....just get the 350, the 500 is supposeduly su[pposed to come out next november(RUMORS!)

I agree with this. Just get the whatever sutes you NOW, if you want it NOW. There are always new players thats better coming out.

However, the hiss problem is evident (at least to me). I guess it depends on what you listen to. I mostly listen to jazz and some pop, hiss is evident in quite areas (espically with closed phones).

if you want radio/MP3/CD go iriver. And go with the 350 (apparently, the "new" 350, once that are manufactured after the imp400 release, are mechanically identical (servos at least, not sure about he board itself, but probably is too.) to the imp400 with less firmware memory,..very good deal if you can live with the remote and lag of Chinese ID3 tags)

If you just use MP3/wav/CD, lazy and want long battery life, just want a solid player for music, and maybe add an amp for serious audiophile listening later on, get the CT800.

 

[martioz]

IMP-400!