JaZZ
Headphoneus Supremus
Few weeks ago my iFP-395T had a defect on the «on» button (quite common with this series, as it seems, since my son had the same issue). So instead of a mere guarantee replacement I chose to pay an extra charge and get the iFP-899. I had a hard time deciding between 799 and 899, but finally went for the latter just because of the look.
Originally I wasn't planning to upgrade from 512 MB to 1 GB -- I thought the difference isn't worth it: it's still far from the capacity of a HD-based player which really would allow to carry all (or at least the essential of) my MP3 collection with me, whereas a flash-based player would always make you decide for a selection according to the current preferences. But now I think it does make a difference -- it's fun to have really all your preferred tracks with you instead of just half of them.
I'm an absolute shuffle-play guy. I want to be surprised what comes next. What the hell... why do I always hear the same songs, while others are never played? It turned out that the shuffle play is all but random. It's a fixed playlist that never changes unless you change the content of the memory. And unfortunately it has the bad habit to play more or less the same songs after each restart (resume enabled or not). Hence if you don't listen 12 hours or so in one piece, only a fraction of the stored music files are played at all. That's a serious bug, if you ask me. iRiver managed to do the shuffle play right with the previous iFP models, and now this! At least there's a shuffle play «enhancement» announced for the next firmware update (end of August). We'll see if it brings a real random play.
To the positive aspects: there's the approved, quite useful graphic 5-band equalizer (something iHP owners can only dream of, like a real shuffle play BTW). You just have to manage to disable iRiver's childish sound enhancers enabled by default -- which is a bit tricky at first go. Apart from this he GUI is quite intuitive and easy to be learned. It has a built-in FM radio which I haven't tried yet -- I expect it to be the same as with the iFP-395T, so it should have a decent sensitivity and very good sound. Futhermore you can record from the radio as well as through external microphones or the internal one («voice record») or other analog or digital sources with a wide variety of MP3 bit and sample rates. Sorry again, I haven't tried this feature. All my files are ripped from CDs or digitalized from vinyl with my soundcard. The user manual sais it can play MP3, OGG Vorbis, WMA and ASF. I still haven't one single OGG Vorbis file, so can't comment on the functionality, but according to the iRiver forum it works indeed.
Now to most important thing: the sound. There were very clear sonic changes during the first dozen hours, from a slightly peaky to a rather rolled-off and overly smooth treble. The end result is a very neutral sonic balance with extended frequency response to both directions. The highs are even finer and better defined than with the iFP-395T, and the bass appears to be slightly fuller and deeper. The midrange is well defined and smooth. Dynamics and resolution are excellent for such a compact, battery-driven player. Overall the sound is very smooth and quite natural. It still reminds a bit of iRiver's house sound with its slight coolness and sleekness, but nevertheless is more organic, and the latter attributes are less pronounced than with the iFP-395T, not to speak of the iHPs with their tendency to «glassiness». In turn this makes it a bit forgiving with lower bitrates, which is a good thing for a flash player and its limited memory space.
All in all I'm very happy with the sound quality. With my (modded) ER-4P or the PX 200 I feel like wearing a portable high-end system on my upper arm. Well, almost, given that on the go you are far less critical, with all the distracting optical impressions. I really hope that the annoying shuffle-play issue will be solved with the next firmware. Apart from this the iFP-899, with the ER-4P, is like an audiophile dream come true I never had hoped for ten yeas ago: Without having to carry anything around, you have a huge music collection with you played in a phantasmagoric sound quality...
Originally I wasn't planning to upgrade from 512 MB to 1 GB -- I thought the difference isn't worth it: it's still far from the capacity of a HD-based player which really would allow to carry all (or at least the essential of) my MP3 collection with me, whereas a flash-based player would always make you decide for a selection according to the current preferences. But now I think it does make a difference -- it's fun to have really all your preferred tracks with you instead of just half of them.
I'm an absolute shuffle-play guy. I want to be surprised what comes next. What the hell... why do I always hear the same songs, while others are never played? It turned out that the shuffle play is all but random. It's a fixed playlist that never changes unless you change the content of the memory. And unfortunately it has the bad habit to play more or less the same songs after each restart (resume enabled or not). Hence if you don't listen 12 hours or so in one piece, only a fraction of the stored music files are played at all. That's a serious bug, if you ask me. iRiver managed to do the shuffle play right with the previous iFP models, and now this! At least there's a shuffle play «enhancement» announced for the next firmware update (end of August). We'll see if it brings a real random play.
To the positive aspects: there's the approved, quite useful graphic 5-band equalizer (something iHP owners can only dream of, like a real shuffle play BTW). You just have to manage to disable iRiver's childish sound enhancers enabled by default -- which is a bit tricky at first go. Apart from this he GUI is quite intuitive and easy to be learned. It has a built-in FM radio which I haven't tried yet -- I expect it to be the same as with the iFP-395T, so it should have a decent sensitivity and very good sound. Futhermore you can record from the radio as well as through external microphones or the internal one («voice record») or other analog or digital sources with a wide variety of MP3 bit and sample rates. Sorry again, I haven't tried this feature. All my files are ripped from CDs or digitalized from vinyl with my soundcard. The user manual sais it can play MP3, OGG Vorbis, WMA and ASF. I still haven't one single OGG Vorbis file, so can't comment on the functionality, but according to the iRiver forum it works indeed.
Now to most important thing: the sound. There were very clear sonic changes during the first dozen hours, from a slightly peaky to a rather rolled-off and overly smooth treble. The end result is a very neutral sonic balance with extended frequency response to both directions. The highs are even finer and better defined than with the iFP-395T, and the bass appears to be slightly fuller and deeper. The midrange is well defined and smooth. Dynamics and resolution are excellent for such a compact, battery-driven player. Overall the sound is very smooth and quite natural. It still reminds a bit of iRiver's house sound with its slight coolness and sleekness, but nevertheless is more organic, and the latter attributes are less pronounced than with the iFP-395T, not to speak of the iHPs with their tendency to «glassiness». In turn this makes it a bit forgiving with lower bitrates, which is a good thing for a flash player and its limited memory space.
All in all I'm very happy with the sound quality. With my (modded) ER-4P or the PX 200 I feel like wearing a portable high-end system on my upper arm. Well, almost, given that on the go you are far less critical, with all the distracting optical impressions. I really hope that the annoying shuffle-play issue will be solved with the next firmware. Apart from this the iFP-899, with the ER-4P, is like an audiophile dream come true I never had hoped for ten yeas ago: Without having to carry anything around, you have a huge music collection with you played in a phantasmagoric sound quality...
