[AudioNoob]

iriver and flaky? not so, sorry

 

[wolfen68]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Copperjacket /img/forum/go_quote.gif Iriver H-140 arrived today - just unpacking it now. Thanks for all your help

Good decision. Two things I have to add about the H140 over the imod....

1. The H140 will probably hold value better...

2. ...and if you like your H140 with a DAC now...it will only get better as improved DACS come out on the market in coming years. With the imod...you're "stuck" with what you got.

 

[Hermitt]

ihp-130?

<- is that a ihp-120 with a 30gb hdd upgrade?

 

[PooJou]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Copperjacket /img/forum/go_quote.gif Iriver H-140 arrived today - just unpacking it now. Thanks for all your help

And then you'll upgrade the drive to a 60gig or even an 80gig (the 100gig has proven to be quite elusive of late) - congrats!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hermitt /img/forum/go_quote.gif ihp-130? <- is that a ihp-120 with a 30gb hdd upgrade?

Correct - Didn't do the battery upgrade as it seemed to be un-needed, still holds 12hr+ charge even after 3 and a bit years (and with the 30gig drive!)

 

[cooperpwc]

Ressurecting this thread. I'm quite impressed wiith the Line out from my H140. It's much better than the iPod Video through a Turbodock. Still it's the hookup to my Micro DAC with the optical out that really sings.

 

[frekvens]

At some time, I had to choose between these two and I came up with a little list of the pros and cons of each others :

Iriver H140

Pros :

You don't lose your headphone out
Line/in/out for an amp or pre-amp, optical out for an external DAC
You can make excellent recordings with a mic/pre-amp
LCD display Remote Control, you can also find the joystick version
Excellent battery life, It has a 1300 mAh and you can upgrade to 2200 mAh
HD upgradeable up to 80GB
You can use any USB cable and 5V / 2 A AC-DC adapter with it
Resale value is somewhat higher with the Iriver, try to sell an Imod on eBay...

Cons :

Hiss with the headphone out with high effiency iems
No Color screen, if it matters to you
Somewhat a little bulkier than the Imod
Lack of aftermarket cases, only the Vaja one is available now
Spare parts are really hard to find unless you buy broken units
No warranty, no customer support and no free hand work

is the hiss so bad that you can't use triple.fi ? and how do you get better batterylife ?

also thinking about this... thx

 

[wolfen68]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Killercrush /img/forum/go_quote.gif Iriver H140 Pros : Resale value is somewhat higher with the Iriver, try to sell an Imod on eBay...

Very true.

Another H140 Pro:

- The sound quality can always improve as new and improved external DAC's are released to the market. The imod will stay the same forever....so the buyer better be happy with it.

 

[bellsprout]

has anyone compared imod+amp with iriver+dac+amp yet?

i know, and u should know by all the hype here, that imod is very very good. the noise floor is dead silent. but however good it is, there are better external dacs, which u can use with iriver. i'd take a punt and say the sq would be fairly comparable, because u can have a better dac with the iriver, but u get a cleaner signal with the imod.

that's what it comes down to in the end. i'd take the imod any day just because i can slip it in my pocket. but u can keep ur iriver and make a fairly portable compact rig in a camera bag if portability is an issue for u.

all points other points mentioned are good points to consider too

 

[aussie_017]

The iriver H340 should also be considered as it is the newer model of the H140 and the H340 has a line out.

 

[Kabeer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cooperpwc /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ressurecting this thread. I'm quite impressed wiith the Line out from my H140. It's much better than the iPod Video through a Turbodock. Still it's the hookup to my Micro DAC with the optical out that really sings.

cooperpwc,

How do you use the analogue line-out?
I mean, since the line-out is volume controlled, what do you do to get the best sq? turn up the voluem to about 35?. Or keep the volume low and use your amp for volume boosting?

BTW thanks for the comparison to the ipod line-out, I had wondered this (since I thought irivers line-out wasnt proper due to volume control), and now know im not missing out on much.

Thanks

 

[EFN]

My H120 (RockBoxed) from the Lineout sounds superb. Definitely better than iPod Lineout any given day.

BUT iMod trounced my H120 in almost every aspect. So the only way an iRiver to match or compete with iMod is to use the Optical Out and external DAC I believe

 

[wolfen68]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aussie_017 /img/forum/go_quote.gif The iriver H340 should also be considered as it is the newer model of the H140 and the H340 has a line out.

The H140 and the H340 have the same line-out. Neither of those are (theoretically) a match for the imod. What gives the H140 bragging rights is that it's analog-out port also includes a combined optical digital out. That is where the iriver magic resides.

 

[Kabeer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wolfen68 /img/forum/go_quote.gif What gives the H140 bragging rights is that it's analog-out port also includes a combined optical digital out. That is where the iriver magic resides.

I dont understand why dont other manufacturers use optical or coax out on thier DAP's.

 

[wolfen68]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kabeer /img/forum/go_quote.gif I dont understand why dont other manufacturers use optical or coax out on thier DAP's.

Not enough of the public knows the difference to care for such a "high-end" feature. Therefore, companies can keep costs down by leaving such amenities out.

Also, content rights owners (music companies) aren't very comfortable with devices that allow bit perfect digital transfers.

 

[d.phens]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Packgrog /img/forum/go_quote.gif The choice will depend entirely on your priorities: Sound Quality vs. Diverse Functionality. If you purely want to listen to music in the most portable fasion possible (while using an amp, of course), then the iMod is the way to go. The DAC in my Cowon A2 is similar (though apparently older/lower model number) to the one in the 4G iPod, and the A2 beats the pants off of my iriver H120 for sound quality any day of the week. So for portability and better sound quality, the iMod is the way to go, no question. That being said, the iriver H1xx can to a lot more in general. Built-in radio tuner, wired LCD remote (which is extremely useful when keeping the player in a bag), optical S/PDIF input and output (more on this later), loads of recording features thanks to Rockbox, slightly better upgradability (2200mah battery upgrades provide insane battery life, and the H140 can be upgraded with a specific 80GB drive [EDIT: I guess the iMod beats this, according to Killercrush]), and other fun stuff related to all of this. If you want to do portable recording, this device is the way to go. Which brings me to my next point: If you're willing to sacrifice some portability, you can trump the sound quality of the iMod through the use of an external DAC. I tried out both the Micro DAC and the Benchmark DAC1 (*drool*) at the NYC Meet last weekend hooked up to my H120, and holy god did they sound amazing. Any DAC with an optical input should work nicely with the H1xx, and one would think that most dedicated desktop DACs would trounce the iMod for sound quality (though I could easily be wrong). So if you plan on doing most of your listening at a desk and don't mind using an external DAC, or you want all those other tasty features, then the h1xx is a better choice. Do note, however, that both of these players will run Rockbox, so both are wonderfully configurable. That said, the H1xx branch has been under development for a lot longer, and there are a lot more hardware features on the H1xx, so Rockbox will be more impressive on the H1xx than on the iPod (the iPods still don't have great battery life, and don't have the recording features, etc., but both have lots of extra configuration/customization options). Hope that helps! -Packgrog

Well let's consider the fact that there are several PORTABLE DAC WITH HEADPHONE AMP COMBOS and probably sound much better than iMod for maybe less money!

I'd go for the iRiver for sure, getting it for about $100 (50 less than iPod) and having simply a player with better functionality and upgradability you've still got about $250 for a DAC-AMP combo.

The iRiver can even be a good source for your high-end DACs...