iRiver iHP-100/120/140 questions

[Jeffreybar]

Quote:

Originally posted by LarryVale I was about to go for the 40 gig version, rip whole wav files and retire my trusty minidiscs but, a comment was made on a review site that: when listening to DJ Mixed continual tracks there was a dropout of about a 1/2 second between the tracks. Anyone verify or deny this for me? I use the MD as it is for the gym primarily and the breaks are err... a dealbreaker. Thanks Larry

Yeah...this is my biggest (only really) beef about the ihp. The breaks between songs are longer than other players I've heard. I don't have the newest firmware (I wasn't really sure if it was intended for use on the 140 so I'm a bit hesitant), so this may be fixed now. But on the initial release firmware for the ihp-140, the gaps between songs are indeed close to half a second (probably more like 1/4 of a second realistically, but it seems like forever).

I feel pretty confident this will get fixed in a future firmware issue...my imp-350 had even longer gaps at first and they tightened that up in firmware within a couple months of its release.

-Jeff

 

[JaZZ]

I once considered an iHP myself. There are several reasons I am now convinced that it's not the right player for me. What I liked about it were size, weight and look and especially its analog and its digital output -- both combined in one player is unique in the market. The iHP-140's 40 GB are a good argument as well.

What finally ruined my dream was a first and particularly a second and a third audition. Very artificial sound, like behind frosted glass. The only positive thing is a strong and deep bass. I liked the iPod's sound much better -- clearly more accurate and natural, maybe not quite as deep bass.

In the meantime I heard the new Archos Gmini 220, and I think it has the best, most accurate sound of all portable players I've heard so far. Close second would be my new (actually old) Archos Jukebox Recorder 20, although in terms of size and weight it can't compete with the latest DAP generation. The iHP would be far below all other players of the latest generation I've heard, such as iPod, Zen Xtra and MPIO.

Bit by bit I got some more bad news about the iHP in the form of two other serious deficiences: a fake, actually non-working shuffle funtion (arbitrary, but always the same playback order with a given playlist or directory) and a poor tone control (only increase of bass and treble possible). Whereas e.g. the iFP-395T has a graphical 5-band equalizer, a feature it shares with the Gmini 220, BTW.

IMO the iHPs -- unfortunately -- are by far not that advanced and sophisticated as they pretend to be.

 

[Jeffreybar]

I've heard several people say that they think the sound of the iHP is very artificial and harsh, but I was really puzzled about this for a long time since I only listened to it through my E2s (and through which it sounded wonderful and full and fairly warm).

BUT now I understand. I had to return my E2s for repairs for about a week and was forced to listen to my iHP through mx400s and it sounded *terrible* (and in ways that my iMP-350 never did when I listened to it through those headphones). Trying my Koss UR-20s it sounded a lot better than the mx400s (as expected), but I needed radically different EQ settings than I needed for the E2s or the mx400s. Weird.

I don't know if this is true of other portable players, but the iHP seems to be very sensitive to the headphone pairing. As soon as I got back my E2s and plugged them in, it sounded just as wonderful as I remembered it.

I guess this is also a caution against getting too worked up about what people say about the sound quality of the iHP -- it really makes a huge difference what you're listening to it through. Seriously, if you want to listen to an iHP, try it with a pair of E2s and tell me I'm wrong.

Well, unless you just don't like the E2s to begin with, in which case I just can't help you.

-Jeff

 

[AGR]

Mine (iHP-120) is brand new, and I ahve been listening to Rickie Lee Jones most of the day through Creative Labs desktop speakers. This morning I was using the standard issue phones that comes with it. No complaints from me.

I still have not adjusted any of the equalizer settings, except for turning on the SRS.

Who makes the E2s, and how much are they?

At work, I will usually use the desktop speakers.

 

[Jeffreybar]

Quote:

Originally posted by AGR Who makes the E2s, and how much are they?

Shure, and $80-100. I love them, but they're not for everyone or every use (as they are in-canal sealed phones). You can find a huge amount of information on them if you search the headphone forum for either "e2" or "e2c".

-Jeff

 

[AGR]

Quote:

Originally posted by Jeffreybar Shure, and $80-100. I love them, but they're not for everyone or every use (as they are in-canal sealed phones). You can find a huge amount of information on them if you search the headphone forum for either "e2" or "e2c". -Jeff

Cool, Jeff!! Thanks!

What about those $150.00 B&Os? I haven't heard much about those on the MP3 forums.

 

[pomegranate]

Aaah, I'm getting scared now. I think I might actually go for it. I've got someone who will buy my iPod from me, in person! in cash! for about £220/230 (UK RRP is £299), cheapest I can find iHP-120 for in UK is £245 on Amazon. Also, I already have shure E2s!
Question - those of you who have used iHP-120, was the main case black (like the 140) or grey (like the 100)? Cos I can't see any reason why they'd be black in the US and grey in Europe, but this seems to be the case going by most vendors.

 

[lee0539]

yea... europe is grey.. its just iriver color scheme... japan has it silver... US is black

 

[Sweet Spot]

pop on over to The Mistic River Forums for a slew of information on the IHP's.

 

[JaZZ]

Sure, synergy as always plays an important role here, but fact is to me that the iHP itself sounds inaccurate, and obviously the Shure's sonic signature benefits from its typical colorations -- in this case the E2 is out of question for me.

As far as I remember I've auditioned the iHP exclusively with my ER-4P, but I also know the iRiver house sound from the iFP-395T where it appears in a milder, bearable form and can be experienced with all of my headphones, whereas with the iHP it's carried to excess and barely acceptable for audiophile demands.

 

[pomegranate]

"yea... europe is grey.. its just iriver color scheme... japan has it silver... US is black"

That sucks big big big big time. Whyyyy??

 

[DLP]

The iHP is Mac compatible. I'm using it fine with my old iMac right here. It comes up in 10.2 as a hard drive, and you just drag the songs over. The only problem is you need a windows machine to create a database to sort your songs by ID3 tags. Otherwise, it's just a file tree setup.

Regarding sound quality: This is not as much a matter of fidelity as it is a matter of music choice. I listen to a lot of techno, rock, and rap. I notice none of what JaZZ talks about with 192kb MP3s. With something more lively and having more depth to the sound, like classical, jazz, etc., it will probably be much more apparent.

 

[Jeffreybar]

Quote:

Originally posted by JaZZ Sure, synergy as always plays an important role here, but fact is to me that the iHP itself sounds inaccurate, and obviously the Shure's sonic signature benefits from its typical colorations -- in this case the E2 is out of question for me. As far as I remember I've auditioned the iHP exclusively with my ER-4P, but I also know the iRiver house sound from the iFP-395T where it appears in a milder, bearable form and can be experienced with all of my headphones, whereas with the iHP it's carried to excess and barely acceptable for audiophile demands.

Yeah, I agree that it's not the most accurate source in the world (and likewise that the E2s are not as accurate as audiophile-grade cans), but I think that the sound is pleasing and fairly warm with that combination, rather than harsh and artificial. Besides, if you really have "audiophile demands", are you going to be listening to mp3s? The format already introduces inaccuracies, might as well listen to a player that gives things a nice, pleasant coloration to cover em up.

 

[JaZZ]

Jeffreybar...
Quote:

Yeah, I agree that it's not the most accurate source in the world (and likewise that the E2s are not as accurate as audiophile-grade cans), but I think that the sound is pleasing and fairly warm with that combination, rather than harsh and artificial. Besides, if you really have "audiophile demands", are you going to be listening to mp3s? The format already introduces inaccuracies, might as well listen to a player that gives things a nice, pleasant coloration to cover em up.

...actually it wasn't me who called it harsh (indeed it's rather smeared and hazy to my ears), but artificial is an attribute that suits it well.

The truth is, I can't distinguish most of my well-ripped and -encoded high-bitrate MP3s from their uncompressed original -- at least on my computer and via headphones. I guess I could with my speaker rig, because my ears are much more sensitive to inaccuracies and sonic differencies there than with headphones. And apparently I'm particularly not too sensitive to MP3 artifacts. That's not a matter of ideology, because after all I know that MP3 is lossy. I think it's a good thing, so I can be perfectly happy with portable DAPs and enjoy a large music collection on the go.

In contrast differences in electronics and cables are very obvious even with headphones. And although I wouldn't call the iHP's sound really bad or ugly, it's not the sound I want, and to my ears it's undoubtedly heavily colored and inaccurate. Hence I'd much rather listen to my Archos with MP3s than to the iHP with wave files.

 

[AGR]

I'm loving the sound, and so far, only have Rickie Lee Jones, and Acoustic Alchemy onboard. About 170 songs.

I finally spent a bit of time with the equalizer last night, and even hooked up Sony Turbo earbuds that I use on the NordicTrack. Really NicE!!

Now; that I have heard about some of the other earbuds, I may experiment some. I don't know if I will ever buy full size headphones again. Possibly.