[Techniques]

Let me just dive into this,

For my portable music needs I have a CD player and a Sharp Minidisk player/recorder. My CD player is just some old Philips model that plays audio on CD and CD-RW and not mp3s, and I have an old Rio 100 that I don’t use anymore (its only like 64 megs with the flash card I have for it) so I may pawn it or something. Anyway, I’m looking to retire the old 50$ CD player and get an mp3/cd player as I have one in my car as well. I’ve been researching the SlimX 350 and it looks good, I’m just concerned about the hissing thing but I guess ill have to try that for myself. The reason I think I’m going to buy it besides the fact that I’d like a new CD player is, check this out:

At best buy to start it's 149.99
They offer a 20.00 mail in rebate so its 129.99
I have a 20.00 gift certificate I got over Christmas making it 109.99
I have a coupon I got last night for 10% off any portable audio device in the store, so it should be around 100 something.
That and I have a full 30 days to return it for full cash back if I don’t like it, so I guess I should go for it, assuming I can use all of these together on one purchase? (I don’t see why not)

One of the main things that’s holding me back is I’m trying to like, limit my personal music format, like I said I have a minidisk player and a ton of regular audio CD’s then I have about 55-60 gigs of mp3s. So I listen to allot of mp3 CD’s I have in my car, and then I listen to regular CD’s or minidisks I’ve recorded whenever. I’m going to skip the mp3 player phase I already know I want to stick with CDs or mp3s on CDs. I just feel like I should be using my MD player more but I don’t like the fact that I have to record in real time with it, and when I do make minidisks their usually mixes from my computer of different mp3s (all high quality usually) so because of that my minidisk collection is no where as vast. I guess I should just use my MD player to make a collection of high quality timeless music favorites, and have a few disks for on the fly mixes and such; I’d also like to get into doing some live recordings. (I do like the fact that they are re-writeable)

Sorry about the lengthy post I’m just trying to work out everything in my head, I don’t want to spend tons of cash on a vast array of music playing devices and formats, that would be a nightmare and I’d like to be organized in the way of musical formats. You don’t understand I’m anal about organization so yeah

To sum up: The SlimX 350, given the above knowledge and situation should I buy it? From what I’ve read for the most part people like it.

Any words of guidance or ideas for a ‘personal format’ solution would be great as well, maybe some one out there is in the same boat I am?

Thanks once again all you wise Head-Fiers!

- Techniques

 

[Peddler]

The hissing from the SlimX is tolerable in my opinion. Even with the Etymotic ER4P's (which have to be one of the most susceptible to hiss due to low impedence and isolation/clarity of sound) the hiss is no problem.

With higher impedence/different headphones the hiss is a complete non-issue. When I use my Koss KSC-35's or P - S convertor cable on my Ety's, there's no hiss at all.

I think the SlimX is an excellent player. So far it has coped with every single disc I have thrown at it - no problems with Lame -alt presets and copes with Windows XP writing method, Direct CD, NERO and Roxio software created discs no problem.

The upgradable firmware is outstanding. When I first got the player I was disappointed to discover that I couldn't even walk without the player skipping once the buffer memory was used. Even using the 'enhanced' skip protection mode setting was ineffective against my obviously 'bouncy' walk.

Since upgrading the firmware to the latest version (2.12) the player absolutely doesn't skip. With the enhanced shock protection set (slide the MODE switch to the right and hold for a few seconds) you can put a disc in, press play and as soon as the music starts playing SHAKE THE PLAYER LIKE HELL and it doesn't skip.

My Sony D-915 exhibits this level of skip protection (they call is G-Protection) - Sony use both a buffer memory and faster laser servos to achieve this - I'm guessing that Iriver have done a similar thing with their latest firmware.

I'm currently spending most of my time listening to the excellent Nomad Jukebox 3 but I still take the SlimX for a walk every now and then.

One last point. I think the SlimX will go that little bit louder than most modern PCD Players - this is thanks to the slightly more powerful headphone amp. There's no problems getting the gumstick batteries (I've seen Sony branded ones for £7.50 which is excellent value for money) and they work well.

Buy a SlimX in confidence. I know others may not agree but I think it sounds easily as good as my Panasonic 570.

I hope this helps.

 

[Techniques]

It did very much Peddler, thanks for taking the time to respond

the gumstick batterys, ive seen them. they are rechargable i assume right?
it comes with two and ive seen where i can buy more. do they die often tho?

 

[stan23]

I've also tested and bought a slimx for a family member, and for the price, you are truly getting a great deal.

I remember the battery life is great, very portable and and excellent headphone jack. I tested the unit with my SR40s and noticed no hissing whatsoever. I also loaded it with the latest firmware and it works perfectly.

Surprisingly enought, the buds that it comes with is not terrible. Pretty much on par with the iPod buds.

The remote is very cool, and from what i've read, you can order the new slimx remote to work with the older units.

 

[stan23]

Quote:

Originally posted by Techniques It did very much Peddler, thanks for taking the time to respond the gumstick batterys, ive seen them. they are rechargable i assume right? it comes with two and ive seen where i can buy more. do they die often tho?

The only problem i see is that the batteries are NiMH (memory effect)

I cannot stress how important it is to fully drain the battery before charging. Another selling point for me is that they include this little tube to use standard AA batteries. The unit can be powered directly with it.

 

[bdb55]

Quote:

Originally posted by stan23 The only problem i see is that the batteries are NiMH (memory effect)

Are you thinking of NiCD? All of the NiMH batteries I've ever seen are advertised as "no memory effect."

From thomas-distributing.com:

Quote:

http://www.thomas-distributing.com/maha-educate-batteries.htm Q: What do you mean by "no memory effect" on MAHA NiMH batteries? A: Memory is a type of problem that traditional NiCD batteries usually develop. You probably have heard that in order to maintain the life and performance of rechargeable batteries, you have to fully drain the batteries before recharging them. Thanks to "memory free" technology featured on Maha NiMH batteries, you can charge them anytime you wish, regardless if the batteries are fully drained or not. Q: How often should I condition my batteries? A: Generally speaking, NiMH batteries do not suffer from the "memory effect" and thus do not require conditioning. Nevertheless, to ensure top performance, conditioning is recommended at once for every ten charges. For Nickel Cadmium (NiCD) batteries, conditioning is recommended every time you charge your batteries.