[austonia]

I just got my iHP-140 from amazon.

here is my experience in the first hour.

1) I notice the protective case is BROWN, not black, like the rest of the player. Kind of ugly color, why not black?

2) I plug it in, turn it on, and start looking at the Root directory and menu/setting items. The hard drive is spinning the whole time I am NOT playing music. What is going on? Only after I select a track, or put in radio mode, does the hard drive stop spinning. I don't understand this at all.

3) I decide before I do anything else, I will update the firmware. Maybe that will fix this weird hard drive spinning issue while I'm just browsing. Think it's easy to get new firmware? Not a chance.

I went to iriveramerica.com. The iHP-140 support page has FAQ and manual only, no link to any firmware update, no directions where to go. I check the iHP-120 support page, and it has a link to old firmare (1.17) only. Great.

So, I go to iriver.com and the international site. I click on support, then select IHP-140 from the drop-down menu. A list of "driver downloads" appears, but it only has a list of manuals. Seriously. If you notice a small button in the corner "more", click on that, and you get another page of manuals, but no firmware yet. Another drop-down menu appears, and you can select IHP-140 AGAIN, and then you select firmare and drivers. Now another page appears and there are 2 US firmwares listed: "iHP-120/140 Firmware V1.40(US)", and "iHP-140 Firmware Factory V1.40(US)". You should know which one to download, right? (?) Click on one and you can finally download it. Directions on how to upgrade are online only, the .zip doesn't contain any help text.

Does this sound like a friendly way to find new firmware?

I hope things get better...

 

[austonia]

I wasn't too thrilled with the blister-pack packaging either. had to use a sharp kitchen knife to get it open, while hoping not to damage anything inside. I mean, for a $500 player, they can't spring for decent box? Damn, the box my iPod came in was so nice I kept it.

 

[Megaman]

What about the sound quality?

 

[austonia]

I'm trying to copy files and directories to the player in Windows File Explorer, but when I try, the player says it doesn't support long file names? ARG! Now I have to read the manual to see what's wrong.

 

[pomegranate]

Um...respect to you Austonia, cos you are The Man when it comes to DAPs, but what are you on about?
1) The colour of the case? Come on. This is a matter of taste.
2) Hard drive..ok this is a bit odd, but as long as it doesn't take away from the advertised battery life does it really matter?
4) The box...sure the iPod box is nice, but the way I look at it, every penny they don't spend on frivolities is a penny I save..adding up to a total of £50 compared to the iPod is not something to be sniffed at. I would throw my boxes away if it wasn't for the possibility of needing to return things. My iPod box would've gone in the bin after the guarantee expired, no matter how pretty it is.

Firmware and long file names, fair enough. But I'm surprised about the firmware problem. I know it's not official, but when I got my iHP I found the firmware from MisticRiver, just cos it's faster to navigate than the graphics-heavy official sites.

 

[jpburton5150]

yeah, ive personally found the whole finding the firmware thing possibly the simplest way to find firmware i've experienced... a lot easier than finding drivers for some other products i own. but I guess that just comes naturally to me or somethin. the hard drive spinning thing is kinda weird... i used to notice this too. but since then it has either gotten better or i've gotten used to it. haha and yeah about the blister pack. its like that for all iRiver products (and only in the US), which sucks but whatever opening it is a one time only situation. and about the case... yeah I can agree on your dislike of the brown case... i have no idea what iRiver and Inno were thinking. its like brown shoes with black pants... ack

 

[xtreme4099]

its amazing player in terms of features however imho the lineout is decent ... however the eyecatcher with this player is really the optical input and output ... fm radio .... built in mic .... and after hearing this with the discrete buffer ppa - aos dac - battery combo in one portable case ---> hd650s ... its something truly amazing ...

 

[4P4me]

I've been reading these forums for the better part of a year now. I've recently registered but I feel well informed enough to offer this opinion. And I'm not picking on Austonia or anyone else in particular, but still.....

Sometimes you guys are just too hung up on anything and everything else besides the MUSIC and how it sounds. This forum is based primarily around the idea of audiophilia concerning headphones. Yet a lot of us go on and moan about other things that have nothing to do with this aspect. Be it packaging, getting files on the player, what you have to do to do this or that. I understand the general reasons for this as far as convenience and such, but still, too much moaning and groaning about these things to suit what I interpret the point of these forums.

Unless I miss the point of these forums, of course.

Just though I'd share that, didn't mean to step on anyone's toes or anything.

 

[br--]

He was giving a short review of the player. I can understand when reviewing headphones, one would concentrate largely on the sound, but with music players there are so many factors that must be considered when deciding on whether it is a good product.

For example, it doesn't matter how good a player sounds if it has a two hour battery life, is a pain to get songs on it, and has terrible build quality. I think this thread is a good heads-up for anyone interested in the iHP-140.

 

[sleepkyng]

i think ease of use, looks, and features are crucial to a good DAP.

it takes me all of 5 seconds to do what i need to do on my iPod do get good music to my ears.

plug it into my powerbook, load song, dismount, press play.

go to apple site, get firmware.


i dont' care if my DAP is the best thing since sliced bread if i can't use it, or can't listen to a song because the filename is too long.

at 500 bucks, you'd better believe i want it to be the snazziest thing in my neck o' the woods.

 

[austonia]

for some reason, the iHP is not being recognized correctly on my main PC (WinXP Pro). in Windows File Explorer, when i click on its properties, it says format type is RAW (not FAT32). I am not able to drag and drop files through Windows File Explorer without changing everything to short file names with no spaces or special characters. Frustrating. I plugged it into two other PC's running WinXP Pro and it works as expected. At least I can start playing with it now.

 

[White Knight]

Quote:

Originally posted by austonia the player says it doesn't support long file names?

It support long file names, but you need to access them thru file tree mode, if those songs that has long file names with the right ID tag (MP3 only), they might be added onto the DB (with the use of iHP Manager) but they wont play, they just play thru file tree mode.
If you press the joystick for more than 2 sec, at the bottom is will display the firmware version (and free space), 1.40U is the latest firmware.
Hows the sound compared to DJ and iPod? Which has the better sound?

 

[lee0539]

Quote:

Originally posted by austonia for some reason, the iHP is not being recognized correctly on my main PC (WinXP Pro). in Windows File Explorer, when i click on its properties, it says format type is RAW (not FAT32). I am not able to drag and drop files through Windows File Explorer without changing everything to short file names with no spaces or special characters. Frustrating. I plugged it into two other PC's running WinXP Pro and it works as expected. At least I can start playing with it now.

well something is wrong with ur main computer... cuz it worked fine for every computer i tried

 

[Skeeve]

Quote:

Originally posted by austonia I wasn't too thrilled with the blister-pack packaging either. had to use a sharp kitchen knife to get it open, while hoping not to damage anything inside. I mean, for a $500 player, they can't spring for decent box? Damn, the box my iPod came in was so nice I kept it.

Oh, I really, really hate that blister-pack rubbish, it should be banned. It doesn't improve the displaying of the product, its wrecked after you finally struggle to open the bloody thing and if you open it without injury you are very lucky.

 

[4P4me]

Quote:

Originally posted by br-- He was giving a short review of the player. I can understand when reviewing headphones, one would concentrate largely on the sound, but with music players there are so many factors that must be considered when deciding on whether it is a good product. For example, it doesn't matter how good a player sounds if it has a two hour battery life, is a pain to get songs on it, and has terrible build quality. I think this thread is a good heads-up for anyone interested in the iHP-140.

Fair enough, but I believe the scales are tipped TOO much to that side of things as opposed to the music side of things. I mean, (and I'm only using Austonia's comments as an example; I respect his views and appreciate his efforts in the DAP review area), how many times are you going to open the package, or upgrade the firmware?

I may very well be only speaking for me, I just feel there are too many comments geared to the "gadget guys" out there as opposed to us music fans.

Anyway, I don't want to take anything away from this thread, but I will say the IHP 120/ETY combo is OUTRAGEOUS!!!