[pianoplayer88key]

I temporarily bought a 799 one to test it out, and so far I like it. Now, I need to take it back otherwise I'll be in the hole for $$ (unless I can find a way to not be in the hole...) then probably buy one on ebay (to get a good deal although $180 incl tax at Circuit City didn't look all that bad).

Basically I like all the recording options and sound options that the iriver has, and the audio quality is quite a bit better than my Pogo RipFlash Plus. I tested battery life recently while recording - put a fresh 1800mAh battery in, and got about 12 hours or a little more, and I could live with that.

So, I'm wondering if I should go for something else?

I'd like to be able to have Windows recognize it as an external hard drive. I understand there's a firmware update to do that, but I'm not willing to give up the high bitrate (112kbps to 320kbps) encoding.

I'd really like an expandable memory slot. Compact Flash would be preferred, but I'd be willing to consider, in basically this order, Secure Digital, XD(, tied with) Smart Media, but preferably not Memory Stick.
An built-in speaker would also be nice. It doesn't have to be super high quality, but something usable would be nice. My RipFlash Plus has it, and if I get rid of that (thinking about keeping it though) it will be sorely missed, even though it's not very good quality.
I'm willing to give up the FM radio. A good AM radio would be nice, but the Radio YourWay doesn't have as many recording options as the iRiver, even though RYW has a memory slot, AND it's a lot more $$ than I want to pay considering the features.
I don't mind something a little bigger than either the RipFlash or the iRiver, but preferably no bigger than a cassette walkman.

So, I'm thinking of going with the iRiver 799 or 899, unless someone can steer me toward a better unit that has everything the iriver has, plus the other features I'd like to see.

I'd really like to get a hard drive player, but 1 - it would probably break within a few minutes of me getting it, 2 - I'd run out of space very quickly, and 3 - I don't have the several hundred $$$ for a durable high-capacity one with an LCD screen and memory card slots and USB port.

 

[necropimp]

best buy has the 899 on sale for like $133... the only difference between the 800 and 700 series is appearance (and possibly the included accessories)

 

[Asr]

At one point in time, like you I was considering the the iFP-799 but then I discovered the iAudio U2. It's better in every way IMO. No AA/AAA batteries - integrated lithium-polymer recharges through the USB port.

 

[pianoplayer88key]

I looked at the U2, but it's not as customizable as the 799/899, especially in the recording department. This is extremely important to me.

I'd like something with a built-in speaker (even if it's not high quality) and a memory card slot (not SmartMedia or Memory Stick though), but considering how good it seems based on my findings so far that the 799/899 is otherwise, I might be willling to give that up. I also like to be able to have Windoze recognize it as an external drive, but I'm not willing to give up the > 96kbps recording.

 

[Asr]

The U2 can record up to 128 kb/s in MP3 or directly to WAV, and is recognized as a USB drive out of the box, unlike the iRivers which need to be flashed. The U2 has every single feature the 799 or 899 has (really - the latest firmware lets it now play OGG files too); the only differences are the form factors and the battery types. Well ok the iRiver ones advertise up to 40 hours of battery life on AA, but not even WMA will let you load up to 40 hours of music onto 1GB.

 

[pianoplayer88key]

On the U2, can you select mp3 bitrates up to 320kbps? Also can you independently select sampling rates from 11 to 44 kHz (including 12, 16, 24, and 32)? You can on the 799/899, and I can't find out that it's possible from reading the manual on the U2.

As for wave recording, with only 1GB of space it wouldn't be very useful to me. If I had 250GB and an AC adapter it'd be different, though.

 

[Asr]

Looks like the U2 stops at 128 kb/s for MP3 and 32kHz for WAV. Cowon does sell an AC adapter for it though.

The 799/899 goes up to 320 kb/s and 44 kHz? I did not know that.

 

[necropimp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Asr Looks like the U2 stops at 128 kb/s for MP3 and 32kHz for WAV. Cowon does sell an AC adapter for it though. The 799/899 goes up to 320 kb/s and 44 kHz? I did not know that.

provided you don't install the UMS firmware... UMS firmware limits recording to 96kbps

 

[pianoplayer88key]

Quote:

Originally Posted by necropimp provided you don't install the UMS firmware... UMS firmware limits recording to 96kbps

Right.
I'm not installing the UMS firmware (although I might install one before it that enables variable playback speed and a couple other things) until they come out with one that doesn't cripple the high bitrate recording options.

In the meantime, I'm the winner of #5783081039 on ebay, an 899.

So... we'll see how it goes.

I still plan to keep my RipFlash Plus (128MB) for backup, and for the internal speaker, and a smart media card (I currently have 3 (I may keep them all) plus a 4th that's no longer working (I can see the hairline fracture across the chip so I don't think it's salvageable.))