My iAUDIO 5 came today... first impressions - WOW!

[Pinny]

Well the truth is for about my first 3 minutes using, I did find the amount of features overwhelming.

But after spending an hour playing with it, all I can say is wow! I really enjoy the sound quality, and the included effects (BBE, ect...) are so much better than I expected. My e2c's combined with the 5 band EQ and the effects just makes for such enjoyable sound.

As far as the colored backlights, they aren't as exciting as they could be, but they are nice. I definatly wouldn't let the colored backlights be a deciding factor when buying these - I wish there were some nice visualizations using them.

I don't know about battery life - I have only had it for an hr now.

It's sturdier than I expected, but it's no tank. I would definitly advise against dropping it, although I doubt a drop would hurt it.

All the accesories are very cool. The mini usb plug keychain thing is so tiny and I will definitly keep it on my keychain. Some people said they're afraid of it getting broken by the keys, but I highly, highly doubt this will happen - I have had probably less sturdy usb keys in my pockets and they never had a problem. The USB cable is a nice thick braided cable. The necklace also is very cool - I doub't I will ever use it, but it looks high quality.

I hope to have a lot more info soon, but for now, I am very, very happy with this little guy.

 

[Pinny]

Few more things. The included carry case is decent and I like the built in belt loop thingie.

I tried line in recording from my computer, and it came out decent but not great. I haven't played with the line recording settings, so I'm not making any judgements yet.

The included software seems nice, but I don't really see the need for it. For music on my computer I like foobar2k and for music I use EAC, and for copying music to the device, windows explorer does the job fine.

It took about 3 seconds to copy a ~5mb song, which is not fast but not too slow. My USB hdd transfers at 10mb/sec - 6x faster. Still I'm ok with the transfer speed.

 

[Pinny]

One last thing, I just finished using it to record a 40 minute lecture and the SQ is fine. Not great but not to bad. (I was recording about 20 ft away from the Professor). Again, there are settings to adjust, so I'm not making judgments yet.

 

[utdeep]

I'll be able to compare the 2gb Iaudio 5 today with my ipod Shuffle.
I'm hoping the iAudio wins out but I wouldn't count on it.
Tests will be done using UE-10s and EAC lame encoded mp3s.

 

[Pinny]

Quote:

Originally Posted by utdeep I'll be able to compare the 2gb Iaudio 5 today with my ipod Shuffle. I'm hoping the iAudio wins out but I wouldn't count on it. Tests will be done using UE-10s and EAC lame encoded mp3s.

When trying the iaudio, make sure you put the BBE on (even on the lowest setting it clears up the music very nicely) and I would also try the mach3bass (maybe at lvl 3). I don't like the other effects, but not because they add distortion, rather I am just not a fan of what they do; however you might want to try them out.

 

[FattyFatFatHead]

Pinny, thanks for your posts. I really am impressed with the I5, too, for my first flash-based DAP. Have a Sony MD player that's just not convenient enough for me, so after a load of research, decided COWON was the way to go. Whittled it down to the G3 and I5 and chose the I5 for its reputation on good sound, the beautiful form factor (I'm into "ooh" and "ahh") and of course, the plethora of features (FM radio, line-in and mic recording, etc.).

So, now my only problem is finding a pair of small driver earbuds (not noise cancelling) that I can use in a pinch. The earbuds that came with the I5 are practically frisbees and just way way too large. The other accessories (USB key and cable, plastic case, neck cord, and armband) are very nice, and get used often.

 

[Pinny]

Haha, I know - those ear-buds are huge. They really do sound great but they are way to big for my ears also. I actually already found them a nice home with a guy in my dorm. Don't buy the Sennheiser buds - they are basically just as big.

My favorite phones in terms of value is the Shure E2C, but it's a canal phone - not an earbud. I really don't know of any normal sized "hi-fi" earbuds. If you want something descreet, canal phones are probably your best bet.

 

[EBisky]

where did you buy yours?

 

[FattyFatFatHead]

Quote:

Don't buy the Sennheiser buds - they are basically just as big.

Ah, thanks...was wondering about those, but you never know until you buy them and returning earphones is a pain...

Quote:

I really don't know of any normal sized "hi-fi" earbuds. If you want something descreet, canal phones are probably your best bet.

You know, my kingdom for a smaller earbud, even if not the best fidelity...I've got too much going on around me during my day to cancel out the world, but it seems the only way I can get a small earbud is to go the canal phone route, which just won't work. I ordered me some Sony MDR-G74SL street style headphones just to be able to have something open that I could hang around my neck easily, so we'll have to see how they work.

In the meantime, I'm going to mess around with the settings you've suggested and see what gives me the best sound out of what I've got right now.

 

[utdeep]

Senn MX400s and mx500s are far smaller than the bundled iaudio ones, and they sound terrific.

 

[Pinny]

Hmmm I don't have my Senn buds anymore, but even if they were smaller, they still caused me alot of pain from being so big. What ever happened to the non-frisby earbuds - the ones that looked like little buds - those were actually pretty comfortable.

Ebisky, I bought mine from SunTec.

utdeep, I really wanna hear how the shuffle compared to the i5.

 

[IpaqMan]

Have fun with your Iaudio 5. I got one a couple of weeks ago and it is a terrific player. It does just about everything you could ask of a flash player (except support Audible tracks) and more.

For earphones, I have used E3Cs, EX71SL, MX500, and Sharp HP-MD33S. They all work well with the I5. I still have to use the extender cord with the MD33S.

In my battery life tests, the I5 will get up to 20 hours on a new alkaline battery when all sound enhancements are disabled. Enabling the sound effects will use about 20 percent more power.

 

[Pinny]

I personally got only about 10 hr's but that's with backlights on full power using one of the themes that makes it constantly switch colors, and with the equalizer, bbe effect, and mach3bass all going the entire time.

Did you guys know that there's this program you can use that will automatically download the lyrics to the songs and sync them up to your songs automatically. I found the lyrics to about 80% of my collection this way. My friends were amazed when the saw the lyrics being shown along while the song plays.

Usually when you buy something (at least usually for me) it winds up not being as great as you expected but I keep loving this thing more and more. It really does everything.

Sorry if I sound too enthusiastic.

 

[FattyFatFatHead]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pinny Did you guys know that there's this program you can use that will automatically download the lyrics to the songs and sync them up to your songs automatically. I found the lyrics to about 80% of my collection this way. My friends were amazed when the saw the lyrics being shown along while the song plays.

Pinny, what program is that? It's not the Lyrics DB program that came w/the I5, is it? And do you know if the Lyrics DB program works with VBR (variable bit rate) MP3s?

And no, you're not too enthusiastic. I, at least, do not feel the obnoxious breeze of pom poms waving in my face...

 

[Cyclone]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FattyFatFatHead And do you know if the Lyrics DB program works with VBR (variable bit rate) MP3s?

If it works with mp3 it will work with vbr mp3's just as long as they have tags one them.