[audioqueso]

I guess I've narrowed it down to these two players. Unforunately I do not have the leisure of testing these myself, so it's strickly based on reviews on the net.

I'm looking for a few features. Slim, can read ID3 tag, sturdy yet lightweight, backlight display, fast (no million second to switch from one mp3 to another) good quality headphone out (no amp will be use) and good battery life.

The one thing that seems bad about the SlimX is the hiss that everyone talks about. I will be using Sennheiser HD-570 and Audio-Technics ATH-A500.

The Pana looks nice, and features look great, but I can't find any reviews (except Tina's) anywhere. Tina, don't get me wrong, I take your opinion on it, but I want to hear from more numbers, not just one person.

I have a RioVolt SP50 but it always opens the lid. It's not broken, it just sucks like that. So, any recommendation on the two? Thanks everyone.

 

[Trounce]

the CT800 only has 6mw per channel, while the iRiver has 11 or 12mw per channel, if I'm not mistaken. That by itself should convince you. And don't worry too much about the hiss: you won't hear it over the music, so it's just a formality.

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Quote:

Originally posted by Trounce the CT800 only has 6mw per channel, while the iRiver has 11 or 12mw per channel, if I'm not mistaken. That by itself should convince you. And don't worry too much about the hiss: you won't hear it over the music, so it's just a formality.

If you're considering the iRiver SlimX, be prepared for one big disappointment, as far as battery life is concerned: The battery life seldom exceeds four hours on just the internal rechargeable batteries. And even with both the internal rechargeables and the external battery case (which just dangles freely, by the way) loaded with AA alkalines, the battery life still falls far short of what I'd consider acceptable. Those drawbacks make the SlimX an extremely expensive player to operate.

 

[Trounce]

Only if you're playing audio CDs... playing mp3 CDs, the battery life is much better. It's like that with any MP3 player.

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Quote:

Originally posted by Trounce Only if you're playing audio CDs... playing mp3 CDs, the battery life is much better. It's like that with any MP3 player.

It also depends on the bitrate used in the MP3s. With any MP3s over 128kbps, I barely get 4 to 5 hours of battery life on just the internal rechargeables. The only way that I'll get anywhere near acceptable battery life out of that SlimX with just the internal rechargeables is if I play only MP3s that are encoded at the lowest CBR bitrate that the player supports, which is a measly 4kbps.

 

[bangraman]

But, I'd take that trade-off in order to have more flexibility in my phone choices without needing an external amp. Figures for the 350 look the same as the 400 so I would imagine it's got the same amp. Sound quality on my 400 is definitely below par compared to a recent Sony PCDP's line out with an amp but it doesn't really bother me for travelling use. In real life I don't find the battery life that bad... And in any case, I always carry 2 Sony batteries with me.
It's nice to have something that will power an HD25, DT250-80, HD280, V6, whatever, to reasonable levels without necessarily needing an additional amp, plus have a radio onboard. Few recent PCDP's can do that.
Just as well it mostly doesnt require amping as long as your headphone choices are reasonably sane, as the Line Out is really quite bad... If the 400 is like this, I would imagine the 350s is equally bad... Or did I make a mistake? They had the 350 for 30 pounds less...

 

[audioqueso]

Well, as far as batteries, I have 4 rechargeable AA that I can use, but that means that if I swap out twice, that gives me 12-15 hours max. I have a portable transformer, so I can recharge them anywhere. But I am not always going to carry those with me. Especially if the SlimX has a battery pack that dangles out.

As far as 6mw vs 12mw, I'm not sure how much I want. The RioVolt SP50 puts out a good amount to drive my headphones, but I don't know how much it puts out. On top of that, I would not take any less power.

 

[audioqueso]

...so if the RioVolt puts 5mw, then 6mw is fine with me. But if it puts out 8mw, then I guess 6mw just isn't enough. But like I said, I have no way of telling if the RioVolt puts out more than 6mw, or less. No info on the net either.

 

[zeplin]

audioqueso,

FWIW, I get more than 4 hours of play when listening to audio cd's out of my 350. I get about 6-8 hrs with the volume at about 18-20 using my Ety 4P's. Even if you consider 4-8 hours low, I couldn't imagine listening to music longer than 8 hours on a very long road trip all at once without stoping at a motel. Because I think that the average driver would stop after a days worth of driving at a motel, which would allow for recharge. Even still, if you think that the play time is short on the go, I can justify it because the SlimX has so many nice features and several different playable formats.

As for the sound quality of the SlimX, I am more happy than others here. I wouldn't say that any Sony players line out is better...IMO, it's just a different type of sound...it will again come down to what you prefer. The slimX has a more warm presentation while the Sony players have a more extended frequency presentation (through the line out). But pair a SlimX with a nice amp, and you have a trmendous upgrade in sound quality, again IMO

So I would go for the SlimX imp350!

 

[audioqueso]

Who plays music that long? I do. Why? Because I'm not at a place where I have the leisure of always having a power outlet available. We have power from a generator, but no extra available to actually plug in. So whenever I do get a chance, I can recharge, but that might be days.

I don't want an amp. I'll leave it at that.

That's why I ask for which one will serve me better without an amp. I'm not too sure whether 6mw is enough or not based on what I'm using right now.

By the way, this thread is going really good and is being really helpful to me, so I want to thank all of you.

 

[audioqueso]

Well, I just found out that the Rio SP50 that I have outputs 10mw max, and since I find myself maxing it out at times, I guess the 6mw from Panasonic really isn't going to cut it. That sucks, huh?

Is the SlimX my only choice? As nice as it looks, I am a little skeptical about the hiss. That would bother me as much as badly ripped/encoded mp3s. Hmmm.

 

[Tim D]

I like the Panasonic SL-MP70. It has the display on the lid, is built quite sturdy and in Japan blah blah. It's bigger than the competition, but I don't mind going back to slightly larger rugged build...at least the cd door can clasp together with "closure" which is not so typical of the others.

Actually has excellent battery life with just standard batteries, my favorite just putting in my Nimh AA's. The headphone jack is 8mw, which is in line with the CT790 series of digital volume headphone jacks. No hiss which is also a peeve of mine.

However understandably no line-out and not capable of achieving the fidelity of an amped good quality line-out. I would still prefer it to a bad hissy line-out, and it power is just not an issue for me with the right selection of phones and the portable criteria. Would rather have that 8mw's clean, vs 12mw hiss machine.

Please note I have no preference for loudness anymore and it is almost downright abnormal lately as I've found myself listening to settings of 1-2 out of 25 or so on my car stereo even in traffic when 7+ used to be norm a long time ago.

At about $60 bucks for a nice player with ID3 display, excellent battery life, good build, and pretty good sound quality, I find it to be my ideal Mp3/CD player.

 

[audioqueso]

Yes, I too would prefer clean sound, and I don't care for loud music, but sometimes I have to play it loud because of the amount of noise here (remember, there's a generator here). I am using closed headphones, but this is a lot louder than what these can block out.

 

[Tim D]

Well the money you can save on the Pana can be totally and entirely demolished with something like ER4s!

 

[zeplin]

audioqueso

Of course there are always situations in which you'de need more play time. I didn't realize that you'de be without an outlet for days at a time. Also, when I use my 350 combo, I notice no hiss at all. Maybe it's just my specific combo, I dunno??? I hope you make the right decision...I would understand that it would be very difficult to choose a player without auditioning it first. Best of luck to you