iRiver/iPod as source component.

Hello

Has anybody had any experience using either the iPod or the iRiver iHP120 as a source component? using loss less compression for the music.

The iRiver attracts me most at the moment as it has a Digital out and could be used with an outboard DAC in the future. Anybody tried this? Any opinions?

How would it compare to a like priced CD player or PC based system?

Thanks

Chris

 

Must admit that during one of the long hours at work I toyed with the idea of this. I already have the Iriver 120 and a superdac. So would only need to get a 3.5mm optical out to optical in cable and I'd be sorted. If you wanted to go to town you could probably get an improved psu for it (one of those RA powerpaks for example) and have it like that. For sound quality I imagine that a lot of it would be limited to the bitrate that you encode at. Lets face it the whole point of players like this is to fit as many songs on as possible and not worry too much about the quality. The other thing to bear in mind is wear and tear. If your using it at home AND on the move then thats going to shorten its live a fair bit I imagine.

Still might splash out and give it a go sometime if only to see. I admit that its quite tempting to be able to select what you want to listen to without having to hunt through the collection.

 

Its the Iriver iHP120 i was looking at. . . definately an iPod killer.

To be honest i would only be looking at putting between 30-40 cd's worth of music on so i'd be able to use a high bitrate compression. It also seems like a cheaper way of getting a (smallish) hard disk based system without all the hassle of building a superquiet PC with a decent souncard.

If you do test the optical out of your iRiver linked upto the SuperdDAC i would be very interested in your findings.


Thanks

Chris

 

I have an appropriate cable david (well, it's a normal TOSlink but it has converter bits with it), 1m long. Sell it for £5 + p&p.

 

The iriver in the flesh is ugly and cheap, but what ever flouts your boat.

Bear in mind that the ipod has mature software for the PC which works seamlessly with the ipod allowing you to save in just about any format, AIFF, MP3, Lossless etc, the iriver does not offer this so easily.

And with the latest gen of ipods knocking in around £100 cheaper than last year, the iriver is on very shakey ground.

 

Ugly and cheap? No it's not...it's a lovely magnesium, not that ugly white plastic monstrosity iPod look at all.

There is loads of software that works very well for the iRiver. With the iPods you're much more limited because of the DRM [which the iRiver doesn't have]. U could even use iTunes with an iRiver if U convert tracks to MP3.

I agree the prices between the two are getting closer now, but no doubt iRiver will drop theirs at some point to balance things up again.

Lest we not forget that the iRivers have analog and digital out, plus a line in for recording and an FM tuner. Plus of course because it can be attached via USB as an external hard drive you're not limited to storing music files on it.

I love my iHP-140 and from what I've seen of my friend's 20GB iPod it's a no brainer for me.

 

I really like the idea of being able to use the iRiver with an external DAC when used as a source component in the main system, wheras the iPod can not. The quality of the analogue out i do not know.

 

I use analog out on mine as I don't have digital in on my amp. I was quite impressed with the quality. Almost all my MP3s are 192VBR [EAC + LAME] and it sounds great to my ears.

I'd like to try the digital though because the consensus on www.mysticriver.net is that the digital out is better.

 

Matt

If i had the iHP-120 imported would i have any problems with the FM tuner?

Not too clued up on this. Sorry.

Thanks

Chris

 

Conversely it seems to be accepted that digital out will be better, why?

I have experience and I don't like it much at all!

The iriver is ugly I held one, it looks like a lame attempt at an ipod, and lets cut to the quick if the ipod had never come out the iriver would never looks like it does now. Weren't these the same people that bought out that brick of a thing about a year before? And the ipod can be used as an external harddrive no problem.

And before any one starts up lets be clear here, both these devices deliver mediocre HIFI performance, and therefore should be considered in the context of a portable music device (afterall they are), and the ipod on that basis wins every time, hence why it enjoys a 51% market share of every MP3 devise on the market.

 

I think the only problem would be the presets for U.S. radio stations, but then U can just flash the EU firmware to fix that [it has no presets]. Not sure about the warranty though, it might be valid in the U.S. only.

 

The iPod has a bigger market share because Apple spend gazillions on TV adverts!

 

Chris,

No need to import it, both amazon.co.uk and advancedmp3players.co.uk have it in stock. Also advanced do price matches as well.

Oh and the link is www.misticriver.net if you want to head over there.

One thing I would say when spending this sort of money on a player, is do the research. Ask questions on here, on mistic river and over on www.head-fi.org. People will be happy to give advice (useful or not ).There are tons of other players out on the market, as well as the Iriver/Ipods. No the Iriver isnt perfect, but I'm quite happy with mine for what I want to use it for. Having a small player on my belt at work holding pretty much my entire cd collection without having to worry about taking cds back and forth.

Cheers...

 

Oops sorry about the typo, at least it didn't go to a porn site!

I also forgot to add that the iRiver has a nifty LCD remote and a significantly better power source [I get about 13 hours per charge].

 

Gary...

Say a piece of music was put onto an iPod and an iRiver without compression, connect both up to your main system. How would it sound? Any different from another hard disk (PC based( system?

The iRivers ability to connect up to a DAC like the DAC64 or superDAC for example would surely improve on the quality of the analogue output. Why wouldn't it?

As i stated earlier... i will NOT be using the PC or iHP-120/iPod to store masses of music, just 30-40 CD's so very little to no compression will be used. So this coupled with a DAC should/will compete with many a PC based system even a reasonably priced CD based system.

Chris

 

Does the iPod support lossless? I don't know. I know the iRiver supports WAV files, although APE would be more useful to minimise on the disk space requirements.

As for your questions regarding a DAC hook-up, U would probably be best asking on the misticriver forum, I'm sure there are others who can answer this much better than me. All I can say is that it sounds very good to me with VBR MP3s.

 

I was suspecting the iRiver would come up trumps and it has. With its ease of use, good forum community (cheers matt and david) and expandability (!!!) i think the iHP120 or 140 will be the 2 to chose from.

Now on to the prices

Thanks for the advise and links


Chris.

 

One slightly different suggestion.

If its a system your after, have you thought of something like the Denon m series? Apparantly Richers have them on offer at the moment.

http://www.richersounds.co.uk/index.php?f=itemdetl.php&p=301007

Thats without speakers, but they also do a set of missions for around £60 or so.

£185 -Denon
£60 - Speakers (obviously spend more on these if you want !)

£245.00 total, and I imagine a better sounding system than the Iriver setup (no matter how good or bad it may sound to everyones opinion!)

 

Chris, I do find it fascinating that you are making assumptions about the iPod without having heard one. Oh I wish I had your psychic abilities......actually just picked something up on the ether........yep the iRiver and iPod will sound very similar....wow where did I get that from?

Had my iPod playing front end to a 25k and another where the cd player alone would cost you 30k new. The owner had trouble detecting which was which when lossless was used.

 

David

I have a Cyrus 3i integrated amp and a pair of Mission 751f speakers knocking around so i was going to use the mp3 player partnered with these. I also like the idea of a portable device as im a frequent train user

lilolee

i'm not saying one will sound better than the other as i've not actually heard either, and as you say they may sound very similar. What i'm saying is you get far more for your money, like the digi in and out, fm tuner, line in and out. built in mic, long battery life, ease of use..... the list goes on.Also what i was thinking was that if i could use the player with a DAC in the future i will get a nice upgrade in sound quality. It also seems that the iRiver is the media darling at the moment with VERY positive reviews in PCpro, CNET, IGN, and TNTaudio. Cant all be wrong Are the media on a IPod knocking exercise? i think not. i just think they are informing people there is more choice than just an iPod and giving their opinion, which i hope ive been giving in my posts.

Just out of interest what cables did you use to connect the iPod up to the 25K system? the monster ones or some home made ones?


Chris