Should I ditch my iRiver H10 (20gb) for the X5L (20gb)?

[brianwahl]

Well, here's the deal (this is my first post, by the way)

I had my mind set on an x5l with some Christmas cash, but Best Buy had a pretty good deal on the iRiver H10 20gb player, so on a whim I bought it - and now I'm thinking I may have made the wrong choice.

First of all, I had to end up buying a new powered USB hub to get my computer to even see the device when I connected it. Then, the iRiver is totally dependent on WMP 10 for EVERYTHING. I don't think you can get stuff on to it unless you do some trick to get it to start in UMS mode. I thought that wouldn't be a big deal, but it is kind of annoying. Drag and drop would be very nice. I also use DRM encoded Yahoo! Music Unlimited to-go files, and it is really buggy playing those, although it claims to be "plays-for-sure". Transfering them resulted in more than a few blue-screens on my computer. I was up till 4 in the morning the other day getting all my music on it - discarding the songs that blue-screened me. Now, when I use it, some of the songs freeze up the player and I have to reset it to do anything. Also the battery life is only around 10 hours or so - not a big deal, but I'm wondering if more recharges are going to kill my battery sooner, or if I'd run out of juice a lot without the ability to charge right away.

I really don't think the player is a dud - I just think the compatability between Windows Media Player, Yahoo Music Unlimited tracks, and the iRiver being all in the same pot is really buggy.

So, should I return my iRiver and go with a X5L? The video option always kind of drew me in - I don't think I'd use it a lot, but the occasional Reno 911 episode would be cool. My music is very well organized (thanks to media monkey), so no ID3 support is no big deal. I also don't really like the touch scroll pad - I think a button would be a better option. The only thing keeping me from doing it is the DRM wma support. Can I play those on the X5 with a firmware update? I've read around and it seems that maybe I could and maybe I couldn't. Maybe I should do the tunebite thing, but I'm worried about legal consequences (though from what I read, it seems totally legal to use).

Help me out here people - but I think my mind is already made up, and I should return the iRiver. Give me some advice, though.

Thanks!

-Brian

[cmwilson]

I just returned my iriver H10 and am awaiting delivery of the iAudio X5. Read some of the reviews of the H10 on Amazon.com. (Select "See all customer reviews" and then sort them by lowest rating first.) They seem to have some serious reliability problems. I loved the player when it worked, which wasn't all that often. I chose it because I wanted to subscribe to Rhapsody-to-go, but reliability was a much more important issue to me.

[WhiteShadow]

About x5L

Video: It is not the best but it is still watchable.

ID3: It displays ID3 on screen but it does not support id3 tag managment(Searching by genre, rating etc). There is a rumor that cowon would implement it after they are are done with the DRM, but nothing is guaranteed.

DRM: Wma DRM playback is available with the beta firmware here:
http://www.cowonamerica.com/download/iaudio_x5_jsfw.html (I have not tested it since 95% of my tracks do not have DRM).

If you do not mind a joystick and you can live without ID3 tag managment, I think you should go for the x5L (especially because of the 35hr battery life).

[brianwahl]

cmwilson

I read reviews on the iriver h10 before purchasing, and they were all really good - after I bought the 20 gig version I realized the reviews I read were all for the 5/6 gig version. I have read numerous reviews about the 20 gig version that aren't so great - mostly detailing stability problems.

Thanks to both of you for the advice. I'm leaning towards iaudio here. Newegg is out of stock on the x5l. Maybe I'll just go with the x5 - its cheaper, anyway.

[netring]

i would say yes, reading everything you said.

[cmwilson]

I read reviews on the iriver h10 before purchasing, and they were all really good - after I bought the 20 gig version I realized the reviews I read were all for the 5/6 gig version.

For some strange reason, Amazon.com lists the four colors of the H10 20gb separately, so that each color has its own page and therefore its own reviews. I too checked out the reviews before I purchased the H10, but I think I was looking at the wrong color. The reviews of the blue one have the most about the instability problems. I also checked out misticRiver after I purchased the H10 and when I realized how common these problems are, I decided to go with another player. I'm hoping the X5 will be more reliable.

[bigbabydaddy1968]

I own an iRiver H320 and am a pretty active member over @ MisticRiver and can tell you the H10 seems a weak effort from iRiver. Also, iRiver just announced the H10 line is being discontinued and will be replaced w/ higher capacity versions of the U10. (Unfortunately, it seems the highest capacity is going to be 8-10GBs....) Combine that with iRiver's shoddy record for FW upgrades and I'd say the X5 is the way to go, whether you want video or not.

:blah: :blah: :blah: , as Usual,
BBD

:EDIT: Just saw iRiver plans a 20-30GB DAP based on the U10 platform, but that'll be with the 1.8" HD. :EDIT:

[brianwahl]

I've got over 20 gigs of music - and I noticed ecost is having a nice sale on the x5 30gb, so I think I'm going to go for that one.

I looked up on the cowon site, and it appears that you have to transfer drm protected files via MTP protocol, which makes sense because my (soon to be returned) iriver uses MTP only.

I think I'm doing the right thing . . . 30 gigs sounds perfect for me. All my music, plus some photos and a few videos.

[SaHO_G_]

the last year or so iRiver has dropped the ball IMO, theyre players arent as solid as they use to be and before i bought the X5 i was trying to force myself to buy the H10 since there werent any other good players out there (i didnt look at the X5 because it got a lower score) but the X5 is better in almost every way, it might be slightly lower sound quality than the iRiver but hey I think thats a loss everyone is willing to take

[brianwahl]

Thanks for your advice, all.

I just ordered the 30gb x5 from ecost for $264.99.

I can't wait to get this thing and return the iriver.

[cmwilson]

the X5 ... might be slightly lower sound quality than the iRiver but hey I think thats a loss everyone is willing to take

I bought the H10 because of the sound quality and also because I could use Rhapsody-to-go with it (hint! hint! iAudio) but since the H10 was almost always in unusable condition (froze up, dead battery, mysterious error messages) none of the plusses did me any good. My X5 is coming TOMORROW!!! :bigsmile:

[Konechiwa]

cmwilson...the X5 can do rhapsody.....

I'd buy that korean-only G10 or whatver it's called. Looks awesome. Along with the new vision:M, Toshiba Gigabeat S and every other company that now came out with a 2.5" LCD screen.

[cmwilson]

cmwilson...the X5 can do rhapsody.....


Happy Birthday, Konechiwa! :winker:

According to the Rhapsody-to-go web page, the only iAudio devices supported so far are iAudio 4, CW200, CW300, M3, and U2. Here's a link to supported devices.
http://music.guide.real.com/rhapsodydevices

I got my X5 today, and have played with it just a little. It is MUCH better made than the iRiver H10 and I thought the sound was quite a bit better, which I didn't expect.

[afruff23]

newegg.com is really great with great prices. It also accepts paypal and looks professional. I bought my 20 gig X5L on friday(6th) night, and got it yesterday on tuesday(10th) afternoon. I didn't select rush processing or any fancy shipping(just the standard $6 3 day shipping). They don't process on weekends either. I live in Maryland by the way(they ship from New Jersey). I'm very satisfied. It was sold out for some days when I wanted to buy it and it was available on the 5th. Shows how good of a player it is, if it is sold out already again.

[afruff23]

if rhapsody uses DRm, then you can use the BETA firmware. Be warned it is firmware and causes other functions to nto worka as well as before(i.e. you cannot charge via USB port).

[cmwilson]

the X5 is better in almost every way, it might be slightly lower sound quality than the iRiver but hey I think thats a loss everyone is willing to take
When I purchased my H10 I also bought Senn PX-100 headphones to use with it. After reading glowing reviews of the headphones, I was disappointed in them when I was using them with the H10. Now that I have received my X5, I can say the Sennheisers are everything I hoped they'd be. So the difference must be the player. I'm still in the honeymoon period with my X5, but I find the sound quality quite STUNNING!