Rating: 
Summary: A dubious start
Review: I received this sleek little player today, complete with all the accessories and features I could hope for! But apparently, I expected too much. After six hours, the rechargeable batteries haven't taken a charge. And I've followed ALL the instructions in my manual and on Iriver's technical support page, several times.
Rating: 
Summary: Succeeds where other CD/MP3 players fall short
Review: I had originally purchased the RioVolt 350 CD/MP3 player based on the manufacturer's glowing testimony of how great it was--I was very disappointed with the quality and soon replaced it with this player. Unlike the RioVolt, this player delivers on everything it promises.Besides the fact that it can play CD, CD-R, CD-RW in addition to MP3 it has skip protection that actually works even while you are shaking the player all around. The car kit does the job it is supposed to and there are no problems with charging or powering the player. iRiver seems to have hit the mark on this one. It is great for anyone who has tons of CDs and is just starting to get into the MP3 scene.
Rating: 
Summary: iRiver will not honour waranty
Review: Be warned before buying an iRiver product that you are buying from a company that does not provide any warranty. If you are OK with paying a high price for a disposable product then proceed. If your product doesn't work or has a defect then you can simply drop it in the trash. iRiver will not and does not give any customer support for their product.
Warranty simply means "Sorry about your luck Sucker!!!!". My story I'm sad to say is about a unit I purchased from iRiver at Christmas for my 14 year old daughter. She was all excited about getting an IMP-550 mp3, portable cd player for Christmas. I ordered the unit through Amazon and everything appeared to be going well. When my daughter opened her present Christmas morning to her dismay she discovered the leather case had a problem with glue oozing out of the Velcro strap. We tried to wipe up the glue but to no avail. The cover cannot be used since the glue gets transferred to your hands and then eventually to the cd player. I have tried over and over and over to get a replacement cover from iRiver.
If you have the unbelievable luck to get through on the phone then you will get a representative who will patronize you and say a replacement will be mailed immediately. After about 3 months when you still haven't received the unit they will then say they have a problem with the Postal service losing their shipments. Again you get an email indicating they will be sending you a replacement immediately and again after 3 weeks you get nothing. You then send them yet another email asking "where's the cover" and after 4 days you don't even receive a reply. The sad part the cover contains the belt clip so without it you have a portable cd player you must carry unprotected in your hand. Do yourself a favor and stay as far away from iRiver products as possible.
As for my daughter she has learned a lesson at a rather young age regarding the scruples of certain companies. She doesn't fully understand why iRiver won't provide her with a replacement case. After all it most be worth a whole $10.00. Given the unit cost us $161.00. My next plan is on having a friend order a case (paying for it of course) and see if that one gets delivered. It will be very intereting if the postal service works much better when you pay iRiver for a replacement product!! Sad.........
Rating:
Summary: The best cd/mp3 player -- but noisy
Review: Like a few others who've written reviews here, I upgraded to an iMP-550 after my I broke my Rio Volt SP250 (which, it turns out, was actually a branded iRiver too.) Here's what I found from two weeks of use. CONS
1. My only real complaint about the iMP-550 is that it's really loud -- louder than any other CD player I've ever had -- which can annoy others in a quiet setting. When it's reading the disk, it grinds away and it seems as if it would never end. There is a software band-aid for this (a `polite' mode to lessen CD reads), but it doesn't help. Why didn't iRiver fix the problem at the source instead? I could live without the gee-whiz thinness if iRiver needs room for a quieter motor. And did I mention it's loud?
2. The earbuds are [...] (but that's a given with any portable, so don't blame iRiver). Check out [website's] "Cheap Headphones" buying guide for replacements. I like the Sennheiser PX-100 (open) or PX-200 (sealed). PROS
1. ogg support! ogg files sound better to my ears than mp3 or wma files of the same size. This was the main reason I chose the iMP-550 over other models.
2. Excellent sound quality. Better than other cd portables I've tried.
3. Extremely configurable.
4. It handled all the CDRs I've fed it, even ones burned at fast speeds.
5. One reviewer reported that the iMP-550 doesn't handle VBR. Maybe he's got an older version, but mine (firmware 1.50b) handles VBR fine.
6. The controls on the remote, though small, are well thought-out and give a lot of physical feedback. It only takes a few sessions before you can navigate without looking.
7. Comes with all the extras you could needs -- car plugs, a cassette adapter, an external battery source for AA batteries, a nice carrying case, and so on.
8. The manual is easy to skim & read. COMPARISON TO THE VENERABLE RIO VOLT SP250:
1. The interface is an upgrade of the old SP250's software, so the learning curve is easy.
2. The iMP-550 picks up weak radio signals better than the SP250.
3. iRiver has more frequent firmware upgrades than Rio.
4. The NiMH batteries seem hold a longer charge.
5. I don't miss having the controls on the player (instead of on the remote) as much as I thought I would. When I want both the player and controls close at hand, I stuff the remote's cord into the player's carrying case, then flip the case over and clamp the remote's holding clamp onto the carrying case's rubber belt strap. CONCLUSION I'm glad my SP250 broke, because this is a much better player. The sound quality, the better FM tuner, and especially the ogg support, make this player the one to beat. If only the motor wasn't so loud, it would be perfect. I give it 4.5 stars and round up to 5 for Amazon.
Rating:
Summary: This is the sickest player I have ever bought!!
Review: After review of all these flash players and mp3 players. I have come to the conclusion that all of them are still in their infancy stage right now and it's not worth it. Every MP3 player I would look at in the stores was broken after two weeks of being on display (the kid working there told me when they put them out). Also, what's with this no uploading crap! I buy a 20-gig player for however much and I can't load my tunes into my buddy's laptop. F%*! all that noise jack! I'll wait till they get a better handle on things before I drop some real coin on a solid instrument like the one I got right here. 700 MB's of mp3 tunes designed on my own existing burning software Nero (which also rules by the way). No new crap-tacular software that will fry my computer. I burned 13 different albums into folders which are recognized by the player so they are two clicks away on my remote. Awesome!
Rating: 
Summary: Love the product, hate the support
Review: This mp3cd player was given to me as a present. I thoroughly enjoy this product. It has every function one could ask for in a mp3cd player. But after 4 or 5 weeks later, I noticed that it was having problem recognizing the CDs and kept on displying "No Disc." So I called their support line and the representative told me to write them an email describing the situation and info and promised that they would reply that same day with exchange information and some sort of authorization number. It has been three days since then and by reading other reviews I would imagine its going to take longer than few days. So I did some research and tried few things and came to the conclusion that v1.10 firmware has problems(I think).
After updating the firmware to newer version I don't have the problem anymore(only been a day). I would recommend slimx 550 to everyone but their support system worthless.
If you are having "No Disc" error and have the v1.10 firmware give me an email I will tell you where to get the firmware and how I got it to read the CD.(puffy1feet@wowway.com)
Rating:
Summary: Bought 2, both defective!! Never again IRiver!!
Review: In late Feb and early March 2004, I was shipped two consecutive units which were both defective. I saw another message where one person bought 3 and all were defective. I'm not going to be a sucker for a third round.
Rating:
Summary: buy this now
Review: i bought my product from amazon and it works great you need a burner if you want to upgrade the rechargable batterys are cheap 20 for 2 the lcd screen is real cool no controls at all on the cd player except to open it its a little tricky at first (i dont read manuals) but i got the hang of it you can also upgrade the firmware and this is the best cd player ive ever had ive had 2 sony dcjo1 and another old sony ive reserched this product alot and it is arguably the best on the market if it isnt already and after both my sonys broke i wanted something else the first one only played music in the left ear after 1and 1/2 years and the other (dcjo1) screen cracked) sony is terrable you by the name and a 15$ cd player you pay over 100 for so buy this
Rating:
Summary: AMAZING!!!!
Review: This is absolutely the best cd player ever. I am shocked by it's advanced features and simplicity to use. I've never heard such good sounding mp3's ever.
Rating:
Summary: It has problems with WMA files
Review: It is very rich in features and has very good audio quality. However, it made creaky noise from time to time when playing WMA musics. I tried the same CD with WMA files in different player(non imp-550_ and pc. They did not have problems at all. So I returned it and iRivers sent me a new one in 3 days, very good services. But the new one has the same problems. I am reasonably sure that its WMA decoder is not fully compatible at this time, even with 1.10 firmware. Other than this, I am pretty satisfied. I just sent a email to iRiver to see what they are going to with it.
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