Rating: 
Summary: Very bad radio!!!!!!!!!
Review: The radio is worthless!!! It is only possible to listen to the
strongest radiostations, when you are standing still and holding up the earphone cable. Tried it at the absolute center of Stockholm (the capital of Sweden), and could bearly hear anything.Furthermore, putting the mp3 on takes about 45 seconds and a usual audio-cd takes about 20-30 seconds. ...so I returned the player to the store and, with some hesitation, bought the iRiver SlimX 400 in stead. I became very positively surprised! The radio in iRiver 400 is very good, I can use it almost anywhere, maybe not in the subway but rather far down the stairs to the subway.
However, the batteries only last for 5-10 hours, but I can anyway
strongly recommend SlimX 400.
Rating: 
Summary: Worked 4 days...and they want me to pay shipping&insurance?
Review: I asked my wife to purchase the SlimX550 for me for Christmas. It worked beautifully for four days and then wouldn't recognize that a disc was present. I emailed i-River and sent 2nd, 3rd, and 4th followups. They finally got back to me and 3 weeks from my first message finally told me to return the defective unit to them and they would replace it. They indicated that I should pay shipping and insurance charges and didn't say anything about sending me a mailing label like one of the other reviewers with two defective units. I've asked them if they didn't feel like they should be responsible for paying for the return of a unit that only worked four days and am now waiting on that answer. (Maybe in three more weeks if ever...??) Overall, during the four days that the unit worked, it was fantastic! But...was this just one of a tiny fraction of a percentage of units that are defective or is this a pattern that will repeat when I receive the replacement? Stay tuned for further developments....
Rating:
Summary: Two have gone bad (NOW 3!!!)
Review: I purchase two of these for Christmas (2003). Within one week, the first unit quit working. It just turned off while I was sitting there doing nothing. It would not turn back on. Even with the thing sitting on the charger, it still would not turn on. So, thanks to the beauty of the internet, I returned it with a free shipping label provided. I asked for an exchange instead of a return because the thing is just so darn cool. So, I started using the second one I had actually bought for my girlfriend. It worked great, for a couple of weeks. Then, the same thing. It turned off on it's own, and will not turn back on. I am going to exchange it also. Why exchange it instead of returning it? Well, I like the idea having my CDs on CD hard-copy instead of sitting on an IPod waiting for it to crash. At least in a few years, I will have a library of MP3 CDs, instead of a broken IPod with nothing to show for my trouble. Another problem is that the first unit did not read the MP3 CDs all that well. It paused a lot during playback. I was kind of glad it broke for that reason. The second one did not have that problem. So, I have gone through two, and I am waiting on two more to arrive. Let's hope that the law of averages works in my favor this time. Still, you would think that having two units (SlimX iMP-550) break within the fist couple of weeks of use is a HUGE flag to those out there thinking about making this purchase. ----- Follow Up: third went bad Well, the one they replaced also went bad. I live in Portland, Oregon, and I use it for riding our light-rail train system called The Max. I am suspecting that the problems are being cause by the electrical power cables that run the train. The problem is probably in the way they build the iRiver iMP-550. It is so much thinner than the rest, that I suspect the parts they are using are less robust in handling electro magnetic interference (EMI). Kind of like being shocked by static electricity. All three units went bad while riding The Max, and all were used less than two weeks. Two of those three died in the same area. When I wrote the people at The Max, they did not answer my email. So, what does this mean to you? Be careful if you are planning on using this product in areas where there is large EMI. By the way, iRiver says they do not cover "Unusual electrical stress".
Rating: 
Summary: So worth the money
Review: It's expensive. That's because it's the best. Here's why: Functionality: It has every function you could want and some you never thought of, up to and including a mode that makes the mechanism quieter, so it doesn't bother the people around you. Plays audio CDs, MP3 and WMA, with upgradeable firmware for future formats. Excellent navigation lets you scroll through the list of songs without interrupting the song you're listening to. Supports ID tags and CD text (so you see track names for regular CDs too). Very good memory buffer for shock protection (caches the entire MP3 file, or up to 320 seconds of audio CD, and reads ahead to the next MP3 file so there's no wait between tracks). Equalizer presets and customizable settings. Sound quality: Rivals my Yamaha 565 home deck. It's the best sounding portable I've tested. In addition to headphones out, it has line out and digital out to plug into your receiver. It's small: Looking at it from the top, it's barely larger than a CD. From the side it's 0.54 inches thick. If you have a spindle of CDRs handy, stack 9 of them on your desk - that's how large it is. It looks damn cool: Simple black and silver design will look good in your backpack of with your business suit. Comes with a padded sleeve you can keep it in that doesn't interfere with operation. All controls are on a small remote with a clip on the back. Also includes a car kit - remember when you had to pay extra for that? The included "headphones" are, of course, crap. Pair it with the Sennheiser PX100 for portability and value or the Sony V700DJ for style and sound quality, and you have the best portable rig, period.
Rating:
Summary: Best MP3 brand... Best MP3/CD Player Ever...
Review: I am a Korean... I am very proud of the best MP3 brand "iRiver", Korean brand. I didn't know about iRiver before I bought this MP3/CD player. I thought iRiver is US brand and I tried to find the best MP3/CD player in Panasonic or Sony. But many people said iRiver is the best, so I decided to buy imp-550 even though it is very expensive for me. I bought this product on December. I have no doubt that this player is the best. I never thought that I wasted money to buy this player. p.s One good thing is that iRiver is making new version firmware and it will come out soon. It will provide OGG format, so we can listen OGG files.
Rating:
Summary: Im Impressed
Review: I never spent more than 75 dollars on a portable cd player before. however, i was interested in using MP3 though and decided to buy a new one with an MP3 feature. I was very hesitant about ordering the iMP-550 because of its $160 dollar price tag. I even regretted it and planned on returning it when i recieved it. when it came and i opened it up i was sold. the iMP-550 is easily worth every dollar. it has every function you cou could ever need and incedible sound quality. i would recommend this to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Premium player for a premium price
Review: I can't comment on the out-of-box quality because once I recieved the played I immediately upgraded the firmware version to 1.10, which iRiver made very easy on their web site. The player itself is wonderful to look at and listen to, the remote was easy to use and understand and the options available allowed the fine tuning of sound quality to fit anyone's idea of perfect.
Rating:
Summary: imp-550 Class and Quality
Review: I've had my IMP-550 personal CD player for a couple of weeks now. It is by far the best CD player I've owned having had experience of good quality Sony and Philips players in the past. Its compact and light but a quality item. It comes with 2 x NiMH 1450mAH gumstick rechargeables and an auxiliary tube which holds 2 x AA batteries. The unit has a discharge and charge function and completed that operation for me in about 4 hours. There is also a smart, slim case which can be looped on your belt and gives the player good protection. The only control on the unit itself opens the lid and is not accessable when in the case.
I downloaded the latest firmware upgrade (1.40) from Iriver's site, burned it to a CDRW and the player read it and upgraded within a minute. I believe the Ogg Vorbis codec is an imminent firmware download which will allow even higher music quality in less space.
I found the wired remote easy to use and with which everything on this player is customisable but its well worth studying the manual to get the best out of it. The manual is well set out and easy to read with plenty pictures. I have burned a few CDRs, CDRWs full of MP3s and audio CDs on cheap media and the player has read and played them all without a hitch. I got myself some new headphones (Koss Porta Pro) as I prefer the open type and these have made the player sound even better than it did with the original supplied Sennheiser in-ear.
The stereo FM reception is good around where I live and the unit auto tuned all the available stations in seconds, 20 presets are available. Sometimes lost the signal when walking around town but just for seconds.
All in all I am extremely happy with the performance of this player although I have not tried all the codecs or the optical out yet. Yes I would buy it again tomorrow, even at the higher price I paid.
Rating:
Summary: The best of all mp3 cd players out there
Review: This is one of the best slim players out there... great value for money,stylish,slim,best sound,good accessory package,good battery life...what more can u wish for in a player???
Rating:
Summary: This Cd palyer is great
Review: This CD player is so easy to use and works very well. It's a little hard to scroll through the Mp3's but I'm not sure I'm doing it completely right. The sound is great and the rechargible batteries are extremely helpful. I just plug it in at night and it's fresh in the morning. When plugged into a car jack it charges at least three times as fast as in a wall socket. I think the player does everything a mp3 player does and more. I can fit over 10 hours of music on a single CD.
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