Product Review
In keeping with its reputation for cutting-edge features and design, iRiver's iMP-550 handles nearly every conceivable file format. The player, which is little more than half an inch thick, is built with rugged electronic shock protection to guard your listening against interruptions, offering up to 32 minutes of protection when you're listening to WMA files on your home-made CDs. The player supports MP3, WMA, and ASF formats, and additional formats (like AAC and MP3 Pro) may be supported in the future through simple firmware upgrades, by which iRiver can add and modify player features.
slim, powerful, cool.
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The iMP-550 comes loaded with accessories, too, including a car kit, a carrying case, and two stick-type rechargeable batteries. When used in tandem with a pair of standard AA batteries, the device is capable of playing for up to 55 continuous hours--perfect for hassle-free travel.
An easy-to-read, four-line LCD on the included remote control shows every bit of information you need, and an FM tuner comes in handy when you're traveling by tracking the frequencies to maintain reception as you move. The player also recognizes discs in Packet Write format, which enables you to use CD-RW discs like PC hard disks, offering the ease of using discs and of saving and deleting songs.
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| Crank the tunes in your car with the supplied cassette adapter and cigarette lighter power adapter |
What's in the Box CD player, remote control, iRiver earphones, carrying case, car cassette and power adapters, 2 NiMH rechargeable batteries, AA battery adapter, headphone adapter, AC power adapter, user's manual, warranty information.
Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review
(74 customer reviews) 55 of 56 people found the following review helpful
Excellent MP3 CD Player; Almost Perfect,
July 14, 2003 marcia53 "marcia53" (houston, tx) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: iriver SlimX iMP-550 CD / MP3 Player with Ultraslim Design (Electronics)
My first MP3 CD player was a Sonicblue Rio SP-250. It was an excellent MP3 CD player until it broke. I bought a cheaper MP3 CD player, and it was quite sub-par. This is my return to the high-end MP3 CD Players. First off, this player is the best I've used. And while it exceeds my expectations, there are still a few tiny, minute flaws.The Good
The sound quality is superb.
The navigation is clear and easy to use.
The remote is easy to use, and has a vibrant display and backlight.
The accessories that the unit comes with are great.
The unit itself is THIN!
Battery life of the rechargable stick batteries is good.The Bad
No controls or display on the unit itself.
Radio reception is not quite perfect (I find my self shifting the remote around to try and get better reception. To my surprise, it works).Conclusion
In the end, I'm very pleased with this player. It is, in my opinion, the best MP3 CD Player on the market. Everything is...Read more
25 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Slim case and Remote control - WOW!,
October 18, 2003 By A Customer
This review is from: iriver SlimX iMP-550 CD / MP3 Player with Ultraslim Design (Electronics)
This cd player has all the features I was looking for and more that are a total bonus. It plays MP3's, WMF's and regular cd's. I don't use the headphones that came with it because I have a very nice set of Sony studio type phones. The combination of the player and my phones is incredible sounding. I love the remote control. It makes it so much easier to control when you are in bed or in the car or have it on your belt, etc. You don't have to take the player out of its protective holder to get at any of the controls, only to change the disks. The equalizer is worth the price by itself. It has some presets, but you can totally control about 5 different levels, plus right and left. The remote even displays the name of the disk and song if your cd has that kind of information tag on it. I also love the fact that the firmware in the player is upgradable online. It's a very easy operation that almost takes care of itself. I upgraded right away from firmware ver. 1.03 to 1.10...Read more
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
So worth the money,
January 10, 2004 Andrew Lynn (Upstate) - See all my reviews
This review is from: iriver SlimX iMP-550 CD / MP3 Player with Ultraslim Design (Electronics)
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...Read more
