iriver T7 Volcano 4 GB USB MP3 Player (White )

I bought the iRiver T7 because I wanted a player with:

- built in USB plug
- Radio
- MSC mode for use with drag n drop

I previously had an iRiver T30 and got used to it's quirky complexity.

Compared with the T30 the T7 is very slow in all operations, playlists don't work in MSC mode, and the radio frequency shifts slightly after a short while. Even small details have changed for the worse, such as audio stopping while in the Settings and Browse menus, buttons are now harder to feel/press, and you have to press any button once to "wake up" the player before buttons can be used normally.

I really cannot recommend the T7. Sound is good, ogg support a plus, but the play, fast forward, rewind buttons and especially the menu button requires too much pressure to activate. Plus the software is very slow and unresponsive. But the biggest negative is the player doesn't resume where it was last turned off which is the logical mode. If I break for lunch half way through The Linux Link Tech Show I want it to resume where I turned it off. Actually I was so disappointed with the T7 that I immediately bought a Samsung U5 and I love it....half the memory but twice the machine.

I was really looking forward to seeing and hearing this player in person. I had an iRiver unit in the past that offered outstanding sound quality and a plethora of features. Despite some warnings by the critics in the field, I thought I owed it to myself to try this one out.

After only a few hours listening to and playing with the Volcano, though, I've already boxed it up for a refund. This is one of the many reasons I shop primarily at Amazon. Long story short:

Really, the only highlight on this player is the decent to above usual sound quality (partly made possible by the 5 band customizable EQ.

The main reason I'm sending it back is because of the unusually long delay when skipping to the next song. It took approximately 5 seconds from the instant I clicked the advance button for the next song to play. And that whole time was filled with silence. I had read this in a review of this product, and thought it was a pretty small price to pay...Read more