I-audio music and video player

Forums › Gadgets, robotics, home automation, electronics (including wearables) › I-audio music and video player

buzzsaw

10 posts

Wannabe Geek

#9042 15-Aug-2006 10:08

Hello

Has anyone had any experience with this brand of equipment.
Looking at the spcifications it seems to have more features than the equivalent iRiver products. It plays a few more formats etc.
The buttons look to be a little fiddly.
The x5 has 20GB and retails for around $630 at Dick Smith.

I'm looking for something to play audio and video tracks with a bit more variety than an I-pod.

I would appreciate any comments that people have.

Thank you

Nigel

thehunter

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

#44055 15-Aug-2006 22:09

I realise you mention more variety than an ipod, however as a Video Ipod owner I am not sure what more variety you could really want? I can play any dvd, or song and bought a 30 gig IPOD for 578 dollars. Sure it takes a bit of mucking around with programs like handbrake and videopora, but I have not yet found a DVD or Movie that I could not convert one way or another.

When I heard my 4 year old daughter explaining to her friend that she was a bit busy watching harry potter on her ipod I realised that I was born about 25 years to early! When I was 4 I was impressed with a calculator.....

epicmarathon

3 posts

Wannabe Geek

#44454 21-Aug-2006 22:16

thehunter: I realise you mention more variety than an ipod, however as a Video Ipod owner I am not sure what more variety you could really want? I can play any dvd, or song and bought a 30 gig IPOD for 578 dollars. Sure it takes a bit of mucking around with programs like handbrake and videopora, but I have not yet found a DVD or Movie that I could not convert one way or another.

When I heard my 4 year old daughter explaining to her friend that she was a bit busy watching harry potter on her ipod I realised that I was born about 25 years to early! When I was 4 I was impressed with a calculator.....

Nice story. But sometimes I feel sorry for iPod people, who have probably not even bothered to see what the world of DAPs have to offer; iPod people are narrow minded, ie iPods is the fad and therefore I must buy it for the sake of the name.

Anything reasonable is better than iPod, e.g. iRiver, iAudio, even Creative, HAVE A LOOK ON TRADEME AT THE IPOD FAKES; even they've got more 'variety' than the real deal

iAudio can do LOTs more, e.g.

in-built radio,
radio recording
has an EQUILISER!!! iPod sound is fair enough, but nowhere near as iAudio's.
Customisability.
Voice recording
In-built recording
Synchronised radio recording
Auto-off
Auto-on
You don't need iTunes like you do for iPods! FREEDOM

All in all, BUZZAW, GET AN IAUDIO. You will regret it if you choose iPod.

tonyhughes

Hawkes Bay
8476 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#44466 22-Aug-2006 09:06

epicmarathon: Nice story. But sometimes I feel sorry for iPod people, who have probably not even bothered to see what the world of DAPs have to offer;

I have looked, and decided it fit my needs the best. (Primarily listening to music, and watching video only once in a blue moon)

iPod people are narrow minded, ie iPods is the fad and therefore I must buy it for the sake of the name.

Errr, no. I am not narrow minded. I wholeheartedly reject that label that you have blindly applied to all iPod people.
Comments like that will certainly let people see for themselves who is narrow minded, and who is not.

Anything reasonable is better than iPod, e.g. iRiver, iAudio, even Creative, HAVE A LOOK ON TRADEME AT THE IPOD FAKES; even they've got more 'variety' than the real deal

iAudio can do LOTs more, e.g.

in-built radio,
radio recording
has an EQUILISER!!! iPod sound is fair enough, but nowhere near as iAudio's.
Customisability.
Voice recording
In-built recording
Synchronised radio recording
Auto-off
Auto-on
You don't need iTunes like you do for iPods! FREEDOM

All in all, BUZZAW, GET AN IAUDIO. You will regret it if you choose iPod.

Yes, mot players can do a lot more, but you are still wrong on several points.

Equaliser: Ipod has preset equalisations (quite a few), which will cover most peoples needs.
Customisability: There are applications around to completely change the iPods look and feel. I have seen them themed to look like XP, OSX, bubbles, smiley faces, motorsports and more (talking about the display here...). You can also put several flavours of Linux based firmware on them to extend the functionality (and dual boot between that, and normal iPod firmware).
Auto off: The iPod has this. Both a sleep timer to stop the playback, and auto off if nothing happens for a few minutes.
Itunes: There are so many apps (including free ones) to let you manage your ipod without itunes (and without keeping a copy of your songs on your pc, in many cases) that its not funny, even on platforms like Linux that cant run iTunes natively. (FREEDOM!)

To the OP. Look at all the options, and choose what feels right for you. Dont listen to the naysayers who dont research their claims.

Fiddly controls are a big down point of many players. And be aware that any faults you percieve in a device in store, will only feel magnified when you get home.

Spend some time playing with the product in store, and make sure you know the product well before you shell out hard earned $$$>

epicmarathon

3 posts

Wannabe Geek

#44564 23-Aug-2006 16:50

Fair enough my friend ^^^ , I haven't studied the iPod -I already know it doesn't have an internal radio, or a recording function; why not get more when you can!

Mind other people; some DO grasp the opportunity to have more.
I was wrong on 4 points though (you listed equiliser, iTunes, customisability; They both can do them); I suppose I was right about the rest.

I am narrow minded, i feel life jumping off a cliff.

Overall, the iPod is a good DAP
_________________________________

buzzaw, this site compares the ipod something to the X5.
http://toykeeper.net/soapbox/ipod

reviews:
http://reviews.cnet.com/Cowon_iAudio_X5_20GB/4505-6490_7-31383684.html
http://reviews.designtechnica.com/review3131.html
http://reviews.designtechnica.com/user_reviews3131.html
http://www.playerblog.com/archives/000582.shtml
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1833887,00.asp
http://www.iaudiophile.net/comment.php?comment.news.21
http://www.newegg.com/Product/CustRatingReview.asp?Item=N82E16855603821

why some people chose the X5:
http://www.iaudiophile.net/forums/showthread.php?t=6688&highlight=ipods+suck

The X5 buttons do look fiddly, that joystick looking thing. But try them out. Quite easy to use with the twitch of the thumb

richms

28176 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#44595 23-Aug-2006 21:51

needing itunes or an alternative was the biggest turn off for me. The difficulty in hooking the player up to any computer and chucking tunes onto it was a major. If you use itunes, you cant just flick 2 albums worth onto it from the laptop when it was filled from the desktop without it wanting to remove everything from the player. Gimme a mass storge device player any day.

Also on my iriver I can catagorise my songs by the directory I put them in, whereas itunes I would have had to make playlists to achieve the same thing, and I cant store those hierachically (sp!?)

The wheel was very hard for me to use one handed too, it was better on the full sized ipod vs the nano but still not comfartable.

Richard rich.ms