Review: iriver X20

At CES 2007 in January, iriver unveiled an impressive lineup of new flash-based digital audio and portable media players planned for release throughout the year.

Information and various images of many of them had already made their way to most tech sites, but one that managed to avoid being prematurely scooped was the X20. If iriver's plans were to keep a jewel of a player under wraps to surprise and woo attendees, the company was unsuccessful. What happened instead was that the X20 got lost, largely overshadowed by more exciting DAP sequels and wi-fi PMPs.

What a shame! Because despite the general lack of buzz surrounding the device, the X20 is certainly deserving of some time in the spotlight. And thanks to Warehouse123.com, that time is now.

System specifications

Capacities:	2GB, 4GB, 8GB
Expansion:	MicroSD card
Supported audio:	MP3 and WMA (8-320kbps), Ogg Vorbis (Q1-Q10)
Supported video:	AVI (MPEG-4 SP), WMV (320 x 240, up to 512kbps)
Extras:	Stereo speakers; photo viewer; FM radio; FM, line-in, and voice recorder; removable disk
Display:	2.2” QVGA TFT (320 x 240, 260K colors)
Dimensions:	3.9” x 1.9” x 0.6”
Weight:	2.5 ounces

Packaging

I can't remember the last time I saw a yellow DAP box.

Aside from the color and size of the box, the X20's presentation is identical to that of the S7. Nothing special.

Box contents

I don't know if this is true of all its players, but based on the S7 and S10, I would guess that bundled accessories don't rank very highly on iriver's list of priorities.

Nothing but the absolute essentials here: earphones, USB cable, software CD, and quick start guide. I always appreciate a nice case myself, but I think iriver could've at least included a line-in cable and maybe a screen protector and/or microSD card.

Design

A landscape design is something I normally associate with a PMP, not a DAP, so that's the first thing I noticed about the X20. I think it's more comfortable to hold in portrait mode, but everything about it (except the orientation of the logo) is obviously geared toward landscape use.

The player is made predominantly (completely?) out of various finished plastics, which gives it a slight toy-like look/feel yet keeps its weight down. The X20 is so light, in fact, that I didn't think the battery was installed; I actually searched the box and panicked for a minute when I didn't find it.

Fingerprint nightmare aside, it's a shame that the super glossy and relatively scratch-resistant plastic used on the face of the unit isn't used on the whole thing. It would up its sleekness factor and make it more visually appealing. The design is pretty basic in a candybar-phone sort of way, really: rectangular, rounded corners, not too thick, not too thin, etc.

The silver band gives it some texture variety, and there's also an unusual mound on the left—between what I assume are covered-up screws—that as far as I can tell is meant to act as a thumb rest.

Size

Pictures of a gadget are always deceiving enough for many to comment on how suprised they are by how big/small the device is in person. This wasn't the case for me with the X20. I just sort of shrugged and took it out of the box.

It might actually be one of the biggest flash DAPs around, but I didn't cower from its enormity or anything.

When my husband first saw it, he said it looked like a small Zune. It was never a resemblance I saw before and the similarities aren't grounds for a lawsuit, but I can see where he's coming from.

Controls

Unlike some of iriver's other players, which use the D-Click system for navigation, the X20 is equipped with a somewhat traditional set of controls.

The buttons are self-explanatory: dedicated menu button to access the main menu from anywhere in the system at the top (next to the microphone); dedicated power button to turn the player on/off at the bottom.

Between the buttons is the hard-to-miss white control wheel. The ridged rings surrounding the center button are reminiscent of Creative's trademark Zen ripple but actually have more than just aesthetic value. The four directional arrows are meant to indicate where on the ring to press to perform various functions (e.g., left arrow = back to previous menu), but the entire ring is clickable so pinpoint accuracy isn't that important.

Scrolling and volume control are both handled by a thin ring bearing four notches that lights up blue and rotates/spins. Your thumb is meant to latch onto one of the notches. If you can actually hang on, the little nubbins are barely perceptible and the white ridged rings take on an iPod-clickwheel facade. It almost feels like the ridged rings are touch-enabled. The rotation is smooth, though better and more accurate for heavy scrolling than for navigating the GUI.

Dust and other debris accumulate between the ring and casing quickly and easily. It's pretty gross and almost impossible to clean, even with a gas duster/canned air (otherwise I most certainly would not have taken this picture).

On the top of the X20 is nothing but the hold switch.

And on the bottom is a microSD card slot covered by a non-removable flexible plastic door. By the way, microSD cards are really inexpensive; this 1GB card was just $10 after mail-in rebate.

All of the ports are on the right side of the player: USB 2.0, headphone jack, line-in jack.

And the mound/thumb rest is on the left side.

On the back of the player are stereo speakers and a removable battery cover.

Display

I actually thought iriver had abandoned its use of TFT displays in favor of OLED and AMOLED ones, so the X20's TFT was a pleasant surprise.

OLEDs have less of an impact on battery life and unlimited viewing angles, but they're simply not as vibrant, crisp, or colorful as TFTs.

And that's really what the X20 display is: vibrant (there are eight brightness settings), crisp (everything, including text, is clear), and colorful (realistic and nicely saturated). I don't have my clix2 yet, so I can't comment on whether the X20 would fare better with an AMOLED instead.

The display can be rotated 180 degrees for right- and left-handed use, which is a nice touch. Too bad the button icons are only meant to be viewed by righties.

Graphical user interface (GUI)

I'm impressed by how many different GUIs iriver has come up with, as I have yet to see the same interface twice (compare clix to S10 to X20). This anomaly could be interpreted in two ways: 1) the company is a mess and can't find a system that works well on all of its players or 2) the company is innovative and tries to create a system to fit a player, not the other way around.

With the latter interpretation in mind, you can see how the X20's circular main menu meshes with the unit's circular controls. It isn't revolutionary or particularly innovative, but it's still nice and straightforward.

The color scheme is dark, somewhat moody, and permanent (no themes or wallpapers). The submenus are consistent with but not quite as polished as the main menu in terms of appearance. Except for in the music section, where ID3 tags rule all, everything is just listed alphabetically with no alternate-view options.

The GUI is responsive and easy to navigate, but if for some reason it makes you uneasy, you can sort of bypass it and use the "Browse Device" option instead.

Transferring content

The X20 supports both MSC/UMS (mass storage across platforms) and MTP (media transfer protocol for Windows only), so media can be loaded onto the player in various ways. Music, videos, and photos can be transferred via drag-and-drop, iriver plus 3 (supplied), Windows Media Player 11, and/or any number of MTP-based software such as MediaMonkey and Winamp. I couldn't get a consistent transfer rate, but it took about 4 minutes to copy a 1GB video file to the player's internal memory.

Drag-and-drop is always my first choice. Since the X20 has a built-in microSD card slot, the player's internal memory and the memory card appear as two different removable storage drives. Files can be dragged into either without incident and are listed together in the GUI (except in the "Browse Device" area, where you need to choose between internal and external memory).

I have an unreasonable and unwarranted aversion to Windows Media Player and to MTP in general, so if I absolutely had to go the software route, I would install and use iriver plus 3 without hesitation. I've used it with other iriver players before and have always been pleased with its ease of use and clean layout.

Music

I don't think iriver is regarded too highly by audiophiles, but I've always been a fan of the audio experience its players provide. The X20 is no exception.

The player does not support the creation of on-the-go (OTG) playlists, but the "Now Playing" feature functions in a similar way. I'm more of a whole-album listener myself, so I just rely on the system to read and sort my ID3 tags correctly, which it always does.

The "Now Playing" screen displays album art, current track info, next track title, the progress bar, clock, and battery indicator. I can't think of anything it's missing except for file specs, and that would ruin the look of the screen a bit. It would be a nice context-menu option, though.

Standard play modes and a handful of EQs round out the X20's music features nicely. I didn't notice too much of a difference in sound quality using the preset EQs and I'm a moron with the custom one, but I was pleased even with the function turned off. I'm more interested in enhancing vocals than bass, which probably makes a difference in why my ears hear clear, consistent, full sound (192kbps MP3s).

There are 40 volume levels and a nice volume indicator that's activated and controlled by the mock scroll wheel (the thin ring with the blue LED). The higher levels are perfect when using the player's integrated speakers but absolutely deafening through headphones. I like levels 6-10 with my Sennheiser CX300S IEMs.

Video

My review unit came preloaded with three video clips that, according to the GSpot codec app, were 305kbps, 485kbps, and 537kbps XviD files (320 x 240) running at 30 frames per second (fps). Since one of the videos went over the stated maximum bitrate of 512kbps, I dragged-and-dropped and tried to play six different movies with similar specs . . . and failed six times. Two of the videos even crashed the player!

There's nothing about this in the user's guide, but the only way I could successfully load videos onto the X20 was by using iriver plus 3, the included software. There isn't much offered in the way of tweaking, so all I could really do was to choose between generic conversion settings. I transcoded four videos on my Sony Vaio UX180P: two using the "normal" setting and two using the "high" setting.

NORMAL QUALITY (23 fps)

	Size	Bitrate	Codec	Resolution
Original:	465MB	503kbps	DivX 4	320 x 240
Final:	280MB	283kbps	XviD	320 x 240
Conversion time: 40 minutes
Original:	700MB	823kbps	XviD	608 x 320
Final:	292MB	283kbps	XviD	320 x 240
Conversion time: 45 minutes

HIGH QUALITY (30 fps)

	Size	Bitrate	Codec	Resolution
Original:	232MB	1168kbps	XviD	640 x 464
Final:	71MB	258kbps	XviD	320 x 240
Conversion time: 13 minutes
Original:	1022MB	1346kbps	DivX 4	480 x 360
Final:	280MB	267kbps	XviD	320 x 240
Conversion time: 50 minutes

I think the tables speak for themselves. Transcoding videos with iriver plus 3 is a slow process (on the UX180P, anyway) and the results aren't particularly impressive. The file sizes are really small, though, so you can actually pack a good number of videos onto the player and/or microSD cards.

Despite the specs and the frequent pixellation, playback is smooth and watchable. As shown in the YouTube video above, widescreen flicks maintain their original aspect ratio (that one was a 354MB XviD, 333kbps, 23fps) and are letterboxed.

I personally wouldn't use the X20 to watch movies, as its 2.2" screen isn't well suited for extended viewing, but it's good enough for music videos, short clips, and maybe sitcom episodes.

Extras

The X20 definitely has more than its fair share of extra features and settings.

Stereo speakers
For built-in DAP speakers, these aren't too bad. Sound quality is a tad hollow and it gets muffled and slightly distorted at maximum volume levels, but it's a reasonable alternative to shutting out the world and being completely unapproachable by donning a pair of headphones. In quiet rooms, the speakers are fine for watching a video clip and listening to music. Sound doesn't fill the entire room, of course, but it's adequate when the player is held at an arm's length.

Listening to anything via headphones and the integrated speakers simultaneously is not possible. Plugging in headphones automatically disables the speakers; disconnecting headphones automatically does the opposite. I'm not sure why anyone would want to do both at the same time, but it's an FYI just in case.

Photo viewer
Typical of most DAPs with photo capabilities, the X20 is preloaded with a handful of images (JPG only) optimized for viewing on the 2.2" screen.

Atypical of most DAPs with photo capabilities, the X20 does not have slideshow or wallpaper functions. You can zoom in and view different areas of the enlarged image, but that's about it.

There's no thumbnail view or preview feature, so it's advisable to give your photos meaningful names, especially if you'll be showing them to friends and family. And when you do, remember that load time depends on the size of the image. The bigger the file, the longer the wait time: 320 x 240 pictures (27KB to 68KB each) load immediately; 2048 x 1536 photos (1.25MB to 1.44MB each) take about 6 seconds.

FM radio
Earphones plugged into either the headphone or line-in jack serve as the radio's antenna.

You may have noticed in the YouTube video that I was able to catch two stations without plugging anything into either jack. I don't know enough about radio signals and airwaves to offer a reasonable explanation for why it worked, but it did.

Reception is excellent in downtown Honolulu (with or without headphones, apparently). Stations can be scanned manually or automatically and then saved as one of 20 available presets. Navigation using the clickable wheel is simple and logical: press the left/right sides of the wheel to access the previous/next frequency; press the top/bottom of the wheel to access the previous/next preset and/or broadcasting channel.

FM, line-in, and voice recorder
Iriver really went all out when equipping the X20 with recording capabilities. It's got everything!

Recording quality, as you can see above, is managed in Main Menu --> Settings --> Recordings.

FM recording (MP3) is done by pressing and holding the play/pause center button in the "FM Radio" area of the system, while voice recording (WAV) is done by pressing the same button in the "Recordings" area.

Line-in recording (MP3) is also handled using the center button in the "Recordings" area. All recordings are given generic names and stored under "Saved Recordings" in the music menu. Sound quality is on par with other DAPs with various recording functions; in other words, it's as good as can be expected considering that it's not a high-end piece of equipment.

Removable disk
The X20 is UMS/MSC-compliant so it shows up as a removable disk drive on both PCs and Macs. I used it as a regular USB thumb drive a few times to move various files between computers and it worked flawlessly.

Battery life

One of the player's stand-out features is its removable 3.7V li-ion battery.

I don't have a problem with non-removable batteries (I always lose interest in a gadget before its battery gives out), but I know it can be a big sticking point for a lot of people. The battery charges in about 3 hours (via USB) and is rated at a respectable 22 hours for music (128kbps MP3, volume level 20, normal EQ, LCD backlight off) and 6 hours for video (512kbps AVI, 320 x 240 @ 30fps, 44.1KHz 128kbps MP3).

Conclusion

When compared to the feature set of high-capacity flash players from Apple, Creative, and SanDisk, the iriver X20 is unequivocally the best in its class.

It sports a removable and therefore user-replaceable battery; is equipped with a memory card expansion slot; has an FM tuner with a bevy of recording options, including line-in; supports Ogg Vorbis and XviDs (though only after some iriver plus 3 attention); is UMS-compliant and compatible with Macs and PCs; and has a comparatively large screen and built-in speakers. Oh, and it's reasonably priced, especially considering that it's not (yet) officially available in the U.S. Warehouse123.com currently sells the 2GB model for $129, the 4GB model for $159, and the 8GB model for $219. (By contrast, the 8GB iPod nano retails for $249, has a proprietary connection and lifetime commitment to iTunes, and doesn't have a removable battery, expansion slot, FM tuner, video support, or UMS-compliance.)

The iriver X20 won't appeal to everyone, though. For starters, it's big and chunky compared to the nano, Zen V Plus, and Sansa e200 series. It's also got that dust-magnet of a control wheel, arguably cheap toy-like look, limited photo functions (no slideshow or wallpaper functions), no OTG playlist creation, and no games.

Whether any of these shortcomings are enough to negate the player's highlights is up to you.

Comments

[Benz145]

I like the fact that you can switch the display to support left handed use, thats a very easy feature to implement when considering the design of players such as this, and I think more should integrate the ability to use the display either way like that. Also the built in stereo speakers were kind of a surprise to me, nothing you would use to listen to lots of music, but a great way to share a song with a friend. Its surprising for a player so small, I would think battery life would be a big issue with something like that. Another great review Jenn!

[julio]

Hi,

thank you for your review !
I've just a question, does the player is a whole plastic unit ? Or are there any metalic parts (as for example the grey part in the battery picture) ?

[Rob]

Does anybody else notice the resembelence to the insignia NS-DV4G??

[Utew]

Great review Jenn.. as usual...

For it's size I wish it had better video bitrate support.. converting is a pain that we should not have to suffer through more than necessary. As an audio device, it looks fantastic.. nice looks overall (though I am not fond of the white control on a black player) gorgeous menu interface and excellent feature set..

As Ron mentioned, I believe it is based on the Insignia player offered by Best Buy.

Thanks for the in-depth review.. now bring on the Clix2 ;-)

[julio]

Utew, when you say "based" do you mean it's the same player but with iriver name (same player but with different skin and different name) ? Or is it because of they have the same look ?

[Jenn]

According to a couple of forum members at dapreview.net, a Korean company called Joytoto is the manufacturer of both the X20 and the Insignia players. In fact, you can see the Joytoto branding on the bottom-left corner of the battery in one of the pictures.

@ julio: I already returned the player to Warehouse123 so I can't check to make sure, but my guess is that there are metallic parts somewhere.

Clix2 review coming up next, Utew. Now I know what it takes to coax you out of hiding!

Thanks, everyone.

[julio]

Thank you for your answer, my X20 is arriving soon, so i'll be able to check it myself ;)

[Dimitris N.]

Hello from Greece, and thanks for the great review...i got this beauty 2 weeks ago, and i am more than impressed, with the quality and the futures of the whole thing...about the HOT ISSUE, the video transcoding, I used the IRIVERTER, following the advices from MISTIK RIVER site, and it works great, it even rips complete DVDs, and puts subtitles too...i recently downloaded the latest version of IAUDIOs Jet audio VX,a great freeware and used both the D2 conversion formats.the X20 plays only the WMV format at 512 kbps, with out any flaws...and ONE MORE THING, that i really miss...the ability to ERASE one or more items, in case i need some spare MBs for recording, without the need of a PC... :-(

[Andy]

Fantastic review, really looking forward to what you have to say about the Clix 2!

[Josh]

I have a serious problem.

I am a mac user & I am sure you are probably aware of the problems mac users have of finding a perfect mp3 player.

Now my friend had an iRiver H10, now connecting the device to my mac was no problem, transferring the music was no problem, but when he turned it on the music didn't appear and he had to use iRiver Plus2 to make it appear.

Would I have this problem with the iRiver X20? (please say no)

[`Ramm]

Just got the X20 for my birthday today and so far no complaints!

You were right that the dial is a little tough to get a grip on but once your used to it its pretty sweet.

My question (because it wasnt in the manual) is HOW do you charge the battery?

[Jenn]

@ Josh: No! You won't have that problem with the X20. It mounts on a Mac desktop with the same icon as a thumb drive and is immediately ready for all your dragging-and-dropping activity. I transferred music and photos from my iBook with no trouble. Video might be another story, but I'm sure there's a workaround.

@ Ramm: Happy birthday :) The player charges via USB, so all you have to do is plug it into your computer. It should be fully charged in about 3 hours.

[Josh]

@ Jenn: Thanks for that.

[Josh]

I forgot to ask. My old mp3 player (some no name Chinese player) doesn't play half of the music that I import from iTunes (192kbps MP3) for no apparent reason.

Does anyone have that problem with their X20?

[liam]

just got one today, and as of this point in time, i still can't get my mac to recognize it. not really sure why, any idea's. i can't find any mention of it being supported on os X besides here. i thought i would be able to just drag and drop, but it won't even recognize it's connected. any ideas one what i'm doing wrong?

[David]

Hello!

I recently bought the Iriver X20 a few weeks ago from warehouse123.com, and I LOVE IT!!

it's everything i've been looking for in a player, i've been waiting for months for one like this to come out.

But anyways, i'm concerned about its protection. Right now i'm using ipod socks (which fits perfectly) to prevent it from being scratched and damaged and what not. But I was wondering if anyone knows if there is a silicon skin for it for sale on the web?

I've been searching, but I've gotten no luck, and I also doubt that they'll be making any of those for the iriver X20 anytime soon (along with many other third party accessories) as it has not been officially released in the US yet (does anyone know for sure if it even will get released in the US?)

Thanks!!

btw, josh, maybe you should check if your iriver X20 is in the connection type of MSC, and not MTP, not sure if that will help, but it's the only thing that I can think of. Go to your settings, then to advanced, and then to connection type.

hope it helps!

[David]

Agggh, I meant the connection type problem thing for liam, not josh. My bad! --I got mixed up with who posted what xD.

[Chris]

For those wondering why this player looks so similar to Best Buy's Insignia NS-DV series, it's because both players are made by a company called Joytoto. They're basically the same player, with the same interface. Except the x20 has a prettier theme, and a couple more features, but it also costs a LOT more than the NS-DV.

[liam]

already tried that and it hasn't worked unfortunately. thanks though

[Josh]

@ Liam. I found this lifesaver piece of software called XNJB (for mac of course). You can find it in www.versiontracker.com and by searching XNJB. With it you can connect MTP Players. Great for when I wanted to put some music onto my friends Zen VIsion:M

[liam]

@josh, thanks for that
@ my first question- after switching between mtp and msc a couple of times, it finally seemed to take effect. i can drop files into it in os X. there's an intermittent problem with it not changing track titles over when the song or artist changes, so that every single file appears to be named exactly the same. i imagine this is to do with just dropping the files in, instead of using iriver +3, or else maybe it's fixed in one of the later firmware updates available atm.

[Korno]

Hey,, Very Good Review! anyways I have my X20 about 4 weeks ago and I have 4 question that I can't Find answers.
1- Is There's no accessories? anything to prevent screen from scratching!

2- Why Iriver.com has got some problems with viewing X20! it's like they can't even notice if it's in markets,, is this got do with the release on usa?

3- Dust is like pain for x20!! the nav. ring get to much dust inside so after a while the control get freak! when you press menu nothing happens, when u turn up volume it plays next song! thats really annoying what to do with the dust issue?

4- When you play videos or movies, you can see some little lines, is it because TFT? or maybe because i'm charging it to much? because I leave it connected with the pc when it's not in use..

can anyone help plz?

[Julio]

For my X20, dust comes inside, between the plastic body and the LCD screen !!
I have already emailed iRiver, and if they don't answer me i will try again and again until i get an answer :)
Because dust is a bit annoying for our x20 ...

Korno, you should email iriver too.

Other question, is there a gapless option ?

[Hayley]

Hello.

I'm hoping to get one of these very soon.
It's a lot what I've been looking for,
I don't know if I missed it or not, but how long is the battery life? From fully charged to dead flat?

I hope you know.
Thanks.

[Jenn]

@ Korno:

1) I haven't seen any accessories for the X20. I think iriver is more interested in the clix 2. There's already a screen protector out for the new clix (same screen size as the X20), so you could get one of those to prevent scratches. You could actually get any screen protector (I like the ClearTouch Crystal line from Boxwave) and just cut it down to size.

2) I think the only place the X20 has officially been released is in Japan. I'm not sure what you're looking for, but iriver Japan has a product page for it here: http://www.iriver.co.jp/product/?X20

3) Yes, dust is definitely an issue. As you saw in one of the pictures above, dust collects quickly and cannot be easily removed. I tried using a can of compressed air, which didn't work. Maybe a toothpick, flattened q-tip, tape, or piece of paper could be stuck into the groove to lift out some of the debris.

4) I didn't notice any lines on the player I had, but it shouldn't be due to overcharging or anything like that. It could be the way the files are encoded or, as you said, just the nature of the TFT.

@ Julio: No, iriver doesn't support gapless playback. It might work if you can Rockbox the player, though.

@ Hayley: Here's a bit from the review: "The battery charges in about 3 hours (via USB) and is rated at a respectable 22 hours for music (128kbps MP3, volume level 20, normal EQ, LCD backlight off) and 6 hours for video (512kbps AVI, 320 x 240 @ 30fps, 44.1KHz 128kbps MP3)." I'll make the subheadings bigger; they're definitely easy to miss.

[Josh]

@ Korno. Just adding to what Jenn posted, the X20 has been marked on the iriver.com website but the link is corrupt.

It is also available from www.iriver.com.au

[Daniel Morton]

Hey can someone plz tell me how to convert to the video format the river uses and/ or what program to use????

Mortz

[Dede Ainbinder]

Can you use the x20 with one hand? Considering it's designed to be used in portrait mode, probably not; but I figured it's worth asking anyway. =D

[Azi]

fantastic player! awesome everything

1 thing that is annoying is the time it take to convert a video, it takes for ever!! i havent used IRIVERTER yet, but i hope it helps.

and no accessories......:( i so want a case....dont wana scratch the screen, or chip it if i drop it one day.....

[Abhinav]

which is better in all aspects? iriver X20 or iriver U10 clix....does any other model have micro SD slot...

[Lily]

Hi, thanks for very detailed reviews. I would like to ask about the voice recording function of X20. Is the sound quality good? Does it absorb every background noise?

[Jenn]

@ Dede: The player is actually designed to be used in landscape mode, where one-handed use is possible (it's light enough to hold just one edge without it feeling too unbalanced) but not something I would do. In portrait mode, one-handed use is very possible and relatively comfortable/natural.

@ Abhinav: I've never used the U10/clix, so I can't comment on which is better. The "best" player is really the one that best suits your needs. The original clix and the clix 2 don't have microSD slots, so if you're looking for expandability, then the X20 is the only choice (assuming your interests are exclusively in iriver players).

@ Lily: The built-in mic isn't incredibly strong, so it doesn't pick up too much background noise. Sound quality is fine, but it really depends on what you plan to use it for. Casual, everyday recordings of little reminders or notes to yourself would be held to a very different standard than, say, important lectures or bootlegs. I wouldn't buy the player just for the voice recorder; if you need an extremely high quality recorder, then it's better to buy dedicated equipment.

[Brian]

Could anyone kindly let me know when will the 8GB clix2 be available? Will it be released ... does anyone know what day?

I have narrowed my selection between the X20 and Clix2. I like the Clix2 since it comes with a better LCD screen but the Clix2 don’t have the 8GB model available. I think the X20 pretty nice. The 8GB model is selling in warehouse123.com for $219
that sounds like a good price. The X20 also have a microSD card memory slot for music, photo and video transfers. If I can’t get the 8GB Clix2, I think I may get the X20 8GB.

[james walsh]

hey thanks very much i had the same problem with my vids and i didn't know what to do and after reading your input i got iriver 3 and it worked, so thanks
james

[Jenn]

@ Brian: iriver hasn't gone on record about this yet, but most sites are reporting that the 8GB clix 2 will be available in June.

@ james: I'm glad you got the videos working. I've never had any luck with it, but iriverter should work, too. I didn't have any success with CloneDVD Mobile, my favorite program, for some reason.

[Jane]

The iRiver 8G Clix will not be available until late July.

[Jason]

No alarm clock on this player huh? I didn't see any mention of one...

[Piotr Kolodziej]

Hi.
Does anyone know what is the HIGH Line In recording quality? Is it higher than 128kbps?
And what's the MEDIUM quality?

[Victoria]

I'm looking for a new MP3 player, and I can't chose between the Iriver e10 or the x20. So far the x20 is sounding much better...but from what I've read and heard dust gets collected quite easily in the player. I wanted to know about how long would it be before you'd have to clean the player? I'd also like to know if you could charge the player from the wall outlet?
Thanks, Victoria

[Jenn]

@ Jason: I don't have the X20 anymore so I'm not 100% sure, but I don't recall seeing an alarm clock. I definitely would've mentioned it so it's either not there or I just missed it. Considering the player's built-in speakers, an alarm clock seems like a no-brainer, especially when the speakerless S10 and clix 2 have alarms.

@ Piotr: I didn't get a chance to test out this feature while I had the unit, but I've read that the line-in recording quality tops out at 128kbps. You may want to double-check with the MisticRiver forums.

@ Victoria: I had the player for only about a week and as you saw above, there was already quite a lot of dust stuck between the wheel. So it definitely needs to be cleaned more than once a week.

I haven't seen any X20-specific accessories, but the player should be able to charge via just about any USB AC adapter.

[Ovidiu]

Anybody can tell me how can I upload text files on X20 couse the Iriver team told me that supports text files..

[Pete]

I've had the X20 for a couple of months and I'm really impressed. I like the fact that I can change the battery when I need, and also increase capacity using the SD slot. The wheel took a while to get used to, but I'm OK with it now. I like the size and weight as it feels alot more sturdy than some of the smaller models.

I'm a bit disappointed by the lack of accessories, especially in comparison to the iPod range. It doen't take long for the screen to get scratched, but fortunately the quality of the display is such that when it's on, the scratches aren't as noticeable.

Dust is also a problem - some has started to accumulate inside the lower right corner of the screen.

The biggest problem I have (and nothing seems to fix it) is that I can't get the album art to display on the 'Now Playing' screen. I've used Media Player 11 to upload all of the albums (album art shows up in WMP 11, but not on the X20). Any suggestions?

[lil_buddha_gal]

hey! thankyou for the review.. hehe im soo slow.. australia receives things soo late. anyways, i kinda like this.. it only froze twice cuz of videos. so im trying to find the right convertor.. is IRIVERTER a good choice?

[wdugarry]

Amazing review!!!
So I wanted a new mp3 player and after some serious thinking I think that the x20 is what I need.But I've started freaking out about this dust thing.Is it actually that bad?And does it get that easily dirty?You mentioned that it needs cleaning like every week which doesn't sound that nice.

[Ovidiu]

@Pete

With album art i`ll try too but only one worked ... and that were automatically :D .. I try to the others and o results .. btw you could read text files on your X20 ?

[Ovidiu]

I got it .. with that damn cover display .. you need to attach the cover image to the mp3 file.. musicmatch can do it :D ^:)^ iriver rulz :)

[Pete]

@Ovidiu

I finally got it to work with all but a few of my albums by using Media Monkey to get the album art, and then transferring the JPG to the tag.

One thing that has just started happening is the wheel is becoming a little difficult to use - for instance, when I turn it anti-clockwise, it sticks every now and then, and the menu spins the opposite direction! A bit annoying, but doesn't make it un-useable!

Haven't tried displaying text, but judging by the display options, I would imagine you could only show movies, pictures and the 'now playing' music screen.

[Alexandru]

i bought x20 a week ago but i don`t seem to keep it online more than 4 hours, even with the setings that should keep me up to 22 hours. Has my unit a problem or it`s just a metaphor "22 hours".

[Zoe]

I brought one today and so far, very impressed.

[Rod]

I don't know about other mac osx users but I went through 2 iriver X20 with a major glich. It wouldn't display any song or video names properly after 2 days. What's up!!!

[Baxter McCauley]

Great review! OK, now the question is which is better? The x20 or the clix2. microSD card and removable battery with x20. Bigger screen and sexier look with clix2. Tough decision. Substance over Aesthetics. Of course, I also heard the sound is better with clix2. If the 8GB clix2 is really coming out early July 07, Which would you choose? I'm curious to hear your thoughts.

[Robin]

Yea, its great as long as you didn't buy it to record with. The Mic is poor and recording facilities weak - like no gain. So I bought an external mic to use with the line-in, only to find it won't work. I gather from another list this is because it needs a powered mic but the documentation is soooo poor it doesn't tell you this. It has to go back.

[Slash]

I bought one for my birthday. And after about a month I can honestly say I love it. I've noticed a bit more resistance from the wheel because of dust. What is the best way to clean it? I bought it especially for the movies and I am 100% satisfied. Iriver Plus 3 is great, but it takes some time to convert movies. As for the alarm function, there isn't one, only a sleep timer and a power-off timer.

[ConPower]

Hi guys. I really like this player, but there's one thing I'm bothered about. I own iRiver T10 nowadays and I'm pleased when I can change AA battery, if it's flat. I just take one extra battery and if necessary, I use it. But this player uses its own accumulator. I think I can own one extra accumulator to employ when the packaged one will be flat and there will no civilisation with PC or electricity, can't I? But I don't know what. Is it a special version for this player or can I use for exmaple this one (just placed 3.7 V battery to search) - http://www.pixmania.cz/cz/cz/185529/art/ hama/akumulator-800-mah-3-7v-l.html (link with no space)?? If there is no problem about using spare accumulator like this one, I'm happy man : ) It looks like every 3.7 V battery is too thick for X20.

[Stl]

Great ! Does the player have the bookmark function?

[SB]

I got one of these x20 2gb players a few days ago and the sound is fine but I need to get better quality headphones.

In your review you say there is portrait mode?? I have no setting for this and am stuck with landscape. The only setting I have is changing from left to right hand.

Also when I store my radio stations as presets, they reset by themselves after a while, I dont know why?

How do u get album art on the player? Some album art shows up for some tracks on windows media player but nothing on the x20, what do I do??

[Baxter McCauley]

OK, so I'm all set to order the X20 because the clix2 8GB won't be available this month, and I need a birthday gift for my g/f by 7/26/2007. I reread the review and there's some things i don't like but for the most part, I'm like this is the one.....but, and a big but, this dust between the dial thing where it makes it harder to use and almost impossible to clean....is this a deal breaker? Can those who have had the product for a while let me know if they regret it now. It sounds like the dust is a major problem and that I should stay away. Thoughts?

[Ed]

thanks for all the info. i just bought the X20 8G. nice unit. however (so far) after playing a file I can't find anyway to delete the file when using the player standalone. have i missed something easy?

[Baxter McCauley]

I want to listen to audiobooks in a mp3 format, not audibiles with the X20. Can I bookmark my spot say if I have to turn of the device and go somewhere and when I come back I want to be able to start up where I left off?

Thanks.

[Dave]

hello, i buy today the X20 , but i cant read video i transfer into the x20.Heaven i convert the video size is not work.
please help me

[Debbie]

uhmm. my x20 froze and i tried taking out the battery for a few mutes and it still doesn't move you can't turn it off either.
do you know any solutions.

maybe you could email if you do xD

beer.workz@hotmail.com

thanks.

[wally]

how do I delete files ?

[Sirocco]

Darling, I'm glad you're living large in Hawaii, and your reviews are fabulous. Please tell me, does the iRiver X20 have a bookmark feature, so after I spend an hour chillin to my fav trance tunes I can return to the ipodcast of my 5-hour recorded radio show?

[Jane]

I have a new Imac and the X20 came with a non-standard disc to install. Can anyone tell me how I get around this? I feel like a fish out of water with my new Mac and non-standard things don't help. Can I download the IRIVER software?

[Christian]

Hi Jenn,

I'm currently looking for a new mp3-player. As of yet it's a close race between cowon (d2) and some of the other iRiver (clix2 or clix), which I would prefer for their design (exterior and gui) and ease of use.

Now, when flipping through your (excellent written!) pages, I see you writing this:

"I don't think iriver is regarded too highly by audiophiles"

An audio-quality which is rather run-of-the-mill would distract me from buying an iRiver.

Could please point me to reviews, which formed this opinion of yours?

Best regards from Germany,
Christian.

P.S.: Did you ever listen to a Cowon? If so: How do they compare to iRivers with respect to sound and handling?

Thanks in advance,
Chr.

[Baxter McCauley]

I thought for sure I was going to get the iriver Clix2 or the iriver X20, but when I found out that neither of them did bookmarking, I went with the Cowon D2 red (4GB ) plus a 8GB SDHC card. I got it for my g/f for her birthday last Thursday and she loved it. I thought the touch screen would turn me off, but I like it. The sound is superb. I can't compare it to the iRiver's sound as I don't have one of those, but most forums and reviews give the Cowon D2 the nod for better sound. I love this device.

[liana14]

Thanx for posting this! I was about to buy iriver x20, and now i am sure it'll be the best buy in its class. I have already purchased ipod nano (1st gen.), and i am completely disappointed. Its battery now only lasts 2 hours. :-(

[qubix]

I have a little problem, can i load my X20 from the socket like anything else with a rechargeable battery, or is the USB port the only option. I don't have a problem with USB, but I am not close to a computer at any moment, for example when i go to the seaside, so an alternative battery charging method would be desired.

[salehi]

Hi
I have a problem with iriver X20 2GB.
When I turn on it just " initializing ..." appear with no working !

[Jimma]

How do you put videos on this thing?

If I have a DVD which I want to put on the x20, how do I do it?

I downloaded iriverter but it will not install!

[steve]

THE X20 IS GREAT BUT BEWARE THE SCREEN IS VERY FRAGILE AND IS NOT COVERED BY WARRANTY

[mary]

hey i bought the X20 about a month i all i can say is that its excellent, even when i went to purchase the sales assistant told me it was one of the best music players out there.
it is a great quality music player and i am thrilled with it.
as for the dirt issue in the month i have not had a problem at all with it nor does my sister and that is after a month.
and i was also able to purchase a protective case for it which is specially made by iriver for the X20.
so anyone who is thinking or purchasing one it would certainatley be worth it!

[mary]

oh btw i was able to get a three year warranty on it.

[Sadiya]

Gr8 update....
In order to add album art juz use the iriver 3plus softwate... Right click on the songs in the library and add tag...then drag n drop to ur player.......

[David]

Does anyone know how to make the thing scroll faster? I have a playlist with 1300 songs and the player seems to only be able to scroll a few at a time as opposed to something like ipod which scrolls faster as you do more etc..

PLEASE HELP!

[ben]

how do u delete files

[Josh]

How do you put movies on the iriver x20?

I have tried so many things and i can't get the damn thing to work someone help!!

[Viktor]

Impressive review, thanks a lot! reading of .txt format avalable?- May be with new firmware?

[Jenn]

The section of the review titled "Video" includes information about how to get videos onto the player. Others have had success with programs like iriverter and Super, but it seems to be hit or miss.

I don't have the X20 anymore to double-check, but if there's no "Delete file" option in any of the menus and no mention of the function in the manual, then the only way to delete files would be through a computer.

[Ed]

I have had the X20 8G for some 4 months now. Generally not bad but have found the following irritating problems;
1. in "custom equalisation" the 14kHz setting actually works backwards ie scrolling towards -12dB actually increase the 14kHz gain. Also the 60Hz setting seems to have no affect on the sound quality.

2. Sometimes the unit forgets where it was playing from after being powered down and starts in a different directory.

3. When playing some AVI files, if it is compression type it doesn't understand, an error message pops up and you cant get rid of it until you remove the battery.

4. Speakers are next to useless but never having had an MP3 player before maybe this is normal.

[hannahhh]

i've had a lot of trouble with uploading video, as said in review.
it crashed the mp3 player a number of times and i have had to download tonnes of software. don't buy for video quality.

[Glad]

When I transfer files from my pc(Win XP) to iRiver X20, the files are not showing up. It says not files. I am able to see the files when connected to my pc. currently its used as a USB device only :(
Can some body please give me a solution for this?

[Lindsay]

Hi Folks, Call me old fashioned and I know its been discussed here already, but I cant quite understand it all, perhaps the terms. I have just bought an X20, I'm in the older age group, and want to put all my CDs on it, but cannot figure how to get album art onto the player. I can attach the cover art at the Edit process, but it doesn't come across after ripping and transfer. Help required in simple one-step terms pls.

[Glen]

ahhh i was very pleased with the player at the start. i had a choice of the new ipod nano or the x20 as my samsung had been stolen 2 weeks before(it was the best mp3 iv ever had). i chose the x20 but now id rather the nano. i would like the x20 alot more if i could go back 2 the album and artists list when already chosen a song. all u can do in the now playing list is go back to the songs in the album the song is in. does anyone know if u can get bac? cause its really annoying having to press the menu buton and go into soongs then pressing atrist then scrolling all the way down to pick a song from a different album or another artist near by.

P.S. iv had no problem with dut whatsoever i dont even know how dust could get into that tiny gap

[Glen]

hey lindsay. the album artwork is easy and works if ur using windows meadia player 11. all u hav 2 do is copy and past album artwork and trnsfer song, as for iriver plus 3 it doesnt work so well. so if ur using iriver plus 3 change over 2 windows media player instead. thats all i can think of. and if htat doesnt work well thatere something wrong with it and ull either hav 2 download software or take it back

[gib]

I'm having the same problem as Lindsay. I'm using windows media and almost all of my library has album art but none appears on my player, and to be honets Glen's answer didn't really help. So does anyone else have any ideas?

[Glen]

ok gib i've figured the album artwork thing out. sometimes windows media player automatically puts an album cover on the song or album for u, and since u didn't actually assign that album cover to that song it hasn't got a tag to have that album cover. only windows media player knows that album goes with that song. so delete the songs/albums off ur device, reassign the album artwork with one you've copy and pasted from the internet and put them back on. also some artwork doesn't work for some reason so if you've tried what i did try again but with a different album cover. and if that doesn't work look up a bit in the reviews because someone said something about tagging the songs with some software is the only way he/she could get the album covers on to it. cya hope it works

[Jenn]

I use MediaMonkey to tag all of my music with artwork. It's automatic and grabs the images from the Amazon database. There are several other methods to get your tags in order, but this is the one I've always used.

If you want to use iriver plus 3, there's a little tutorial here.

[ara]

does anyone know if you need to use another piece of software to transfer files to/from the X20 or can you drag-and-drop?

in other words is the X20 MSC/UMS and MTP compliant?

[Read]

Read the "Transferring content" portion of the review or do a Ctrl + F search.

[michelle]

Thanks for the review, this has been really helpful to me.

[Jake]

are the battery like those small round ones or are they the rechargable ones?

[Sean]

Hi,

I got the x20 in Australia a few weeks ago as a gift and generally was pretty impressed, but I have recently moved to America and swapped OS from windows to Mac OSX. Initially everything seemed fine registered on the computer fine and I could navigate to the various files I put on for the plane ride over. However I now find that I can't detect any files when I browse the device.

Essentially all I see is a number of Internal folders with nothing in them if I can get in them at all. I've seen a few posts about Mac problems above does any one know how to overcome these problems. As I've moved countries I don't think I can send it back!

Cheers,

Sean

[Sean]

Ignore my last question. I've got it working. I believe the problem was Itunes was running on my Mac when the x20 was plugged in. It appears the two tried to sync up and thats where all the problems occurred. A quick format and everything seems to be working again. Watch out for Itunes!

Sean

[Dallas]

I am getting an iriver x20 this week (I think) because my brother broke my old iriver and i used to use iriver plus. I was wondering if you can use an x20 with iriver plus or does it have to be iriver plus 3 (I know it comes in the box) but when i download songs it says that they are an iriver plus file and not iriver plus 3 i was wondering if you can still put them onto iriver plus 3 because i don't really want to download them all over again! thanks

[Jules]

Hi

I love my x20, however I have one question, how do you delete voice recordings.

I am going to start using it to record when I'm doing minutes for meetings, but don't know how to delete the voice files when I'm finished with them.

Does anyone know?

thanks

[RIBA]

iriver RULIT !!!!

[Stoil]

Hi! I'm from Bulgaria . iRiver x20 is not avialable to buy in Bulgaria yet . :-{ So can you tell me an online store that can deliver the x20 in Bulgaria for me , please ,because amazon.co.uk CANNOT !!!!!!

[Stoil]

aaaaaaaaa i forgot .My mp4 player can set the tempo of the song.Can x20 do that?

[Ovidiu]

Nope :)

Can some one please tell me the scroll speed of this player. Thanks

[ilustrus]

Hi! Can some one, please, tell me, if can i use 2GB memorry card microSD, on this device? Thanks!

U can delete recorded files while your device is connected to the computer...

L

Can I change skins? How?

U can put movies on it with iriver plus... It'll convert them first. The only problem is you have to wait... :D

[Marty]

Hey. does anybody know how to put a playlist on2 the iriver x20? Ive created a playlist on iriver plus 3 but I cannot figure out how to put it onto the mp3. Thankyou if you can answer my question.

[jeza]

heyy iv had the same problem. i can create a playlist with iriver plus 3 but cant figure out how 2 transfer it! if u drag and drop it it doesnt show. HELP PLZ SUMBODY!?!?!?!?

[Angela]

I have just bought my husband an x20 for his birthday but he has a mac and the disc is non standard - how on earth do you download the software onto the mac? Do you just ignore the software and drag and drop?

Any help most gratefully received.

[Jenn]

The supplied software is only compatible with Windows. Mac users need to drag-and-drop.

[Angela]

Thanks Jenn. Got that far. Now, how do I turn off the FM radio?

And how do I delete recordings and music? I have tried doing this by sending the files to Trash using the Mac interface, and they disappear from the Mac's screen, but they are still on the X20.

[Stevo]

i like my iriver x20 and all, but so many problems with it! i cant delte voice recordings and when i watch movies (im using allok video coverter) some times it lags at random times as if its playing at half speed.

does this happen to anyone else? and if it does can somebody help me? i dont want to use the iriver software becuz its so slow!

[Marty]

hey again. no1s answered the question that jeza and i both asked.. so ill ask it again. when yuu select music on the player, it says "play all, playlists, artists..."

but i cant figure out how to put a playlist onto the player. i can create one on iriver plus 3 but as jeza said, it doesnt show up if i drag and drop it. can someone please help us out? thankyou very much if you can!

[Sujit Kumar]

Great Review and useful comments. Just one question. The device seems unable to read *.wmv files. Any suggestions please?

[Alex]

hey there everyone i was wondering if anyone could help me my mum bought me a iriver x20 for christmas this yr (2007 really)and i cant seem to figure how to load videos onto it i got songs and photos but not videos is there a site or somethink please contct me virgo_4_lyf@hotmail.com the name is alex

THANX

[John Free]

Loading movies is a pain. I tried several times, sticking to format and size restrictions but no dice. The movies would not play. This isn't a huge issue for me.

What IS a big issue is that the player appears not to want to play OGG Vorbis Q10. My T series player will do so without a problem. The X20 includes "artifacts", a squeaking sound which accompanies percussive sounds like bass drum or bass guitar. I wonder if anyone else has discovered this. Right now I'm using wma or mp3 320 files.

It seems the only way to get album art onto the X20 display is to synch via WMP. Anyone got any other ideas on this?

[rich]

im sending mine back, the scroll wheel is a pain having to go back to main menu and then go trough all the sonds again to pick another, just too slow and it slips all the time, wouldnt recomend it to anyone, may go back to the old H140 much better function button

[John Free]

Agree scroll wheel is a bit weird, especially if you add a silicone skin. Re picking songs, try adding songs you like to "now playing" - creates a playlist. I'm used to older and simpler T10 menu so X20 is a challenge.

Finally got a video to load. This review is correct: use the transfer function in iriver plus 3 software and no problems at all.

[Debbie]

this is my first posting and am also having trouble re playlists ... I read the above comments by Marty and Jeza. On finding no-one posting a possible solution to this question, I went in search elsewhere and found this link, not sure if I totally understand it myself but at least its a start with a few different options, here goes.

http://www.misticriver.net/forums/iriver-x20-series-flash-player/54211-x20-playlists-howto.html

[dirk]

I use Ogg Vorbis with my iRiver X20 and very pleased with the sound quality. However, I have one annoying problem; I have been unable to get the player to play the album songs in its proper sequence. I like listening to the whole album but the Ogg Vorbis files are not played in its original sequence. Yet, they are listed on the screen (when browsing the albums) in the right order. Does anyone know how to get the player to play Ogg Vorbis files in an album in the right order?

[Irina]

Am interested in those who have used voice recording and play back features. I primarily want a device to use for language studies @ uni. Download MP3 files from uni site, copy audio CDs and record voices. Is there a time/file limit on how long you can record voices? Is there another player you would recommend for this purpose over the iriver X20?

[stevie]

I like my X20, but I've been having a lot of trouble downloading burnt cd's with iriver 3.
The only way I could transfer album art was to make a jpeg of the album cover and change the tag info before burning it.
Is there any other way to do it?

Also, I think I have a poltergeist. I opened iRiver3 and ALL the names of my songs had been changed to one song. After playing the song from the library, it reverted back to the original song, album, artist...etc. It was weird.
Has anyone else had similar problems?

There is a firmware upgrade, but if i do this, when it formats the unit, will it erase all the music I have on there?

[lukelat]

Just a note on line-in recording quality, which is something that I could not find ANY information on...Highest quality is 128 kbps which is pretty poor. I wanted to connect the iriver directly to my mixer for recording dj mixes but I don't recommend it. Other than that, this player is fantastic and I highly recommend it - the reality of line-in recording is that mp3 players are never really going to be supporting anything fantastic so stick to a PC and Soundforge ;) - of all the mp3 players I looked at this is by far the best.

[TOM]

my Iriver tells me initializing and creating library.. even after taking out the battery and try it much later it still happens. Does anybody know how to solve this. THank you

[Matt]

All i wnat to know is, will it work on a mac?

[bob]

I sold my H10 and bought what i thought was a better mp3 player creative zen. I miss good quality voice recorder of H10. Creative zen records low quality wav. Is there a small 4-8gb flash based iriver that records voice in mp3 format?

[John Denora]

What is the maximum capacity in GB's for the micro SD card for the iriver X20 --MP3 player? Does anyone know? HELP?
Contact me at j.kagemusha@gmail.com
Cheers,
J.Kagemusha

hey i brought that not long ago and i was just wondering how do i deleted the recordings please tell me how someone its reall