Which iRiver?

[blacter]

I'm trying to figure out the differences between the myriad of iRiver models. For example, the specs on the 800 series look identical to the ones on the 700 series and the 100 series. I'm looking for a portable set-up so I can record on the road, then transfer to a Mac. Also when the specs say "Plays up to x hours of music" how does that number compare with the capacity as a high quality voice recorder? Thanks.

[NetCoach]

Hello!

While producing "remote" podcasts, we deploy the iRiver 799T.

We use this device and have had great success due to the fact that it will allow for the implementation of an external microphone. Additionally, when using an external microphone, one can monitor sound quality while using headphones simultaneously through the 799T headphone jack.

All the best,

Tony :-)

Tony Marino
PodCast Radio Show

Leading Podcast Marketing Solutions!
http://www.PodCastRadioShow.com

[Craig]

I use the iFP-795, which is the 512MB version. Recording in stereo at 44KHz, 256kbps I can record roughly 4.5 hours of audio.

It's my understanding that the only differences between the 700s and the 800s are design changes based on criticisms of the 700s. I haven't researched what those changes are but if you read through the reviews of the 800s at amazon.com you should be able to get an idea.

In any case, I would highly recommend any of these models. If I lost mine I'd replace it immediately with another. For a sample of a podcast recorded with it check out the 3/9 edition of "Behind the Scenes" at http://www.btscast.com

Craig

[camilian]

I am also using the IFP795 for remotes and love it. Did have a problem using my lav mic with it (the 1.5v condenser mics have too much power for ext. mic setting and not enough for line-in setting) so I am building a simple preamp to solve the problem.

The thing I would like about the 800 series more is the placment of the mic input. On the 700 series there is no room to use a standard 1/4 to mini plug.

[blacter]

Craig, is the iRiver plug-and-play with the Sony ECM-MS907?

[Craig]

Craig, is the iRiver plug-and-play with the Sony ECM-MS907?
You bet. Just avoid the temptation to pop the iRiver into your front pants pocket when recording. People give you very strange looks when they realize the mic you're recording them with appears to be plugged into your pants. I'm not sure why.

Craig

[Craig]

While producing "remote" podcasts, we deploy the iRiver 799T.

We use this device and have had great success due to the fact that it will allow for the implementation of an external microphone. Additionally, when using an external microphone, one can monitor sound quality while using headphones simultaneously through the 799T headphone jack.


English Translation:
We use the iRiver 799T for remote podcasts with great success because it lets us use an external mic and monitor the recording through the headphones.

(Sorry Tony, I couldn't resist!)

Craig

[camilian]

Craig,

Want to pick your brain. Why does the ECM-MS907 work at 1.5v while the 4 lavs (different makes) I tried with the same power not work? Was I given bad information from Iriver? What would cause the lavs not to work?

[Craig]

Want to pick your brain. Why does the ECM-MS907 work at 1.5v while the 4 lavs (different makes) I tried with the same power not work? Was I given bad information from Iriver? What would cause the lavs not to work?
I meant to ask you about that. I don't see any reason why the lavs wouldn't work. Did you try adjusting the input level?

Craig

[camilian]

Yep boosted it to the top. Strange thing is as soon as I switch to a headset or or handheld everything is peachy. I tried a lav from audio-technica, sony, sure and an el-cheapo from radio shack. None of them would work until I put them into the mic mixer/amp and switched back to line.

Starting to make me wonder if there is something wrong with my iriver.

Have you used a lav on yours?

[Craig]

Have you used a lav on yours?
Not a powered one, other than one running through a 9V battery box. (Which worked fine.) If iRiver told you it was incompatible though, I guess you just have to go with that.

Does anybody else here know why some powered mics may work and others not?

Craig

[Art a GoGo]

Assume that you can use two sets of headphones with an IFP-799. Can you use two seperate microphones (i.e. spliter into two seperate mics)?

Also, any suggestions regarding a good external mic for an IFP-799? Any good lightweight combo headphone/mic units out there?

Thanks,
Doug/aka Newby

[Craig]

If you use two headphones you're going to want to use a powered splitter, like the Boostaroo (http://www.boostaroo.com). Same with using two mics...you either need to use a portable mixer or wire your own adapter. (I'm 99% sure you can't use a basic splitter to bring in two separate mic input signals, unless you bring one in on the left channel and one on the right. Even then you may have problems.)

I use the Sony ECM-MS907 for my external handheld mic and love it...that's what I used for the 3/9 "Behind the Scenes" podcast mentioned previously. For headphone/mic units Plantronics makes a wide variety of good ones. I use their .audio 20 noise-canceling headset to record in the car on the commute home.

Craig

[blacter]

How much recording time do you get with the 512MB unit?

[Craig]

Recording in stereo at 44KHz, 256kbps I can record roughly 4.5 hours of audio.

:wink:

Craig

[NetCoach]

Craig!

Thanks for the "grammar check". :-)

The long hours has evidently caught up with my diction! lol

Keep up the great work!

All the best,

Tony

[blacter]

A couple more questions, Craig. If you record in mono, does that double the available recording time? Is there a reason to record in stereo?

Thanks for all the help.

...Barry

[Craig]

It either doubles the available time or allows you to record at half the bitrate with the same quality, thereby doubling the time. I forget which.

Craig

[podcastnyc]

I use the iRiver H320 with a clip on Mic from Radio Shack. It works great and I have plenty of space for recordings. The menus are a bit confusing, but the features are so numerous that it's worth the effort.

There's no reason to record in stereo unless you're using a line in from a stereo input source and want to maintain that level of quality. Your recordings will be half the size. I always record in 128KB Mono and down sample as necessary. Better to record at a higher bit rate then take it down to 64Kbs on your computer where you can monitor the output quality.

Pop me an email with questions anytime.

--
Rob
http://www.podcastnyc.net

[ferg]

I use an IFP795, I hook an external mixer in it when recording at home, and just go freeform when roving. I record everything using this. I record at 44.1 Khz, 320 Mbps, and I get about 3 hours and 20 minutes. Way more than I need.

As for the differences between the 800s and 700s - the only difference is the external casing. They are the same in terms of functionality and performance....and price for that matter.

The 800 series is a Best Buy exclusive. If you want one, you'll have to go there. I guess that's the whole point of the 800 series.

For those compaining about microphones - are you saying your powered lav was too hot, even after you adjusted the line-in level all the way down? I've used battery-powered condensers with no problems whatsoever.

[camilian]

For those compaining about microphones - are you saying your powered lav was too hot, even after you adjusted the line-in level all the way down? I've used battery-powered condensers with no problems whatsoever.

No, they dont work at all. I get a low level hum on Ext. mic setting with very little voice pickup and low but clean audio on the line level setting. This happened with every lav I tried with the exception of the Sony ECM-44b that I use on my video gear but I would perfer not to convert xlr to mini, plus this adds more bulk. That said I have tired the ECM-MS907 and it works fine. Not sure if there is something wrong with my Iriver or the mics - Iriver tells me it is the mics.

What lavs have you had work with yours?

BTW- picked up the UB802 mixer, very cool and cheap. Thanks for telling me about it.

[edgeoffaith]

I use the H340 with the Sony ECM-MS907 stereo mic. I know the H340 is overkill but I wanted to load up a ton of music and still have plenty of space for recording, especially on weekend trips away. I am a little disappointed that the iRiver won't record directly to wav format, but at 44.1 Khz, 320 Mbps (in stereo) the quality seems good. I've become a recording junkie :D

[Art a GoGo]

My Iriver 799T came late last week so I spent some time over the weekend messing around with it. What an awesome little package. The joystick controller is pretty small and the menus take some getting used to, but I'm getting the hang of it.
Also, I tried two headphones plugged into a Y splitter, and the volume was perfectly acceptable.

[camilian]

Update: The Iriver will work with lav mics, I returned my Iriver and got a new one, now everything works perfect.

[Craig]

Glad to hear you got that worked out Chris. On the subject of lav mics, I would also recommend the high-sensitivity version of these with the iRiver (just ask for the "61" mic elements when ordering):

http://www.giant-squid-audio-lab.com/gs/gs-stereo1.htm

These are great for stereo soundseeing tours and especially useful for interviews, since the two mics are on separate cables all the way down to the plug. This means you can attach one mic to yourself and one to the person you're interviewing (with plenty of distance between you) and have each person on a separate channel if you record in stereo.

These are omnis...there are cadioids available as well but they're not as sensitive and don't work as well with the iRiver. Darren, the guy who runs Giant Squid Audio, is a great guy and builds everything to order so he can customize things such as cable length to meet your needs.

These don't come with windscreens but for $2.29 you can pick up a 4-pack from your local Radio Shack:

http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&product%5Fid=33-4006

Craig

[radioclash]

What lavs have you had work with yours?

hey it's childish but I always smile when camilian says that (what's the UK version of toilet? oh it's the child in me...

no Jackson jokes please... :twisted:

BTW- picked up the UB802 mixer, very cool and cheap. Thanks for telling me about it.

Tis a very cool mixer - as I've written here...and less than half the price of the one that Adam Curry was plugging, and seems to do all the same stuff...

[camilian]

Hehe, was waiting for someone to say that :)

[shepdave]

I need help.

I bought an iFP 790T, because I figured 256 Mb was plenty for what I need to do. (Still think so.)

This evening I hooked up my setup for the first time, but the microphone signal sounded TERRIBLE through the headphones coming out of the 790. And it sounded pretty bad on playback as well.

Here is my setup:

Behringer B1 microphone
iBook G4 as source for music clips
--both of these two things into a--
Behringer UB802 mixer
Stereo output from the UB802 into the line in on the iRiver 790

The music clips coming off my iBook sound fine recorded on the 790, but the microphone audio sounds distorted, almost like it's overloading or something.

It doesn't seem to be this particular mic, either; I tried running a Peavey dynamic through the board and had the same experience.

I figured the recording quality of the 790 ought to be the same as that of the 799, just less memory. But is the recording quality of the two substantially different?

I think I could return the 790 to the place I got it from if I do it in the next couple days.

In the meantime I'll run the mic-through-board setup into my iBook and record some with Audacity right onto the hard drive, just to test the quality. But I'd rather not do that ultimately, because I haven't figure out how to play audio clips from the iBook and record onto the iBook at the same time.

Dave

[radioclash]

The music clips coming off my iBook sound fine recorded on the 790, but the microphone audio sounds distorted, almost like it's overloading or something.

usually its the other way round (people asking why the iRiver is so quiet) I assume you've checked the Line In settings (switching to Ext Mic, and the record volume)

Are you recording on Voice in or External In?

Are the firmwares different? Cos later firmwares it's debatable whether it's better and there are differences, like crippling the record rates.

BTW for all you iRiver freaks out there. a good place to find out stuff and ask queries is:

http://www.misticriver.net/

In the meantime I'll run the mic-through-board setup into my iBook and record some with Audacity right onto the hard drive, just to test the quality. But I'd rather not do that ultimately, because I haven't figure out how to play audio clips from the iBook and record onto the iBook at the same time.

I know this sounds a bit silly, but what about playing your clips from your iRiver and record onto your computer? Or from another player/MD if you have one? You have the mixer...the main problem is having a computer record and play, it'll usually do one or the other happily.

[shepdave]

I fiddled around some more and got it to work very respectably. I was just sending a much-too-hot signal to the iRiver. After about two hours of back-and-forth with levels and so on, I think I've got it in a good place.

The iFP 790 seems to record just fine. Don't know how it compares to the 799, of course, but I suspect it's a question of storage capacity. I'll only do one mp3 file at a time, since I'll be editing and processing on the Mac anyway, so 256 Mb is really plenty for me.

Thanks for the feedback.

Dave