Customer Reviews

Irock 64MB On Board Expandable Digital Audio Player

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I purchased an iRock 520 with 64Meg in August 02. I use it for running and it makes quite a difference. Techno music and running are a great combination imho. I use a 128Meg SmartMedia card with it; unfortunately the format is not compatable with my Zio SM reader. The iRock draws about 100ma (milliamps) and uses a single alkaline aaa cell (about 600 ma-hrs) and so is good for about four hours. I just bought an iConcepts charger with 4 aaa ni-mh cells (also 600 ma-hrs) which works well but note that their voltage is about 1.25v. In cold weather they're good for about three hours. These cells are small enough so that it is easy to carry a spare. Replacement is easy. There is a low battery indicator but I simply run it till it dies. The controls on the iRock are limited but adequate. You need to skip forward or backward to locate a song which is only denoted by number. On the other hand, the controls are easily operated one-handed so you can change song or volume while running. Volume and tone are good. Twice (in approx. 100 hrs of use) the player's audio stopped even though the controls were functioning. This problem was solved by removing and reinserting the cell which is easily done. I suspect the internal computer needed a reset. The iRock comes with earbuds and a wriststrap, both of which I found useless. It is small, light, and fits easily in a pocket or a pouch (in which case the wriststrap may be useful for extracting it). The iRock connects to the USB port and so it's easy to alter the playlist with appropriate software.

The software is the weak spot. IRock Audio Manager (v3.4.111, by Rio) is good for formatting and arranging play order but poor at creating play lists while Windows Media Player (v7.01) is better for arranging play lists and will usually load it but not always in the correct sequence. Neither program recognizes the other's playlist nor can they download the playlist from the iRock. Thus, if you want to put a copy on your computer or another device, it appears that you must copy the listing manually (i.e. with a pencil!!!) from the iRock and rebuild it. Audio Manager also occasionally shuts down unexpectedly on my Win98 OS. Nevertheless, it does work. If you're into distance running, an mp3 player can greatly improve the experience. I don't run without it anymore.

I have had this player for four years, and back in that day it was $99.00. I added a 128 mb smart media upgrade and have had four years of success with the player. I will say that the software sucks but you can get a simpler version online now. Mine worked great although the LCD screen broke due to my misuse. It has been through much in the laundry, outside and more, and never broken. That is except for now, the headphone jack has finally worn out. Im searching for a new one, but respect the great one I have had for so long and its extreme durability.

Not sure the issue some folks have with this unit. I have two of the 128mb internal memory versions along with 128mb viking smc and they work fine. If you want to use a smc card from another gizmo you may have to use the irock wipe utility (different than the format utility) and vice versa. Only drawback is the battery life - definitely get a rechargeable setup.

I don't understand the complaints about the software. It's not very good, but it works. I have an XP machine and can transfer songs fine without any problems. This is a cute MP3 player and it works fine.

Just bought the Irock 64MB unit. It is inexpensive, very small, can be expanded using Smartmedia cards, and comes with software, headset and battery. Sound quality is very good, sounds as good as my computer when playing MP3's. Device interface is OK given the small size. You can pretty quickly find a track and play it using the jog-toggle type switch and buttons.

Software for managing your tracks and downloading to the machine is OK, but nothing great. It works on my ME machine, but the controls seem less than intuitive. You will find yourself referring to the CD-based manual a lot. There is no hard copy manual, and the scanned version on the CD is poor quality but readable and useable.

The headphones supplied are good, but the iRock does not seem to handle standard headphones - volume drops dramatically and sound quality deteriorates. Does anyone know what causes this?

For the money, its a good machine and is ideal for my intended use - keeping it in my briefcase for music when flying or waiting at airports.

The software is awful. Even with third party software I had trouble downloading files until I tried editing the ID3 tags. If I remove the album art from the tag it seems to work.

Recieved mine last year for Christmas, and at first was completely turned off by the interface of the software that came with it. The software also stopped working somewhere in the middle of the year. I could not place songs on my irock, nor could I remove songs, but the software would connect and let me see the songs. Baffeling really!

However, with a little tinkering I got it working again, and truthfully I don't know what the problem was or how it was fixed in the end. All I know is that the player itself is a handy little gadget, it's affordable, isn't too hard to figure out and works very well. I am happy with the player! I should also note that my niece has the same exact player and has had the same exact problems with the software, but hers works now too.

The software on the other hand... well I'm still TRYING to get along with it. It seems to get buggy everynow and again and can be a pain, but like everything, you have to learn it and learn what works and what doesn't work.

So, in the end, I would recommend this product to anyone looking for an affordable mp3 player that gets the job done.

:)

I bought this product because of good reviews and great price. The installation went perfectly and the manual actually contained good documentation. Everything went exactly as advertised. My computer is running Windows XP so, as with anything on XP, I was a little worried about compatability.

The first time I hooked the unit up, everything went perfectly. I installed several songs but had some problems playing them (because I accidently installed WMA files which the irock DOES NOT support). No problem I thought, I'll just delete those files and install MP3 instead. Unfortunately I was never again able to get the software to recognize the irock as installed. The computer recognized the USB device and indicated that it was working properly but none of the 4 music/jukebox programs I have installed could find the portable device. This includes the software that came with the irock. This was odd since it was just working earlier. I did the standard, uninstall, download new drivers from the website, reinstall, reboot several times. I played with all the possible configurations and I could never get it to work. I never got a reply from irock customer service when I sent an email request for help so I had to return the player.

I agree that the irock seems to be a great unit. I never got it to play anything but the preinstalled music. Also I was very disappointed to see that most of the software was a "trial" version that only works for a limited number of transfers and then you have to purchase an upgrade. The player is cheap but when you factor in the cost of buying the software, it's price isn't so steller.

I've read a lot of reviews of various MP3/portable audio players and these sort of problems seem all too common. It seems to be the norm for people to have to return 2 or 3 players before getting one that works flawlessly. I wish this wasn't true but it seems that this industry needs to concentrate on quality rather than flashy features.

I have a lot of mp3 players and I know some are rotten, but the irock mp3 players are great! They have wonderful sound and if you add a media card, you get 128 megabites of memory!!! Good for the person who has a good amount of music and who likes compact players (dont we all?). GREAT PLAYER!!!!

I have a lot of mp3 players and I know some are rotten, but the irock mp3 players are great! They have wonderful sound and if you add a media card, you get 128 megabites of memory!!! Good for the person who has a good amount of music and who likes compact players (dont we all?). GREAT PLAYER!!!!