Customer Reviews

iriver CXW-CRD Clix Wireless Cradle with Speakers

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The iRiver clix is a very impressive mp3 player but this cradle is VERY disappointing. I was planning to simultaneously use the cradle to charge my the player and listen to music but these functions have to be done independently. You can't use the player while it is in the cradle and connected to the PC. Dave at iRiver's customer support confirmed this for me (if any iRiver folks see this it's under Customer Support Request # 1221177).

PRO's
- Let's you use the clix as a traveling alarm clock

CON's
- The cradle must be disconnected from your PC to operate
- Since cradle has to be disconnected to work, the cradle speakers are powered by player battery
- Speaker quality is fair
- No AC adapter
- Cradle Remote buttons are stiff and not well placed
- While connected to the cradle the clix FM tuner and Voice Recorder features are unavailable
- The buttons on the clix go dead once in cradle
- Puts the screen vertical and easy to read (Pro) but since it has to be disconnected from the PC to play the screen goes into sleep mode right away

The reality is that everything Bobbie Z said is correct. He is not reviewing the Clix, he is reviewing the Clix's functionality while in the cradle, and as the cradle doesn't work without the Clix it is a very reasonable review. It is a shame that you can play through the cradle while it is connected to the PC. I have a feeling you could with the previous model (U10?) that fitted the cradle. This does mean that the speakers of the cradle are powered by the Clix and does mean that the battery drains more quickly. There is no power adapter. You cannot use the radio while in the cradle (which is unfortunate) but this is due to the fact that the headphones are the aerial. It's not at all surprising that you can't use the voice recorder, but seriously, if you have to record something, pull it out of the damn cradle. That takes no effort at all and you would want the microphone near your mouth anyway. For these reasons the cradle does not get 5 stars.

However, this does not mean that the cradle is useless. In fact, it is awesome depending on what you want it for. If, like the Ipod cradles, you want to have it sitting there on your stereo, plugged into your amplifier, then it is great. You can use it with it's own remote control or program your programmable remote with the cradle remote's functions. I teach Swing Dancing and I plug it into amplified speakers and can control it from the middle of the room while talking to the class. Furthermore, it makes an awesome alarm clock with an inbuilt snooze button. And finally, while I'm not all that big on buying things just because they look good, this thing looks cool. Really cool. Like a litte TV...

Overall, I'm very pleased with it for what it does. I honestly do wish I could play it while it was plugged into the computer, but this really is the only reason it doesn't get 5 stars.

Unless you want to use the line-in port to record from tapes, etc., the cradle adds practically no functionality. At first, I was interested in the cradle because I had owned an iRiver 795 and the only way to hook it up to my stereo was through the line-in port on the player, and the Clix does not have a line-in port. The cradle does. Well, I discovered that the earphone jack on the Clix doubles as an auxillary port, so the cradle is not needed for listening to music through the stereo speakers on my stereo. Then I thought maybe the speakers on the cradle might come in handy at some point. However, the sound from the cradle speakers is B-A-D. The only functionality I will get from the cradle is the snooze function. Bad deal! You can buy a really good alarm clock for much less. Save your money on this one. Spend it on a protective overlay for the Clix, which can be found on eBay under protective overlay for about $5.00. Cut it to fit the player.

The iRiver Clix is worth every penny, but he cradle isn't all that good.
I have had many errors transferring music with the cradle, but none with the Clix hooked directly to my PC. Everyone may not experience the same issues with the cradle that I did, but I highly recommend the CLix as a first-class player. It works flawlessly with the supplied USB cable. Although the cradle didn't work as good as I wanted it to, the iRiver Clix Accessory pack is worth the money. The two (not enough) overlays and the rubber holder is a good investment and more worth your money than the cradle. The cradle may be a good play for some, with the added benefits, but with me, it's not worth the money. It just doesn't add to the great player the Clix is. But you can decide this for yourself. I would spend my money on the accessory pack first, though, before you even
consider the cradle. Enjoy the many great features of the CLix first. I assure you this can be done before you think about the cradle. If you want a cradle that bad...I got one I'll sell you cheap.

Leave the cradle alone and get the (rather expensive) accesory pack. Add your music and blow your ears away...not your wallet.

I bought this Iriver Clix for my 12 year old granddaughter and she loves it. It doesn't have the capacity of some other players (2 GB) but the other features are worth it. The cradle is a must.

Excellent digital player. Space (2mb) as of now not a problem. It seems everyone around here are getting Ipod's, but I always like to go against what everyone else was doing and I'm glad I did. Sound, video's and hardware has been excellent.

After all the software and updates were installed, I was able to "transfer" songs from my computer to my mp3 player. Unfortunately, when I pressed play on songs, it wouldn't play (even though the artist and song title was completely visible on mp3 player). No tech support seemed to fix this problem. The mp3 player has collected dust since I bought it.

I checked with the official website, and they aren't selling these anymore. They do a lot more than Generation two cradles! Get it while you still can.

Great little device. I wish I had known that 2gb would disappear so fast.

After owning the 4-GB iriver Clix for nearly eight months now, I fail to see what the fuss with iPod is all about. The Clix's 4-axis, press-screen navigation is far more manageable than Apple's jog wheel. The voice recording quality is amazing -- I use it to do interviews -- and the FM recording feature and playback quality is great. I love the unit's compact size and landscape display. While the unit's 4GB storage is no match for the iPod 20GB hard drive, I still have ample storage for my music and then some. I simply transfer my recorded interviews to my PC for transcription and to free up storage space. I find the headphones are more comfortable and fit better than the iPod though I must confess that they are not as durable. The unit comes with cute pouch-like carrying case for safe transport. I purchased the accessory cradle and travel case which I am also happy with. I would suggest buying the accessory Groove BassBudz earphones from Cygnett when purchasing the unit.