[ILUG] [OT-ish] Q: iRiver H340, Linux, USB1.1/2.0, comments?

[Tony Vroon]

On Thu, 2005-06-23 at 14:13 +0200, Brian Foster wrote:
>   does anyone have any experience with either unit (H320
>  or H340)?  any comments?  or suggestions?  is there an
>  alternative I should seriously consider (the iRiver's
>  seem to consistently score very highly in terms of audio
>  quality, which is of considerable importance to me!  only
>  nuisance is I haven't seen / tested one, so I do not know
>  how well they actually agree with me....  ;-(  )?

(This thread is rather long; so if this is repeat of stuff you already
know, sorry about that)

I have an H320. The audio quality is certainly acceptable with the
bundled earphones. One thing that does bother me is that with my Sony
EX-MDR71's, I hear a very faint hissing noise in the background when no
music is playing.
I have rather sensitive ears, so this may not bother you.
Cool extra is the Xvid video playback, which is actually quite usable,
even though the usage constraints mean you have to personally transcode
every file before you can watch it.

What's important to me is that the player uses USB Mass Storage for all
features, even for firmware upgrades. Just feed it the file in the root
directory and tell it to upgrade. Most other vendors require you to run
a Windows-only binary. No such issues here.
No quirks or specific support required in the kernel either.
One thing about the .ogg support; it doesn't care about ReplayGain tags.
I have my entire collection normalized; .mp3 and .ogg; and for
the .ogg's it has no effect.

>  one specific question about the H320/H340:  apparently,
>  they have two (2) USB ports, which I consistently see
>  called a 1.1 (data?) and 2.0 (media?) port. 

On the international model (whatever you do, get that one); there is a
USB-on-the-go port; which just means that there is a USB 1.1 host
controller on there.
You connect your digital camera there, or another MP3 player, to
retrieve files from.
The data port is USB 2.0; backwards compatible with USB 1.1. If you plan
on doing any serious transfers while you're not asleep, get a USB 2.0
port on a PCI card (with a NEC chip, if at all possible).
The USB to mini-USB cable is bundled with the player.

>   how long do the HDDs in "mp3"s last?  I have read
>  some reports that the iRiver H320 (at least) seems
>  to be quite rugged (it is on the large and heavy
>  side  ;-\  ), but haven't seen any info on the
>  expected lifetime of the HDDs?  (I assume that is
>  the part most likely to fail and hardest to fix.)

The harddrive has been fine for me. One thing you shouldn't have it
endure is repeating vibrations. i.e., don't go jogging with the unit
jostling around in your jacket pocket. Seems common sense, but in my job
I hear people actually doing this. (And then acting genuinely surprised
when you explain this is a bad idea).
The harddrive does not spin all the time, but when it spins, treat it
with appropriate respect. (When you power it up, for example)

>   any suggestions on a competent reliable source in
>  the EU who takes orders in English, and will ship
>  to France?  (and who can supply English manuals?)

Nope, sorry. I got mine at Peats in the city centre. Back when it was
still a novelty. (The store guy was really giving me this "you're paying
*this* much for an MP3 player?!" look).

Tony.
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