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- Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 86 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
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90 out of 92 people found this review helpful
4.5 stars
"What a bad start for spectacular product!"
Pros: Impeccable Sound, Sexy Design, Friendly User Interface
Cons: Similar to its predecessor. No TV/Out. Doesn't do my laundry.
Summary: My background: Muzio JM100, iRiver IFP990, iRiver U10, Creative Muzo, Ipod Nano (1st Gen), Cowon D2 and finally the iRiver Clix2. The Cowon D2 I borrowed for a couple of weeks from a mate. The list there is pretty close to chronological. The Creative Muzo was a complete failure, but my sister gave it to me, and free is good.
My music: I listen to anything but techno so although I like bass, I prefer it transparent. I?m more concerned of clarity and frequency balance. Rock on.
My audio-gear: Right now I?m using Audio-Technica ATH-FC7 which I?ve had for atleast 2 years. I also use the Sharp HP-MD33S. I?ve had several Sony, Sennheiser, and other super-cool stuff.
Ok with that out of the way, let?s roll!
Foreword: I?m sure those who?ve done a bit of research know this already, but this player does have something to offer. This includes the AMOLED screen, D-Click system, slim design, fast/customizable and incredibly flexible User Interface and finally the seemingly unfathomable quality of sound. Yes, it all sounds quite sweet, but there are a few flaws.
The Sound: I?ve followed iRiver for so long because of its deep bass whilst maintaining clear high frequencies or what people like to call treble; SRS WOW is divine audio-candy as well. In comparison to the Ipod, and all its predecessors, this thing is king and Ipod slave. But the D2 puts up a fight. Both D2 and Clix2 pump out 16ohm, but the D2 has an incredible 74mW, whilst the Clix2 has only 34mW. D2 has more power, but strangely the sound quality remains similar. The only assumption is that iRiver uses better software. [9/10]
The Battery life: My IFP990 had 52 hours battery life, the U10 30 and the Clix2 with 24. The Cowon pumps out a massive 52 hours as well. Ipod claims 8 hours, but mine usually dies in around 4. So the Clix2 falls slightly short, but unless you?re travelling for a very long time, are very lazy, or sold your house to buy this product, it shouldn?t be a problem. [8/10]
The Interface/Display: Flash UI (User Interface) was exactly what I was waiting for. You can change font, or if you know how to work Flashlite, you can design your own UI. For example you can have chopsticks instead of the arrows, have rice bowls for battery life and have a ninja break-dancing in the background. AMOLED is king. You can view it from all directions, in sunlight, and much better vibrant/bright colours than the classic QVGA. No other PMP/MP3 player currently offers this magic. [10/10]
The Design/Portability: I personally am very picky of design, so if it looks crap, I won?t get it. Usually that compromises a lot of things, but the Clix2 doesn?t. Unfortunately, the D2 looks like complete crud. I mean honestly, the Clix2 looks sexy. Its thickness rivals the Ipod. If the D2 was a Landrover Destroyer, the Clix2 would be a Gallardo. One thing though, the Clix2 doesn?t have a TV/Out, big flaw against the D2. [9/10]
The Ease of Use: This is where the D2 dies. Touch screen. I can?t operate the device unless it?s out of my pocket. I have to yank it out, often along with the earphone jack popping out, while the bus is shaking, trying to navigate around so I can listen to Track 2. It?s not very intuitive, and to top that, no playlist support. I?ll stick with D-Click. I?ve already memorised the interface, with the D2 however, I was never able to memorise where to touch. [9/10]
The Memory: Ok you memory lovers, the Clix2 has failed you. A mere 2/4/8GB you say. Ipod gives 20GB and Creative Zen Vision:M has 30GB! True, but I don?t listen to 2 weeks non-stop worth of music at a time. D2 has expandable memory! Ok, you can go spend another 150 bucks on a card, and I?ll use my spare cash to get a nice pair of Shure EC4 earphones. My Clix2 is 2GB. I use ¾ of it for music, and the rest to fit a movie or two. Whatever floats your boat, but in my opinion, there?s no sugar. [8/10]
The Prices: iRiver Clix2 2GB/4GB are $USD 171/214 if converted from Korean Won. This is cheaper than both the Ipod and the D2. I guess in a way it isn?t a very great improvement from the original Clix/U10. The Clix2 will not be released in many countries, such as Australia because it is indeed similar to its predecessor.
The Bottomline: So there you go, very long, but I hope it was informative. If you disagree with this, you have your opinion and I have mine. Maybe your opinion is more educated than mine. But don?t tell me, because I like this Clix2 very much and I?d rather not have anyone ruin my day![Overall 8.8/10 or 9/10]
- 5 replies to this review
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You kind of bummed that the Clix2 comes in 2/4/8 GB of storage compared the the ZEN Vision: M's 30GB and the iPod's 20 GB, that's because the Clix2 is a flash based player which means less capacity. The biggest flash capacity on the mp3 market right now is the Creative ZENv Plus with 16 GB.
On the other hand, some of Creative players and standard iPod palyers are hard drive based players which come into 30/80 GB. Otherwise great review !! -
Excellent post!!! Thanks!
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I wanted to thank you for the point-by-point analysis. I had decided to buy one of these...still haven't found one yet...and began to waiver after not finding it in the first couple places I checked. While looking for an alternative, I stumbled accross your excellent breakdown. Now, I'm back on track...only now, I have to buy two. One for me and another for my girl!
Great Job -
A few years ago I bought an iRiver PMP, and absolutely loved it. But the PMP was way too big to take anywhere except on long trips. So, when I looked to replace it I shopped around and found the iRiver Clix. I have purchased one for my birthday and will be sure to write a review. Thanks a ton for information that actually matters and isn't a debate about the Cowon.
Great Review -
You said that iPod has a 20 GB memory and the ZEN Vision: M has a 30 GB memory compared to the "miserable" 2/4/8 GB memory of the Clix... Well that's because the ZEN and the iPod are using HARD DRIVE memory and the Clix is a FLASH BASED mp3 player.
The difference ? Basically it's not the same type of memory. Flash memory is smaller than Hard drive memory and 8 GB for a flash player is the highest capacity in the Flash mp3 market for now. Now that Toshiba has a 16GB flash memory chip, we might some mp3 that will come in to a 16 GB of memory sooner or later...
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