Home > Consumer Reviews > iriver SlimX iMP-400 CD / MP3 Player (Silver)

I bought this player while I was in Korea on a trip to see a friend.

I had heard much about the qualities of Iriver and their mp3 players, and with their new IMP-400, I expected an even better product. Bear in mind that this machine definitely deserves 5 stars, IF AND ONLY IF the IMP-350 never existed. As a mp3 player that is over 70 dollars more than the 350 model, I don't think the player itself is any better in functionality and quality. What does separate it from the IMP-350 is the fact that the headphones are much more better and that the design of the lid is different. However, would I spend 70 dollars more? No, I would rather get the IMP-350 and a pair of nicer headphones such as a Sennheiser 570 or Grado SR60 that are far superior than the supplied Sennheiser earbud phones. I do have to give credit to Iriver for the battery-overcharge feature, however I have heard that the 350s do the same.

You might be asking why I didn't get the 350. Well, I got the 400 in Korea with American currency, which pretty much means i got the 400 for about the same price as the 350, so why not? =)

All in all, if you want the nicer-looking CD player, get the IMP-400. Bear in mind, it's only the looks. As far as functionality, it's the same as the IMP-350, which I think is the better value.
All of this is my opinion of course.

Before I give my review, why are people paying $80.00 for this product insead of getting the just as great SlimX iMP 350. There is actually no difference, except for the remote. On the 350, it uses 75 degree rotating dials on the top and bottom for navigation. It's no hassle to change music. On the 400, it uses a d-pad and center enter button. Both have there pros and cons, but each in it is equal. Now for my review. SlimX makes excellent products (minus any CD player less than the 350). This one is no exception. It has excellent sound quality, excellent battery life (around 12 hours on a charge), and has great skip protection. Also, how can you go wrong with being able to carry 6 hours of 128kbps music with you? If you want to spend a little more, go with a Nomad Zen (excellent bang for the buck). Other wise, if CD's are your thang, go with the SlimX 350 or 400.

Pros:
Iriver has come out with another amazing cd player. The Imp 400 has great features such as a 8 minute ESP, a wide 4 line backlit LCD remote, and much more. The slim design and the cover is wonderful. The color options are nice also. It also comes with Sennheiser MX300 earphones, which are much better than stock earphones. The rechargable NiMH are an added bonus, no more buying expensive batteries. The discharge and the overcharge features are good also.

Cons:
But the Imp 400 needs to work on the price. ... the price of the player is a bit expensive. For [a little] less you can get the Imp 350, It has the same features as the Imp 400 but the style is a bit worse. The weird rectangular battery shape is a downside. Not many stores in the USA sell these types of batteries.

Summary:
You should buy the Imp 400 if you want the latest style and features and dont care how much it costs. But if u want more bang for the buck buy the imp 350

For those who, like myself, have become addicted to storing and playing their music in mp3 format, this player is just about the best thing on the market. No other player except iRiver's own 350 model seems to be able to handle the combination of mp3 format and CD-RW media without problems. This model is an improvement on the 350 model in this area, as it does not seem to be subject to the sensitivity to temperature that occasionally plagued the 350.

The remote has been re-designed from the 350. While I find the new arrangement of buttons and switches to be better looking, the controls are not as easy to handle in 'sightless' mode, as when I'm using it in my car. Their positioning versus the spring attachment clip is also a problem, making it difficult to attach the remote without inadvertently hitting one of the switches. But when trying to go through multiple directories of songs, navigation is much easier than with the 350, and you don't really need to refer to the manual to figure out how to do this or to get to any of the other option settings.

Skip control has also been improved (not that the 350 was a slouch in this area), so it is now almost impossible to make the player skip, even when jogging with the player in a vertical position. And while jogging, the included wrap-around headphones are just fine, remaining on the neck and ears without bouncing all over the place, although their audio quality is only fair.

As my main usage for this is in my car (car manufacturers, take note - cd players need to know how to read mp3s!), the included car kit is nice, and helps justify the extra cost of this player. The small size and slim outline of the main unit means that I can keep the player inside the central armrest storage area, out of sight and not subject to slipping all over the place on sharp curves. Running on the car accessories power adapter also means I don't have to worry about battery consumption, though that seems to be just fine at about 8-10 hours per charge.

When running this player through either my car or my home stereo, the best feature of this player becomes obvious, its absolute clarity of music reproduction, absolutely perfect for classical music while also doing just as good a job on everything from Pink Floyd to Blink182. Some may find this clarity annoying, as every imperfection in the original recording becomes obvious - given the production quality of some modern day songs, this may show up more than you might think. The provided equalizer modes seem to be more than adequate, but you can create your own if feel the need.

In short, this is the player for those whose life just wouldn't be complete without having their music with them, regardless of where they are or what they are doing. And for this type of person, the relatively high price of this player is small compared to its net benefit.

--- Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)

I just got my IMP-400 yesterday and was very pleasantly surprised by some things, sorely disappointed by others.

Good stuff:

-Remote was easy to use
-Came with nicer, upgraded, padded case instead of "a" velvet pouch I thought I'd be getting
-Pretty, thin, and light
-EXCELLENT shock protection--I used the ... thing as a drumstick against my desk for like a whole minute to test it and it literally did not skip at all
-one VERY notable thing is that the sound quality is very clear. For example, I understood every word in every song....some are songs that I've been listening to for years, and now I can finally understand what all the words are! I wasn't used to that kind of quality; I also heard new melodies and instruments in the background and they startled me! I wondered where those new sounds were coming from and they have always been there! I was just never able to hear them with any of my ...stereo equipment....yay iriver!
-you can program it to say your name every time you turn it on :)
-radio reception is great but....

Bad Stuff:

-..........you can't adjust equalizers while listening to the radio
-No Sennheiser earbuds in sight; just behind-the-head generics (but it turned out ok after all because I didn't really want earbuds anyway) though the bass on them is not very good
-lots of restrictive wires
-can't use the car kit cuz my car doesn't have a tape player :(

Overall I'm pretty happy with it and can't wait to burn a whole bunch of mp3 cds to play on it