Another quality, great sounding MP3 player from iRiver (Iriver Clix2 8 GB)

Member Name: sharpey1982

Product:	Iriver Clix2 8 GB
Date:	21/05/09 (19 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great sound quality and compatibility, amazing colour screen, flash based solid-state

Disadvantages: Poor video compatibility, only 8GB storage, cheap bundled headphones

This is the second iRiver product I have owned and it is a vast improvement on my old iHP120 hard-drive player. Most notably, this is a flash based player so there are no moving parts. My old iHP120 used to skip whilst I was jogging, there is no such problem with the Clix 2. The solid state memory means skipping is a thing of the past. Another bonus is that it's far less likely to break should you be careless enough to drop it (the moving parts in hard-drive players can get messed up if they take a knock). The only let down is the storage capacity. 8GB is not a lot if you want to store a lot of movies etc. Hard-disk players offer better value for money in this respect.

The player itself is very versatile and can handle music (obviously), video, pictures, flash applications and games, FM radio, and voice recording to name but a few functions. The colour screen is extremely vivid and pictures and videos look very crisp. The support for audio files is extremely impressive and there really isn't much that this little player can't handle. However, video is another story. The requirement for video to work on this device is so specific that it can be extremely hard to get anything to work. I have tried several programs with various codecs etc. and have had very little luck in nailing down an easy procedure for creating a Clix 2 friendly file. As such, I wouldnt recommend this player to you if you wanted to use it for viweing videos on a regular basis. I believe the newer iRiver products offer much better compatibility video-wise.

For sound on the other hand, there are none much better. IRiver players always offer extremely good sound quality, far better than any iPods (I have tried shuffles, classics, nanos and none have come close). If you're buying this player for sound quality then you've made a good choice and you won't be disappointed. However, you'll have to get yourself a decent pair of headphones to appreciate it as the ones supplied are rather cheap and do not do the player justice.

The d-Click function which you use to control the player is a smart invention. Basically you press the edges of the player with your finger to move tracks, pause/play etc. If you're going to have the player in your pocket though you will need to use the hold function as it is quite sensitive and any movement could cause you to skip tracks. I also wonder about the long term health of the click-pad. I get the feeling that it could break quite easily but having said that I have had no problems.

To summarise this is the best player that I have ever owned. The iRiver players seem to go from strength to strength and you cant go wrong with these machines. Better still I believe the Clix 2 8GB is now available for under £100. Considering I paid £150 when it came out, it is now a real bargain.

Summary: A quality little player for sound junkies, not for video lovers though

Processing/Quality:
Reliability:
Ease of use:
Features:
Sound quality:
Download speed: