iriver S10

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Specifications

Frequency Range: 20 Hz - 20 kHz

Output Power: 15mW + 15mW (at Max. Volume)

Signal to Noise Ratio: 90dB

Dimensions: 42w x 30h x 10.8d mm

Weight: 17.5g

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Performance

As aforementioned, the S10 we received wasn't supplied to us with the default bundled earphones. The default earphones are a combination of lanyard as well. There is no real need to worry, though, because iriver bundles Sennheiser earphones with their products. So the S10 performance is decent; the sound produced with the earphones we received was just near perfect. However, I felt that there was something missing. Maybe it's because I expected too much from a renowned brand like iriver. I've heard an iriver even before the dawn of the iPods, and that was really good back then. This player has lots of settings to offer. Like with frequency boost, you can choose to boost frequencies from 40 Hz - 400 Hz. You can also focus either on highs, mediums, or lows. These adjustments let you experience good bass or damn clear vocals. All of these are available in the SRS settings. If you aren't too well versed with technicalities of sound, then there's a wide range of Equalizer presets. The list of presets is Normal, Classic, Live, Pop, Rock, Jazz, Ubase, Metal, Dance, and Party. Custom EQ is also present here. The best part of the S10 was that the sound didn't crack even at max volume -though the max volume wasn't really all that loud. But I guess that had it been any louder, the quality would have been compromised.

Moving on to other modes of the player, when it came to viewing of image files you could peacefully browse through the images without stopping the music. The FM tuner of the player was also reasonably good. You can record from the FM tuner as well - other than just doing a standard voice recording. Transferring files to the S10 was a breeze - no need for any drivers if you're using XP. For those still on Win98/ME/2000 etc. there are drivers provided in the CD. The CD also bundles iriver plus 3 software - but I still prefer drag-n-drop of folders. You can upgrade the firmware of the S10 if you find problems. There were quite a few times that the player hung and required a reset. The hang occurred at the time of starting up the player. This should be rectified the moment a new firmware is made available.

 

Conclusion

Now here comes the bummer for the S10. The iriver S10 sells for around Rs.6000 with a 1-year warranty. The player can also be found for under 6K - but for the very fact that it's around that price range, you want more than just good sound quality: the capacity should be higher. At this price, you could even get an iPod Nano. These days, 1GB players like Creative's Stone and the iPod Shuffle are available for much less. Other local or Eastern brands give you a 1GB player for under 3K. There are iAudio products available for less if you're looking for really good sound quality. I would say that the price of S10 puts the whole "SOUL+SLIM+STLYE=S10" down to "-S10".

 

Reviews of latest mp3 player, portable audio/video player