iriver ChromeX iMP-150CK CD/MP3 Player with Car Kit

The ChromeX supports music CDs, homemade CD-Rs and CD-RWs with MP3, Windows Media Audio (WMA), and Microsoft's Advanced Systems Format (ASF). New formats such as AAC, mp3PRO, and so on can be supported in the future through a simple firmware upgrade. The iMP-150CK also supports Winamp playlists as long as they use the file extension .m3u (a maximum of 20 lists).

The player provides 40 seconds of skip protection for conventional audio CDs, 120 seconds for MP3 (44.1 kHz, 128 Kbps standard), and 240 seconds for WMA (44.1 kHz, 64 Kbps). By applying iRiver's own special algorithm, the iMP-150CK provides better performance against shock than standard antiskip algorithms. At the same time, iRiver maximizes protection at the beginning of songs through prebuffering.

The iMP-150CK comes with a graphic LCD that supports multiple languages, including English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, and other alphabet-oriented fonts; Korean; Japanese (katakana, hiragana, and kanji); and others--a total of 35 languages. With MP3 (128 Kbps) files, the iMP-150 can play for 16 hours on two AA batteries (not included).

So, I bought this little gem and it's perfect for my use. I've managed to put about 400 songs in WMA format (at 64kbps) on a 80 min (700MB) CD-R that sound just great and there's still some room to spare. They're all songs I want to hear. I also put a half dozen or so playlists on this CD, since this device handles up to 20 playlists. If I want more, I'll burn another CD-R with 400 more. It's no big deal to carry around a couple CDs with the player.

This device has flawlessly played audio CD's, CD-R's (70 & 80 min), and CD-RW's. I used both MP3 (at 128k) and WMA (at 32k and 64k to really save space).

At first, on reading the manual, I thought that I'd never remember all the combinations of the controls. You see, all of the buttons and jog controls serve 2 or 3 purposes depending on the mode you're in. But with actual use, I found they're not only very logically assigned, but that typically you'll setup configurations one time and rarely or never change them again. Things like backlight, contrast, settings for skip speed (fast forward/reverse speed) and many others are not things you'll change often if ever.

I saw a criticism of this device that it lacks a bass boost - not true. Several play modes can be toggled, including an enhanced bass response; additionally, you can setup your own custom playback response called "User Eq" and crank up the bass just as far as you want.

Upgrading the firmware couldn't be easier. Put the firmware update file onto a CD-R or CD-RW (I recommend CD-RW so it can be erased and reused afterward), load it into the machine, hit Play, it updates itself and switches off; just remove the disk and you're done.

Sound quality is first rate. Skipping has not been a problem. And although I didn't measure it precisely, battery life has been amazing. I played MP3's and WMA's for many hours on a set of pair of AA batteries, although I understand battery time with audio CDs is considerably less. The remote is very convenient and duplicates the thorough control of the main unit.

I have only 1 criticism: The earbud phones supplied (I don't like earbuds anyway) are uneven in cord length; that is to say, there's maybe one foot of slack on the left phone and two feet on the right phone. This is supposedly to allow you to keep the connecting cord in the back of your neck, but it just drove me nuts; I used other phones which I like better, and would have anyway.

This is a GREAT device. I got what I want for my needs and for many hundreds less than the iPod over which I was drooling. I chose wisely.


A Good Buy!   June 28, 2003
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

I bought this unit for my car, but it is so cool that I take it to the office too. Downloading the software is easy and the manual is straightforward. This is a lot more than just a CD player and the listener options a very cool. It looks nice and has a solid feel. The sound is what its all about and although I'm no expert, this unit delivers true quality audio. The equalizer allows you to adjust the tone to your liking. I've listened to Regular CDs and CD-Rs and both sound great. I haven't gone running with this unit(yet) but it seems to handle jostling and bumping without skipping or stopping. Even though I didn't buy this with the thought of running with it, I am tempted to give it a try.
Downsides are:
The car cassette is noisier than it should be, someone somewhere has to have solved this problem by now.
I'm not a huge fan of ear bud style headphones so I just ordered Sennheiser PMX 60 headphones. Of course when I bought the unit, I had no intention of listening to it anywhere other than in my car so the headphones weren't a concern.
If you are on a budget, I recommend the ChromeX. If cost is not a huge concern then take a look at the whole iRiver line.


Just Kickass!!   June 27, 2003
 1 out of 2 found this review helpful

This is an awesome player for the price it comes! I just got it day-before yesterday! I had a choice between the iMP-150 and a Rio, but I decided I ould buy this as it came with more features at a lower price. The blue backlight, the erogonomic remote control with easy-to-use jog buttons, the colours(Bloac+Silver/Metallic Grey+Silver) just added to the features of the power-packed gadget. It has its own programming functions in which you can change a lot of data on the CD-R from within the player! The sound is crystal clear and the equalizers(you can make your own as well) are amazing. However the Bass Boost didn't make a lot of difference. The anti-skip stays to its word. However the songs are sorted according to filename(if you don't download the playlist as such, that is). The firmware upgrade, where you can upgrade features is the icing on the cake!


Pleased As Punch   June 21, 2003
Great looks! Great Sound! Great Features! A great buy. The firmware upgrade feature is a great customer service tool. Performed my first upgrade with no problems. Be sure to burn your cd as data and not music. The upgrade went without a hitch. MP3's play perfectly. Not one complaint. Go for it.