iRiver CD / MP3 player with radio

I have owned my iMP 550 since shortly after it was released. I can't remember exactly when that was but it has been at least a year!
I love my CD player. It looks great and it does what I need it to do.
It has several awards including a CNET editors award:

CNET Editor's Choice
"If you're looking for an MP3 CD player, you'll be hard-pressed to find a better choice at any price."

There ...
...the battery life. Whilst companies often overstate the battery life of their products, this seems to be a gross overestimation as far as I am concerned. I can get about 5-10 hours out of my 550 and have never come close to the proclaimed 55.
This is annoying and people should be made aware of it even though it hasn't affected me too badly.
Another fault is with the startup time. I can't help but feel that the 550 pays the price for ... more

I have owned my iMP 550 since shortly after it was released. I can't remember exactly when that was but it has been at least a year!
I love my CD player. It looks great and it does what I need it to do.
It has several awards including a CNET editors award:

CNET Editor's Choice
"If you're looking for an MP3 CD player, you'll be hard-pressed to find a better choice at any price."

There are problems with it however...
First and foremost is the battery life. Whilst companies often overstate the battery life of their products, this seems to be a gross overestimation as far as I am concerned. I can get about 5-10 hours out of my 550 and have never come close to the proclaimed 55.
This is annoying and people should be made aware of it even though it hasn't affected me too badly.
Another fault is with the startup time. I can't help but feel that the 550 pays the price for its beauty by having its efficiency and functionality reduced. The worst scenario is trying to play a CDRW MP3 CD. It can literally take 1-2 minutes and then will often complain that no CD is present.
The player is very vocal in its attempts to read CD's and makes a lot of unwanted noise.
It is analogous to to a mercedes S-Class that sounds like a 30 year old skoda.... there is something not quite right.
The radio could also be improved though it is adequate.
The remote control is, in general, very good but the instruction manual that mine came with was sketchy to say the least. It looked suspiciously like it had been translated from Korean or another language.
Finally, the player just doesn't feel solid. When you open it, you worry that you may snap the lid clean off. It's no good looking as good as it does if that means packing it away in an ultrapadded case (as I do!).

Overall all though, I would recommend the iMP-550 as the best overall in the iMP range and the best looking of ALL MP3 CD players out there. Whilst others might perform better, nothing comes even close to the sheer elegance of the 550. It really is a stunning piece of design engineering.
And whilst I have moaned about the negative points, don't forget that I haven't replaced it yet despite having owned it for over a year - there must be something right!
I think however, that the age of the MP3 CD player may be relatively brief as high capacity MP3 players and media centres fall in price.
I for one will be happy to own my little piece of MP3 history. 

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