Topic: So ... recording with the iRiver. finally feasable?

[ljsurfer2002]

I know the rockbox development was working on getting a hack done on the firmware to make it a 'taping friendly' box that could write to .wav and had longer max file length / time on the recording file .. did they do it finally? .. I haven't been keeping up with the project in a while. probably a year. but I just saw this show:

http://www.archive.org/audio/etree-details-db.php?id=32471

Source: Core Sound Cardioids > iRiver H340 (w/ Rockbox)
Lineage: iRiver H340 > USB > Adobe Audition > CD Wave Editor > WAV > FLAC
Taped by: Finchy (finchy@jbtlive.com)

anyone used it? ... field results? ... love it? .. hate it? .. just keeping my mind and options open for (hopefully never) when my beloved Nomad Jukebox 3 gets run over or nuked or something .. 1.5 years deep and not a single problem with it so far... here's to many more years.

[timP]

I don't think they have figured out any digital in on thes boxes, only meters for analog

you have always been able to go analog in on the HP1x0 series, just no meters for your levels, no pops or drop outs
only got them via digital in

so while this is nice i guess, I really want optical in for my 120 to work....


but the JB3 works great

[Weazel]

there working on the digital in on on the ihp-1xx series.
anolog in works great 2 gig files limit and recording straight into a new file, 9 hours recording time on a fully charged battery.
level meters are added. on the fly gain.

and with an external adc bitarate perhaps will go too 96/24 on the ihp-1xx series once digital in is added

rockbox for h3xx series is just in progress and analog wav recording is added yes. same options as on the ihp-1xx series.

[Popmarter]

Weazel, can we have some good shots on what the levels look like?

[Weazel]

this is from the ihp1xx. i think in the furure they support custom wrs (while recording screen)

[Popmarter]

thanks for the pic. while recording screen? what's that?

[bconnolly]

thanks for the pic. while recording screen? what's that?

Probably an option to change levels (or at least view what you're at) while recording instead of doing it from a setup page.

[Weazel]

no, it's the recording screen when you record. like the playing screen in rockbox you can design your own layout, so i think it will be available in the future also for the recording screen. checkout www.rockbox.org for more info.

[firmdragon]

is the only difference between the H3XX and H1XX the lack of SPDIF in?

[Popmarter]

no, it's the recording screen when you record. like the playing screen in rockbox you can design your own layout, so i think it will be available in the future also for the recording screen. checkout www.rockbox.org for more info.

sounds cool, but for now...the levels are very usefull (they look like it anyway) for stealthing in dark places?

[Weazel]

yes the levels are usabable i heard verry possitive story's about them.
the only difference bewtween the 1xx and the 3xx is the spif/d in and out on the 1xx and collor display on the 3xx.
rockbox is also now bussy porting to the toshiba gigabeat and the iaudiio x5.

but as far i can see the ihp 1xx serie is still the best DAP ever made. look at head-fi page how many use them for the digital out.and with rockbox you can play flac and shorten and wavpac lossless codecs.

[Popmarter]

yes the levels are usabable i heard verry possitive story's about them.
the only difference bewtween the 1xx and the 3xx is the spif/d in and out on the 1xx and collor display on the 3xx.
rockbox is also now bussy porting to the toshiba gigabeat and the iaudiio x5.

but as far i can see the ihp 1xx serie is still the best DAP ever made. look at head-fi page how many use them for the digital out.and with rockbox you can play flac and shorten and wavpac lossless codecs.

bit confused, the older model has in/out SPDIF, and the h3* does not??

[Weazel]

indeed

[FINCHY]

but as far i can see the ihp 1xx serie is still the best DAP ever made.

Can't argue with you there

But for me I don't need digital input so the H300 serves my needs perfectly (now)! & I couldn't be more happier   Maybe if I was doing regular soundboard patches it might be worth looking at a digital source... but with live stealth AUD taping, analog input is fine since the quality is never 100% perfect anyway.

The most important thing for me is having minimal gear to carry in to the show, & not changing discs!! All I need now is the iRiver & the mics... & that's it & knowing that I'm never going to need to start a new recording half way thru the show is 1 less thing to worry about & such a relief. It's great, I can wear the mics & iRiver & forget about taping till the end of the show, & being a HDD recorder it handles a lot of soft bumps so I can even boogie & move around a little with without fear of defects & skips etc. Compared to my last rig this like comlete freedom & so much less stress.

As far as the RB interface goes, its simple & accurate & functional... what else do ya need The level meters are great!, I haven't seen such a large levels display on a portable WAV recorder.

Every taper has their own preferences & requirements & techniques etc... but for me: iRiver H340 w/ Rockbox is the answer to all my prayers & as I said: I couldn't be happier! Thank you Rockbox!!!

[Popmarter]

but as far i can see the ihp 1xx serie is still the best DAP ever made.

Can't argue with you there

But for me I don't need digital input so the H300 serves my needs perfectly (now)! & I couldn't be more happier   Maybe if I was doing regular soundboard patches it might be worth looking at a digital source... but with live stealth AUD taping, analog input is fine since the quality is never 100% perfect anyway.

The most important thing for me is having minimal gear to carry in to the show, & not changing discs!! All I need now is the iRiver & the mics... & that's it & knowing that I'm never going to need to start a new recording half way thru the show is 1 less thing to worry about & such a relief. It's great, I can wear the mics & iRiver & forget about taping till the end of the show, & being a HDD recorder it handles a lot of soft bumps so I can even boogie & move around a little with without fear of defects & skips etc. Compared to my last rig this like comlete freedom & so much less stress.

As far as the RB interface goes, its simple & accurate & functional... what else do ya need The level meters are great!, I haven't seen such a large levels display on a portable WAV recorder.

Every taper has their own preferences & requirements & techniques etc... but for me: iRiver H340 w/ Rockbox is the answer to all my prayers & as I said: I couldn't be happier! Thank you Rockbox!!!

He FINCHY, you don't work for Iriver, do you :-)

No honestly, from what i read sofar this unit could be THE thing for stealthers like you and me. Like you,i can't really be bother by digi-in as i don't do sbd, neither do i have a fancy preamp. i know my at831 mics can make some wonderfull recordings, like you i only care about carring as little as possible and good LEVELS.

So, back to the money. H120 is second hand for about 150 euro if you are luckiy.the H300 are around 300 euro. That's about the max you have to spend for a recorder that is definitly better than any minidisc. You don't need extra memorycards, as you need for the Microtrack.

now, i am happy sofar, or am i missing something here..?

[Weazel]

hi finchy i see you found your way here..

nope that's quite it. analog recording will as i understand never go above the 44.1/16. but that it's ok by me it still beats MD.
rockbox is just great. and many features added.

btw whatboutbob, a member here  made also a rockbox recording.
http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=75693

Foo Fighters
December 6, 2005
Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne

Taper: whatboutbob
Location: Right stack, stealth

Source: sp-cmc-10s (at853 hypers) > sp-sb6 > iRiver H140 digital audio player (rockbox line-in)
Conversion: iRiver H140 > USB > Adobe Audition > CDWav 1.94.3 > FLAC Frontend 1.7.1 (Level

[Popmarter]

maybe not a question for this forum, but interesting for tapers.

is it possible to create custom made WPS for the record-mode? what i mean, large levels, batteryindex, remaining recordtime etc. those things are usefull for us tapers and since it is possble to change the layout..any clues?

[Weazel]

not yet. maybe you can alter the source if you know C programming.

[Popmarter]

i don't. haven't found any information on this either, but i will try to sort it out when i have my recorder 

[Weazel]

better ask in the rockbox forum heh

[FINCHY]

I'm not sure if everyone here understands or not, but I think the main point is that the iRiver H300 series has never been able to record in WAV format! (up until last month's Rockbox release). H100's have always had WAV Rec support so that's nothing special... But for the H300 this is a huge step up making it one of the best overall choices for live taping!

Apart from the lack of digital input I believe the H300's are much better than the H100's... as an overall unit you can't beat: color screen, photos, video, usbotg, & an almost endless potential with Rockbox plugins. & although the H300's are slightly thicker, they are also shorter (in height) which helps when carrying it in your pocket or jacket. (& also no annoying & obtrusive joystick).

Btw, nope I don't work for iRiver, & I don't care about the brand names, I just care about functionality & features Anyway in regards to the original subject: H100's have always been the best choice, but now the H300's are an even better choice (when no digital input is required).

[ljsurfer2002]

thanks mate for the scoop! .. i was actually hoping you'd pop up here, since it was your recording I copy / pasted to start the thread .. and i'm with you .. i don't need digi input with my at831 > batt box set up .. so if my nomad ever crapps out, the iRiver it is! .. glad they finally got the rockbox jiving on that baby..

how are things down under? ..

tyler

[thomasdk7]

fyi: I have just implemented remote support for the recording screen. It is really homemade, but it does work. This is for all the tapers who really need the remote.
Now you can check your levels and set the recording level from the remote! I have always dreamed of this on my Minidisc.

[Popmarter]

fyi: I have just implemented remote support for the recording screen. It is really homemade, but it does work. This is for all the tapers who really need the remote.
Now you can check your levels and set the recording level from the remote! I have always dreamed of this on my Minidisc.

does it work with the iriver 120? where can we download it?

[thomasdk7]

It is made for the iRiver 120, but I don't know how to distribute it. I would like someone to integrate it into the official Rockbox.
If you can compile rockbox yourself I can send the source code for the changes.

[Popmarter]

It is made for the iRiver 120, but I don't know how to distribute it. I would like someone to integrate it into the official Rockbox.
If you can compile rockbox yourself I can send the source code for the changes.

no i ca't but i am definitly intrested in it, as more people here is guess.
can you make some pics of the remote in action??

[Weazel]

thomas better talk to linus on irc how to submit that patch.

[Popmarter]

indeed, thomas, please get in touch

I am a happy Iriver owner now too 

[udovdh]

To get the complete picture:

What remote? A DIY kit or a COTS product?
I'll look into the iRivers (again). I had an eye on a 220 some time ago but they were slow in fixing bugs...

[Popmarter]

To get the complete picture:

What remote? A DIY kit or a COTS product?
I'll look into the iRivers (again). I had an eye on a 220 some time ago but they were slow in fixing bugs...

Not sure what you mean by that, but pictures of the remote can be found http://www.rasher.dk/rockbox/scans/

[udovdh]

To get the complete picture:

What remote? A DIY kit or a COTS product?
I'll look into the iRivers (again). I had an eye on a 220 some time ago but they were slow in fixing bugs...

Not sure what you mean by that, but pictures of the remote can be found http://www.rasher.dk/rockbox/scans/

Thanks. THey can be had separately?
What about SNR performance of the inputs?

[Popmarter]

To get the complete picture:

What remote? A DIY kit or a COTS product?
I'll look into the iRivers (again). I had an eye on a 220 some time ago but they were slow in fixing bugs...

Not sure what you mean by that, but pictures of the remote can be found http://www.rasher.dk/rockbox/scans/

Thanks. THey can be had separately?
What about SNR performance of the inputs?

i am not sure what you mean by SNR. Neither do i know wether they are soled seperatly. i got mine second hand with the remote with it.

There is an interesting discussion thread over at Rockbox where you can download the 'upgrade' from Thomas who is also on this board. With this you can control the record -mode from your remote (!). I am new to this, so don't as me how it exactly works. There is plenty of info over at rockbox.
http://forums.rockbox.org/index.php?topic=2363.msg16272#msg16272

[udovdh]

Well. I can get around with unix, linux etc so building Rockbox should be possible.
If the hardware has advantages I might be in!

[Weazel]

rockbox is programmed in C.
sourcecode is only needed for programming.
for normal use you patch the original firmware (wich contains the rockbox bootloader then)  and flash it on your iriver and then copy a daily builth version to the hd of the iriver , that's it.

[thomasdk7]

I will try to develop on the remote recording screen as I get more time. For now it can be used. I tested it last night at a concert. It worked perfectly!!
Will do my best to get it integrated to rockbox, might work some more on it in february if I get the time.
Otherwise the iRiver is really good for taping. 30second prerecording, remote levels and gain and 20gb space 

[Weazel]

Thomas do you think realtime recording plugins are  possible? i would to like to see a bass roll off plugin in realtime recording.

[qpwoei]

I will try to develop on the remote recording screen as I get more time. For now it can be used. I tested it last night at a concert. It worked perfectly!!
Will do my best to get it integrated to rockbox, might work some more on it in february if I get the time.
Otherwise the iRiver is really good for taping. 30second prerecording, remote levels and gain and 20gb space 

Just wanted to say THANKS, Thomas, works like a charm in my old 120. This thing is now simply perfect to stealth

cheers

[Tenn Man]

So how is the battery life while recording with Rockbox?

[George]

So how is the battery life while recording with Rockbox?

Dunno.  I get 16 hrs for playback, so i assume its probably 4-6hrs for recording to wav.  I plan on testing my H140 on a full charge tonight, it'll be backing up my M1 dat.

[Weazel]

i had 9 hours ours nonstop recording on a fully charged battery and  on an  ipod 2300 mah  battery you get 15 hours.
rockbox doubles batterylife somehow.

[Tenn Man]

So, would you guys recommend selling my Hi-MD and getting one of these for recording?

[whatboutbob]

So, would you guys recommend selling my Hi-MD and getting one of these for recording?

It really depends what you're after...but it certainly works very well for me, post rockbox.

[sullen]

forgive me, but i have not been folowing the iRiver saga.

has the 75minute recording limit thingy been resolved with rockbox.

there was some talk that the max. recording that could be done was something like 75mins,
then you would have to manually start a new .wav file.

not the case anymore with rockbox?

[Weazel]

indeed all glitches are gone and with rockbox you can record 2 gig files and it creates a new file after the 2 gig limit.

[whatboutbob]

2 gig equates roughly to 3h 20m+, and last time i tested (a while back) the file restart after 2 gig seemed seamless.

[sullen]

How the F do you install rockbox>!>>!@#)!$I)(@U(*H@(*$#!@???

I read that "guide to compiling rockbox" thing at their forum

i didn't understand a word of it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Is there an easy way to do this!?

Dats are so much simplier!!!!!!!!!!!!

[firmdragon]

i think the compiling thing is for developers.

follow these instructions.  pretty painless, i did it a few days ago.

http://www.rockbox.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/ManualRockboxInstall#iriver_jukeboxes

[poorlyconditioned]

So, would you guys recommend selling my Hi-MD and getting one of these for recording?

Keep you MD.  Even if you don't use it regularly, it is great for backup, eg., if you run out of battery, want a second machine for SBD, etc.

I haven't tried Iriver yet, but there are quite a few good things about MD including: builtin mic pre (does Iriver have this?), standard removeable (AA) battery, long battery life (up to 7h55 on a single AA cell and a 1G drive in HiSP, 256Kbps compressed mode), and removeable media (great for use as a playback device too).  Oh yeah, optical in works great on HiMD if you want to use an external pre like an AD20.

  Richard

[david_f]

Anyone know of a good source to buy the iriver H3xx recorders these days?

I've been keeping an eye out on ebay. Anywhere else?

[sullen]

i think the compiling thing is for developers.

follow these instructions.  pretty painless, i did it a few days ago.

http://www.rockbox.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/ManualRockboxInstall#iriver_jukeboxes

Got it, thanx.

Running some tests on the iriver vs sony dat with dpa.

ill post the files if anyones interested.

[Weazel]

im curious on dpa's  straight in the line in if the plugin power is enough?

use this compiled version  on ihp 1xx series it has all the patches.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/martin.scarratt/rockbox.zip

remote control levels, combined analog and digital gain. and big level meters.

[sullen]

i didn't even know this thing had plugin power.....


Thanx for the patches!
I was going to try and get the remote levels thing today.

What's the story with analog/digital gain??
and what is the "volume" above the gain settings on the record screen?

[Weazel]

there are 2 settings in the normal rockbox ADC gain left - right and un the recording menu a gain setting it's combined now to 1 with these patches.

volume above the gain is the headphone volume .

[qpwoei]

im curious on dpa's  straight in the line in if the plugin power is enough?

use this compiled version  on ihp 1xx series it has all the patches.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/martin.scarratt/rockbox.zip

remote control levels, combined analog and digital gain. and big level meters.

The big meters are great, but for some reason the left and right channels are not balanced (?)  The left is marking 3 dB, the right 18 db (?). Even worst, I can't make them work together... :-(

[sullen]

im curious on dpa's  straight in the line in if the plugin power is enough?

YES!!!!

4061 > line in
powered them fine.

recorded again with power supply and no difference.


wowowoowowow

[firmdragon]

how do you delete files on the iriver, w/o it being plugged into the laptop?  can you?

[whatboutbob]

The big meters are great, but for some reason the left and right channels are not balanced (?)  The left is marking 3 dB, the right 18 db (?). Even worst, I can't make them work together... :-(

Yeah, I think I'm having a similar issue (found out the hard way...don't ask).  Is it the meter reflecting incorrectly, or is it actually recording at that unbalanced level?  (mine's the latter)  I'm trying to work through it with one of the dev's atm.

how do you delete files on the iriver, w/o it being plugged into the laptop?  can you?

If you're using rockbox, off the top of my head, highlight the file/dir in the file tree, long-press the joystick.  You'll get some options there...one of them is 'delete file/dir.

[qpwoei]

Yeah, I think I'm having a similar issue (found out the hard way...don't ask).  Is it the meter reflecting incorrectly, or is it actually recording at that unbalanced level?  (mine's the latter)  I'm trying to work through it with one of the dev's atm.

Yes, mine is recording unbalanced too (discovered that the hard way too :-)
After some tweaking with a stereo mike (that was hard as hell, I even though one of the capsules was broken) , I plugged a mono mike which doubles (same level both channels), and noticed there is are +9 dB (straight) difference between left and right, and the correct reading is at the LEFT(I mean, the A letter shifts to D when you reach +24db and above) . You may go crazy trying to adjust level at the RIGHT if you are not aware of the 9dB difference!! Other than that the patch works OK

cheers

[AGI]

Yeah, I think I'm having a similar issue (found out the hard way...don't ask).  Is it the meter reflecting incorrectly, or is it actually recording at that unbalanced level?  (mine's the latter)  I'm trying to work through it with one of the dev's atm.

Yes, mine is recording unbalanced too (discovered that the hard way too :-)
After some tweaking with a stereo mike (that was hard as hell, I even though one of the capsules was broken) , I plugged a mono mike which doubles (same level both channels), and noticed there is are +9 dB (straight) difference between left and right, and the correct reading is at the LEFT(I mean, the A letter shifts to D when you reach +24db and above) . You may go crazy trying to adjust level at the RIGHT if you are not aware of the 9dB difference!! Other than that the patch works OK

cheers

I experienced the same problem (H120 here).
Resetting preferences have fixed this issue, though I have no clue why preferences should affect recording levels.

[sullen]

not having this problem here....

[whatboutbob]

I *suspect* it may have something to do with your preferences prior to loading that build...but I might just be making stuff up.

AGI: how did you reset preferences?

[AGI]

I *suspect* it may have something to do with your preferences prior to loading that build...but I might just be making stuff up.

AGI: how did you reset preferences?

'settings' is the right word I should have used.

Main Menu -> Manage Settings -> Reset Settings

[whatboutbob]

'settings' is the right word I should have used.

Main Menu -> Manage Settings -> Reset Settings

Ahhh...gotcha. Thanks!

[tod3sschu3tze]

in my eyes the h120 is the number 1 recording machine
taped some metal shows just using rockbox and core sound low cost binaurals with low sensivity option.
the outcome was great!!

[sullen]

in my eyes the h120 is the number 1 recording machine

Seems as it may be for 16/41......

[qpwoei]

I *suspect* it may have something to do with your preferences prior to loading that build...but I might just be making stuff up.

AGI: how did you reset preferences?

'settings' is the right word I should have used.

Main Menu -> Manage Settings -> Reset Settings

Problem solved , thanx!

[whatboutbob]

Problem solved , thanx!

Ditto.

[AGI]

take a look to the newest patch for recording on the Rockbox forum, not only this strange behaviour has been fixed but also:

"added a patch for a cliplight (auto backlight on when clipping). Look in recording settings to enable"

wow

these guys developing for rockbox are really brilliant!

[whatboutbob]

"added a patch for a cliplight (auto backlight on when clipping). Look in recording settings to enable"

faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaark!

[NotSoBlüe]

Hi, I have a question about battery life on the iHP-120.  i just got one, and it advertises as 16 hours of battery life. now, I realize that varies depending on what you're doing with it. Right now I am just listening to music on it, WAV files, through my computer speakers. Volume is pretty low. I've had it going for a little more than 3 hours and its already down 1 bar on the battery icon.  Yesterday I charged it up fully, then loaded some shows on it, took about 2 hours or so and it killed the battery by the time I was done. What's up? Any advice/info would be greatly appreciated.  I'd like to maybe record with it (patch into a friends mics) but I'm wondering about the battery before I try...  Thanks!

Jessy

[whatboutbob]

...then loaded some shows on it, took about 2 hours or so and it killed the battery by the time I was done. What's up?

It took 2 hours to load files?  Am I reading that right?  If so, loading files is quite battery intensive.  I'd recharge and re-evaluate by just playing music before getting worried.  The h1x0's do usually get pretty close to their advertised battery life (I got about ~14hrs on original f/w and battery I think...although it's been a while)

[NotSoBlüe]

yes, I loaded a drew emmitt show and a couple ween shows and it took 2+ hours - granted it was a lot of music but I was just suprised at how fast the battery died, even if it is battery intensive. I definitely need to get usb 2.0. I've had it on now since 7:30 am and its 3:30 now and I've got 1 bar left. 

Can I ask - since this thing is so new to me - do the settings across the bottom affect the power usage? the little boxes say WAV - 44kHz - 1411K - Normal----  I did RTFM but haven't had time to really sit and play with it - I just got it yesterday.  Thanks for your help!

[1westkc3]

...to the topic, last night was my first opportunity to use my new toy, H120.  Duncan Shiek @ The Bluebird Theater, Denver. Being the first experience with the H120, I took a conservative approach to settings...ADC gain + .5, recoding screen gain at +.3 thru AT 831s w/ SP-SPBM-2 battery box.  My position was just left of the soundboard.  The show,which was quite nice by the way, clocked in at 95:53...and no disc swap!!  Having been a MD user for several years I didn't realize the stress involed in making that leap.  So I just set it checked levels during a few peaks and they were runin at about 1/3 so a bit sof but plenty of headroom.  While I've got Rockbox installed, I havent mastered the remote buttons so rather than chance missing part of the show, I chose to stick with what am most familiar...it is stealth after all.  The recording turned out very nice indeed, burning CDs, copared to MD transfer is so sweet.  One item I did notis is it's difficult, at leatst the build/version I have installed, to see easily that recording has stated, those digits are just a tad small for these old eyes. I hel off waiting for this day.  I was really disappointed when I began seeing reviws with reots of samples being dropped, file size being limited w/ recording stop  et...But hats off to the Rockbox team.  Who says you can't put humpty dumpty back together.

[George]

yes, I loaded a drew emmitt show and a couple ween shows and it took 2+ hours - granted it was a lot of music but I was just suprised at how fast the battery died, even if it is battery intensive. I definitely need to get usb 2.0. I've had it on now since 7:30 am and its 3:30 now and I've got 1 bar left. 

Can I ask - since this thing is so new to me - do the settings across the bottom affect the power usage? the little boxes say WAV - 44kHz - 1411K - Normal----  I did RTFM but haven't had time to really sit and play with it - I just got it yesterday.  Thanks for your help!

If you purchased this H120 used, the battery life is decreasing with age.  Options?  You can get the battery replaced, they explain how to do it on www.misticriver.net.

[Sherbz]

yes, I loaded a drew emmitt show and a couple ween shows and it took 2+ hours - granted it was a lot of music but I was just suprised at how fast the battery died, even if it is battery intensive. I definitely need to get usb 2.0. I've had it on now since 7:30 am and its 3:30 now and I've got 1 bar left. 

Can I ask - since this thing is so new to me - do the settings across the bottom affect the power usage? the little boxes say WAV - 44kHz - 1411K - Normal----  I did RTFM but haven't had time to really sit and play with it - I just got it yesterday.  Thanks for your help!

The more the HD is read, the more battery power is used. So when transferring files for two hours, you are constantly spinning the HD. And since WAV files are so large, especially compared to something like MP3, again you are accessing the HD more. If you're just playing 128kbps MP3s, you'll get much longer battery life, since the files are about a tenth as large.

[silasfly]

Hello, I was considering buying either the H120 or the H320, for recording my band.  I have a powered stereo mic, but no pre-amp.  Would I need a pre-amp for either of these models?  Finally, could anyone recommend a store/site that offers these models for sale, with decent prices?  Thank you!

Brock

[sullen]

you probably wont need a preamp,

recording rehearsals?


120 is no longer made  > ebay,

320 may be still in production > do a google



here's another ihp-120 recording:
http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=80720
http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=80720

[sullen]

So what is the story with the Analog and Digital Gain?

I'm use to dat + linein + simple recording level knob.....

From what i am guessing Digital Gain with enable the preamp, giving noise and undesired sounds, yes?

Is Analog Gain OK to use?

[Sanjay]

Hey I got my iriver today and am trying to install rockbox on it.  I installed the firmware but im not sure I did it right, when I turn it on the screen just shows the folder "record", "installed patches", and rockbox, when I click on rockbox (I assume its the firmware) I get ROLO running and then nothing again.

What did I do wrong?

[Tenn Man]

Hey I got my iriver today and am trying to install rockbox on it.  I installed the firmware but im not sure I did it right, when I turn it on the screen just shows the folder "record", "installed patches", and rockbox, when I click on rockbox (I assume its the firmware) I get ROLO running and then nothing again.

What did I do wrong?

Did you follow these steps? It leads you right through it.

http://www.rockbox.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/IriverInstall

[Sanjay]

yessir, i also tried using the patch weasel listed instead of the bleeding edge daily builds.

i'm starting over again.

[Sanjay]

think i got it, the thing just must not have taken the fisrt time around

[Tenn Man]

yessir, i also tried using the patch weasel listed instead of the bleeding edge daily builds.

i'm starting over again.

It should be running Rockbox when you boot it up. You shouldn't have to click on Rockbox.

[eman]

Has anybody had luck with the optical in using Rockbox? I can get analog in no problem but zero when I run out of my UA5. Are there any settings? Compatibility issues?
The meters are nice compared to the JB3, right and left, pretty high resolution and rate. It is easy to set analog levels. Starting a new file is very quick. Navigation will take a little getting used to.

[Sanjay]

Has anybody had luck with the optical in using Rockbox? I can get analog in no problem but zero when I run out of my UA5. Are there any settings? Compatibility issues?
The meters are nice compared to the JB3, right and left, pretty high resolution and rate. It is easy to set analog levels. Starting a new file is very quick. Navigation will take a little getting used to.

there isn't an option to select it in the settings, only line in and mic in.  They would have to enable it.  You can use optical in on the firmware that came with it however it will have noises every 30 seconds.

i used it for the first time tonight, i love how it can just start on the recording screen

[eman]

OK, I checked the Rockbox forums and they said that optical in  is not yet supported but "for shure" [sic]  in the future (hopefully the near future). If you see this come out, please post, and I will do the same.
Thanks

[§†∑∫åµÞ≥¥]

just so I understand the iRiverH120: I can only record line-in (1/8" mini-plug) at this point but they're working on the bugs regarding optical-in? (and when they figure them out, I'll be able to record a digital signal?) it records in WAV and will last for at least 3-4 hours when recording in the field? this looks like a great stealthy unit for under $200! can I record into it via USB if using my UA-5? thanks all!

[Sanjay]

just so I understand the iRiverH120: I can only record line-in (1/8" mini-plug) at this point but they're working on the bugs regarding optical-in? (and when they figure them out, I'll be able to record a digital signal?)

Yes, however recording an analog in will yield exactly the same results as a jb3, so its great

it records in WAV and will last for at least 3-4 hours when recording in the field? this looks like a great stealthy unit for under $200!

Actually I think it can record more like 12-16 hrs.  It is a great unit!

can I record into it via USB if using my UA-5? thanks all!

Not yet, however it acts like a mountable HD when plugged into your computer so you can simply drag and drop files.  It also has USB2.  So recording via usb is possible if they write the firmware but they have not yet.

[George]

Plus, the meters are good.   

[§†∑∫åµÞ≥¥]

thanks guys. T's around. it looks like I need to find one of these. used on eBay around $50, brand new is closer to $200.

[Sanjay]

thanks guys. T's around. it looks like I need to find one of these. used on eBay around $50, brand new is closer to $200.

used on ebay around 180 or so, new around 295 on ebay

You are looking for the IHP-120, I-H120 or the 140 versions which are 40 gigs instead of 20

[§†∑∫åµÞ≥¥]

iRiver H120 w/ 20GB of recording time = $190 brand new.... unless I'm missing something:

http://cgi.ebay.com/20GB-iRiver-H120-MP3-VOICE-RECORDER-FM-PLAYER-REMOTE_W0QQitemZ5863608895QQcategoryZ48683QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[George]

iRiver H120 w/ 20GB of recording time = $190 brand new.... unless I'm missing something:

http://cgi.ebay.com/20GB-iRiver-H120-MP3-VOICE-RECORDER-FM-PLAYER-REMOTE_W0QQitemZ5863608895QQcategoryZ48683QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

This product is manufacturer refurbished to new condition, factory refurbished box, unopened, everything is keeping in the original manufactory status. This package includes the following warranty:

Warranty Length: This product comes with 90 days warranty.
Coverage: This warranty covers repair or replacement of defective product.
Provider: Warranty provided by iRiver.
Service Location: Should you require service, please contact iRiver.

Your call...

[§†∑∫åµÞ≥¥]

iRiver H120 w/ 20GB of recording time = $190 brand new.... unless I'm missing something:

http://cgi.ebay.com/20GB-iRiver-H120-MP3-VOICE-RECORDER-FM-PLAYER-REMOTE_W0QQitemZ5863608895QQcategoryZ48683QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

This product is manufacturer refurbished to new condition, factory refurbished box, unopened, everything is keeping in the original manufactory status. This package includes the following warranty:

Warranty Length: This product comes with 90 days warranty.
Coverage: This warranty covers repair or replacement of defective product.
Provider: Warranty provided by iRiver.
Service Location: Should you require service, please contact iRiver.

Your call...

ah, thanks for actually reading the auction.

[MarkF]

iRiver H120 w/ 20GB of recording time = $190 brand new.... unless I'm missing something:

http://cgi.ebay.com/20GB-iRiver-H120-MP3-VOICE-RECORDER-FM-PLAYER-REMOTE_W0QQitemZ5863608895QQcategoryZ48683QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

This product is manufacturer refurbished to new condition, factory refurbished box, unopened, everything is keeping in the original manufactory status. This package includes the following warranty:

Warranty Length: This product comes with 90 days warranty.
Coverage: This warranty covers repair or replacement of defective product.
Provider: Warranty provided by iRiver.
Service Location: Should you require service, please contact iRiver.

Your call...

I purchased an H120 from this store last year.  No problem with the transaction.  I now have 2 x H140's and one H120. 

[§†∑∫åµÞ≥¥]

iRiver H120 w/ 20GB of recording time = $190 brand new.... unless I'm missing something:

http://cgi.ebay.com/20GB-iRiver-H120-MP3-VOICE-RECORDER-FM-PLAYER-REMOTE_W0QQitemZ5863608895QQcategoryZ48683QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

This product is manufacturer refurbished to new condition, factory refurbished box, unopened, everything is keeping in the original manufactory status. This package includes the following warranty:

Warranty Length: This product comes with 90 days warranty.
Coverage: This warranty covers repair or replacement of defective product.
Provider: Warranty provided by iRiver.
Service Location: Should you require service, please contact iRiver.

Your call...

I purchased an H120 from this store last year.  No problem with the transaction.  I now have 2 x H140's and one H120. 

thanks.

[George]

iRiver H120 w/ 20GB of recording time = $190 brand new.... unless I'm missing something:

http://cgi.ebay.com/20GB-iRiver-H120-MP3-VOICE-RECORDER-FM-PLAYER-REMOTE_W0QQitemZ5863608895QQcategoryZ48683QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

This product is manufacturer refurbished to new condition, factory refurbished box, unopened, everything is keeping in the original manufactory status. This package includes the following warranty:

Warranty Length: This product comes with 90 days warranty.
Coverage: This warranty covers repair or replacement of defective product.
Provider: Warranty provided by iRiver.
Service Location: Should you require service, please contact iRiver.

Your call...

ah, thanks for actually reading the auction.

Not a problem, when I saw the price i was like damn, that looks killer.  Besides being a great recording device, it does sound great with my Grado's.

[thegreatgumbino]

So, to recap, optical in/out capable, but Rockbox doesn't support it yet so only 1/8" line in.  Approximately 16 hours of record time.  You can monitor levels with the remote.  I have some questions on this unit though.  I've done some research, but I'm looking for some clarifications.

1) On the fly gain adjustment, right?
2) Does the remote allow you to adjust the gain while monitoring levels?
3) Does the new update that lights the backlight to indicate clipping do so on the remote as well?  If not, is it do-able?
4) Has anyone used one in any extreme heat?  I know the JB3 has problems with heat (i.e. festies).
5) Has anyone done any testing on the ADC to compare to the JB3/other?
6) Replaceable batteries, but what do they run?  Are they some obscure type?
7) Does anyone know for certain that Rockbox is working on making the optical in functional?
Is the hardward itself capable of 24 bit capture even if they can?
9) Has Rockbox enabled use with Mac?
10) Any testing done on the SNR?

It seems to me that three things are needed to make this box optimum: a) get the optical in working, b) bit perfect, and c) 24 bit.

[Sherbz]

1) On the fly gain adjustment, right?
2) Does the remote allow you to adjust the gain while monitoring levels?

Yes, gain adjustment on the fly and through the remote is possible.

3) Does the new update that lights the backlight to indicate clipping do so on the remote as well?  If not, is it do-able?

It's designed for use with the remote, works perfectly.

4) Has anyone used one in any extreme heat?  I know the JB3 has problems with heat (i.e. festies).

Never had any experience with this.

5) Has anyone done any testing on the ADC to compare to the JB3/other?

Not sure, I've read it uses the same ADC as the JB3 though.

6) Replaceable batteries, but what do they run?  Are they some obscure type?

Lots of people at misticriver have replaced the batteries, some kind of ipod type I believe. There's a thread further down in this forum about it. Here's the walkthrough in that thread.

7) Does anyone know for certain that Rockbox is working on making the optical in functional?

They've said they're working on it and they add functionality all the time.

Is the hardward itself capable of 24 bit capture even if they can?

It's not 24bit capable from what I've read.

9) Has Rockbox enabled use with Mac?

It's just recognized as an external HD, so no software necessary, should work on Mac.

10) Any testing done on the SNR?

I think it probably has been done, I haven't seen anything myself though. Maybe check over at rockbox or misticriver.

[George]

Approximately 16 hours of record time.  You can monitor levels with the remote.  .

No, 16 hrs of playback with mp3's.  I imagine record time is roughly 6-8 hrs.  I'll be testing it soon since my H140 has become my defacto recorder now that I sold my dat.

[rsimms3]

You should troll the Rockbox forums, a lot of questions/answers over there.  Several of the things that been developed under recording have been patches by a member on the Rockbox forum named Mmmmmm including better support via the remote and the clipping indicator by way of the light coming on.  Here is the thread:
http://forums.rockbox.org/index.php?topic=2513.0

Answer on highest recording rates by a developer: LinusN: No, 20bits/44.1kHz is the best the hardware can do.


Oh, and with the patch you can control the gain on each channel individually and then set it to increase both channels together, useful if your mics arent' matched so well.

[whatboutbob]

16hrs of recording time with the non-standard 2200mah battery.  Standard battery gets about 9hrs though.

I ran fine for 12hrs @ a festival a couple of weeks ago in 36 degree celcius (not sure what that translates to, but damn it was hot).

The clipping backlight is not perfect (yet).  Wouldn't rely 100% on it...but its good enough for me.

Oh, and it looks like a lot of that gain control patch has just made its way into CVS.

[George]

16hrs of recording time with the non-standard 2200mah battery.  Standard battery gets about 9hrs though.

Even the 9 hrs with the standard battery is crazy but damn, 16 hrs with the 2200mah battery!  Wow! 

[rsimms3]

Yeah, the increase in recording time has to do with how they are working the buffer and hard drive spin ups and downs.  Instead of the drive running constantly they have utilized the buffer to do some of the work so they hard drive doesn't have to do it all.

[Sanjay]

when recording with mine tonight I noticed the red light came on infrequently.  The levels stopped but the counter kept going.  This won't have any effect on the recording will it?  I'm listening now but i haven't heard anything. 

BTW, this is sweet!

[flintstone]

Does the large remote for the H120 and H140 have a button to turn the recorder on and off?   

Flintstone

[§†∑∫åµÞ≥¥]

what about the newer H10... can this be used for taping? anyone?

[whatboutbob]

Flintstone: yes

Stejampzy: Not really.  The H10 doesn't record to wav (mp3 only).

A patch for a very configurable Automatic Gain Control has just been added to rockbox for the iriver hxxx: http://forums.rockbox.org/index.php?topic=2841.0

I'm yet to test it, but it looks like a lot of thought has gone into it.  The peak histogram looks kinda funky too.

Petur's put in some work recently to make the clip-meter far more sensitive too.

[firmdragon]

just thought i'd share my experiences using this machine.

i have been using it for a little while now w/o the recording enhancement pack, and so far no real complaints yet.  i use dpa 4061s with it.  right now for stealth situations, i don't even use a battery box now, nor do i even add gain (normalize later) during recording.  nice to be able to keep things so simple.  however i do figure i may need to upgrade w/ the recording enhancements pack in order to get negative gain when i go see arena shows..

had one minicrisis the other day.  did a show, and left it on hold from the beginning to the end so 3+ hours straight recording.  now, i know it was recording because instead of checking levels, all i do is look for the red light indicating that the hd is in use.  at the end of the show i stopped recording and tried to turn the machine off.  took a little while, and when i tried to play the file again, it wasn't play able.  first thing i noticed was that there was only one file.  there should have been 2 due to the length.  i got home and found that the file was 0 bytes. eeep.

was able to fix this after reading the rockbox.org forums.  all i had to do was 'chkdsk /f' the hd.  then yes to recovering the lost chain.  the wav header is screwed up but the data is all there and open-up-able in your regular audio programs.  at least data recovery here is easier than on an MD.

by the way, does the iriver have some sort of kill switch which shuts the machine off via hardware? i tried playing the recovered file on the iriver and the machine just froze up.  couldn't even turn it off.  had to leave it on all night until the battery died

*edit*: figured it out.  i just wasn't pressing the reset button hard enough.

[rsimms3]

I would still recommend using a battery box with the 4061s.  I have recorded a few things with the 4061s straight into the iRiver, but get the feeling they are under powered.  I am not certain though.  One of my recordings seemed a bit distorted at points though it never clipped.  I don't think the iRiver provides enough power for the 4061s.  Most posts I have seen say it provides less than 5v, around 3.2v and the 4061s need a minimum of 5v.  They work, but I don't think they work to the full potential going straight into the iRiver.  I don't have a lot of chances to test this out so I can't really say this is all for certain.  Others report going 4061s straight into the iRiver as well with no problems, if it works for you, keep it up but I would test it out with a battery box just to make sure.

[Will_S]

I've got a question about setting levels using the line in (with a mic) and Rockbox.  As I understand it, up to ~ +20 dB you are using the analog preamp to add gain.  Anything beyond that is digital gain, correct?  Are there any advantages or disadvantages to applying that digital gain during the recording process vs. in post-processing?  All else being equal, it seems like it would be safer to add the digital gain later, allowing you to normalize just below clipping.  But do you get more bits to work with doing it in real time?

[divamum]

Having finally made the jump to Rockbox on my H120, let me join the chorus of "WOOOOHOOO!!"

Bit of a learning curve to figuring out how to adjust the settings and getting the right version set up (one of them seemed to consistently crash the codecs on playback after - and only after - recording) but the one I'm using now works absolutely fine and has been stable so far.

Works a treat and the features are great - v impressed with the accurace of the rec meters, which (after using a JB3) wasn't something I was too hopeful about!! But they're great and I got a good first-time-out-under-Rockbox recording just using those.

This and the JB3 will hold me nicely until I'm ready to jump to 24 bit.  And I have to admit that now the iRiver can do the longer file lenghts, it may trump the JB3 for me on stealth gigs simply cause I CAN use the built-in pre and thus have less to carry.  I still heart my JB3, but no doubt that less gear is a Very Good Thing as far as I'm concerned.....

[§†∑∫åµÞ≥¥]

fyi, I started Team iRiver in the Team Boards section... come on down and share your experiences, questions and answers:

http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=62469.0

[playit_leo]

Ok, so I haven't read every post yet cuz I'm new here, but what I really want to know and cant seem to find at the Rockbox site is
will an Iriver H320 or H340 support FM recording with Rockbox??  Anyone in the know??

thanks!

[Weazel]

the h3xx firmware is based on the H1xx firmware.
switch on your radio, browse to the recording menu select line in, and record while radio plays then it records from the radio.

[tscales]

I just noticed this, in case anyone has been shoping for one...

http://www.woot.com/

iRiver H10 20GB MP3 Player & Recorder - Remix Blue
$139.99+ $5 shipping

condition:
    Refurbished
product(s):
    1 iRiver H10 20GB MP3 Player/Recorder

[whatboutbob]

I just noticed this, in case anyone has been shoping for one...

http://www.woot.com/

iRiver H10 20GB MP3 Player & Recorder - Remix Blue
$139.99+ $5 shipping

condition:
    Refurbished
product(s):
    1 iRiver H10 20GB MP3 Player/Recorder

Please note that rockbox has not yet been ported to the H10 (as distinct from the H120 or H140) and they are note reliable recorders.

[whatboutbob]

Good news: It looks like rockbox will have at least initial support (and likely more) for optical recording on the h1x0 within 48 hours.

One of the senior devs decided to tackle it, and is reportedly a good chunk of the way through the dev.

[Sanjay]

these guys are great, we should send them a fruit basket or something...

[shaggy]

Yeah, so after I tried to see what was up with the dev of this on the RB feature request flyspray board (and posted a comment), I got slapped with 'stop waiting and start working' from badger.  So, I guess even after I warned you guys not to bother the developers, I went and did it myself....I am a FUCKIN' IDIOT!

http://www.rockbox.org/tracker/task/3041

[whatboutbob]

Well...it took preglow a little longer than he expected (and who's complaining?), but there's now a patch that enables optical recording on the h1x0. Wahoo!  There's still plenty of testing to be done, but early inspection looks promising. 

[rsimms3]

Oooooo...it worked.  More testing to be done.  Need to do some sine waves and see if anything is lost in the process, but I doubt it will be since regular recording works without issues.

[whatboutbob]

Please report back your findings when done. My soundcard doesn't do optical out.

[rsimms3]

I posted preliminary comments over at the Rockbox forum.  I was using my stereo and my AD20 which is how I record my vinyl, but had been using my JB3 before.  Looks good so far.

[dgodwin]

when I get mine (I bought it on ebay on Friday) I can do some DAT transfers and compare them to flac files I have on the computer all ready that were transfered either through a jb3 or a dio 2448 (both supposed to be bit perfect)   Now I guess I'll have to consider a cheap a-d option.  Wish that sbm-1 for $175 was still available.  Wish I hadn't sold mine 

[shaggy]

Yeah, I suspect the price of SBMs will go up as a result and the price for DATs to take yet another dive.

Edit:  I tried to get the newly compiled .iriver document to work. I could get the digital signal from a modSBM > ToddR 7pin TOSlink > POC-L5A > H120 no problem.  The problem for me was the RAM flushing the buffer to the drive when I approached 30MB (3min).  The HD light would go on and the recording continued but I no longer got a signal on the peak meter.  FWIW, I have had issues with analog recording and I know I have about 1GB of bad sectors on my HD (which I thought I had marked used in the file allocation table using chkdsk /r).  Anyhow, it looks good but I wished the new Toshiba MK4007GAL drives were out, I would buy on in a second to try to correct this buffer fluching issue (I am assuming it is the buffer trying to write to bad sectors on the drive).

[dgodwin]

I just got my iriver (fast auctioneer.  Won Friday night.. came today)   Anyways, I've installed rockbox, but I can't find "digital" in the source select.. just mic and line in.  Any suggestions.  Is there another build that someone compiled that I can try? 

[whatboutbob]

Its just a patch at the moment (not commited to cvs).

Here's a precompiled build:
http://s41.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0XCI8CJMJU58F0EGPLQZ01OCE4

You'll need to reset settings and enable optical out.

See the rockbox forum for more details:

http://forums.rockbox.org/index.php?topic=2575.45

[dgodwin]

Its just a patch at the moment (not commited to cvs).

Here's a precompiled build:
http://s41.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0XCI8CJMJU58F0EGPLQZ01OCE4

You'll need to reset settings and enable optical out.

See the rockbox forum for more details:

http://forums.rockbox.org/index.php?topic=2575.45

thanks!  +T

[sullen]

big thanx indeed!

[udovdh]

The HD light would go on and the recording continued but I no longer got a signal on the peak meter. 

That is normal.
During HD writes no metering, I read.

[whatboutbob]

Well...if you refer to my iriver tapers faq:  http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=64277.0 (hehehe)

...you'll see that DPA406x's can be powered by the H1xx but it only supplies 2.5v so, while it is possible, you won't get the best out of the mics.

[shaggy]

any concrete date yet on when the official rockbox firmware is going public, and if the optical patch is going to be stable enough (i.e bit perfect) to be included in it?

It is bit perfect, it just sometimes hangs and doesn't write the file header properly.  So, do not hold your breath for this to come through, it is only b/c of the kindness of preglow that anything is being done at all.  I sense he is growing tired of writing the code and will give up in a week or so.  Someone else with C experience and PCM stream experince needs to step up to the plate. 

The official firmware is public now but still in the beta form. 

http://www.rockbox.org/dl.cgi?bin=h120

If you want the latest bleeding edge build with all the recording patches compiled (AGC, fat remote meters, SPDIF) try pilot000's build...

http://homepage.sunrise.ch/mysunrise/remartinelli/html/rockbox.html

Also, it will not do 24bit.  Apparently it can do 20bit but there needs to be code rewritten in the body of the RB to make the Coldfire processor to be able to handle the 20bit stream.

As for the plug-in powering, 2.5V maybe enough for acoustic shows, anything louder will require at least 5V....the DPA batt boxes supply something like 8-10V depending on the power source (fresh 9V and phantom power respectively, I did the test myself with a MPS6010).  FYI, Chris Church is making a variable gain 9V batt box for the micro dot terminated 406X.....it will have a Burr Brown opamp at the heart of it.

[firmdragon]

Well...if you refer to my iriver tapers faq:  http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=64277.0 (hehehe)

...you'll see that DPA406x's can be powered by the H1xx but it only supplies 2.5v so, while it is possible, you won't get the best out of the mics.

thanks for the reply! +t

I guess I need to find another way to power the minis then. 

any concrete date yet on when the official rockbox firmware is going public, and if the optical patch is going to be stable enough (i.e bit perfect) to be included in it?

from my experiences it works fine w/o the battery box.  i haven't yet come across any experiences (mine or otherwise) where it doesn't perform as it should.

[whatboutbob]

any concrete date yet on when the official rockbox firmware is going public, and if the optical patch is going to be stable enough (i.e bit perfect) to be included in it?

It is bit perfect, it just sometimes hangs and doesn't write the file header properly.  So, do not hold your breath for this to come through, it is only b/c of the kindness of preglow that anything is being done at all.  I sense he is growing tired of writing the code and will give up in a week or so.  Someone else with C experience and PCM stream experince needs to step up to the plate. 

Good news: It looks like amiconn's getting into it, and they're making (edit) a lot of headway with the hanging (dma failure).

[MarkE]

heres a link to a show I recorded this weekend with My iRiver H120 ..Used the optical in, no problems
Havent put rockbox in yet, this is just regular H120....

http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=94936

Mark E

[shaggy]

heres a link to a show I recorded this weekend with My iRiver H120 ..Used the optical in, no problems
Havent put rockbox in yet, this is just regular H120....

Well, MarkE, I hate to be the first to inform you but your recording is not bit perfect.  The latest firmware from iriver for the H1XX series (1.66) drops some samples every thirty seconds.  It may not be audible to you but this has been confirmed by many people who have used the optical in with the original iriver firmware.

You may want to load RB on your recorder and give it a go.  It will not harm your player, it is dual bootable to the old firmware.  It also is reversible (meaning you can get rid of it later, without a trace, if you wanna ship it to iriver for warranty issues).  When doing this, just make sure you have a non-patched version of the firmware flashed and all folders and files associated with RB deleted and they will never know you had it on there.

[whatboutbob]

heres a link to a show I recorded this weekend with My iRiver H120 ..Used the optical in, no problems
Havent put rockbox in yet, this is just regular H120....

You may want to load RB on your recorder and give it a go.  It will not harm your player, it is dual bootable to the old firmware.  It also is reversible (meaning you can get rid of it later, without a trace, if you wanna ship it to iriver for warranty issues).  When doing this, just make sure you have a non-patched version of the firmware flashed and all folders and files associated with RB deleted and they will never know you had it on there.

I'd be more cautious giving that advice.  While there has been no history of rockbox harming irivers, you can't rule the possibility out in future.  There have also been instances where the iriver circuitry died (hardware related), so the user couldn't access the hdd to remove the rockbox evidence.  Chances of it happening?  Not high.  But I don't like talking (err...writing) in absolutes.

Having said all that, I recommend installing rockbox...apart from the far superior recording abilities, even if you don't use it (and i don't know why you wouldn't), if your hdd gets corrupted you're far more likely to be able to fix the issue w/ rockbox installed.

[MarkE]

heres a link to a show I recorded this weekend with My iRiver H120 ..Used the optical in, no problems
Havent put rockbox in yet, this is just regular H120....

Well, MarkE, I hate to be the first to inform you but your recording is not bit perfect.  The latest firmware from iriver for the H1XX series (1.66) drops some samples every thirty seconds.  It may not be audible to you but this has been confirmed by many people who have used the optical in with the original iriver firmware.

Well theres a bubble-burster....... I just got it last week. Im gonna put the rockbox on it soon, but had to try it.. I still run DAT for accuracy. So is the unit I have now going to be capable of non-bit-dropping recordings with Rockbox? Revisions? Patches? Or is this unit going to always have this glitch? Thaks for your help.....
Mark E

[whatboutbob]

I've mentioned it in the iriver faq, but i think its exciting enough to mention twice...the newest version of the optical recording patch will likely be committed to cvs in the next couple of days.

Testers are needed for optical recording, particularly for > 44.1kHz sample-rates. Here it is: Preglow's Optical recording build (May 11th)

Please report any bugs here: http://forums.rockbox.org/index.php?topic=2575.90

Edit: See post below.

[shaggy]

The SPDIF patch has been committed to the daily build, no need to compile anymore.

http://www.rockbox.org/daily/changes-20060512.html

http://www.rockbox.org/dl.cgi?bin=h120

Thanks to everyone (esp whataboutbob), for their support and patience.  Now, go and record some shows.

[George]

Now, go and record some shows.

Done.  Depeche Mode@PNC last night, sounds great too.  I love my iriver 

[Popmarter]

me too, 2x Springsteen (no optical however),excellent result and with levels on the remote its actually fun to tape. i LOVE iriver! 

[MarkE]

I downloaded Rockbox, checked it all, and am ready to go tape something, I gotta wait till next sunday though
Thanks to all involved with Rockbox!!!
Mark E

[Yahoo! Serious]

Thanks to everyone for a detailed read! Getting my H120 on Tuesday..will imediatelly be loading RB onto it and using
Giant Squid Omnis..Still not so clear if I will need my Bat box or not tho..Usually tapr/film metal and usually in smaller venues.
Again thank yous!
Y!S

[petur]

Thanks to everyone for a detailed read! Getting my H120 on Tuesday..will imediatelly be loading RB onto it and using
Giant Squid Omnis..Still not so clear if I will need my Bat box or not tho..Usually tapr/film metal and usually in smaller venues.
Again thank yous!

Well, I'm also into taping rock concerts, and had quite a bit of troubles with (I think) mic overloading. No idea how much spl the Giant Squid Omnis can handle and what frequency range they handle, but a battery box or pre-amp with bass roll-off may be required.

[rsimms3]

A battery box will be needed for most any set of mics as the >5v power supplied by the iRiver will not be enough to power mics.  I don't even think running 4061s work well as they need at least a full 5v to run correctly.  I ran 4061s twice straight in, it worked  but I seriously suspect they were underpowered.  Battery boxes roll off the bass that most mics can handle, unless of course you are going Phantom.  I am postive the Squids can't naturally handle loud rock concerts, few mics can.  Best solution is to get some mics, battery box, and the iRiver.  Great small combo to run.  I would suggest a step up to some AT83s > 3 wire battery box > iRiver.  Just remember, even if you set the levels to not clip on the iRiver, you still get brickwalling if your mics can't handle the input because of high SPLs.

[whatboutbob]

GSA omnis with their matching battery box actually handle a surprising amount of bass and SPL's. 

That was my first rig, and they did a pretty good job about 1ft in front of a DMB stack.  I didn't try them without the bb though.

Having said that, I didn't run them long...I got sick of background chatter.

[treespine]

I run Giant Squid Omni straigt into my HiMD.  On low sensitivity setting it does great for bar bands and such.  For Metalica im sure you would need a bb.

[MadMaster]

I received my brand new H120 last week from the UK, installed Rockbox on it and I think I got a new little friend... 

I've checked many, many info overhere and on the Rockbox-forum, but can't any info about the gain-settings on a Rockboxed H120 while recording analog line in without any pre-amp.

I do mostly pop-/rockconcerts recordings at all kind of venues (small concerts with an attendance of a couple of hundred persons 'till large stadium-gigs with 60.000 people).
Are there any people who want to share their experiences with the (pre)gain-settings with a rig (see my sig) and circumstances as described?
If possible with venue-specifications, kind of concert and any more worthfull info.

I used a JB3 'till now and mostly had the gain-settings on it at 0dB or a little less and normalized (+ 6-10 dB) afterwards.

Thanks in advance.
Greetings from Amsterdam!

[petur]

I've checked many, many info overhere and on the Rockbox-forum, but can't any info about the gain-settings on a Rockboxed H120 while recording analog line in without any pre-amp.

What is there to know more about the gain?

The audio chip has an 'analog gain' and 'decimator gain'. The first one does big steps (2 or 3 dB depending on internal mic or line-in), the second one does 0.5 dB steps.
Rockbox does 0.5 dB steps over the whole range and breaks the set value down into as much analog gain + the rest from the decimator.

The decimator acts on the full ADC bit data before it's downconverted to 16bit, so it *is* usefull.

[MadMaster]

What is there to know more about the gain?

Maybe I wasn't clear enough, but what I'm searching for is some reference, based on others experiences, about ACG gain-settings on the Rockboxed H120 while recording analog in.
For example, do people leave the settings for what it is (0 dB) or do people add/lower gain for both channels?

I know it depends on the circumstances that you have while recording, but that's why I asked for info for all kind of venues, type of concerts etc.

As a newbie with the Rockbox H120 it would be nice to have some kind of reference, before screwing up your recording because of bad settings...
While I'm mostly as stealth as could be, I'm not able to check the display during recording for clipping. I would rather like to be on the safe side with my settings before hitting the record-button...

[TideBleach]

What is there to know more about the gain?

Maybe I wasn't clear enough, but what I'm searching for is some reference, based on others experiences, about ACG gain-settings on the Rockboxed H120 while recording analog in.
For example, do people leave the settings for what it is (0 dB) or do people add/lower gain for both channels?

I know it depends on the circumstances that you have while recording, but that's why I asked for info for all kind of venues, type of concerts etc.

As a newbie with the Rockbox H120 it would be nice to have some kind of reference, before screwing up your recording because of bad settings...
While I'm mostly as stealth as could be, I'm not able to check the display during recording for clipping. I would rather like to be on the safe side with my settings before hitting the record-button...

i was just at a small club a few days ago using my sp-bmc-2's and battery box and my h120 and for my level setting i was using 7.5. ive had to go up to 10 or 15 at an outdoor show before. so for small venues my setting range from 7.5 to 12 and outdoor ive done 10-15 it all depends on the show really. most of these were really loud metal shows. i hope this gives you an idea. o yeah the h120 goes up to 24 analog gain before switching to digital gain.

TideBleach

[petur]

In the rockbox forum, there's a Recording Enhancement Pack offered (official sources plus a number of patches).
That build includes an AGC. Its default setting is Saferty, which does the following: If levels become too hot (above -3dB I think) it decreases gain by 0.5dB.

For stealth recording this is very nice. Just take a guess at initial gain and know that the AGC will correct if you applied too much gain.
The AGC works fairly slow, so I wouldn't call it a true AGC but more a clipping safety feature.

Gain settings depend on the mics and pre-amp, so it's hard to say.
I would use as much gain on the pre-amp as possible and as close to zero as possible on the iriver. When using the AGC feature, leave some headroom (10dB ?) so it can lower gain if the show gets louder (some rock shows seem to do that near the end)

[MadMaster]

TideBleach & Petur, thanks for the answers.

I wil check that Recording Enhancement Package, but, like I said, I like to be on the safe side with my initial settings so that the recording levels are continious all the time.
A AGC clip-detection/correction is nice, but will decrease the recording level (although it is not that much) during the recording.
And as I've always been told: "Keep your fingers off the buttons during recording!"  I don't think it's something for me to use.

[treespine]

Anyone have a link to the Recoding Enhancement Pack.  I looked on the forums, but I am a newb.  Is this a plugin, a patch or firmware upgrade?

[whatboutbob]

Anyone have a link to the Recoding Enhancement Pack.  I looked on the forums, but I am a newb.  Is this a plugin, a patch or firmware upgrade?

http://forums.rockbox.org/index.php?topic=2513.0

[treespine]

Thanks , im installing this Mmmm guys build now. 

Anyone know if the 3.7v of power that is always fed to the line in of the iRiver can be damaging to preamps.  Specifically the SP-PREAMP?

[hyperplane]

What is there to know more about the gain?

The audio chip has an 'analog gain' and 'decimator gain'. The first one does big steps (2 or 3 dB depending on internal mic or line-in), the second one does 0.5 dB steps.
Rockbox does 0.5 dB steps over the whole range and breaks the set value down into as much analog gain + the rest from the decimator.

The decimator acts on the full ADC bit data before it's downconverted to 16bit, so it *is* usefull.

+T to you, petur. I thank you for the explanation on the decimator stage of the gain being useful. I was unaware of this before reading your post.

[TideBleach]

Thanks , im installing this Mmmm guys build now. 

Anyone know if the 3.7v of power that is always fed to the line in of the iRiver can be damaging to preamps.  Specifically the SP-PREAMP?

i wouldnt think so people use them on minidiscs mic in and that gives off plug in power even though line in would be best. im pretty sure the preamps have a resistor/or something to block incoming voltage that would be my guess.

[petur]

Anyone know if the 3.7v of power that is always fed to the line in of the iRiver can be damaging to preamps.  Specifically the SP-PREAMP?

My iriver h340 always puts out around 3.7V on the line-in plug (ok, depends on the battery voltage), and afaik the audio circuit of the h1x0 series is about the same. It's a very simple circuit, I think the schematic is available somewhere in the rockbox wiki.

[treespine]

Thats cool, but is seems like a waste of power and it could cause problems for the gear being plugged into that jack. Too bad you can't turn that power off. 

FWIW I have no idea what I am talking about

[thegreatgumbino]

Thats cool, but is seems like a waste of power and it could cause problems for the gear being plugged into that jack. Too bad you can't turn that power off. 

FWIW I have no idea what I am talking about

That's f*****g hilarious!  Thanks for the laugh!  +T

[treespine]