iRiver iHP-100 series

The design of iRiver's flagship player comes from Japanese guru, Inno. The rugged black magnesium alloy case, enclosed at the ends by chrome plates, is as sturdy as it is gorgeous. Primary navigation is performed by the directional button and enhanced by four buttons on the sides - all of which are multifunctional depending on mode and duration of press. The large screen is comprehensive and easily readable.

Navigation may seem confusing at first, but becomes intuitive within a few days and most functions can be reached quickly by a brief fumble in the pocket. Not that you ever need look at or touch the main unit because the included remote replicates all the information on the main screen - its three jog dials, two buttons and hold switch give you total control.

The player also sports a high-quality internal microphone (there's also a bundled external microphone) and two ports that offer both optical and analog inputs and outputs. Thus, the player can act as a high-quality recording and playback device. The output socket even allows you to connect a second set of headphones with no loss of quality. Sound can be recorded as WAV files or compressed to MP3 at various bit-rates. An FM radio is included, although you can't record from it.

No software is needed to install the player - it appears as a hard disk in Windows Explorer (using the quick USB 2 interface) and songs are listed in the folders in which you transfer them. You can sort everything by ID3 tags, but this isn't nearly as intuitive as Rio's Karma and adds significantly to the start-up time. If you want integration with your PC's music library you can use WinAmp to manage files and create playlists.

Sound quality is excellent and reproduced well on the included headphones. Those who like tinkering can use the SRS audio enhancements, though we weren't tempted by anything beyond adding some occasional bass.

Finding fault is tricky - the slowish startup is forgivable as the full power-off state dramatically increases battery life. The iHP-100 is also pricey, though the 20GB version recently dropped by £90 so it now compares favourably with other 20GB players. There's still a premium to pay but the extra battery life and features are well worth it. If the world of MP3 players ever needed a king, this is it.