I was looking at the 890 and the 790 series on Ebay, but some looked "newer" than others - do all of the 890 or 790 series have the line in? Also, is the 790 series inferior to the 890's?

That's a good question. I am also looking for a couple of those to buy and would like to know this.

P. S. Are you going to be bidding soon? If so you should PM me with any that you put an offer on so we don't jack up each others prices :)

Update: The specs I found on the 790 and 890 do have a line in 18" jack so I assume all 790s and 890s have that.

Both the 700 and 800 series have line in.The position of the jack is in different locations.In operation the 2 are the same.I'm not sure they both use the same electronics.I have better luck with the 700 series, but this is not thru conclusive tests.
The newer " T " series ,do not have line in.

I purchased 5 referb'd 890-iRivers off ebay from a seller in australia who had a ton of them. The line in works fine, but you must have a dynamic mic and not a phantom powered mic for it to work. Once you get used to the internal menu/settings they work like a charm.

Do you remember the seller in Australia?

Also, how do you know if they are the NEWER 890/790's or the older ones with the line in?

All of the iRiver ifp 7XX/8XX have both mic and line in capability.
You have to set mi or line in the internal menu before recording.

Also both recorders are identicle except for the placement of the 1/8 mic/line input.

And just for the record, in regards to these two units, there are no more NEW units. iRiver stopped manufacturing on these 2 years ago and replaced it with units that don't have mic input capability.

You pretty much take your chances buying used or refurb units off of Ebay now.

I would highly recommend that if you want an affordable audio recorder in the same price range as the 1GB iRiver was originally ($199). Then take a hard look at the new Zoom H2 (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/480163-REG/Zoom_H2_H2_Ultra_Portable_Digital.html). Had mine for a week, and am very impressed waht you get for such an affordable unit. SD card recordability (Zoom says up to 4GB SDHC card. But I am using a 8GB SDHC card in the unit), built in surround sound mics (4 mic elements), decent (not great) pre amps, small form factor adn more.

http://myworld.ebay.com/mstation_mp3/

at the time i bought them (3-4 months ago) he had like 30 available (all refurbs) and i also bought the Giant Squid mics to go with them seperately. I have had no problems with the iRiver brand for years now but would definitely like to go to more of a "pro" solution...only problem is the iRivers are so small and a "pro" recorder is much bigger. Can't really fit a Zoom H2 inside a coat pocket for the groom or such. i'm sure it would squeeze in but its heavier and bulky which equals uncomfortable.

You folks using the iRiver, are any of you on a Mac...? Before I purchase, just wondering if I will be able to extract the audio from the device.

http://myworld.ebay.com/mstation_mp3/
I have had no problems with the iRiver brand for years now but would definitely like to go to more of a "pro" solution...only problem is the iRivers are so small and a "pro" recorder is much bigger. Can't really fit a Zoom H2 inside a coat pocket for the groom or such. i'm sure it would squeeze in but its heavier and bulky which equals uncomfortable.

Actually, you are wrong on the size of these units. I used to use iRivers, a couple of years ago, until they started to fail me.

I then switched to the Microtrack, with moderate success also.
Now I own an Edirol R09, Zoom H4 and H2, as well as Edirol R4 (4 track pro recorder).

While the H4 is too large to place on a person. The R09 and H2 is not.
Both are about the size of a deck of cards, with the H2 being a bit smaller and a bit thicker then the R09.
I mainly use wireless on the groom for vow capture. But have also used the R09 (with GS mics) on grooms where wireless were not allowed (US Naval Academy) with no issues what so ever. And of course get much better audio then the iRivers.

As I said, the H2 is about the same size as the R09, and would have no trouble fitting into a breast pocket.
Or, if you are really worried about the size you could just clip it to the grooms waist (like you would a wireless transmiter) and run the lav mic to his lapel.
Either way, don't worry about the size of a lot of these small SD recorders. As I said though, I would consider the H4 too large for this purpose. But the Microtrack (and there is a new model on the way), R09, H2 will be small enough to use if needed.

All in all, you can step up to a higher quality recorder than the iRivers, as in this case size doesn't matter.

You folks using the iRiver, are any of you on a Mac...? Before I purchase, just wondering if I will be able to extract the audio from the device.

I have an iRiver and a Macbook. No problems. Just open the software that comes with the iRiver and drag the file onto your desktop. It automatically creates an MP3. Good luck! It's been a great deal for me!

Actually, you are wrong on the size of these units.

You are right. I was thinking of the newer H4...

Beware of ebay iRivers.

Now I can't speak about the credibility of all sellers but I got a junker when I bought an iRiver 890 off ebay. The problem was that both the input and the headphone jacks had issues. I could use them both, however after inserting the mic plug and the headphone plug, I had to pull them out slightly in order for them to make proper contact and work. It was a low price for sure. But a piece of crap, even at a low price, is still a piece of crap. And as many of you know, you rarely have any recourse after being ripped off on ebay. I certainly couldn't use it for its intended purpose, which was to capture wedding day audio on the groom.

I went to the e-store at iRiverAmerica.com and ordered some refurbished 890's. They were $45 bucks each plus shipping. Sure they were more expensive than what other people claim to have spent on ebay, but the refurbs from iRiverAmerica.com come with a 90 day warranty, which is much more than you'll get on ebay.

I have not had any problems with the refurbs. I just checked the iRiverAmerica.com website. They still have 790's and 890's available.

For the price, convenience, features, and quality, I think the little iRiver 890 is a great audio capture tool.

Jeff