I am in love with the I-river 895 with a Giant Squid lav mic. I used one for the first time this sunday with a line level of 50 and am very impressed. Anyone who has not considered this is missing the boat. I used it on the officiant and he was impressed with the size and recording time and the fact I could lock down the setting and he couldn't screw it up. Thanks Glen and others for sharing the I-river idea with me. I owe you!!!

Hey, Dan, did you get a "refurb" IFP-895? I'm curious about a setting on there. I got mine (IFP-899) a couple weeks ago and am trying to record in "mono" but, so far, none of the mono mics I've plugged in will record anything. However, I can switch it to "stereo" and it records fine.

Think it would be the mic? Other than that, I too love my iRiver. I can't get over how tiny the thing is!

Ed.

Hey, Dan, did you get a "refurb" IFP-895? I'm curious about a setting on there. I got mine a couple weeks ago and am trying to record in "mono" but, so far, none of the mono mics I've plugged in will record anything. However, I can switch it to "stereo" and it records fine.

Think it would be the mic? Other than that, I too love my iRiver. I can't get over how tiny the thing is!

The key is the Giant Squid mic. It's purposely wired BACKWARDS so that it properly works with iRiver (which is backwards to standard). That is what allows the mono setting to work.

Ed is correct. Get the Giant Squid mic.

Excellent! You guys are awesome. Thanks! I was worried that my refurb was jinxed. I called iRiver and they didn't have a clue, ran me through a hundred troubleshooting tests and then gave me an RMA number. About five minutes after that happened was when I discovered it worked in "stereo" mode and was willing to live with that.

I'm going on SquidLabs and ordering now. Woohoo!

So, just curious, did I miss the boat on the best Iriver for actor recording, such as the one mentioned in this. I was going to get a couple of mp3 recorders as backups for audio. Just curious.

I notice iRiver's taken all of the 800 series player/recorders off their site. They still sell the 700 series, which I understand are just as good.

I got mine off of eBay for $99. It's the IFP-899 (1GB model). I'm very happy with it. The seller, out of Florida, had 25 of 'em and offered a 3-year extended warranty for $9.99. Got that too.

Do a search for "IFP-899" (or "895") and you should see them.

Yeah, I had to do some extensive Ebaying to get a good deal on an iRiver. I finally got an iRiver 795 512MB for 60 dollars. By the way thanks to those who recommended the iRiver/GS combo plus the settings to use.

Can someone tell me what exactly do I require as far as the iRiver and accessories for use in wedding videos to cature BG?

I don't know what a giant squid is!

http://www.giant-squid-audio-lab.com/gs/gs-mono1.htm

Giant Squid is a brand of microphone. They make one that's specifically designed (for reasons explained above) for the iRiver 700, 800 & 900 series MP3 players/recorders. Click on the link above and it should take you right to 'em.

This arrangement has been suggested as an alternate (backup?) source for capturing the "nuptuals." This is also great for interviews, presentations,...just about any situation where you'd want something small (and, bubba, it is small - about the size of a roll of quarters) to place and capture audio.

Gents - being on the 'wrong side of the pond', I would appreciate input from the folks on the forum as to which sites I could use to order from for overseas despatch for the iRiver - the local folks think I'm looking for some obscure river in Tibet!

And more specifically, which model would be the better one/s to choose from

Many thanks

Cheers

Is this similar to the Olympus WS 200? That I already have?
http://www.aaaprice.com/ws200s.html

Could I use the Giant Squid with this?

http://stores.ebay.com/Giant-Squid-Audio-Lab

http://www.giant-squid-audio-lab.com/

Darren builds custom mics. Delivery is supersonic. Both of my mics got here just in time to video my sons wedding. I just wish the Sony tech was as fast.

I have a iRiver iFP-790 that I bought on eBay for $50 and it worked flawless with his mics....

Got my GS iRiver mic (with the right-angle plug) yesterday and it works like a champ AND in MONO mode! *happy dance* Thanks, fellas, my faith in factory refurbs is renewed.

That rocks ed!!

Now if more people on this forum took Glen and rest's advice they could be elated just like you. I just used "the combo" to capture some audio from a reporter style interview in 20MPH winds on the Gulf of Mexico and it was flawless. I BELIEVE

"Gulf of Mexico???" Where at? Does your sun come up on the right side (or the left....or neither)?

Anyway, yeah, it's sweet. Now I just need to get out there and do somethin' with it.

I have 4 of each,, 895's and 795's I like the 895's better because the mic input is on the side but other than that they both work equally as good as the other.

We use them in conjunction with our wireless mics and they work great! I always mic the groom, podium and live music with iRivers. It's overkill to mic the groom twice but it's that important. If you wireless has a problem you should always have a backup of your vows considering it's a one time shot.

We use the Gaint Squid mics, as well, and they work great!
Jon

Indeed....indeed. Not only do the Giant Squids work in mono properly with the iRivers, but they also outperform my Audio Technica mics which sound very thin with hardly any low end, and that's comparing them while plugged into the Wireless (I have GS lavs for everything, not just iRivers). Darren is obviously a mad genius. It really blew me away to discover the superiority of his work compared to that of a major manufacturer with tons of R&D money.

I've been playing with my iRiver 895 + Giant Squid mic for the past few days, and I am also in love. I'm shooting my first wedding tomorrow (a freebie, of course). If I'm happy with the audio I get, I will probably buy three or four more.

Eventually I will spend the money to get a quality wireless lav system, but for now the iRiver is an excellent low-cost solution. I've said it before, and I'll say it again.

This forum rules! :o)

Indeed....indeed. Not only do the Giant Squids work in mono properly with the iRivers, but they also outperform my Audio Technica mics which sound very thin with hardly any low end, and that's comparing them while plugged into the Wireless (I have GS lavs for everything, not just iRivers). Darren is obviously a mad genius. It really blew me away to discover the superiority of his work compared to that of a major manufacturer with tons of R&D money.

Daniel - I PM'd you on this (based on this old thread (http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=42297))). Obviously you still feel that the GS is a great lav. Do you also feel that the ATPro88W VHF transmitter/receiver is a good purchase or have you switched to something else. Likewise, is 25ft really the maximum range that works with the ATPro88W VHF or do you typically get more of out it? Have you tried any other wireless, like the Sennheiser Evolution G2 100 Series (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=324227&is=REG), or any other lav, like the AT899 (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=266176&is=REG)? Thanks, Shawn