iRiver T6 MP3 player

The iRiver T6 is a simple MP3 player with a sleek, slim body and an easy-to-navigate interface. Sound quality is good but the feature set is not as extensive as other budget portable media players.

The iRiver T6 has a smooth face with a piano-black finish. The 160x128, 1.8in LCD screen is accompanied by a six-button interface — touch-sensitive segments of the fascia that light up with an orange glow when activated. The controls may be a little confusing initially, but after a few minutes with the device the logic of the interface becomes clear. A simple volume control is also a boon — no funky click wheels to deal with here.

The player’s headphone jack and mini-USB connector/charging port are located on the bottom of the player, while the all-important power/hold switch resides on the player’s left side. The rear of the player is finished in brushed black metal and makes the player seem more expensive than its $99 price tag. At 54 grams it may seem light but the iRiver T6 is well put together for its size; it feels well built rather than flimsy or cheap.

The iRiver T6 has 4GB of flash memory and a rated playback life of 28 hours from a single battery charge. We achieved 27 hours of playback during our testing. Only WMA and MP3 files are supported.

The screen is not particularly bright; combined with the highly reflective fascia it may make the iRiver T6 a handful to navigate in well-lit areas or daylight. Photo viewing is also mediocre, and rendering is very, very slow. A slideshow of your favourite holiday shots is not a very fun experience.

FM playback and voice recording work well, though, with channel surfing and reception as good as any other player we’ve tested. The in-built microphone on the body of the player is of acceptable quality for voice memos and at a stretch might be OK to grab a quick live music recording. There's no video playback which may annoy users looking for an all-in-one portable multimedia player.

Sound quality from the iRiver T6 was as good as we expected from a budget MP3 player. There’s some distortion at maximum volume levels, but when using most pairs of headphones — we tested using the Apple In-Ear Headphones and Sennheiser MX90 VC headphones — it will be able to supply more than enough power.

The unit comes with a standard pair of ear-buds similar to those you’d find in any other budget MP3 player bundle. Using these headphones, sound quality from our test MP3 and WMA music was acceptable, but the lack of isolation and bass means you’ll have to turn up the volume louder than we’d recommend for listening while commuting.

The iRiver T6 looks great and does a reasonable job of audio playback. We wouldn't recommend this player for photo viewing, but if you're looking for music playback and a few extra features for a low price, check it out.

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