Straight out of the box you notice that iriver's LPlayer is different and follows the minimalist trend set by previous iriver MP3 players. Rather than having the usual navigation buttons or an iPod-esque scroll wheel, the LPlayer has its directional buttons hidden on the bezel of its screen, which iriver has creatively called D-Click, and is iriver’s answer to Apple’s click wheel. The D-Click buttons were responsive and felt solid enough to withstand any accidental clicks while in pockets. Along with the D-Click controls there's only the power, volume and hold tab.

The menu system was very easy and straightforward to navigate and didn’t take long to pick up. If there was one gripe with the menu system it would be that the more advanced options are hidden below the main menu. Files can be transferred via drag and drop (UMS) or via Windows Media Player (MTP). However, the LPlayer needs to be formatted if you do decide to switch between the two after you’ve transferred your files on.

Music codec support is limited to MP3, WMA, ASF, OGG and FLAC, which isn’t as varied as the iPod nano, but offers enough for most users. Playback of MP3 audio files was solid with nice tight bass and clear-mids. Using the SRS TruSurround sound preset surprised us in a good way managing to make the soundstage wider with the vocals and instruments clearly distinguished, while at the same time preventing the audio from sounding over processed.