 MP3
players have come a long way in the last two years. The first
Diamond Rio was a blocky device that gave little feedback to the
user. The original Rio did one thing - played MP3's. For about
$169 you got 30 minutes of portable music.
The latest generation Rio, from
SONICblue (don't ask why they changed their name), still plays music
(over 4 hours!), but offers the sort of sensory feedback modern
consumers have come to expect.
There are two versions of this Rio: The
800 ($299), which ships with 128 MB of memory, and the 600 ($219),
with 64MB. For those of you who limit your outdoor activities to
about an hour, the 64MB unit will work fine. But if you are
looking for a player that gets you through a marathon session in the
garden or on the trail, then you'll appreciate the increased capacity
of the Rio 800.
The Rio 800 feels good in your
hands. The buttons are easily accessed, and the backlit display
is very easy to read, even out in bright sunlight. The Rio
does a good job reading the ID3 tags embedded in your MP3's - the song
title, artist name, and bit-rate are all there.
Both the Rio 800 and 600 ship with
folding headphones and a corded remote control. They use USB for
song transport, and will play both MP3 and WMA file formats. To
protect the Rio, a nicely padded case (with belt-clip) is
included. A full-featured (yet cumbersome) software package is
also provided.
Getting the Music Into the Rio
As an experienced user of the original
Diamond Rio's, I appreciated the unit's simple song transfer
software. Anytime I wanted to put a new tune in the Rio, I used
the Window's Explorer to drag and drop the file directly into the
software. Unfortunately, the new software reaches a previously
unknown level of complexity. The Rio 800's software requires the user
to first create a playlist, then build a transfer list before the unit
will accept the files. Only want to transfer one song to the
Rio? You've got to put it on a list. I found this step to be
annoying, and I even went so far as to attempt transferring files with
the original Rio software (which didn't work). There was no way
to simply drop a tune into the Rio.
The USB transfer works fine and is very
easy to set-up, but doesn't seem
much faster than using a parallel port (appx.
12 seconds for a 4MB file). The Rio 800 comes standard with
128MB of internal memory. If you want even more storage
capacity, you may attach an optional 32MB ($99.95) or 64MB ($149.95) memory
bank (called a "back
pack").
The RioPort Audio Manager software is
capable of ripping MP3's and burning CD's. If you want to burn
more than 25 tracks with the software, you'll have to pay $10 to
unlock the feature.
Getting the Music Out of the
Rio
This is where the fun begins.
Switch on the Rio, and the bright-blue display tells you how much
memory and battery life you have. With up to ten hours of
playing time in its rechargeable battery, you won't find yourself
searching through a drawer for those elusive double-A's. On the
other hand, if you are planning on a long listening session, make sure
to keep the Rio charged.
A variety of equalization settings are
provided: Normal, classic, jazz, rock, book, flat, pop, and
custom. For my tests, I used the "rock" setting, which
provided plenty of bass and percussion punch. The player
includes built-in power saving and playlist controls. A built in
voice recorder allows you to record brief memos. A remote
control attaches to the unit, and your headphones plug into the
remote. I attempted to use the remote on a morning run, but
couldn't find a way to securely clip the remote to my clothing.
I found the extra cable to be a bother, so I never found any real use
for the remote. The Rio's headphones are the folding ear-bud
type. They work fine, but I preferred my own behind-the-head
portable headphones, as they enable you to wear a hat.
Loaded with 128MB of music (all in MP3
format), I took my mountain bike out for a spin. I clipped the
nicely padded Rio case to my waistband, where it remained snug and
secure over the bumps on the bike trail.
There is nothing quite like listening
to invigorating music while exercising - you seem to go faster with
less effort. The music distracts you from the pain, and time
seems to be compressed. The Rio kicks out plenty of high-quality
volume, and even though I rode for more than two hours, I never heard
the same song twice.
While you should never listen to music
while bicycling on a road, trail riding, running, bus or train
commuting, gardening, and other housework all give ample reasons to
listen to a portable MP3 player.
Conclusion
SONICblue needs to simplify the RioPort software. They should
consider offering a simple "input music NOW"
interface. The Rio unit is an incredibly refined and well
designed piece of hardware. The price seems reasonable for
what you get. Unless you require more than 4 hours of music,
either the Rio 600 or 800 offer enough music for the typical outdoor
or commuting experience.
Purchase
the Rio 800 from
Amazon.com for only $169.99
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