Rio 800 64MB Digital Audio Player
Rio 800 64MB Digital Audio Player
Product Description
Amazon.com Review
The ruckus over MP3s and Napster-focused copyright battles has overshadowed the huge portability advantages of digital music. Only a few years ago, "portable music" meant carrying around a bulky CD player and either a CD wallet or a load of plastic jewel cases. The Rio (now part of SONICblue) line of digital audio players pioneered portable MP3 devices, and the new Rio 800 flagship model has the potential to redefine what portable audio should be.
The Rio 800 comes with 64 MB of memory, enough for about an hour of MP3 music. It can also accommodate Windows Media Audio (WMA) files, which can stretch the playing time out to nearly two hours thanks to that format's high compression. If 64 MB isn't quite enough to store your daily dose of tunes, SONICblue sells proprietary Memory Backpacks (instead of standard memory cards, like SmartMedia or CompactFlash) that can boost your Rio to 96 MB or 128 MB. Unfortunately, prices are still fairly high for these Backpacks; hopefully they'll come down as Rio popularity increases.
Another great feature is the built-in microphone feature that lets you record meetings and notes to yourself, then play them back later. And if your tastes run more to spoken-word recordings, Audible.com media files take up even less memory.
The Rio 800 is powered by a rechargeable battery, which we found to be perfectly acceptable. It averaged around six to eight hours of continuous use per charge and required only a few hours to recharge. A red light let us know when the battery was being recharged, turning off when the battery was ready. The 800's carrying case is also much improved from earlier Rio models--smartly designed, form fitting, and providing easy access to all the controls.
The control buttons are centrally located, and with some practice we were able to operate the Rio's various functions without looking at it. On the unit we tested, we had to be sure to push toward the top of the volume rocker to increase the sound level, rather than where the volume icon was located, but that barely registered as a minor irritation.
Also included in the Rio 800 package is a remote control that clips onto your clothing, which was particularly handy on our afternoon jogs when it would be awkward (or, dare we say, dangerous) to reach for the unit's main controls. Another boon for frequent exercisers is the (misnamed) Hold switch, which locks the controls (but not the remote) in case of accidental bumps. The Rio also comes with a pair of folding headphones that look cool but were uncomfortable to wear for more than about 20 minutes.
The LCD screen is a bit larger than most and has plenty of room for information like the current song title, sample rate, time, track number, and volume. However, to display that much info means using a small font, so at times it was hard to read. And the circular display window put form over function; it looked nice but it was sometimes hard to see objects around the edges due to the shadow projected by the circular frame. We had to tilt the unit nearly every time to see the play indicator to find out if the music was stopped or just paused.
Overall, though, these criticisms are minor quibbles compared to what the Rio 800 offers: a portable repository for all your digital audio needs, from tunes to voice recording, with high-quality playback. --Jeff Carlson
Pros:
Acceptable memory storage, especially using multiple file formats
Voice-recording function
Rechargeable battery
Cons:
Display can be hard to read at times
Included headphones are uncomfortable
No Audible.com compatibility yet
Average customer rating: 
|
Rio 800 64MB Digital Audio Player
Manufacturer: Rio ProductGroup: CE Binding: Electronics  CD Players & Recorders
| Audio & Video
| Categories
| Electronics
| CD Players
| CD Recorders
| DJ CD Players
| Portable CD Players
Up to 64 MB
| Flash Drive-Based
| MP3 Players
| Audio & Video
| Categories
| Electronics
MP3 Players
| Portable Audio & Video
| Refurbished & Used
| Special Features
| Electronics Features
| Electronics
Audio & Video
| Refurbished & Used
| Special Features
| Electronics Features
| Electronics
Portable Audio
| Rio
| Brands
| Electronics Features
| Electronics
Accessories:
Product Features:
ASIN: B0000501U3 Release Date: 2000-12-17 |
Product Description
The Rio 800 Digital Audio Player delivers the most advanced level of power and performance you'll ever hear. Capture, mix, and playback digital music from the Internet or your CD collection on Rio's first-ever rechargeable player. Created by people as intense about music as you are. No wonder the Rio products set the standard in portable digital audio players.Amazon.com Review
The ruckus over MP3s and Napster-focused copyright battles has overshadowed the huge portability advantages of digital music. Only a few years ago, "portable music" meant carrying around a bulky CD player and either a CD wallet or a load of plastic jewel cases. The Rio (now part of SONICblue) line of digital audio players pioneered portable MP3 devices, and the new Rio 800 flagship model has the potential to redefine what portable audio should be.The Rio 800 comes with 64 MB of memory, enough for about an hour of MP3 music. It can also accommodate Windows Media Audio (WMA) files, which can stretch the playing time out to nearly two hours thanks to that format's high compression. If 64 MB isn't quite enough to store your daily dose of tunes, SONICblue sells proprietary Memory Backpacks (instead of standard memory cards, like SmartMedia or CompactFlash) that can boost your Rio to 96 MB or 128 MB. Unfortunately, prices are still fairly high for these Backpacks; hopefully they'll come down as Rio popularity increases.
Another great feature is the built-in microphone feature that lets you record meetings and notes to yourself, then play them back later. And if your tastes run more to spoken-word recordings, Audible.com media files take up even less memory.
The Rio 800 is powered by a rechargeable battery, which we found to be perfectly acceptable. It averaged around six to eight hours of continuous use per charge and required only a few hours to recharge. A red light let us know when the battery was being recharged, turning off when the battery was ready. The 800's carrying case is also much improved from earlier Rio models--smartly designed, form fitting, and providing easy access to all the controls.
The control buttons are centrally located, and with some practice we were able to operate the Rio's various functions without looking at it. On the unit we tested, we had to be sure to push toward the top of the volume rocker to increase the sound level, rather than where the volume icon was located, but that barely registered as a minor irritation.
Also included in the Rio 800 package is a remote control that clips onto your clothing, which was particularly handy on our afternoon jogs when it would be awkward (or, dare we say, dangerous) to reach for the unit's main controls. Another boon for frequent exercisers is the (misnamed) Hold switch, which locks the controls (but not the remote) in case of accidental bumps. The Rio also comes with a pair of folding headphones that look cool but were uncomfortable to wear for more than about 20 minutes.
The LCD screen is a bit larger than most and has plenty of room for information like the current song title, sample rate, time, track number, and volume. However, to display that much info means using a small font, so at times it was hard to read. And the circular display window put form over function; it looked nice but it was sometimes hard to see objects around the edges due to the shadow projected by the circular frame. We had to tilt the unit nearly every time to see the play indicator to find out if the music was stopped or just paused.
Overall, though, these criticisms are minor quibbles compared to what the Rio 800 offers: a portable repository for all your digital audio needs, from tunes to voice recording, with high-quality playback. --Jeff Carlson
Pros:
Cons:
Amazon.com Product Description
Get all the versatility of a 64 MB digital audio player in a sleek design with the Diamond Rio 800. This Rio adds memory and features to the Rio line, plus recharging capability. The Rio 800's 64 MB of flash memory means you can capture and play back over an hour of near-CD quality music (MP3s encoded at 128 Kbps) from the Internet or your CDs, or up to 32 hours of spoken word recordings. Additional snap-on Rio memory backpacks (sold separately) can add up to 340 MB of storage.This player comes with its own recharger unit so you can save on battery costs. The remote control also allows you to play, pause, advance, and rewind without removing the player from the case. The LCD display shows the song/book you are listening to, plus the artist and time. The Rio 800 supports the MP3 and WMA audio formats, and it is upgradable to support emerging digital standards so your Rio is always up to date. It's SDMI compliant, enabling you to download secure tracks from all the major recording labels.
The USB interface allows you to download songs from your PC or Mac to your Rio faster than with any other interface type. Note that USB connectivity requires a USB port and either a PC running Windows 98 or 2000 or a Macintosh G3/G4 or iMac running System 8.1 or later.
The included Rio Audio Manager software works with Windows 98 to organize your audio tracks by name, artist, and length. It turns your CDs into MP3 or WMA digital formats for playback on your Rio 800. You can also master your mix with custom playlists. For Mac users, SoundJam software is included, which works with your iMac or G3/G4 to organize tracks and turn your CDs into AIFF, WAV, or QuickTime digital formats. It allows for easy drag-and-drop transfer to the Rio 800.
The Rio 800 comes with the recharger, remote control, folding headphones, one AA battery, a USB cable, a carrying case with belt clip, and software on CD-ROM. Rio covers this player with a one-year warranty on parts and labor.
Customer Reviews:
Work well when it's "working".......2003-11-03
The next unit's battery worked but had the common discharge problem if its not used in a week. The volume control on the unit was a little finiky. If you didn't press on the control in the right place the sound just didn't change up or down.
In general I wonder about the quality control Rio has because from reading othe sites and reviews they seem to have issues.
I wrote them about getting the replacement charger, submitted my info and support never got back to me and never replaced the charger. So much for good support.
Pros
-All my MP3s splayed perfectly on the unit.
-Random and Repeat worked fine.
-The weight and size was also acceptable.
-Comes with a belt clip
Cons
-Throw out the headphones, absolutely useless and they hurt the head.
-Software that came with it sucked. Windows media player worked OK but had the occasional crash where the media player would not longer recognize the unit.
-Overall poor quality.
-Crappy support.
I gave the unit 2 starts out of 5 because over the two years I had it working I was sorta happy with it. Then recently this unit just stopped working. It's the battery the playback was messed up and all you could here was sound in MONO or something. So that's it for Rio.
I can't recommend you get one. I'm moving to a mini-disc player and recommend you do the same.
Worked great for 2 months.......2003-10-06
Rio 800 is a pain in the butt.......2003-09-26
Beware - Deplorable Customer Service.......2003-08-16
Persistance Pays.......2003-06-10
Gripe - the Rio headphones stink. When you opt for a new pair made by a different manufacturer (sony, jvc,etc) you need to keep the plug slightly unplugged to get music on both sides of the headphones, and it's basically mono, not stereo. Fully insert the pin and you get only one side working.
In terms of durability - it's a rugged little unit.
In terms of display - super small text on a wierd green bacground, I admit to having to use a magnifying glass to read it at times.
Battery life - no problems - the rechargeable gives me about 10 hours.
I share the annoyance of one of your previous reviewers that the backpack memory is treated like a seperate statistic, not combined with the basic memory.
So persistance paid off - I refused to buy another MP3 player until I could get this one working - it took Wimdows Media Player XP to do the trick.
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