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Product Description
Amazon.com Review
There are certain milestones in the progression of any technology that demand attention and praise. With its versatility, sound quality, and ease of use, the Rio Volt Portable CD MP3 Player represents such a standard-setting achievement in the world of portable MP3 CD players and has positioned SONICblue as an industry leader worthy of emulation and acclaim. While the Rio Volt's predecessors combined solid sound with the ability to play MP3-encoded discs along with standard CD-Rs and CD-RWs, none of them took the extra step of including both WMA (Windows Media Audio) compatibility and ID3 tag support. The addition of these features to the MP3 CD formula makes this unit the most adaptable portable on the market, as well as one of the most convenient. WMA is a Microsoft audio format that purports to offer MP3-quality sound from files one-half the size, potentially letting you cram up to 300 or so songs on a single disc. The format supports data transmission of 48 Kbps (near-CD quality) and 64 Kbps (CD quality). ID3 tags are markers embedded in MP3 files that feed song, artist, and album names to your player. Supporting these tags means that a device can display this information, letting you find the song you want without having to remember exactly where on the disc a song sits. This proved an invaluable feature as we scavenged through the hundreds of WMA and MP3 files on our discs for tunes to match our ever-changing moods. Moving through a song list is easy with the Rio Volt's up/down buttons, and a +10 button lets you jump ahead 10 tracks at a time--especially useful with fully loaded MP3 discs. The inline remote (part of the headphone cord) lets you operate most functions without having to dig the unit out of its carrying case and even offers a battery-friendly hold switch that prevents unwanted initiation of playback. For those new to MP3, WMA, and rewritable CD formats, the Rio Volt includes Adaptec's Easy CD Creator Standard 4 (for PC--a Deluxe version is available separately) and SoundJam (for Macintosh) software packages for creating your own CDs. Of course, the burning of CDs does require a CD-recording burner, an expense that is almost inevitable if you want to keep up with the latest in audio technology. Despite the numerous strengths of the Rio Volt, we ultimately discerned a few chinks in its technological armor. Most notably, its programming feature--which offers shuffle and repeat modes along with memory programming--lets you choose songs only by track number rather than by song name. In our testing, this forced us to check track numbers against the CD playlist on our computer several times (and we couldn't print the playlist for easy reference, because the software doesn't provide this option). Another shortcoming of this portable is its earbud headphones--consider upgrading as soon as possible to headphones that better convey the quality of the Rio Volt's sound. Along with the handiness of the unit's feature set, we were impressed by the rich, powerful sound of the unit and the consistency of sound quality across the various compatible formats. High-bit-rate MP3 files sounded nearly as crisp and full as standard CDs, and digitally copied CD-RWs (rewritable CDs) sounded just as good as their sources. Five equalizer presets really make a sonic difference, especially the Jazz and Extra Bass settings. Throw in a choice of 10 or 40 seconds of extremely effective antiskip protection (the 40-second option consumes more power), and you've got the recipe for an easily customized aural treat that performs under almost any conditions. --Ed Noble Pros:
- Compatibility with MP3/WMA, standard audio CDs, and CD-R/RWs
- Supports ID3 tags for easy search of MP3 files
- Five EQ presets that complement various musical genres
- Great sound
Cons:
- ID3 tag info not displayed when programming
- Hollow-sounding earbud headphones
- Awkward carrying case
Amazon.com Product Description
The Rio Volt portable MP3-CD player grants free listening across standard audio CDs as well as the MP3 and WMA (Windows Media Audio) files that you've recorded to CD-Rs and CD-RWs, letting you enjoy over 20 hours of digital audio from one CD (or around 250 songs). Plus, Rio Volt's large backlit LCD supports both ID3 tags and CD Text, simplifying song identification from any compatible disc, while 120-second antishock circuitry guards your listening almost anywhere. While the Rio Volt is... read more
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Spotlight Reviews (What's this?)
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Superior Value at Reasonable Price, July 8, 2001
Before settling for Rio Volt I tried both Archos portable HD and player and Creative Nomad Jukebox. The value that Rio offers is incredibly superior to the above mentioned competitors for the following reasons: It can play on all types of CDs; music, CD-R, and CD-RW, which ads a lot of mojo for those people who like to have the option to change some of the files on a CD from time to time, instead of burning new ones. The quality of sound, a deal breaker for me, surpassed expectations. Rio has a preset equalizer to chose from several settings such as pop, jazz, concert, and extra bass...yeah baby. By comparison, Archos priced [a little higher], offers a [bad] sound quality and a volume at only half the power of the Rio Volt player. Nomad was not much better and despite its whopping 6GB of storage capacity it does not live up to sound quality expectations. The Rio also has a neat "remote", a tiny navigation device for track, volume, and equalizer, which makes it really convenient to operate while carrying this device around at your belt or in a bag. Rio has a neat design; slim and light and it is very maneuverable. It is powered by 2 batteries with a decent life expectancy as opposed to the Nomad rechargeable batteries that last for only 1.1 hours and require 6 hours of recharging. Last, but not least, Rio is priced at half the
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
My one and only portable audio solution, June 29, 2001
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Reviewer:
An electronics fan
from Wash. DC Area
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I wanted a portable audio solution that would play my many cds and my (even more) many mp3s. After a little research, it looked like this was the hit. I haven't used it enough to kill the batteries, but I've prolly used it for over 10 hours so far. The actual piece of hardware feels very strong and compact, and is just about a big as a normal cd player. The screen is backlit so it's easy to read. There is an inline remote for the headphones (bad headphones, but I don't like earbuds anyway!). etc etc My only real concern when I first bought it was "How is it going to identify my mp3s?" You see, I don't use id3 tags, becuase I primarily store full albums on my computer. So each album has a directory, and in each is a filename <track#> - <track name>.mp3 It works well for me but I had seen nothing about using it w/o id3 tags. But, to my pleasure, the Rio simply identified each mp3 by its name. The whole system works beautfully. When playing mp3s, the cd doesn't spin after ~20 sec into the song, therefore is unskippable hehe. I've gotten it to skip when playing a normal cd on 10 sec skip protect by shaking the unit for 10 sec, but isn't that expected? :) I can't recommend this unit enough. I love it. I've been looking for something this capable and useful and easy to use for months. Good luck figuring out what to get... gimme an email if you have a question.iocax
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Average Customer Review: 
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Great So Far, December 3, 2003
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Reviewer:
hergert
from Port Orford, Oregon USA
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After just a short time with this, I'm really happy. The warnings about this skipping have proved untrue. I made sure I had the latest software update. I will say that I haven't done a lot of jumping around to test this, but I've carried it in a fanny pack while working around the house and shop. I did find that it is a little slow to rev up with MP3s, and so gave it only 4 of 5 stars. My TDK Mojo gave up the ghost after a couple years, and I chose this RioVolt as a replacement. If I get a couple years out of it, I'll be happy.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Stands to the test of time, April 21, 2003
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Reviewer:
An electronics fan
from everett, wa United States
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Bought in 2001, runs like it was brand new. Has stood up to running abuse & being dropped multiple times. Key point: Plays anything you throw @ it, cd, cd-r, vbr mp3, mp3 encoded to cd-rw...etc. Remote is worthless. Battery cover opens easily. Eats batteries (you should have some good rechargeables anyways). Excellent sound that can be tweaked w/ the equalizer. Button placement could be better as you can hit the stop or play button instead of FF/RW especially if inside your pocket.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
its ok, March 28, 2003
It does everything it should although the volume is weak (hard to hear in NYC subway) and batteries run out fast.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
a great gadget - the best available, February 20, 2003
I used this player for about two years. I would highly recommend it. Sound and support is great. The only problam: after using it well for a couple of years it mysteriously died. I am now using the 250 model but I bought the extended warranty.
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