[ecasadei]

I'm looking into getting an mp3 player and I like the Rio 800. I was just over at c|net's hardware reviews page, though, and out of 37 user reviews 49% of them were a thumbs down. After reading them, it seems that most of the problems were due to units breaking down after only a few uses, with problems such as batteries dying way too early or audio not coming out of the headphone port. One poster even said he and his wife had gone through five different Rios in just a few months. I was wondering if anybody here has had similar troubles, or have you been pleased with your Rio? Does anybody else have experiences with a different mp3 player that you would like to reccomend? I'm interested in something small that uses solid-state media, not something like the Rio Volt or Nomad Jukebox.

[dfbennett]

Get either the Creative Nomad II or Nomad II MG. I've got the Nomad II and it's great. You can get it really cheap too if you get it from staples(pricematch to amazon and use the 30 off 150 coupon).It's a great player complete with an FM tuner. The MG is a similiar player but is smaller and has more features.

[SupahCoolX]

I have the 32MB Rio 600. No problems for me. My only complaint is that the battery indicator is kinda innacurate as I usually have to replace the batts about when it reports like 30%. Anyway, it sounds good and is really cheap nowadays. Also, it works great out of the box with iTunes. I never even had to use the software CD that came with it! Thanks Apple! The 600 is also a really durable unit, too. I once dropped mine onto a concrete floor from about 3 feet and it didn't skip a beat or show any physical damage. I recommend it!

[Steve]

I have a Rio 500 and I am totally pleased with it. I like it more than the Rio 600 because it has double the memory, 32 megs is NOT enough memory for a good mix of music. But, you can still buy the memory sticks, which is annoying : just another thing to break. But I would reccomend the Rio 500 or the Rio 800 because it has the built in FM tuner and more capabilities.

[BuonRotto]

If I may digress only slightly from the topic, this seems like a stupid question, but I plan to buy something small, skip-free and quickly remixed to jog with. Does anyone have any recommendations for which player would be best? Does one come with a clip or remote? Does one come with better headphones for this kind of activity? Are there accessories for protecting the player or holding it in this situation? I'm in the midst of doing my own research but I figured I'd ask here and continue with my search for such answers at the same time.

Also, are the Rio backpacks a good thing in your opinion vs. the Nomad's straight-up smart media cards?

Thanks for your input. This is probably my delusional view of the world but I trust the opinions of people here more than those at C|Net, et al.

<--suck up? sure!

[SupahCoolX]

BuonRotto: The Rio 600 (and I believe the 800 also) comes with a little carrying case sleeve thing with a belt clip on it. Nomad II series have a builtin clip. I know that the Rio 600 does NOT come with a remote, but I cannot speak for other players on this matter. Also, the 600 (again, I can't speak for others) comes with these ear clip style headphones which, while slightly uncomfortable, will stay on your head quite well in any heavy- duty activity like jogging. As for the memory expanion issue, it depends on your needs. The Rio backpacks are more expensive and are proprietary (not industry standard, so you can only get them through SonicBLUE), but they have other features like builtin rechargable batteries. Also, should some new memory standard become prominent in the future (like DataPlay discs), you can simply buy a new backpack that accomodates that type of memory, assuming SonicBLUE supports it as well. With Nomads and such, you are basically stuck with "straight- up smart media cards." This isn't too bad, though, because smart media is an industry standard. Therefore, it's more widely available and cheaper, so it's not going anywhere for a while. I think you'll be just fine with whatever you choose. Just go for the one with the most memory/ features for whatever price you're looking to spend. For me, the Rio 600 was a perfect fit because it was cheap and I don't need much memory (I fit about 65 mins of 64k encoded mp3s). Oh, and before you jump on my back, 95% of the time I'm using headphones when listening to music, so I don't notice much of a difference in sound quality, if at all. Also, it's the only way I could fit 750 songs (51 hours worth!) on my iBook's 3GB hard drive. Anyway, you'll be fine with whatever you buy. Hope this helps!

[BuonRotto]

Supah cool post, SupahCoolX.

Thanks a lot, you've been a great help. I heard that the Rio didn't have a clip but it sounds like its clip is more exercise-oriented than the Nomad's.

I'm not really concerned with the remote, I just heard that one of them had a remote, and wasn't sure if that was really a big deal. I don't plan on flipping through FM stations or fast-forwarding often.

I hate those little earphones you mention in general, but they do stay on your head better, don't they? I haven't even tried on those behind-the-ear phones that are out now, so I didn't know if there was some great innovation in headphone technology in the meantime.

I'll have to mull over the backpack vs. media card thing, but your confidence that sdmart media will be around for the next few year is encouraging.

Also, I'm in the same boat re: mp3 quality. If I'm running, I don't especially care about near-CD quality sound. On the other hand, I don't run more than an hour a day anyway, so 64 MB should be plenty, even more than what I need.

Thanks again, SupahCoolX.

[SupahCoolX]

No problem Buon. Of course, now you know that you owe me, right? Owe me BIG time...

[BuonRotto]

Ok, but you'll still have to pay tips.

[Circa]

I just want to say that I think personally the 500 is more high tech looking.

Does anyone know if the 500 is iTunes compatible.

[mike one]

Originally posted by Circa:
<STRONG>I just want to say that I think personally the 500 is more high tech looking.

Does anyone know if the 500 is iTunes compatible.</STRONG>

get the 500. it works with itunes, it works with sound jam, it works with itunes OSX, it rocks. it is very small, durable, and cool.
i installed nothing. i have it plugged into my keyboard.

the only other thing you might want to invest in is a nice pair of headphones for it, and maybe rechargeable batteries.

other than that i give it 9 out of 10 stars.
and yes i chose this one over the 600 and 800. it comes with 64MB built in. more than enough for the bus, the gym, an afternoon waiting in the doctor's office. you get the point.

enough said.