Customer Reviews

Rio 600 64 MB Digital Audio Player (MP3/WMA)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(15)
1 star:		(32)

 

 

I am a 15 year old audiophile and I got this mp3 player for christmas last year. I was really excited, because of all the good things that had been said about mp3 players (this one in paticular). I hooked it up into my mac and downloaded a very small playlist; most people could fit about 30 min, but with lower quality of music (around 96 kbps), I got about 45 minutes on it. The mp3 player is cool because it is completly skip free, and it is also very durable (I dropped it from waist hight onto asphalt, and it worked fine afterwards, save a few scratches).
But after about a month or two of using it, I started experiencing glitches. The battery level would fluctuate from 100% to 50% and back again and about 3 hours after replacing the batteries, they quit on me. This thing EATS batteries like no other! Also, every once in a while, the mp3 player would automatically delete all the songs that I had downloaded onto it.
I emailed SONICblue, and after about the 5th or 6th email, they responded saying that they would replace the player. I got my second, and it had the exact same problems as the first one did! I emailed again for another or a refund, but they never replied. I went to [local store] (where we bought it), and they gave us a 3rd one. This one didn't even turn on! I couldn't do anything with it. So, about a month before the warrenty ended, I got store credit for it and bought a PlayStation 2 : ) (no complaints there).
My friends with this player have had the same problems with the player and costomer service as i have had, and so have the people on amazon. Please reconsider buying this defective product.

I admit - when I got the RIO, I was excited! I thought it was a good size, light, and worked just fine, despite having severly limited memory. Well, that's all changed. The thing must have been made from the cheapest materials available. My power switch broke after 2 weeks, and I wan't even flipping it that often. The battery indicator gives NO accurate indication of the juice you have left. Every time you look, it says there's plenty of power left, yet the thing can die at any time. The software is clunky and buggy. Also to top it off, when you get that "memory backpack," it's still a disappointment, because it's treated as a separate player. Suppose you have a bunch of MP3s that are around 4MB, and you use all but 3.6MB of your player's internal memory. Adding a backpack is like adding a hard drive - it just gives another location, and it's a real pain to have to switch your "source" back and forth to juggle the tracks so that you can make THESE ones fit on THIS memory part, and THESE others fit on THAT one. Couldn't the software try to calculate where to put the tracks so that it wasn't so tedious, and was easier not to waste space? This turned out to be a real turkey, and I have 3 friends who also have had the things break on them within two months.

This is my second MP3 player. My previous one was a Samsung. As for this Rio 600 here's my initial thoughts. It looks real nice. It sounds as good as any I've heard so far. The battery drain is very low. It is easy to use with Windows Media Player to load it up. (Get the WMP driver off the Rio site.) I personally hate Real Jukebox (comes with this player). Most of Real software is Real Bad. And it has a very nice belt clip pouch. Also it has good ID tags and a very easy to use back lit menu. Those are its strenghs.

Weaknesses - Instead of using removable flash media cards it is upgraded via a special backpack which is hard to get right now. It does not seem to be as rugged as I would like. So I keep it in the belt pouch for protection. I have yet to call Rio (Sonicblue) customer service. I've been told that they are very weak in service. I hope I don't have to find out.

This of course is my initial review. I will try and update this review in about a month.

We have recently bought two RIO 600s, and love everything about the device itself. The on-line support, the email support (no response) and the phone-in support, are frustrating at best, non-existent at worst. When you go to 'install' the software, well, their motto seems to be, 'let the selling begin.' As it happens, all we needed off the installation CD was the driver (this took...ah...a while to figure out).

As for the player itself, we couldn't ask for more. You can pick any bps rate from 32 to 128 and download up to 40 songs (120 minutes?). We run and work out, have found no skipping, plus, grrreat sound (particularly with upgraded headphones, the bass comes pulsing through).

We don't use the backpack, which does seem to be a problem for many. And, be prepared to muddle thru until you find the right settings, for example, 'enabling the volume leveling', while time-consuming, seems to eliminate many errors.

That's it, then...a 5 star product with 0 star support. I'm sure they get a ton of returns from folks who just can't get it up and running.

Overall, I'm happy with this product. I have the refurbished 32 meg model that Audible.com offers through a promotion. I ordered it a week before Christmas, not expecting to see it until well after the new year, and it arrived in four days. That was a pleasant surprise.

While 32 megs is not a whole lot for MP3 files it's plenty for audible books which don't demand as high of quality as music. I want to get more memory for music but it is too expensive for their proprietary 'backpacks'. If memory becomes a real issue for me I will have to go with another brand that supports the more popular memory cards. For now I'm happy to use it just for audio books.

I was considering going for a higher model such as the Rio 800 but I've read the horror stories (customer reviews on this site) and decided to stick with this one. I was wary of upgrading to a rechargable only model in the first place. I think I'll stick with this one and just pop in an AA battery when needed instead of carrying a charger around all the time.

You can basicaly take the CD that came with it and use it as a coaster. The PC software instalation wanted to overwrite my current version of Real Player before it would continue to install the Rio Manager software. This I wish would be an option. The automatic software installation would not let me go about it any other way. I let it do it and reinstalled the current software afterwards. I figured out later how to manualy install the Rio Manager software through exploring the software CD. Also, Microsoft's Media Player recognized the hardware on it's own. I have yet to use the Rio Manager software, I don't need it.

Finaly, I have to report one glitch with my Rio 600. Sometimes it doesn't turn on. I have to disconnect the backpack (which houses the battery) and reconnect it and everything is back to normal. All information such as bookmarks and the actual files are still intact and only the time/date is wiped. This is only a small nuisance for me but it's still something I wish it wouldn't do.

Pros:

It is great for audible books. If you want to experiment, the promotion from Audible.com is a safe bet.

Cons:

32 megs is small by today's standards. I would imagine the same is true for 64 megs. Upgrading is expensive due to the price of it's proprietary 'backpacks'. The software installation program needs some work, namely the option of leaving more upgraded software on your computer rather than overwriting it with the older software that comes on the CD. Sometimes it won't turn on, but I don't know if this is a common glitch or just happens with my Rio.

Not the best player out there, but not the worst either. (I hope.)

C+

This a great player right out of the box. The software was so easy to use that the first night I had it i was listening to music before I went to sleep.There is a whole lot of room on it too. At RioHome.com/ there is a promo that when you send in you proof of purchase and a form you get at the siteand your receipt you recieve a 32mb backpack for FREE!!! thats just another maybe half hour of music.There maybe is one problem that this thing eats up batterys quicky!Ever since I've had it it has worked perfecty. Also with the USB connection to the mp3 player it downloads the files a lot quicker than an old parallel line. I recomend this mp3 player to anyone who is looking to buy one.IT'S GREAT!!!!!!!!!!

I received a Rio 600 64MB MP3 player for Christmas. I opened it, loaded it full of songs, and listened to it for about two hours one day. The next morning I tried turning it on to load some new songs, and it wouldn't even turn on. So I replaced the battery and messed around with the memory backpack to no avail. It would respond to nothing. Figuring I had received a random dysfunctional product, I promptly returned it to the store it was purchased from.
Giving the SONICblue company one more chance, I opened my new player, loaded some songs, and was amazed to find out that this new player actually worked...for two days. At the end of the second day on my way home, I turned it on successfully and pressed play...unsuccessfully. I tried everything, just as before: battery replacement, battery connections, etc. That was one week ago, and I've tried it every day since...to no avail.
Bottom line: this company evidently doesn't have any quality control whatsoever, and this is the last purchase I'll make from them until I discover that their company has upgraded their horrible testing division.
DO NOT PURCHASE THIS, EVEN IF IT IS A LOW-COST MP3 PLAYER. BUY SOMETHING ELSE INSTEAD

My family owns both a Rio 500 and 600. Below is a list of pros/cons between these two models CONS 1) The standard Rio 500 comes with more memory than the 600 (64 MB vs 32) 2) The 500's controls are more sensibly laid out. As the picture shows, the 600 has this stupid omni-purpouse button on the front. The 500 has idividual stop, play, ff, and rewind controls. 3) Although I can't prove it, I believe the 500 offers better sound qaulity

PROS: 1) The RIO 500 can't seem to play any audio files (such as audio books or old radio shows) below 32kb/s. The 600 can. 2) The 600 has a far better PC interface program. It's more streamlined and crashes less often than that of the 500. 3) This thing gets LOUD when you crank up the volume. 4) The 600 has the (expensive) capability to expand its memory to 320MB.

Both these devices really need the extra memory to play any amount of music (a 5 minute song with decent sound quality can be 4-10 megabytes. That's quite a bit when you only have 64 to toy around with)

So, if you just want a portable device that reliably plays digital audio, I would reccomend the Rio600.

PS: The RioPort website for setting this thing up is a nightmare. Be prepared to spend some amount of time getting the 600 working.

I started learning all about .mp3's a couple months ago(Thanks Napster). I immediately got a writable cd burner and then moved onto pc based .mp3 player and just learned how to convert .mp3 files into Windows Media Player(cut's the filesize in half!!!) So my obvious next choice was to buy a portable .mp3 player. I didn't know anything about them so I decided to buy the basic unit before I wanted to drop $300 on one of the really good ones. The guy at BestBuy recommended the Rio600 because it's pretty basic, yet upgradable firmware and memory pack (up to 340mb pack). So far I'm really happy with it and recommend it if you're looking for you're first mp3 player.

Last, back to mp3-to wma conversion.. I could only load 6 6mb .mp3's into the Rio600 w/32mb. I converted my .mp3's to .wma (Microsoft Windows Media Player format) and I was able to load those 6 files + 5 more! Convert your files to WMA! You WON'T regret it!

I got my player earlier this year and have had a fairly good experience with the unit. First of all, I tried the software that came with it (RealPlayer), and immediately stopped using it and took it off my computer. It does not work well for one, and secondly, RealPlayer tries to take over your computer (and your life). Advice #1: I have been using Windows Media Player with the downloadable driver for the Rio Player, which works smoothly.

I use mine primarily when I am running, mountainbiking, and motorcycling and have had no problems with shock or skipping. But, the headphones lasted a month or so before developing a crack in the wire and then start crackling. Advice #2: Buy some quality headphones if you want good sound and reliability.

The other complaint that I have is with the battery draining after the unit has been turned off. If I put a battery in and play it often, it lasted a reasonable amount of time. But, if the unit sits (in the OFF position) it will still drain the battery down completely within a week or so. Advice #3: Use rechargeable batteries.

Overall, this player does sound good and has some nice features. I continue to use mine with good performance, considering the downfalls mentioned above. I do, however, question the integrity of the SONIC BLUE/RIO brand of products from this experience and from similar experiences from other fellow consumers. I don't plan on getting the backpack expansion for this product because I've heard of quality/performance issues from others. Unless they can prove to me that they are going to make a good product and stand behind it, I will be leary about any of their future products. Hopefully, reviews like this will make a difference so that everyone wins :)