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Rating: 
Summary: Wow! I'm very pleased with this receiver..
Review: Got it hooked up and running yesterday. I decided to use the Ethernet connection rather than the phone lines. The directions weren't all that helpful in terms of problem-solving the network connection issue. It's finally up and running now, and I LOVE IT. It's so nice to have continuous music that will play for hours on end. Nice for parties-- no more CD changing!
Rating: 
Summary: Works great with FreeBSD/JReceiver
Review: I have four of these being served by JReceiver on a FreeBSD 5.0 box. Two are on a CAT5-wired network while two are using Netgear XE102 powerline/ethernet bridges. My only complaint is the display size; it's too small. It would have been nice to also output the display to video. I rip all of my CDs to a big disk on the FreeBSD box. These are also exported using Samba so all the Windows boxes can use it as well. I think the Rio Receiver is a great product for the money.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent purchase
Review: I have had a rio receiver for a few months now and could not be more pleased. I can't remember the last time my old carousel cd player has been powered up.
My setup: I have my receiver connected to my home stereo through the rca jacks. I stream my mp3's to my rio through a dlink wireless router (713p I think) and have a wireless to ethernet bridge from SMC on my rio. This configuration works great and I do not have any problem with drop outs.I have ripped all of my cd's to my computer, and used a program to generate playlists. This is one of my only gripes about the receiver: if you want to play albums with the correct track order, you need to use playlists, as selecting music by the album will play the songs in alphabetical order. It doesn't bother me because I have the playlists. The only other thing that I would complain about is the tiny display. You either have to learn the menus if you want to use the remote, or just select the music on the receiver itself so you are close enough to see what you are doing. Some very cool things about this receiver: there are a number of open source free programs out there for it! There are some programs that let you listen to shoutcast internet radio streams, and they work very well if you have a broadband connection. There are other programs that let you choose your music through a web server, however I feel that takes away from what the receiver is meant to do: let you choose your music at your stereo, not your computer. These units can be found easily for under a hundred dollars right now, and when you compare that to the price of the audiotron, the streamium, the slimp3, or any similar product there is no reason not to go with this!
Rating:
Summary: Good product for digital music collectors
Review: I have two of these in my home, transmitting 40 Gigs of music independently to two separate rooms (maybe more in the future) via HPNA. It is a simple product, and gets the job done with minimal fuss. Sound quality from this unit is very good. Having listened to the same songs from CD and from MP3 (128 bit rate), I am unable to tell the difference. Output and network options are given and work without configuration. Controls are good, as is the remote, and allows quick navigation of the hundreds of "albums" I currently have available. The ease of access to your music makes CDs seems archaic. The user interface is reasonably good, but could be improved if it was improved via firmware to follow the Apple Ipod's system (already close, though). Diamond/Rio/Sonicblue has not updated the software or firmware at all since I got the first one several years ago, however. The unit does not otherwise appear to be discontinued. You can force the unit to play tracks in sequential order by naming the files with number and title (i.e., 01-Song Name), and then deleting the Track tags (V1 and V2). This could be a five star product if the manufacturer would make an effort to improve the firmware and software.
Rating:
Summary: Wow! I'm very pleased with this receiver..
Review: I just received it and I couldn't be more pleased. It's compact, it does what it says it will do, and I already can't imagine going back to shoving CD's around. I do wish it had a radio tuner. If it had a radio tuner, I wouldn't have to hook it up to another stereo at all. The display works well, but you do have to get pretty close to be able to read it. The remote is nice for controlling next track, but to pick genre etc, you really need to be at the display...which makes sense. In a certain sense, it is so easy to use and works so well, that it seems anticlimatic. It just works quitely and efficiently in the background. I'm completely happy with it. Great product, and every stereo sold should have this capibility!
Rating:
Summary: Works as advertised-Great box!
Review: I just received it and I couldn't be more pleased. It's compact, it does what it says it will do, and I already can't imagine going back to shoving CD's around. I do wish it had a radio tuner. If it had a radio tuner, I wouldn't have to hook it up to another stereo at all. The display works well, but you do have to get pretty close to be able to read it. The remote is nice for controlling next track, but to pick genre etc, you really need to be at the display...which makes sense. In a certain sense, it is so easy to use and works so well, that it seems anticlimatic. It just works quitely and efficiently in the background. I'm completely happy with it. Great product, and every stereo sold should have this capibility!
Rating: 
Summary: Good product gone bad
Review: I own three of these. I also own three AudioTron (Turtlebeach) units. Sonic Blue missed the mark on several points:
1. You MUST run THEIR software on your server.
2. You MUST log in ( and stay logged in)to the server for their software to work (it SHOULDN'T, but does!).
3. They don't pay any attention to Track Numbers on an album. It allways play in ALPHA order. This will not do!
4. They don't have digital out.
5. They abandoned the product, even though you can still get them (as of 5/1/03) they are NOT supported and will NEVER have an patches. The thing that they DID get right is that the unit has it's own 10 watt amplifier (if you choose to use it). And the the analog audio quality is much better than that of the AudioTron. (But the AudioTron has digital out). At current prices...these are worth the price. At the retail price...they died horribly. But realize that the price is low because the product died a horrible death and is not supported. If you do get one - just remember to have your Ripping software create an M3U playlist for each album. Then you have the unit play in album order.
Rating:
Summary: This product is everything advertised, plus more!!
Review: If you have a large collection of mp3s on your computer, this is the right thing for you. I bought this product being kinda skeptical at first but after I pulled it out of the box and set it up (which took like 5 min.) it played music with perfect quality and with no odd pauses! The only thing I have noticed so far is that the remote control does not work too well. Don't get me wrong, it's a handy little feature, but it does not get too good of reception unless your pointing it straight at the rio. Say your trying to enter a song title on the remote (very cool feature) from across the room and the Rio Receiver accidentally misses one of the letters... you have to type it in all over again! Also, sometimes the rio doesn't turn on with the remote. I usually have to go press the power button on the unit to turn it on. The other thing, which I found odd, was when I got it, the rio was smaller than I expected. The pictures make it look real big. Well worth the money!
Rating: 
Summary: Rio Receiver - Discontinued for a reason.
Review: My Rio Receiver plays music flawlessly, I admit. And to have a 10 Watt amp built in is brilliance (10 watts, by the way, is plenty for the average person, but won't do for a big party or large room - get a real amp and plug in to the rca jacks).
There are sub-optimal realizations in the brilliance, and I think this is why the product is being discontinued. The device relies on software running on a computer and that computer, if not stand-alone with no security, must be logged in and running the program. The software driving the device has never been updated and is orphaned now that the product is discontinued. The software also can not play an album in album order. It plays everything in alphabetic order. Big problem when you listen to an album that has an order to it (Pink Floyd - The Wall, or Classical movements, etc).
The makers discontinued the product too soon, in my mind. If they had analyzed the competitor's product they could have adjusted and put out a new version of software. This type of device has a place in the home and the market is JUST STARTING to emerge. I 'ripped' over four hundred CD's onto my hard drive and am sold on the technology. No more fumbling with cases and putting things back when done playing them - rip 'em once and then just select the album and push play. Put the CD in a safe place, though, hard drives can crash.
I like the box, but since it is discontinued I would guide anyone looking for MP3/WMA playback to look at AudioTron from TurtleBeach. They continue to modify the unit and have 'got it right' when it comes to the implementation.
Rating:
Summary: Wow! Everything I was hoping for.
Review: What a great little receiver. No more CD shuffling! It's great for parties-- non-stop music for hours on end. The only problem I ran into, was setting it up for Ethernet, instead of through the phone wires as it had recommended. The directions were a bit vague about troubleshooting the connection between the receiver and PC. It's all set up and running now, and I LOVE IT. Sounds great - I would do it all over again.
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