Rating: 
Summary: you will not be disappointed
Review: i am rating this product with 5 stars based on its ability to play great sounding mp3s. the download of files onto this player is really easy and FAST! i will warn you though, if you do not feel comfortable around computers and doing a little intuitive troubleshooting, you might find this player an aggravation right out of the box. the problem with it is that there is no real documentation that comes with it other than "...stick the CD into the CD drive and run setup.exe..." from there on, you are on your own.BUT, here is some advice: although the software that comes with it looks really useful (and powerful) i decided to use RealJukebox as my software of choice to manage my mp3s and also to do the uploads to the player. Just install the software drivers that come on the CD, plug the player into the USB and realjukebox will determine that a new device is present and automatically download the updates for you! anyway, once you have all that figured out, this thing is a breeze. here are the best parts of this player: 64mb of on board memory, expandable up to 96mb via flash card. USB connection! what else can be said about that? how about my ability to upload 60mb of data (music) in 60 seconds or less? it is true! lastly, the size of this thing is smaller and lighter than a deck of cards. you can hide it or stow it anywhere. and it comes with a black neoprene (think scuba wetsuit) case that provides protection from getting damaged during any athletic activity. the case alone is a huge plus over other players for me cuz i like to run, bike, and lift weights. btw, the msrp on this player is ($) and places like best buy sell it for ($)...so at ($) on amazon.com, this is a great BUY!
Rating: 
Summary: 500 big step up from 300!
Review: I have a 300 and now a 500. There are a few reasons this unit is a big improvement. Most impt is the USB connection, which makes uploading much faster and is conflict free. The software upgrades easily and the added memory capacity is thus doubled. If you download your songs at very high compression, sound remains good and capacity can exceed 3 hours. One suggestion: get real headphones!
Rating:
Summary: A broken Rio 500!
Review: I purchased my Rio 500 a few months ago and have been amazingly happy with this product! I must have it running 24 hours/day! I love it that much. Recently, it stopped working. I replaced the batteries with new alkaline batteries and still no power illuminating through the system. I had to send it back to Diamond/S3 recently. The other reviews are on the mark. Money well spent and the expandibility is tops- even over the forthcoming Rio 600 and 800's. Has anyone elese had this similar problem?
Rating:
Summary: Easy to use and easy to upgrade
Review: I purchased this MP3 player after shopping around for awhile. I have not been disappointed. The installation of the software was easy and the USB cable was just a matter of plugging it in. The software has a direct link to the Diamond Rio web page. Which showed me immediately that there was a software upgrade and a upgrade to the firmware available. This upgrade to the firmware is important, since without it the rio is unable to use 64mb flash cards. The only problem I have with the Rio is the lack of instructions that come with the unit. They only give you a small fold out which does not explain enough in my opinion. After a few abortive tries I was finally able to upload songs to the Rio. The sound quality was excellent. The headphones are not that great and I recommend you start looking for new ones as soon as the Rio arrives.
Rating:
Summary: Help please
Review: I have a question, does this player work with win 95 (2nd edition)? I do have USB available... Please help
Rating:
Summary: 2 Words AWE SOME
Review: I love my Diamond Rio 500. I will start from the beginning: The DR5 (Diamond Rio 500) was easy to find and to purchase throurgh AMAZON.COM. The DR5 Shipped to me in perfect condition and on time. The features on the DR5 were awesome: the headphone are THE BEST I have ever had in my life. The controls on the DR5 are clear and vivid and easy to use. The USB connecter that I got with my DR5 is very fast and quick the Rio Port Software which also came with the DR5 is the best CD Ripper software I have ever had. The DR5 is every thing they said it was except for .... the battery life: they told me that one AA battery would last 13 hours in the DR5 so right now I bet you are thing that this is a bad thing WRONG This is just a personal opinon please don't take it like I am telling you you have to do this but i bought some of the new Titanium batteries by En.....er have lasted in my DR5 for over 30 hours and 6 song transfers (which you should know song transfers use a ton of battery) and the battery life bar which is and awesome feature on the DR5 has not even went down even one little bar yet. So on a personal opinion i recemend the batteries highly. even though they cost twice as much they last 15 time as long and they are 30 time lighter than an average AA battery
so all in all this DR5 is a very important asset to a serious listener
i almost forgot the carrying case that came with it is very helpful and the weight of the entire thing is like it not even with you and it is so small that it will fit almost anywhere
Rating:
Summary: I love this but not as much as I could
Review: The player is great once you figure out some of it's features and navigate the software. I would recommend using the Real Jukebox to manage your playlist everything else is either too cumbursome to deal with or is not compatible with the Rio player. I would have liked a few more features and maybe some instructions rather than just telling me what everything was. I might not have needed the instructions in the end but I would have liked to have them anyway.
Rating:
Summary: IT'S FREAKIN' GREAT!!!! A MUST BUY!!!!
Review: I just got mine today. The first thing I did was update the firmware and software just to be on the safe side. The new ear pieces are great, and sound great. They wrap around your ear. Great for working out. The new case isn't too great, but that is about the only complaint I have. At a 128 bitrate the music sounds great anything higher is just a waste. I currently have 16 songs on my 500 and they all sound great. As for the controls, if you have the intellegence of an ape you'll figure it out. It took me about 2 minutes. Have fun and good luck. I love it.
Rating:
Summary: Nice, but needs some more features
Review: In it's own world, the Rio is great. Just an MP3 Player with 65 Meg ram. Needs better headphones, although they feel snug and secure. Also, it would have been nice to have a recording feature with built in Mic or Input for a Lapel Mic. That would blow minidisk out of the water. I must say however that this is the future at its best. No moving Parts, removable Smart Media Cards used to expand memory. The Future of music does not involve any motors of any kind to spin a disk. I've allready downloaded a ton of online books and music, and the quality is great......and remember, MP3's can be be converted back to a standard .Wav file with just about any MP3 editor....Try Music Match......A great product David_Carlin@vtel.com
Rating:
Summary: In a word...
Review: INCREDIBLE!!..Just a great electronic to buy!..So simple to use and FAR better than a portable mini disk player..I found that the little pouch that comes with it is just great for a runner/basketball player/lifter like me..I would recomend this product to any one..It took maybe 5 min to get the songs from my computer to the player..Its so straight forward and easy..The software comes with many features that I did not expect..This is a great product..I had no problem with the so called "BUG"..I dont know about the others but this one is just magnificent!!
| 
