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RioVolt SP100 Portable CD/MP3 Player with 120 Second Anti-Shock

RioVolt SP100 Portable CD/MP3 Player with 120 Second Anti-Shock

List Price: $169.99
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: An awesome MP3 Player
Review: The RioVolt SP100 Portable CD/MP3 Player is a very nice unit that plays MP3, WMA recorded on CD-Rs, CD-RWs as well as standard audio CD's. One of the coolest features of this player is its support of ID3 tags that are embedded in MP3 files. This is very helpful when you are browsing a CD-R disc with 200 songs.

Browsing the songs on disc is pretty easy using the included remote. The up/down buttons let you move between songs and the +10 buttons allows you to skip 10 songs ahead. The remote, which is built into the headphone cord is really cool and allows you to completely control the player without direct access to the player. Great when you have it stowed away in a fanny pack or clipped on your hip.

The CD player has a 10/40 second skip protection which is a nice feature to have for those active folks who use it while exercising. I use my on my couch and still find the skip protection helpful when I drop the player on the floor reaching for my remote :)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the best cd players
Review: The Riovolt 100 is a one if the best mp3 cd players you can buy. It has a back lit display and 120 esp. Also the id tags are very cool.One of my favorite things on the riovolt is the Equalizers rock,jazz,classic,ultra bass and one you make. The best thing is the ability to upgrade the firmware. This will give the riovolt the abilty to use new auido formats and fix errors and just make it run smoother.The only thing it is lacking is a good case and headphones(which can be bought).The bottom line is this is a very good mp3 cd player.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Pros and Cons of the Riovolt
Review: The Riovolt CD/MP3 player is what any music lover would want. I'll list the pros and cons so you won't have to read into this review and read between the lines.

Pros:
1) Plays CDA, MP3, WMA music files (which means about 10 hours of MP3 per CD and over 24 hours with WMA's and also means all your old CD's are not obsolete)
2) 15+ hours of playback with MP3's (I got 17 hours with regular Duracell batteries)
3) Backlit LCD display with scrolling text (navigation is easier and text is easy to read)
4) Upgradable firmware (for you philistine purchasers, new menus are added so you can customize your Rio)
5) 8 function remote (also adds more slack to the cord)
6) Lineout port (allows you to hook the Rio up to a stereo and listen to it through speakers)
7) A/C adapter provided

Cons:
1) Earbuds provide good sound quality, but for a music lover, better headphone are recommended (for the average listener, they are acceptable)
2) In-line remote (would be better to have a wireless remote since the in-line remote restricts the distance you can go from the Rio)
3) Battery life is decreased if CDA (regular CD's) are played (batt life while listening to CDA's is = 7 hours
4) Car kit (tape adapter and cigarette lighter adapter) not provided
5) ID3 tags not displayed
6) EQ can only be customized to a certain degree (bass and treble can be adjusted when you get the upgrade from riohome.com but the mid range cannot be customized. This is not a major drawback though, as sound quality is not compromised)

Overall: There seem to be a lot of cons. Despite this, the Riovolt is worth the price. It is user friendly and is a must have for anyone who wants a quality CD player. The pros outweigh the cons and I feel the Riovolt SP100 is better than the rest, since I have play tested some of the others. Of the 5 I have tried, the Riovolt is the best.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: No CUSTOMER SERVICE
Review: Overall I liked this player. It doesn't skip and it plays just about everything. HOWEVER, if it breaks your (...). I have made over a dozen phone calls from the east coast to Oregon on my dime and waited on hold for too many hours without getting any response. I was told I would have a replacement for the Rio Volt I owned that "just stopped" within two weeks. No there's no reset in case your wondering. (I asked) They ship the product overnight. It's been over a month and I still don't have a new one. After sending 10 emails to all customer service departments they shipped my player through UPS ground. With anyluck it will be here in 12 days like the tracking number says.
My Advice, by an MP3 player from someone other than Sonic Blue (RIO)

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: i really liked it.. until
Review: It was really neat at first. I liked the large display and such. But, there are a few problems. For one, it doesn't load when i hold it sideways anymore. So 3 or so minutes into the song it ALWAYS skips unless its held level. This is a problem walking around. Also, it can be very quiet. The split LineOut/Headphone jack kills a lot of the signal. I can't even hear the thing at full volume when i walk over the interstate. Not to mention the thing is really big, but i guess that can't be avoided.

Basically, its bulky and isn't good for travel. Thats exactly what i wanted it for.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Good Concept-poor execution
Review: I returned the first one two days after purchase when it wouldn't boot up. I used the second one for about 2 1/2 weeks before returning it. The main reason- noisy amp section. It "thumped" thru the speakers when the display went off and whined the rest of the time.
Pro's: Nice look; display; upgradeable software
Con's: long boot up time (mp3); awful headphones which plug into dopey remote; noisy amp section; no car kit; consumes batteries like they're corn flakes. Bought the Philips 501 and like it so far. But, I'm not going to be happy until I get a Remote Solutions PJB-100 (20 gig hard drive).

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: nice technology, but poor versatility
Review: I recently bought the Rio Volt player and returned it after a week. The sound quality was definitely good, when the player wasn't skipping. According to the package, the player has 120-second anti-skip for mp3 CDs, but whenever I walked with it, the sound would occassionally crackle or pause for several seconds altogether. For regular audio CDs, the player was even worse. I think my CD player from back in 1993 had more consistent skip protection. On top of that, this unit is rather bulky and thus considerably more difficult to carry around in a coat pocket than a regular sony discman.

The little remote control is slightly overrated, since its really not that difficult to reach the extra 10 inches or so and change tracks on the player itself. Moreover, there is the problem of the inevitable tangle of wires (there is alot of wire when the headphones are connected to the remote, which is in turn connected to the player). It's definitely not worth the extra 40 dollars or so from the next lower model.

All of the technology this player offers, such as the graphic equalizer and the lcd screen with little men that dance to the music, is definitely cool--but concepts of practicality and efficiency are definitely lacking. The load time of CDs, both mp3 and audio, is ridiculously slow, since all the sound is processed through the little computer that one can upgrade from the internet. Because of this, be prepared to spend alot of money on batteries. It sucked down two of my rechargable batteries in 30 minutes, and it ran for maybe 6 hours tops on fresh duracells.

Though the MP3 technology is alluring, this product won't make a huge difference in your life if you only have a few MP3 CDs. It definitely didn't compel me to make any new ones. This player could be good a few years down the line, when the manufacturers update it with the convenience of the user in mind.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: RioVolt is the way to go
Review: Despite what some of the customer reviews at Amazon say about this product, I feel as though I would really miss having it - I don't know how I ever coped without it!! It's absolutely fantastic - everything I wanted and more. The sound quality is great, the bass options really make a difference, and even the headphones included in the box are very good quality (which is unusual for bundled headphones, I'm sure you'll agree.) It's easy to use, and the navigation system allows you to search for other tracks while you listen. The remote control is very handy, and trust me - you can bounce off the walls and the music will never skip. I have tested listening while running and other alike activities, because in my experience a lot of personal CD players are hopeless and often skip at the slightest tap, but not this baby. I have found no faults so far and I highly doubt I will. Another great advantage is that the firmware is upgradable through Rio's website. I upgraded mine as soon as I got it, and that was easy too. All in all, the RioVolt is an excellent machine and well worth the money. (...)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Dependable after nearly 1 year
Review: Well I will start by saying I bought this almost 1 year ago for use on my job. I work for the post office as a rural mail deliverer. All this time and I have had no trouble with it whatsoever. No problems with skipping or anything. I have used audio CDs and MP3 CDs on both CD-R and CD-RWs. And after the firmware update a did a month back it has even better performance than ever. And now supports winamp playlist files and resume exactly where you left off. If you want a dependable easy to use player this is a good choice. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Excellent Product, Poor Customer Service
Review: I have owned a Rio Volt for well over six months and I absolutely love this product. Firmware upgrades are regularly made available that improve performance of the unit and often add new features. The battery life is excellent. I use rechargeable NiMH's with it and typically get 12 to 14 hours of battery life which is excellent. It's performance is excellent, load times for disks the unit has played before is relatively short and I have never experienced skipping or not The player's support for the WMA file format in addition to MP3 is means I can squeeze over 300 songs on a single CD. Combine the random shuffle all directories setting with this units resume feature and I'm walking around with my own personal radio station.

One of the best features of this unit is its remote. This allows me to bury the player itself deep in my backpack and run the unit entirely with the remote. I find this extremely useful however it leads me to my one complaint about this player...

After six months of intensive, but careful, use the play button portion of the remote has stopped working for me. I email'ed SonicBlue customer service asking for a replacement. After SEVENTEEN (17) days they responded to my email telling me that it appeared my remote was defective (which I had told them in the first place) and would I please email them again with my info in order to obtain an RMA. They won't say how long this RMA process might take however for a mere twenty-eight dollar charge on my credit card they will be happy to FedEx my replacement part immediately. I simply dread how long I will have to wait for them to provide me with a RMA # and actually get my replacement part to me. Obviously, after the 17 day delay in providing me with their initial brain-dead answer, I am not expecting immediate satisfaction.


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