The Rio 800 Digital Audio Player delivers the most advanced level of power and performance you'll ever hear. Capture, mix, and playback digital music from the Internet or your CD collection on Rio's first-ever rechargeable player. Created by people as intense about music as you are. No wonder the Rio products set the standard in portable digital audio players.
The ruckus over MP3s and Napster-focused copyright battles has overshadowed the huge portability advantages of digital music. Only a few years ago, "portable music" meant carrying around a bulky CD player and either a CD wallet or a load of plastic jewel cases. The Rio (now part of SONICblue) line of digital audio players pioneered portable MP3 devices, and the new Rio 800 flagship model has the potential to redefine what portable audio should be.
The Rio 800 comes with 64 MB of memory, enough for about an hour of MP3 music. It can also accommodate Windows Media Audio (WMA) files, which can stretch the playing time out to nearly two hours thanks to that format's high compression. If 64 MB isn't quite enough to store your daily dose of tunes, SONICblue sells proprietary Memory Backpacks (instead of standard memory cards, like SmartMedia or CompactFlash) that can boost your Rio to 96 MB or 128 MB. Unfortunately, prices are still fairly high for these Backpacks; hopefully they'll come down as Rio popularity increases.
Another great feature is the built-in microphone feature that lets you record meetings and notes to yourself, then play them back later. And if your tastes run more to spoken-word recordings, Audible.com media files take up even less memory.
The Rio 800 is powered by a rechargeable battery, which we found to be perfectly acceptable. It averaged around six to eight hours of continuous use per charge and required only a few hours to recharge. A red light let us know when the battery was being recharged, turning off when the battery was ready. The 800's carrying case is also much improved from earlier Rio models--smartly designed, form fitting, and providing easy access to all the controls.
The control buttons are centrally located, and with some practice we were able to operate the Rio's various functions without looking at it. On the unit we tested, we had to be sure to push toward the top of the volume rocker to increase the sound level, rather than where the volume icon was located, but that barely registered as a minor irritation.
Also included in the Rio 800 package is a remote control that clips onto your clothing, which was particularly handy on our afternoon jogs when it would be awkward (or, dare we say, dangerous) to reach for the unit's main controls. Another boon for frequent exercisers is the (misnamed) Hold switch, which locks the controls (but not the remote) in case of accidental bumps. The Rio also comes with a pair of folding headphones that look cool but were uncomfortable to wear for more than about 20 minutes.
The LCD screen is a bit larger than most and has plenty of room for information like the current song title, sample rate, time, track number, and volume. However, to display that much info means using a small font, so at times it was hard to read. And the circular display window put form over function; it looked nice but it was sometimes hard to see objects around the edges due to the shadow projected by the circular frame. We had to tilt the unit nearly every time to see the play indicator to find out if the music was stopped or just paused.
Overall, though, these criticisms are minor quibbles compared to what the Rio 800 offers: a portable repository for all your digital audio needs, from tunes to voice recording, with high-quality playback. --Jeff Carlson
Pros:
- Acceptable memory storage, especially using multiple file formats
- Voice-recording function
- Rechargeable battery
Cons:
- Display can be hard to read at times
- Included headphones are uncomfortable
- No Audible.com compatibility yet
Get all the versatility of a 64 MB digital audio player in a sleek design with the Diamond Rio 800. This Rio adds memory and features to the Rio line, plus recharging capability. The Rio 800's 64 MB of flash memory means you can capture and play back over an hour of near-CD quality music (MP3s encoded at 128 Kbps) from the Internet or your CDs, or up to 32 hours of spoken word recordings. Additional snap-on Rio memory backpacks (sold separately) can add up to 340 MB of storage.
This player comes with its own recharger unit so you can save on battery costs. The remote control also allows you to play, pause, advance, and rewind without removing the player from the case. The LCD display shows the song/book you are listening to, plus the artist and time. The Rio 800 supports the MP3 and WMA audio formats, and it is upgradable to support emerging digital standards so your Rio is always up to date. It's SDMI compliant, enabling you to download secure tracks from all the major recording labels.
The USB interface allows you to download songs from your PC or Mac to your Rio faster than with any other interface type. Note that USB connectivity requires a USB port and either a PC running Windows 98 or 2000 or a Macintosh G3/G4 or iMac running System 8.1 or later.
The included Rio Audio Manager software works with Windows 98 to organize your audio tracks by name, artist, and length. It turns your CDs into MP3 or WMA digital formats for playback on your Rio 800. You can also master your mix with custom playlists. For Mac users, SoundJam software is included, which works with your iMac or G3/G4 to organize tracks and turn your CDs into AIFF, WAV, or QuickTime digital formats. It allows for easy drag-and-drop transfer to the Rio 800.
The Rio 800 comes with the recharger, remote control, folding headphones, one AA battery, a USB cable, a carrying case with belt clip, and software on CD-ROM. Rio covers this player with a one-year warranty on parts and labor.
1 Work well when it's "working"
I owned two of these units. The first one I got had battery problems and even after callibrating it a couple of times the things would play 2 or 3 songs and then die. Back to the store where I exchanged it for another.
The next unit's battery worked but had the common discharge problem if its not used in a week. The volume control on the unit was a little finiky. If you didn't press on the control in the right place the sound just didn't change up or down.
In general I wonder about the quality control Rio has because from reading othe sites and reviews they seem to have issues.
I wrote them about getting the replacement charger, submitted my info and support never got back to me and never replaced the charger. So much for good support.
Pros
-All my MP3s splayed perfectly on the unit.
-Random and Repeat worked fine.
-The weight and size was also acceptable.
-Comes with a belt clip
Cons
-Throw out the headphones, absolutely useless and they hurt the head.
-Software that came with it sucked. Windows media player worked OK but had the occasional crash where the media player would not longer recognize the unit.
-Overall poor quality.
-Crappy support.
I gave the unit 2 starts out of 5 because over the two years I had it working I was sorta happy with it. Then recently this unit just stopped working. It's the battery the playback was messed up and all you could here was sound in MONO or something. So that's it for Rio.
I can't recommend you get one. I'm moving to a mini-disc player and recommend you do the same.
2 Worked great for 2 months
The Rio was easy to load and easy to use. After 2 months the fast forward button no longer worked which severly limited the ease of use. During the third month the play button stopped working turning it to garbage. I have not been able to find a number to talk to a company representative about my problem but have been able to email the company but still have a light weight, stylish and useless Rio.
3 Rio 800 is a pain in the butt
I got this little guy for Christmas 2002 and I was so excited to have one. Well, after figuring out that you had to calibrate the battery, I thought I was good to go. You wouldn't know to calibrate the battery until you read the directions, which I think is horrible considering most (like me) just plug it in to charge w/o the directions. Well, the battery drains itself and I have never been able to keep it running for more than a few hours. I think the look, feel, sound, and even the amount of memory (mine has 128 mb) are great, but what good is any of that if you cannot keep power to it. The night before I wanted to use it I unplugged it after a full charge... by the time I went to workout the next day, the battery in it was dead. DO NOT BUY RIO -- their product stinks! I will never buy another!
4 Beware - Deplorable Customer Service
...Because I enjoy listening to audio books and mp3 music, I purchased a ... Rio 800 128 MB that was under warranty. The unit unfortunately had a defective headphone jack, a problem with a simple solution. Obtain an RMA (return of merchandise authorization) number and send the unit back for repair.
...
5 Persistance Pays
I'm not a tech type, I bought the Rio 800 about 2 years ago, and found it incredibly difficult to use in conjunction with RealNewtworks. So it sat in a drawer until this week when I bought a new PC with XP. The Windows Media Player is a no brainer for downloading into the Rio - and my Rio is finally in action. I loaded a Rio 600 for a friend using WMP - same good results.
Gripe - the Rio headphones stink. When you opt for a new pair made by a different manufacturer (sony, jvc,etc) you need to keep the plug slightly unplugged to get music on both sides of the headphones, and it's basically mono, not stereo. Fully insert the pin and you get only one side working.
In terms of durability - it's a rugged little unit.
In terms of display - super small text on a wierd green bacground, I admit to having to use a magnifying glass to read it at times.
Battery life - no problems - the rechargeable gives me about 10 hours.
I share the annoyance of one of your previous reviewers that the backpack memory is treated like a seperate statistic, not combined with the basic memory.
So persistance paid off - I refused to buy another MP3 player until I could get this one working - it took Wimdows Media Player XP to do the trick.
6 DO NOT BUY THIS POS
THIS MP3 PLAYER IS ABOUT THE WORST PRODUCT I HAVE EVER OWNED. IT WORKS SPORADICALLY AND CUSTOMER SERIVCE FROM SONIC BLUE CHARGES YOU FROM DAY 91. THEY ARE AWFUL AND WILL NOT FOLLOW UP AS PROMISED. BY A COMPAQ NOMAD OR SAMSUNG MP3 PLAYER BUT TO BUY ANYTHING FROM RIO/SONIC BLUE YOU WILL BE SORRY. EXTREMELY SORRY.
7 Rio800 - Digital Thievery
I bought a Rio 800 in February and have used it seldom because it is junk. It has never worked well and the manufacturer couldn't care less. It discharges randomly then charges partially and at its best can't be used for more than an hour. The display is even more frustrating since it is impossible to see - it's sort of grey on blue and navigation is a trial. Please don't subject yourself to unwanted pain. Buy a different product.
8 No More Rio for Me
After buying 2 Rio 600s for my kids, which worked great, I figured I would get an 800 for myself. I pulled the Rio 800 out of the box and followed the directions before use. I was initially having problems getting MP3/WMA files loaded, but when they did, it sounded great. After a month of limited use, I started having problems hearing the vocal track. OK, SO HERE'S THE PROBLEM: I have made numerous attempts to contact the support department for the Rio 800, and I have sent many emails. No response. I have no problem with Rio products and I was willing to return my Rio 800 for another, or whatever it took to resolve the issue. However, I'm disappointed when a company doesn't respond to the paying customer. After reading several reviews I see this is an on-going problem. Sorry Rio, but you have lost my business and I recommend others look elsewhere.
9 Horrible product-Stay away from Sonicblue products
When you buy a product full of bugs and then face customer service that demands your credit card as after the first 90 days calls to support cost you [money]! Downloads through the RioPort software end up sounding horrible with squeals throughout. Don't download upgrades to the software as you will receive annoying requests to pay them even more money. ... The software is as buggy as the player. Plan on having to remove the backpack to shut it off as it freezes constantly. Regardless of what they tell you replace the Nickel Metal Hydride battery with one from [another store] as soon as possible. Whatever you do, buy a different MP3 player. Don't listen at your own risk.
10 Don't Bother
Although the idea is great, the product is horrible. I wasted over 200 dollars on this product. It broke after one day (no user misuse) The same happened to my roommate with her unit. Then after 2 weeks of trying to get Rio to fix it they finally tell me where to send it and a month and a half later, I still have not heard anything about the progress even after emailing them. I'm looking at different companys now, I will never go back to Rio.
11 FIX the Rio 800
Tech support,
I have owned my Rio 800 for one year before any problems developed.
And I think I have found the problems.
The problem IS NOT the battery as it is.
I tested my battery and it is fine after it is charged.
The problem is with the software in the Rio player's POWER SAVER MODE.
If the player is on long enough for the power saver time to shut it off, the player will not come back on at all- even if you remove the backpack and replace it.
When I turned the POWER SAVER off, the player played for 3 or 4 hours with no problems.
But when I powered the unit off, I could not just power it back on. I had to remove and replace the backpack for it to work, even though the POWER SAVER MODE was set to off.
Which means, the Rio unit is shorting out the battery.
(Before, I only had to charge the battery every other day and I would have the player on two and a half hours every day while working out.)
I hope this helped
12 Technology not there yet...
As an IT professional and an MP3 fanatic, I am thoroughly dissappointed in this product. With all the features and slick aesthetic appeal, one would think that this player would be "The One". Wrong.
After receiving my Rio800 in Jan '02, I immediately broke the annoying package open and dove right into the owners manual. While reading the manual, I surfed the Sonic Blue site. While clicking around to check things out, my Rio 800 was charging. After I clicked on my product link, the first thing that appears on their site is a notice about their faulty backpacks and chargers, Ah! I unplug the charger! (check this link):
...
So, giving them the benefit of the doubt I call their Customer Service department and they put me on a waiting list for their "new and improved" backpacks and chargers.
I finally received the equipment on 3/5/02 (remember I bought this thing in January!) After doing the calibration, firmware upgrade, software installation, and file downloads I finally tried it out.
Well, the sound was good. The headphones, forget about it. Spend an extra 10 bucks and get ear buds. In the end, the backpack they sent me is defective. After one day of use, it was heating up and was unresponsive when pressing any buttons. Needless to say, I'll be calling Sonic Blue on Monday.
We loose because this is the only rechargeable MP3 player for the price. The technology isn't there yet for this high-end player. If you can put up with the frequent battery changing, get a different player...
13 Not Good Choice! Get an Intel Personal 3000 MP3 Player!
First of all, the picture is misleading... It looks sleak and cool but it really doesn't... The Intel Personal Audio Player can be more the way you want it and the faceplates are a small cost! It also take forever to transfer songs from the computer to the MP3 Player, and I have a brand new Pentium 4 so it is't cause I have a poor quality computer. With the Intel Personal Audio Player, it takes a split second! Plus the SONICblue Rio 800 64MB Digital Audio Player had horrible features... It doesn't have good bass or treble control. Plus the sound isn't as clear as the Intel MP3 PLayer... Plus have you ever heard of the company SONICblue? Well Intel can assure you that you will have a quality MP3 Player...
14 Totally unreliable - plan on replacements
At first, I thought this product was great. Nice design, lightweight, easy to use. But three months later, I was on my second one because the battery wouldn't hold a charge (obviously a common complaint). The second one lasted six months until it froze, in the on position, during downloading. It wouldn't shut off unless the battery pack was removed.
Overall, the unit itself suffers from several problems. First, the battery life is low, and the battery meter is totally inaccurate - it may read that you are 93% charged yet quits in less than 10 minutes. Although the software is relatively easy to use and the player is very easy to use, downloading was sometimes a problem - freezing up, incomplete transfers, etc.
The sound quality overall was average at best - the main problem being that the headphones let in too much ambient noise. I tried to get replacements but had a problem finding ones that had decent bass quality.
I would not recommend this product unless you have a very good replacement plan or a lot of money to flush down the toilet.
It could be great, if only it were reliable.
15 Poor Product and Poorer service and Tech Support
Am about to send back my third RIO 800, as all three quit after a couple of hours. One was so hot during charging that it could be dangerous.
I emailed their Tech Support, they DO NOT answer. I emailed customer support. They advise they can do nothing and suggested tech support. I wrote to their corporate offices again nothing. Perhaps they are going under, so be careful!
I wanted to use the player, mainly, for audio books. I intend to write "Audible" and strongly suggest they no longer advertise anything from SonicBlue.
Amazon has been great, but I am also going to suggest the same to them. This makes them look bad.
I have lots more to say but you get the point. Don't waste your time or money. Lack of any support whatsoever should turn you off to this product and company.
16 Broke the first day I got it due to a known bug
They ship the Rio 800 with a power supply that will fry the Rio's Battery pack. Mine worked for 15 minutes and is now fried. After calling 3 different Tech support #'s, they offered to ship me a new battery pack and power supply free of charge, but I have to wait 3-4 weeks for it to arrive... Hopefully the Rio works OK when I finally get the battery pack. If it is a fantastic product, I will probably give it a few more stars. However.... 3 weeks to get a new battery pack??? Most companies will RMA stuff in 24 hours. SonicBlue's customer service leaves alot to be desired
17 So far, so good. Software registration could be simpler
This as my first MP3 player, I specifically bought it to listen to content from audible.com (so the price was very reasonable after I received my ...certificate from audible). So far I have not had any major problems, I did find that the software registration instructions were off kilter, there wasn't a "Register" link under the Help tab so I used the Purchase updates one and it worked with no charge. I use both the RioPort and Audible managers and I did encounter a problem with RioPort not seeing the player when I had both open at the same time, but once I refreshed then closed Audible it was fine. As far as the battery goes mine calibrated and is working fine lasting at least 8-10 hours. During my conversation (no charge during first 90 days of ownership) with SonicBlue support to order a replacement ac adapter as instructed on their website (since link is dead), the main problem with the ac adapter seems to be that it fits into the microphone jack and if you plug it in there you can cause serious damage to the unit. I have listened to several of the Robin Williams interviews, a book, and multiple songs transferred from CD and the sound quality is excellent. I did replace the included headphones with smaller over the ear ones ...only because of personal preference and not becuase anything is wrong with the included set.
18 Piece of junk
I ordered the player so that I could use it to listen to Audibles.com books. I received the first one and was impressed with what appeared to be a nice player. It worked for 2 hours before the sound went out. I tried to contact Sonic Blue for support and was told that they would talk to me for a $19.99 charge. Amazon's customer service was excellent and they sent me a replacement the next day,which lasted for about 1 hour before the battery died and will not hold a charge. I am going to suggest that Audible.com remove this from their list of suggested players and find a company with better quality control and a more reliable product.
19 alright
I can say that this Rio800 is pretty good, except for the battery thing. I went to the site and it said click on this to go to the form so you can get it mailed, but it said the page cannot be found.... Anyway, the software is not difficult to master, unless (no offense) you are an adult with no computer experience. The sound is nice and everything else is, so I gave it a four. I strongly recommend this to you and all of you who said this is flimsy, you are partially correct, but that just means that there is a bit of space between the parts of the MP3 player.
20 Find another digital audio player
This device is not worth the hassle. I returned the first one because it just didn't work and the second one is very flaky. The rechargable battery doesn't work correctly; the unit constantly reboots, and Sonicblue's technical support is non-responsive and not helpful.
I also have a Rio 500 and it is a much better choice for your money.
21 Don Not buy products from RIO
My experience has been terrible! First of all the recharger is worthless. The rechargable battery lasts for maybe an hour. I've done the battery reset, doesn't help. So ok, I put a regular battery in to get it to work, and on their site you can get the free recharger replacement. I filled out the form, it has been over a month, no response, no replacement part. Next problem, sound quality is horrible, My wma's and mp3's play perfect on my pc. I put them on the RIO and some songs skip, static, Just plain messed up. This is defective, and a friend with a RIO had same problem, at least they replaced his. I've sent RIO an email about this, no response. I called their support number, they want to charge $20 for support, but I couldn't even get through to them, said that it couldn't transfer my call. Now I noticed that the web page with the form to get your replaceable battery is link dead. So now I have a worthless piece of crap from a horrible company that won't support me. So basically I just flushed $200 down the toilet. Wasn't that fun. So just to let others no, save yourself soem money and buy one that works.
22 Customers as R&D
This product went to market too soon and you will pay for it in frustration. The rechargeable battery is problematic and the tech support is marginal at best. The product could be great but it seems to have some real quality problems. The original ac charger was recalled and the instructions for charging/calibrating the battery for the first time are incomplete. The remote is not precise, for example when you select the previous track button it goes forward. Maybe I got a "lemon" but I don't think so. If you buy it don't load the Real Player software, use Windows Media Player so that you can save more music in the "wma" format.
23 Not Bad!!
It seams that lost of people are having battery problems.... But if you go to the sonicblue website and order the free charger (use regular batteries while it ships) and there is no harm done to you player. It works great!
24 Great sound, the same battery issue
It is the 3 day for me to use Rio 800, my first MP3 player. So far except inaccuracy of battery meter, I haven't countered any problems with it. Earphones are of course awful. Sound quality is perfect. Rio turned out to be slightly bigger than I expected, but overall, I am satisfied with what I got.
25 SonicBlue support is the worst I've ever seen
I have a Rio 800 and read about a problem with the charger/adapter on the SonicBlue website. I submitted the online form a month ago and never heard back. I sent e-mail to customer support a few weeks ago and never heard back. Today I waited on hold for 30 minutes to get a customer support person who then gave me a different customer support number to call! That was an 800 number, but when they answer, they tell you the call will cost $19.95! I advise everyone to stay away from this company and get Apple's wonderful iPod. You will be much happier.
26 WHAT A PIECE OF GARBAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!
I seriously wish I could give it zero stars but I am not allowed to. This will be the very last time I will ever buy a Rio product. I currently have two Rio 800's that aren't functioning at all and both are about 2 weeks old. One of my Rio's doesn't even power up after charging and the other one now plays static instead of the music I put on it. It was actually working fine but when I removed the backpack to register the serial number and reattached it, it no longer plays music!!! The support line makes you wait for a long time and you will be eventually connected to some surfer dude impersonating a technical support rep. Don't be swayed by the cheap price for this hunk of junk. Spend a little more and get something that you know will work. The unit also appears cheap and flimsy. In my opinion the Rio 800 is nothing more than a paper weight.
27 DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT!!!!!!!!!!!
I was totally not please with the Rio 800. Within my second use of it a few things went wrong. First, the headphones started to malfunction.......I had to slightly pull out the plug to get both sides of the headphones to work, and then i couldnt get full volume or good quality sound. I tried another set of headphones thinking that the headphones were the problem but they didnt work either, so it was the outlet that was not working properly within two uses. Second, the + volume button was very temperamental only working some of the time. Third, i kept getting an error message saying that my device was not hooked up to the computer even though it was.......finally i could get it to work after about a hundred tries. Fourth, after having it for about a week, i find out that i am supposed to get a new battery charger for it because the one that i was sent was the old one and could ruin my player. Granted they will send it for free, but yet another hassle. So far i am not happy with the product at all and i would say DO NOT BUY IT!!!! I have emailed technical support to see about getting a new one shipped to me but i have not heard back yet, so we will see.
28 Horrible product, even worse customer support from SonicBlue
This product is riddled with problems... some crop up initially (mine didn't power on at all after initial charging with a supposedly new, "safe" adapter)... and many problems seem to crop up later, as reported here and elsewhere. Don't wait for yours to malfunction and for SonicBlue to run out of cash with which to refund you!
If you bought directly from Rio and are having trouble getting in touch with them, keep trying! It is because they are having so many problems with their products (and they don't care enough to hire more support staff to field calls/emails). Their email turnaround was 3 WEEKS for me, and I had no luck on the phone lines either, but I finally reached a real person on a Tuesday evening around 7:30pm EST .... You need your credit card info and needto be firm on the following: (1) you have been trying to get in touch with themfor a while, so you will not adhere to their 30 day maximum return policy, and(2) your product is malfunctioning, so you refuse to be subject to their 15% "restocking" fee. You will have to pay the shipping cost to send it back, butyou can ship anyway you want (go cheap). They will fully refund the purchaseprice ($...) to your credit card, and you can use the money to buy a morereliable player from a manufacturer who cares (and who will be around in thefuture in case something goes wrong). Good luck!
29 Terrible Quality
Purchased a Rio several months ago. The first thing I noticed about the device was how flimsy it was. The observation was later proven when one of the buttons snapped off with normal use. Customer service was of little help either. I ended up just throwing this stupid thing out. I then purchased a Creative Nomad 2C. Quality is a little better. It also died on me after a few months, but customer service was excellent. I will never purchase another SonicBlue product again, but I will purchase Creative's products in the future (though their products are kind of flimsy too).
30 Purchased 2, took back 2
Run away from Rio. I purchased 2 units, the first ran for a week, the second for about 1 hour before malfunctioning. Their customer support line is always buzy, tech support is always busy and they don't return e-mail requests for support....I would highly recommend another option. If you are purchasing a player to listen to [audio download] books, the Audible Otis is a great player, not only for books, but also music. It is also considerably less than most Mp3 Players. Additional memory also works quite well, allowing you to get about 2 unabridged books on the unit.
31 Excellent Product, RIO fixes battery issue
I believe this is the best Designed MP3 player on the market. Looks good, easy to use, nice menu. I did have battery problems, like most others. I went to Rio's site and they are sending me the fixed battery pack and charger for free. (This is for all owners of the RIO 800). Not to mention you can replace the rechargeable with a standard AAA battery. The software RIO writes isn't very good, i suggest using Windows Media Player (Latest Version) very easy to copy and delete from it, and use WMA's must smaller and better quality than MP3s. The battery was a set back, but I assume all new ones ship with revised battery, So in conclusion I recommend RIO.
32 Great player
I was a little worried after reading the posts about battery problems, but haven't encountered any problems. I've gone upwards of 4 hours without charging, and the indicator still indicates the battery is near full charge. I did have to calibrate it twice before it held a full charge (the limited instructions don't mention this).
The biggest dissapointment is the tinny uncomfortable headphones that come with it.
Sounds great! Use with an adapter in the car and it sounds as good or better than the CD. If you get the 64mb model, you'll be buying the memory upgrade soon.
33 Want to get... buy this product
I bought this MP3 player a month or so ago. When i opened it it was great so great i loved it. After a while i wanted to listen to a song but the sound quality was horrible. Then i went to another song and it was 3 minutes long. The MP3 player played 1 second of the song and then went to the next song. The only reason i gave this MP3 player 1 star was because when i went to the internet to find out what was wrong the company said that All Rio 800 had a malfuntion in the memory and rechargable battery. If you fill out a form they would send you a another backpack with a new rechargable battery and memory for FREE so i filled out the form and they are sending me new components.
34 THIS ONE DOESN'T EVEN DESERVE A "1"
What a disappointment...thought we could be one of the lucky ones...but, alas...our battery didn't hold a charge either - said it had 8 hours left...more like 8 seconds! The sound quality isn't what we expected either - some static and skipping. Instruction booklet is useless and the Riohome.com website is informationless!...
35 Rio 800 128MB - Big Quality Problem
SONICblue must have a big, big quality problem. I purchased the unit for my daughter and not able to get it up and running. The rechargeable battery won't hold a charge (or the charger is defective). I was impressed with the relatively large memory and sharp looks but without electricity.... I hope they get this figured out fast and take care of their customers.
36 Same story, different verse
My son who has had 2 MP3's could not get this one to work correctly. It has a buzzing sound. It looks like such a good product it is a shame it is apparently junk.
37 LUV MY RIO 800
I've had my Rio 800 for the last four months and have had zero problems with it. The sound quality is great. The voice recording was a plus. I haven't had any of the problems that everyone seems to be having. I love it, I love it, I love it. I'm one satisfied customer.
The one thing which I really didn't care for, but found that it was (to me) utterly useless was the Rio software. I'd suggest to anyone thinking about buying a Rio 800 that they use Windows Media Player 7 to load files onto their player. (...)
38 AMAZON + AUDIBLE. COM = BIG SAVINGS 4 YOU !
This is a great sounding player with many features, all detailed in other reviews. NO BATTERY TROUBLES AT ALL! But, as others have stated, YOU MUST follow the instructions and go through the calibration procedures, BEFORE you start using it.
....
39 Zero Stars
All started well, but within the 90 day period, the unit up and died. Trying reaching 'sonic blue'! You will never get through via phone, and will only get automated e-mail responses...
a complete waste of money.
40 This is the real deal
I didn't want to write a review until I had owned this item for
a while. The sound is excellent, the item holds up well, and
it recharges quickly. I would definitely recommend this player.
41 Lots of great features, what about audio quality?
I purchased the SONICblue Rio 800 64 meg due to having their first MP3 portable, the PMP 300. The PMP 300 had it's problems
and customer support needed to take a class or two. The Audio quality was unquestionable. 96kbps..pretty good. 128kbps was CD
quality for the most part. Now...we have the 800. It's forte' is
feature based, not function. There are readouts for everything,a
nice belt clip and many internal sub-sub menus. Yes there are
problems with the initialization and battery charge. It is worth it because it's an internal re-chargeable. There are pre-set EQ curves that are fine. Buy some good phones with a mini plug. Spend (some money) on some decent Sony Walkman phones (not blasters)you will thank yourself. Bottom line: I am a musician/producer, and my ears work pretty well. What gets ripped and encoded plays back
slightly different. I replaced the unit for another reason and the sound is still noticably different. I strongly suggest you try listening to material you are familiar with before you buy this. I can live with it,and the features almost make it worthwhile. If you are an audio purist you will notice this problem that I believe is a phase-relationship problem. That is the best way to describe the audio, slightly out of phase-thin.
Other than that, Rio (sonic blue) seems to have gotten every thing right except a few bugs and the SONIC problem.
42 awkward at first, but....
I decided to get the Rio 800, because I was tired of my walkman and changing the batteries and tapes. At first I had no clue as to how to download the music and transfer it onto the player. I couldn't copy the tracks from the CD's onto my player. But with practice, I got it right. This thing is really cool. There are some downfalls; even though I keep charging it daily, the battery was full, but by the end of the day, there was 4 hours left. Another downfall is that certain headphones aren't compatible with the player, like Sony's headphones. And the customer service is poor. I called a couple of times, and they were not helpful at all. All and all, I love my MP3 player, and now I don't have to worry about extra batteries or changing tapes, etc., because I know what songs I want on the player, and I can change my playlists. And one more thing, it comes with a case for people like me who constantly drop things.
43 Well Reseached and found the perfect one
I have reasearched Mp3 players since they came out and after buying 5 of the most praised and quiality products on the market I have concluded that the rio 800 is the best overall in the range of quality, sound and quality of memory. It has also been proven to excel in efficency in battery life. I bought 3 and gave them as gifts and keeped one for myself. Rio made one of the first or if not the first Mp3 player on the market so there product quality should be exceptional.
44 Can't Trust SonicBlue
I don't own the Rio 800 but I did own a Rio 500. I am writing this to warn others of the problems of dealing with this poorly run company. My Rio 500 died. I sent it back--they sent me another. It didn't work. I sent the second one back--they sent me a Rio 600 which is a piece of junk. This happened over a period of 3 months! Don't trust them, they're customer service is lousy. I finally bought an Iomega HipZip and I love it. Everything sounds better on a HipZip and the Music Match software is much better than Rio Port.
45 Excellent!!! Best Digital Audio on the Planet!!!
I recently got this fine piece of equipment in order to solidify my vast love of MP3. I read both horror and love stories about this machine, and was worried as it arrived. I popped it out of the box and begin reading the manual. (AS ALL SHOULD DO BEFORE COMPLAINING ABOUT IT) I calibrated the batter and installed the software... This was all a stupidly easy process and anyone who screws it up is like the process.. or didn't ...!!! I'm sure that some of you out there did get defective models. But, I didn't. As for the battery... I've had this for 2 1/2 weeks and only charged it 3 times including calibration and I use it very heavily. Its small, stylish, light, and the sound quality is the BEST on the market. So don't have any qualms before purchasing this product!!! It is an excellent investment!
46 Broken
I recieved a Rio for a birthday present and I thought it was a great gift until I opened it and it didn't work. I sent it back thinking that it was a mishap and upon recieving my second one, one week later it just stopped working. I think the idea of downloading music is great but the Rio800 needs to be revised as a product.
47 possibly unusable out of the box, but ok once working
this is my first MP3 player; i wanted something that would work with itunes with little or no fuss.
i did the battery-charging calibration thing- yes it's damn annoying to have to wait 5 hours before you can play with your new toy!
but despite the calibration going ok i immediately ran into the same problems described in other reviews: the unit randomly shuts itself off or will "freeze" and only reboot if the memory-battery pack is removed and re-mounted. for a new piece of somewhat pricey electronics to do this out of the box is almost unforgivable.
i upgraded the firmware to v1.56 from riohome.com. this seems to make things better; itunes uploads quickly and with no fuss. and it looks like it's actually monitoring the battery level now, and has run all day without a random shutoff or freeze.
my classical audio files encoded at 160kbps sound very ok, with little hiss or distortion, and i can transfer about 60 minutes of music into it in under 2 minutes.
the headphones that come with it are almost instruments of torture; while they look cool, they hardly fit my overlarge head and spear the insides of your ears after a few minutes. very uncomfortable.
they made some odd ergonomic decisions, including a cute oval-shaped display window that actually cuts off part of what you can see.
48 Needs Improvement
I just got this player yesterday and already it doesn't seem to be working. I calibrated the battery and this morning when I started using it, the device powered-off after the first hour. So, I am recharging it as we speak. The design is okay. The device looks better than it really is. The software is terrible because it isn't intuitive. The documentation, Help Topics or the User Guide, that comes with the package are terribly written. I have also heard a lot of other people complaining about the battery. I certainly hope I do not have the same problem. Other than the problems aforementioned, the player is OKAY.
49 Battery/Charger DOA
I bought this for my wife and have been sorely disappointed.
The first problem I had was the PACKAGING. It comes in a moulded plastic, blister pack type package, and the CDROM containing the software was WARPED all to hell. I laid it on a flat piece of steel in the sun for a while to get it to relax enough to get it to fit into a CDROM drive. I was eventually able to copy the files off the disc, but I wouldn't recommend this procedure to the average consumer.
Next problem...
Either the built-in battery that came with the unit is defective (can't hold a charge), or the charger or software that controls the charging are defective. I have "recalibrated" the battery sevearal times, upgraded the firmware (from the company's web site), and removed and reseated the memory/battery unit repeatedly. The result is the same: charge the thing up to 100% and set it aside; a few hours later or the next day, it will NOT power up at all. Plug it into the wall adapter for a few seconds, suddenly it will boot up. Remove it from the adapter and get the battery status, and it reports 100% charged, with approx. 11 hours of play time. Yeah right... 2 minutes later, it is dead.
Judging from the other DOA and FUBAR problems reported in the other Amazon reviews, I would not recommend buying this product. Wait until they either start testing the units before selling them, or until they lose all their business to competitors.
Meanwhile, I'm off to the electronics parts place to buy a replacement rechargeable NiMH battery to see if that's the problem. If that doesn't fix it, my poor wife is going to have to suffer the [terrible] customer service that others have endured.
What a waste of $$$ I wish I'd have bought the Intel product instead.
50 Almost Perfect
This is an awesome device. It is very small and plays high quality music in mp3 format. The only fault I see with it is the voice recorder. It is almost inaudible (maybe this one is defective). I was picturing a voice memo recorder that would be as clear as a tape recorder. I guess I will just use it for music.
51 Good - but not perfect.
The RIO 800 was my second MP3 player, my first being the RIO 300. I am disappointed that my flash cards for the 300, do not work in any way on other models, but I soon got over it.
The sound on the Rio 800 is great, no complaints there.
MY main complaint is the software. I run an older computer on Windows 95, and there is no way I can put songs on my Rio. They do not make a version of the software for Rio 800 Windows 95 users. They claim Win95 doesn't support USB, but on *MY* CD it says "Windows 95 With USB Support For PCs". So I'm left with the same songs until I go to a friends to change them.
That itself loses one star, but the player itself has few flaws, the main one I found was that turning up the volume required pressing the button only in the top right corner, anything else is ignored.
52 Great product, aweful software, slightly shoddy feeling
For the person complaining of the 'battery leak', I experienced the same thing. But it was fixed after I ran a battery calibration. As to the product, I LOVE it! Some minor annoyances: 1)The actual product is slightly shoddy-feeling. I can't put my finger on it, but the feel of the plastic, the buttons, etc., isn't as tight as it could be (whatever that means). 2)The headphones suck. I replaced them immediately. 3)The software is awkward, buggy, and aweful. I use MusicMatch and it is pretty good. Haven't used the Microsoft thing yet.
The other annoying thing is really about the company: They released 64 MB and 384 MB(256 internal, 128 external), and for the longest time that's all they had. I wanted the 256 internal memory without having to get the expensive extra 128, but a 256 internaly-only version doesn't exist. Of course, a month after buying the 64 MB version, out comes a 128 MB version (which I would have loved to get!). *sigh* It feels like they're trying to finagle me into buying one version and a few months later come out with an unannounced version w/ more memory. Oh well.
53 Rio 800
Great player Pro's upgradable, style, voice recorder, lcd screen with delete options, random mode. Built in Battery charger. Case is great with belt clip one of the best this is what Intel Pocket Concert lacks a nice way of carrying your player while you exersize. However the case changed on the 800-128 and its now a cheap material case with a plastic window not the padded tight custom fitting synthetic leather case that comes with the 800-64. This is a rip off if you have the rio 800-128 because the 800-64 case is a thousand times nicer. There is also a remote control thats really nice and it only comes with the Rio-64 Con's What happens if you battery needs to be replaced. your screwed it not upgradable. (After 40-6 to 8 hours days of charging and using my battery has lost is zeal).Rio Support sounded like they have never heard of this problem, however I believe it inherent in every 800 that made if you use it enough it will not last. But wait because after a couple of weeks the audio will degrade so that you will hardly be able to hear it. then music will be such a Rio's software for administration and loading mp3 is really cappy Stick to hardware and provide a superior service to your customers. Forget the software, use Real Jukebox. If you buy this make sure you buy it with an extended warrenty because sooner or latter you will be sending it back. Its just a matter of time.
54 Great Player, Even greater with third party Software
I have had this player now for almost three weeks and it works perfectly for me. My only problem is the software on the computer, what ever happened to drag and drop capabilities. Though there are several third party alternatives.
Other than that I am extremely happy with my Rio. It never skips and with the USB it has an extremely fast transfer rate. It only takes me about 2 minutes to copy over all my songs that I want to listen to.
I would highly recommend this product to any one. I have had no problems with it to this point.
55 WARNING: The RIO 800 has a BATTERY LEAK issues
The Rio800 claims to have +10 hours of battery life, but it has a serious leakage problem when the device is powered down. I would recharge the battery to 100%, unplug the charger, and leave the device powered down for a day or two. When I come back the battery level is at less than 50%. ... The whole 10+ battery life is a load of crap...
Don't take my word for it, go out and pay for one and see for yourself...
BTW, the software package is horrible... use Window's Media Player instead.
56 Awesome player, horrible earphones.
I think the player is excellent. Sound quality, ease of use and absolutely no problems with the software or transferring songs. Downloads are very fast and all options are easy to use. The only thing keeping the fifth star away is the earphones that came with it. They are horrible and terribly painful. Once you get a different pair, you are on easy street. Oh, and one other thing, I almost lost a finger or two trying to open the package it came in. Be careful.
57 Great player...if it works
I ordered a Rio over a month ago. When I first got it there was a strange glitch in the sound, certain frequencies seemed almost completely cut out (in the vocal range) which led to some terrible sounding music. It sounds like at least one other person here had the same problem. Other than this the player was great, everything I wanted and more. The sound was even very good, within the range that it could play.
Long story short: due to the fact that I ordered directly from SONICblue it took 20+ days for me to get a return authorized and I didn't want to go through this again. Hopefully the Nomad II MG that's on the way turns out better.
58 Terrible MP3, Do Not Buy!
I bought this MP3 player 2 months ago, and I bought it thinking I would have the best one on the market. When I opened the box,I raced to the computer and installed the software. When I first listened to the music, the sound Quality was terrible, I couldn't believe my ears! I had spent almost 300$ on this worthless item! Take my word for it and DO NOT BUY!
59 GREAT player, TERRIBLE software
the rio 800 exceeds expectations on sound, ease of use, battery life, and aesthetics. i was one of the first rio 300 users, and did not finally upgrade till i saw the 800. the main features i found appealing were:
1) 64MB memory, plenty of memory for more than 12 songs
2) rechargeable battery, probably one of the main reasons...i can't even count how many AA batteries i have gone through with my rio 300
3) USB support, much faster transfers than with a serial port...too bad most PCs only come with 2 USB ports though.
4) ability to record - great for note taking, phone numbers, etc.
my main points of complaint revolve around the overengineered and hard to use software. to transfer files to your rio, you must first drag files from explorer into the player in a "database" and then drag that onto your player. with the old software, this was a one step process. also for whatever reason i can't reorder the songs on my rio. i'll probably figure it out, but with the old software all you had to do was drag the song up or down. secondly, the software is way too commercialized and is not nearly as lightweight as it should be. other than that, the rio 800 is a great upgrade. one other thing, my old rio 300 still works fine despite having been dropped many times (hey, i had it since '98)...we'll see how well the 800 holds up.
60 Love My Rio!
I waited five weeks to get my back-ordered Rio. The wait was worth it. I haven't left my home without a new daily playlist that takes me only a few minutes to create with the great Sound Jam for Mac software. Like any electronic device it takes a little time to get familiar with all the buttons and methods of the gadget. The sound is great. It's feather light. The rechargeable battery is quick and reliable. It will take those not well versed in CD burning and ... downloading a couple of hours to learn and you may need a little help from someone who knows more about these processes. But once you get the hang of it, it is a music lover's dream. However, they can definitely improve on the earphone design and its cord. If you love traveling with music, walking and excercising with customized song lists and have had enough of the hassles of portable CD players' sizes and skipping problems, you will not be disappointed.
61 3rd player??
Well lets just say this product is a joke. Two weeks after I bought the first player, it devolped an echo sound and seemed like only half of the audio was there. So I exchanged it for my 2nd player. Less than a week later, the same problem reappeared. Yesterday, I received my 3rd player and there is no backlight display. There won't be a fourth....
62 Fantastic sound and great performance.
It was between the Nomad II MG, the Nike PSA 120 or souped up PSA60, and the Rio 800.
I chose the Rio for the quality, the hipness, and the one time fee of having plenty of memory and a rechargeable battery.
The downside is the price seems steep for a high end Walkman, and the additional unique memory packs make me feel like a sucker - until the price comes down.
The battery charges very quickly and all the features work very well. The bass is strong and the sounds are crisp, especially with the best made MP3s off Napster. And the prices for used Rios on Ebay make me handle the longer term prospects of getting an upgrade.
Please note that Intel has a 128mb player coming out soon for 299. It seems like it has everything, but it doesn't look nearly as cool as the Rio 800. The headphones say "Intel" largely on the sides. And I like a little more rebellion and to be cooler when I listen to music.
The Rio 800 software has some bugs that make organizing MP3s a minor hassle. However, the USB transfer is fast. I do know that the software that Creative issues for the Nomad is far better.
And if you want the Rio for jogging, buying a Nike PSA 60, with an additional 64mb of memory(making it 96MBs), and getting a rechargeable battery and charger will lead you to an equal price to a Rio 800. It is just not as simple as the Rio 800.
For the newcomers like myself to MP3 players, I am very pleased with the Rio 800. It is a solid product that I know will have continual value for working out, jogging, and be a great companion for your music needs on the go.
63 Dead on arrival
The Rio 800 I ordered didn't work - no display, no backlit, not a thing. So I immediately called Technical Support, walked them through the problem and they agreed the unit was defective. I was asked to email customer service, quoting a case id #, asking for a replacement unit and an airbill to cover the expense of the return of the defective unit.
So, I sent off my email and waited. I waited some more.
I called customer service and was told to wait a little longer - the customer service rep actually said "we only have a couple of guys answering email and they can only get through about 50 emails a day."
So I waited some more. And some more.
After a week I called customer service again. Nothing had been done, they'd lost my email. I'm returning the unit and will buy a player from a different manufacturer.
Maybe Rio is a good company with good products but I saw no evidence of that and would recommend you wait a bit until some of the initial problems with the Rio 800 are resolved and Rio gets it's act together. The Rio 800's styling is great but what good is that if it doesn't work and the support is bad?
64 64MB is a must
The Rio 800 is a tad pricey, but 64 MB really is a necessity. The 32 MB on the other models really is very little compared to the amount of music most people want to have accessible. Plus, it's expandable!
65 WOW, thank god, something that works...
Well I'm Impressed...I had recieved the rio "600" for christmas...it was cool...stylin headphones...but it broke within 3 days...and i'm not particularly rough on my electronics, So i return it...get another one...same stylin headphones...luvin the music...broke in a week...grrr...i go for it one last time...and this time i buy the extra backpack to give me even more listening pleasure...when this one started skipping i was completely and utterly fed up...I had to wait for 3 weeks before i could finally get a Rio "800" because i had to shop around for one in stock. I finally got this baby home, and I am almost glad the others didn't work...I don't think i could ever be this happy with the 600. The sound quality is superb and I am happy with the remote...works well to conceal this baby and still have control over the volume...Buy this...
66 TIGHT
Ok, first off: This is TIGHT... just look at it, it looks great(that's good because there are so many tacky ones out there). The quality is even beter than the looks. This is a MUST buy, MUST hear MP3 player. It's the best out there and an outstanding price for its quality. It is a bit pricey, but think about it, it's not going to get outdated. It will always be great. And MP3 players are one time deals. Its good, all the way around.
67 Didn't work
I bought this product, the power kept going on and then off. Finally frustrated I returned it. I had the original Diamond Rio 500 so I figured this would be as good, but it was not. Returning something that does not work is never fun.
68 THE BEST THING IN THE WORLD
THE RIO 800 US THE BEST MP3 PLAYER ON THE MARKET. BEST FOR ITS PRICE, GREAT SOUND QUALITY, EASY CONTROLS, EASY TO USE REMOTE, USB IS VERY FAST. CARRYING CASE, AND EVERYTHING. THIS MP3 PLAYER WILL TAKE OVER THE MARKET SO GET ONE FAST. ONE NOTE. THE SOFTWARE SENT SORT OF MESSES UP THE NAMES OF YOUR SONGS.
69 Watch out, nomad 2!
Wow! That was all I could say when I first heard about the rio 800! It had all the features of the nomad 2 except for the fm radio feature, which wasn't such a big thing anyway. This has plenty of features. However, I only gave it 4 stars because it wasn't as great as I expected. Yes, it does have a recharger. On a 2.5 hour charge, it can last 11 hours without another recharge. I haven't confirmed this yet, but it sounds pretty decent. One warning about the rechargable battery - the first time charge program needs to be better implemented. It says "It will recharge for x more minutes." It starts at 300. But the first time I tried it, it stopped around 190 and said it was done. Then the battery ran out after 30 minutes. So I tried again. This time it was successful, except after about 150 it stopped displaying how much was left. It said "It will recharge for more minutes." Not too helpful. Well, enough about the batteries. The interface itself is pretty nice. It has a high-res backlit display. (I think the resolution is of that of a gameboy!) The menu system is pretty nice. Just keep in mind that it has a 10 second startup time once you turn it on. Also, from here you can record information. Although the record feature is usefull, it is not a unidirectional microphone, so it will only record what you say directly into it. Back to the interface, it contains about 10 eq presets, plus you can make a custom bass/treble setting if you prefer. It also supports multible playlists that are editable. (I use one for music, and another for comedy music.) The usb interface is simple, just plug it in to the rio and then to your computer. The rio software is slightly difficult, it takes a bit of getting used to. Finaly, the remote is a good feature, but not well implemented. The contacts on it are so that if you turn the headphones going into it a certain way, the sound gets messed up. (I don't know the reason for this.) It's a nice player for someone entering the portable mp3 market, but don't throw out your rio 500 just for the 800's extra features.
