Rio 600 or MP3 CD Player?

[KnickNut3]

Hey guys. Underneath my tree this morning I found a RIO MP3 player. It has 64 MB memory. I was wondering, since I kind of wanted an MP3 CD player and could exchange, which of these two would be would be better, at least for me?

For my uses of listening to music, I don't listen to it that often, but when I do it's usually for a decent length of time (i.e. cutting a few lawns for a few hours, long road trips, etc.) I calculated that with this 64 MB and me using 192kbps compression, I'd only fit about 12 songs - about an hour. Not enough for my one trip.

How long does the Rio take to load the 64MB via USB? If it's really fast, I could consider running back into my house, but if that's not a good option...

If trading it in is better for my case, what kind of MP3 CD player would you suggest? I could spend as much as the MP3 player ($150), and I'm looking for a good one on which it would display the file names and things like that, instead of it just numbering the songs 1 to 200.

Thanks for any and all suggestions. I love the thought (they don't mind at all if I return it, BTW ), and they chose that for me simply because it was a step up technologically. If only it had a nice 200 MB on it .

Thanks again for all suggestions.

 

[Mungla]

If it's anything like my 500, you can add a 64MB CF card in the external bay on the device and get a total of 128MB.

 

[RoninRXN]

Neither. Go minidisc.

However, between those two...Rio 600. I HATE MP3 CD players. They're bricks. Damn things are HUGE. Yes, they might get thinner but still...they're the size of a CD...which is MASSIVE compared to a minidisc.

 

[KnickNut3]

Apparently the memory add-on packs cost more than the unit itself! My friends got it quoted for me and another 64 MB was like $175...

 

[randomlinh]

in this case, i would have to say go w/ the mp3 cd player if you don't mind the size. you'll be mowing lawns, so the shock protection should be enough. and long trips.. ditto. but it all depends on how the mp3 cd player feels for you... that thing really is a brick. MD's are unfortunately expensive (ok, maybe if you don't try to go for the high end one.. heh.. but they are so slim..)

 

[Phuz]

Anything that requires flash/smart media plainly just isn't good enough. ~700mb isn't good enough, how will 64/128 be?




<< Neither. Go minidisc >>



Mini disc isn't worth it because real-time-encoding is disgusting. They have their advantages, but mp3s are out of their league.
This is only my opinion after owning one, btw.

mp3 cd players are the only way to go. I just picked up a Rio-Volt. Finally. Should have got one the day they came out. Amazing units, smaller than most CD players (WHO CARES ABOUT the sizes of other units, its a DIFFERENT PEICE OF ELECTRONICS) I'm also really impressed with how well built it is.

I average 100 songs per CD (all 192), and pay .30 for a CD..
hmmm...

 

[KnickNut3]

Does the Rio-Volt include a display with names on it or are they numbered?

Sorry... it ends up the MP3 add on is only 60 bucks. Still a lot though.

How much can you get on one Minidisc, if you use MP3s or WMAs? That could be a viable option. Which one would you suggest in that case? I don't want to spend more than $150-$175. I know the minidisks are a few bucks each, but aren't they rewritable?

Sorry for all the questions - I just have so many options

 

[KnickNut3]

Then there's always the Nomad Jukebox, though that's a little pricey, though then I don't have to worry about additional purchases.

Also, what was that you said about the encoding being a pain? Thanks.

 

[KnickNut3]

So I guess I've got four options:

1) My Rio 600. Could add on pack for $180 total.
2) MP3 CD Player. $90-$140.
3) Minidisc Player. $150 Minimum
4) Nomad. $200

Each has its advantages and disadvantages.

 

[KnickNut3]

Well, I guess 1 is not really a great option for me.

That leaves Minidiscs or MP3 CDs. You get smaller size with Minidiscs, but cheaper and easier to make in MP3 CDs. Then again, if I'm going to spend the money and don't care about the size I could get a Nomad and combine both worlds. AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!

Thanks for any other suggestions to help me . Is it true you have to rename every file as it's transfering to your Minidisc and all? I'm not exactly sure how that works.

 

[Phuz]

Mp3/CD players are really only the way to go.


The Rio Volt has a good sized LCD, full track and ID3 tag support, aswell as winamp playlist (NICE).


The problem with ones like the nomad, is that due to the HD, there is serious battery suckage.

All HD based units have horrible battery play with the exception of the iPod. And even thats bad...

 

[KnickNut3]

That makes sense. I can probably eliminate that Nomad. I'm leaning toward MP3 CDs. Now, with that Rio Volt, how do you choose the song you want to play? Do you cycle through alphabetically?

Additionally? You can load up playlists? What do you do, make the playlist, then write it onto the CDs with the MP3s, then load the playlist?

 

[GigaCluster]

If you get an MP3-type player, please make sure that its firmware is upgradeable. An amazing open-source new music format is about to come out -- you want to make sure that your player can support it in the future.

 

[Squisher]

Personally I would think about trading that rio 600 for another mp3 player that takes regular expansion cards. This one at K-marts comes with a 64mb and 2 expansion slots, 192mb total. Mp3s are a lot smaller, lighter, no moving parts so it uses up batteries at a slower rate.

 

[Phuz]

You can browse directories and folders, or you can execute playlists.

After upgrading the firmware on my Rio I gained 10+ more features and tweakables that just put the icing on the cake..

I can't say enough about it so far..

 

[LiQiCE]

MiniDisc is nice, but you're going to have to spend more money for a good unit. The newest units from sony have a technology called NetMD which allows for high speed USB transfers at up to 32X (its like burning a CD at 32X except 1 minidisc can hold 160 minutes of CD Quality music, 320 minutes if you dont care about quality as much... So it would take double or quadruple the time to fill a Minidisc than it would to fill a CD at 32X ...) NetMD is a really promising technology that could very well push MiniDisc into the mainstream US market (its already a mainstream item in Japan). I own a MiniDisc player that cannot do NetMD, (only records in realtime), but can do ATRAC3 encoding which allows for the 160 minute and 320 minute recordings on 1 80 minute MD and its really nice. the $2.00 media is really cool too, bring 20 MDs with you and you can carry your entire CD collection around... all in your pocket. A portable NetMD player+recorder will probably run you around $300 though, thats the painful part.

If MiniDisc isn't your game, and size isn't a big deal than MP3 CD players are the way to go. You need a CD Burner, but the amount of music you can store on 1 disc is great, plus you can bring a couple extra discs with you for hours and hours of listening. The price is right too at around $100-150. If size is an issue, you can consider the new 3" MP3 CD players which hold roughly 300 Megs per disc.

A good MP3 CD player is the Slim X by iRiver who made the original Rio Volts (all models).
Here's a link to info on that player: Link

Update: Here's the American page for iRiver - Link
Update 2: You can buy the iRiver SlimX for $199 from here: Link
They claim that with a future firmware upgrade Ogg Vorbis, MP3 Pro and other CODECS will be available, so it sounds like a promising player (WMA, MP3, and ASF are already supported).

 

[KnickNut3]

Thanks! I'm enjoying my options.

 

[randomlinh]

yeah, MD you're going to have to shell out more than you probably want to. Just waitin for the money (or sony points ) to get one... by that time i can look at the netmd.

anyway, Phuz, you might not care how big it is, but for me, anything cd sized is too big. that iriver thing is probably the closest i'd ever come to getting. Now if he doesn't care for the size, then go for the mp3/cd player.

 

[Pabster]

I can vouch for the SlimX, it's a real beauty.

You can't believe how slim and lightweight it is until you get your hands on it. Even with the batteries and a disc inside.

While some might still consider it "big" (compared to a Rio or other pocket-size device), it's slim enough to fit in a pocket (and it won't pull your saggy jeans down )

 

[KnickNut3]

Thanks. Right now I'm torn between the SP250 and the iSlim. I especially like the LCD on the remote, so you don't even have to take it out of your pocket

 

[Phuz]

I give iRiver great credit for developing such a slim unit (hehe), i still really dislike side mounted buttons and have had dealing with them in the past
LCD remote is nice tho.

I had the cash to go for the SP250 but I decided against it.

Too little features for the extra cash.

I'd like to point out how good Rio Volt is for firmware too. This rev is two updates ago, All sorts of new features and customizations! I was pretty impressed.

Latest firmware added: Reduced gap between tracks, Reduced mechanical noise between tracks, Reduced disk recognition time for faster loading,Support WinAmp playlists (.m3u), and a few more.

 

[monto]

personally i'd avoid a mp3 cd player at all costs...i use mp3 players (solid state smartmedia) during public transportation, walking to class, and exercising, and all the cd based players i've tried skip like hell, no matter how big the buffer

not to mention i'd rather not waste discs burning mp3s, i always waste hundreds on other stuff

the biggest gripe is the size, however, cause it's just so damned huge...i'm thinking with technology advances, things should get smaller, and a huge-ass cd player isn't helping that

 

[RoninRXN]

<< Anything that requires flash/smart media plainly just isn't good enough. ~700mb isn't good enough, how will 64/128 be?




<< Neither. Go minidisc >>



Mini disc isn't worth it because real-time-encoding is disgusting. They have their advantages, but mp3s are out of their league.
This is only my opinion after owning one, btw.

mp3 cd players are the only way to go. I just picked up a Rio-Volt. Finally. Should have got one the day they came out. Amazing units, smaller than most CD players (WHO CARES ABOUT the sizes of other units, its a DIFFERENT PEICE OF ELECTRONICS) I'm also really impressed with how well built it is.

I average 100 songs per CD (all 192), and pay .30 for a CD..
hmmm... >>



True...I have both. But I still prefer minidisc. Real time encoding is gone with the intro of the NetMD (Sony MZ-N1)....and even if it wasn't, you can get a USB cord for a regular MD recorder and it'll do the track marks for you automatically.

Who cares about the size of other units? True, it is another thing...but it does the same function. I will never go back to anything that uses CDs since they're huge.

 

[RoninRXN]

Also...for those of you concerned about price...

Sony MZ-N1 = $350
Sony MZ-R909 = $270
Sony MZ-R900 = $240
Sony MZ-R700 = $180
Sony MZ-R500 = $150

...although I don't recommend either of the MZ-R700 or 500 since they come with craptacular remotes.

 

[randomlinh]

and they have the ugly battery bulge but again, my own opinions. (500/700)

this summer there should be three new models of the netMD for the US market... ranging from $200-$350 i believe.. or 250 and up.. don't remember.