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photograph: Rick Rizner
Rio Rio Karma 20GB MP3 Player (Rio-90260461)
| Features | Very good |
| Ease of Use | Very good |
| Capacity | 20GB hard drive |
| Memory card slot | None |
| Formats supported | MP3 VBR, WMA, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC |
| Voice recording | No |
| Battery | Fixed rechargeable lithium ion |
| Software | Rio Music Manager software |
| Other features | Docking station has RCA line-outs and ethernet port |
| Policies | 90-day parts and labor warranty; 14-hour weekdays, 9-hour weekends toll-call support |
Rio Karma
Rio Karma 20GB MP3 Player (Rio-90260461) Review, by Tom Mainelli February 24, 2004
While most vendors rush to cram more stuff into their hard-drive-based MP3 players--from FM receivers and transmitters to voice recorders and miscellaneous digital inputs--Rio takes a different tack with its Karma. The device comes with a handsome cradle that lets you skip the chore of constantly reconnecting the USB 2.0 and AC adapter cables to the player. The cradle's ethernet port allows you to add the device to a network, assign it an IP address, and move its files to and from your LAN. The cradle also has dual RCA ports so you can connect it directly to your component-style stereo system.
The Karma certainly won't beat Apple's Ipod in any beauty contests, but the somewhat squat-looking device fits well in your hand, and its manageable dimensions and weight (3 inches high by 2.7 inches wide by 1.1 inches deep and 5.5 ounces) make it relatively easy to pocket. An intuitive scroll wheel, Riostick mini-joystick , and menu key on the right side make accessing the unit's contents easy, even when you're on the move (and southpaws can flip the screen orientation).
Our biggest criticism of the unit's exterior involves the plastic faceplate's tendency to scratch. After a few days of light use, we had marked up the unit noticeably--a situation not helped by Rio's decision to forgo a case in favor of a silly cloth pouch that resembles a sock with a drawstring.
Transferring files to the Karma requires one of two programs: the bundled Rio Music Manager 2 or Real Network's free downloadable RealPlayer. We used Music Manager and found the process of moving nearly 18GB of MP3s onto the Karma relatively painless and speedy. The software can rip and encode CDs into all of the Karma's supported codecs, including Windows Media, Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC), and the geek-savvy Ogg Vorbis (MP3 encoding requires a free download from the Rio Web site that should be available by the time you read this). Rio Taxi, another bundled program, lets you transfer data files to and from the player.
Beyond its sound quality (rated at an impressive signal-to-noise ratio of 95 dB) the Karma's greatest strengths are its clear display and comfortable interface, which make it easy to search for music by artist, album, track, playlist, genre, or year. A feature of particular note is the Rio DJ, an immensely enjoyable tool that automatically generates playlists based on parameters you set, such as your most recently added tracks, songs you've had in heavy rotation, or even stuff you've forgotten about. Other interesting features include the ability to create and save your own custom playlists--mixing and matching your favorite tunes--away from your PC, an equalizer with numerous presets, and a programmable cross fader.
Music sounded crisp, clear, and plenty loud through the included Sennheiser MX300 earbuds, which are a small step above what vendors usually include with players. Similarly, the Karma's rechargeable battery was a notch more powerful than the norm: One charge lasted for more than 14 hours of continuous playback in our tests.
Upshot: Unique features like Rio DJ, the ethernet connector, and support for multiple codecs--plus excellent sound quality and battery life--compensate for this attractively priced unit's shortcomings (such as no FM receiver, remote, or case).
Tom Mainelli
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User Reviews
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User Reviews From Around the Web
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Reviewed by: riodowner
Strengths: Great sound, good battery life, nice feel...
Weaknesses: unreliable, poor screen visibility, flimsy, no customer support for the hardware
Overall: initially I returned the unit 3-times due to malfunctions, including a creashed drive. It worked for about a year, when suddendly the drive crashed, it is cheaper to replace thean fix. I would never buy a RIO product again...
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Reviewed by: bradlightner
Strengths: Mine has always worked.
Weaknesses: I don't know of any.
Overall: My experience over 9 months of use is that it plays and plays and plays. I have over 4500 mp3's on mine and have never had a problem! I walk three miles every day with it in my pocket, flying around and I take it out in my boat fishing. Great product!Brad
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Reviewed by: 7trent7
Strengths: lots of nice features
Weaknesses: hard drive issues and power on/off issues
Overall: This unit has a 3 month warranty and mine will not power off or on manually anymore and is only 6 months old. when it worked i thought it was great but now i have an mp3 player less than a year old that is useless. when i wrote to the support they said it probably needed to be re-placed and mentioned the 3-month warranty. great.
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Reviewed by: newreviewer
Strengths: Signal-to-noise ratio, capacity, battery-life, eq settings, overall sound quality
Weaknesses: Red-dot joystick could be better engineered, easily-scratched screen, standalone playlist creation, little or no support from manufacturer, no replaceable battery
Overall: The other reviewers must have got a bad batch hard drives. I've owned this player for 3 months, without any problems; no resets and no hard drive problems. Currently have 680 tracks/10 playlists on the player, with 15.4gb left on hard drive! Mostly use WMA VBR and WMA lossless codecs, with fantastic sound quality. If you are an audiophile and searching the market for a decent player with good capacity this 'older' player should not be overlooked. One recommendation: [for any player] invest in good quality 3-party earbuds/headphones...this can make all the difference in the world (Sony MDR-EX71 are very good).
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Reviewed by: iconcilio
Strengths: Easy to use, good sound quality, good software, good battery life. Fantastic price for 20G.
Weaknesses: A little thick (as lots of people are), no (usable) case (nor any third party venders).
Overall: I don't know if there are quality issues with the unit - I certainly haven't seen any so far and take it to the gym, work, in the car, and biking. No other 20G units (including iPod refurbs) are within $50 of the Karma. I'm not sure why Rio stopped making this unit (I suspect a small 20G Carbon will be here soon - thus the low price) - seems like a great product. The size is a little thick compared to the iPods, but similar to the Zen and others. I initially was thinking about returning it and getting an iPod or Mini iPod, but it really is a great unit at a great price. I've matched it with some NexxTech neck wrap headphones (also grey/black) which have excellent quality and good for sports/outside activity. My biggest complaint is no case/clip, etc. The third party venders are either cheap looking or really expensive. The software is good - I'm still learning to use it. Unlike my RCA Lyra 256K, the Karma is not accessed as a removable disk - I still haven't learned how to use the computer to playback off the Karma.
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