Rio S35S Blue Sonic is a ‘Rio’t.

Well, curiosity does get the best of me at times, especially with the latest electronics. I am always looking at the newest toys. It must be a guy thing. What I do find is that the latest is not always the greatest.

My earlier review of the Sony MZS1 Mini-Disc MP3 Player left me wondering what a solid state MP3 player with no moving parts would be like. So, I looked at the available MP3 players and decided to get the Rio S35S with a FM tuner for fun. This Rio review will include some comparisons with the Sony MZS1.

My first impression of the Rio was that it was really small and light with an eye pleasing ergonomic shape that is comfortable to hold in ones hand while exercising. The rubberized exterior somewhat eliminated that insecure feeling when holding a smooth slick surface object while vigorously working out. The Rio also came with a belt clip holder and an armband belt.

The Rio Sonic Blue’s color is…Red. Go figure. It has an easy to access front control panel for playing, stopping and advancing or reversing tracks. The menu selection button is located on top of the unit as well as the volume control and on/off switch which are within easy reach of ones thumb.

Performance:

The sound is great on the Rio. It has good bass and treble control along with other setting for classical, jazz, rock etc. Sound is decently loud with crisp clarity and definition. Volume controls are easy to access but the track selection jog dial is sensitive and touchy to manipulate if the player is in ones pocket.

Overall, it is a great player but I did not like it for several reasons. For starters, it does not have a plug for using an AC adapter to charge an internal NiMH battery. This means that to change the battery, one has to open the back and change the battery. A little picky am I? Well, yes, because the door that closes the battery compartment (that also holds the expansion SD memory card) seems kind of cheap and I feel that it may easily break with continued use. This prompts me to go on about battery life.

Battery life is poor for the Rio when compared to the Sony MZS1. Rio states that it will get up to 15 hours with one AAA. Well, I did not get half of that with its supplied alkaline battery. This pales in comparison with the MZS1’s 50 plus hours with one AA battery. Hence, ones need to constantly open the Rio’s cheap back to change batteries.

Also, it reports to be a ‘sport’ model but I did not notice any gaskets to seal the electronics from the harsh ‘sports’ activity environment. The gaskets on the MZS1 are very noticeable and to change the battery or disk, one needs open it like a vault.

The Rio did not come with a remote as well. This sucks because I like to keep the player in my pocket. This means that I have to reach into my pocket to change any settings and what usually happens is that I inadvertently press a button that may stop the track, skip the track or have some trouble with raising or lowering the volume. In addition, whenever I lightly bump into anything with the player in my pocket, it will press the buttons randomly resulting in changed tracks, stopping or pauses. Yes, very annoying. One can lock the controls while pressing the menu then the ‘enter’ button but that’s what it just does, locks all the buttons so one can not use them. This is bothersome.

Cost was another factor. I got the Rio just shy of $200 with tax. With the 128 MB internal memory, it holds about 2 hours of music. I like to have my player on ‘shuffle’ mode, thus, the more tracks the player can hold, the more variation. For me to buy a 256 MB SD, that would be about $100. In addition, I would like to have rechargeable batteries for it because I feel it is better for the environment (small benefit albeit, but better than nothing). I would need to buy a charger with at least 2 AAA batteries. That’s about another $30. So, I am looking at about $350 for something that, in my opinion, falls short of the MZS1.

The greatest advantage of the Rio was its size and weight, small and light. Other than that, I really did not notice an advantage over the MZS1. I did not use the Rio’s FM tuner, so I can not comment on it.

I would only recommend the Rio S35S for those who want the lightest MP3 player out there and are willing to pay a premium for it. The quality of its sound, effects and styling are well above average. If one wants the latest, this would be it. As so the greatest, not in my opinion.

I hope this helps. Take care!


Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 195