Riovolt SP250 - WOW!
Written: Jan 01 '02
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Pros: MP3 and WMA support, skip protection, accessories and more!
Cons: Have to plug in to charge.
The Bottom Line: Expensive, but worth it with every feature anyone would need in a MP3/CD player and upgradeable.
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| jumperless's Full Review: Rio Volt SP100 Personal CD Player |
My fiancé has seemed to out grow his Diamond Rio 600, he complains that it does not hold enough music and is a pain to change songs on it with the included software. Since last year for Christmas, he got me a Philips MP3/CD player and I figured it was his turn. After doing a little research on Amazon and Epinions, I found the Riovolt SP250 was the best choice because of all its features and accessories.
I just wish Epinions had a separate category for the SP250 instead of a generic category for all the Riovolt MP3/CD players. Anyway, so far it has been a great player that does everything he wants and more.
Battery:
The SP250 has rechargeable batteries that charge in the unit when plugged into the wall. Nice feature, but you have to have the until plugged in to charge and can’t take it any where. But the batteries max out at 15 hours of playtime, much better than my Philips at only 6 hours on non-rechargeable batteries.
Controls:
On top of the lid on the unit, there is a large wheel button for directional navigation, a rocker button for volume control, and buttons for modes and other functions. There is a bit of a learning curve to get used to the menu system and all the functions, but it’s well laid out easy to figure out.
The on-wire remote control has two buttons and to dials that control just about everything.
Comes With:
Remote control on wire, 2 sets of earphones (ear buds and over-the-head), carrying case and strap (the case has outlines of all the controls for easy use) and a wall charger.
Software:
The SP250 comes with two software CDs, one with RealJukebox 2 for PC and the other with iTunes for Mac.
You can also update the firmware on the SP250 by downloading the file and burning it onto a CD.
File Support:
The SP250 supports MP3 and WMA (Windows Media Player) files. It also supports ID3 tags on MP3 files and displays them while playing that file. Support M3U playlists is another big feature, allowing you to create a playlist in Winamp or other media programs and transfer it to a CD. The Riovolt will play the songs in the playlist order.
The SP250 also support subdirectories for organizing your files better.
It will play audio CDs, CD-Rs and CD-RWs.
Features:
The SP250 also has an AM/FM tuner finally! I wonder what took so long for portable CD players to get this when most cheap cassette players have them.
Backlit display (nice for night jogging), on-wire remote control and adjustable equalizer with presets (Normal, High Bass, Rock, Jazz, Classic).
Tab based menu system on display for easy navigation through songs and subdirectories.
8 minute shock protection, about the best in its class that makes this a great unit for your car.
Sound Quality:
Easy, excellent! The bass is very load and great clarity. This will depend on the bit rate and quality of the files. The ear phones are nice, I prefer the over-the-head kind because they are more comfortable, but the ear buds seem louder I guess because they sit closer in your ear.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 169
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Epinions.com ID:
jumperless
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Location: Northern California
Reviews written: 125
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