Great workout partner!!
Written: Feb 28 '01
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Pros: Lightweight and Compact
Great for listening to MP3 files while working out
Cons: Battery life only about 6-7 hours
No AC adapter
Case somewhat chintzy
The Bottom Line: Great product for folks who want to take their MP3 collection on the road or to the gym. Great for joggers!
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| merg1's Full Review: Rio PMP-500 (64 MB) MP3 Player |
I have owned the RIO 500 for four months and have used it extensively for music when working out and also on plane trips.
I have found that it is a great device for pulling my MP3 collection off of the computer and letting me listen to any combination of music i want any time.
The big pluses for the RIO 500 are:
*extremely small and lightweight- you can put it in a shirt pocket and not even notice it or clip it to the waist band of a pair of workout shorts and go full out in your workout and have great music to motivate you.
*once you go to the RIO website (now S3) and download the firmware upgrade the sound and controls are excellent. I found the volume was too low without the firmware upgrade.
*controls let you manage how the music plays- you can set bass and treble manually or select several preset options included (classic, rock, jazz etc.) You can also set random, repeat and several other settings similar to what you would get on a CD player.
*uses only one battery- this keeps the unit extremely lightweight
*controls are easy to understand and use- you get power on, lock, pause, stop, and forward-reverse a track on the face of the player
*reliable- works every time and you never suffer any skip from bouncing the player like you would with a CD player
*USB connect works great and it allows for fast download of songs to the player
*comes with 64MB of internal memory and capability of adding another 64MB externally (slot for card is in back of player).
I highly recommend investing in the second 64MB card. This will give you at least two hours of listening time depending on the size of the files you load onto the player.
*purple translucent case is cool. (comes in three color choices: purple, gray and teal)
On the down-side:
*battery lasts only about 6-7 hours but I have found this is reasonable since you are only using one battery- this is really only an issue when you are loading songs onto the player and have to use the battery power to transfer the songs from your computer. (Plus here is weight- if an AC adapter were part of this unit, it would weigh more).
*mesh case that comes with the player is ok but not great. It is hard to effectively control the volume wheel through the case. Case includes a belt clip and it is easy to get the player in and out of the case a feature I use if I am working out on a machine that lets me set the player on a shelf. This makes the controls easier to access.
Overall: I am very pleased with this product. It has offered a great solution to listening to skip free music when working out. After upgrading the firmware, I have found the sound quality to be excellent. I did invest in a pair of Sony earphones because I did not like the style of the earphones that came with the player ( they were the kind you plug into your ears).
The software that comes with the player allows you to easily format your smart cards and load songs into the player. You can go in and edit individual songs or reformat and start from scratch. You can vary the size of files you put on the player to get more songs on the player although you will sacrifice quality if you make the files to small.
There are newer models of MP3 players available but if you can find a deal on this one ( i paid $110 after Buy.com and RIO rebates) it offers everything you need to bring your MP3 collection with you to the gym, beach, plane.
I have recommended this player to my two sons and they both have one and use it everyday and think it is great.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 110
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Epinions.com ID:
merg1
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Member: Jim Mergott
Location: Spicer, Mn
Reviews written: 21
Trusted by: 6 members
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