A great MP3 player!
Written: Mar 02 '03 (Updated Mar 27 '03)
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Pros: Right size, good memory, excellent sound quality and easy to use
Cons: MMC memory is hard to find and a bit expensive, headphones could be better
The Bottom Line: You won't regret buying the S50!
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| sneddren's Full Review: Rio S50 Street (128 MB) MP3 Player |
I was slow in moving from my old tape Walkman into an MP3 format player but I am really happy that I waited for the Rio S50. This player makes listening to MP3s easy and a total pleasure.
I looked at all sorts of different MP3 players, from the iPod to the smallest MUVO type players but found the Rio S50 to be a good compromise between the features of the iPod and the compact size of the MUVO players. My concerns were (1) memory, (2) acceptable display, (3) size and (4) price.
The Rio S50 is just the perfect size for my uses (listening to music at the gym and on bike rides). It's about 1/2 the size of a deck of cards and has a nice leatherette style carrying case with a belt clip. The display is about 1/3 the size of the player and shows all the information anyone could want...the artist, song, time, number of songs on the player, time of play for each song and battery status. Very few MP3 players of this size have such complete displays. The controls are very logical and easy to use-one big circular dial for playing, skipping and stopping songs and a smaller circular dial labeled "enter" that isn't used for much. The on/off switch is on the top of the unit and works fine, though it can be a bit difficult to reach when the carrying case is used. The volume switch is on the side and also works well, though it can be a little hard to reach. There is also a really nice "menu" button on the top of the unit that allows you to switch functions (there's a built in stopwatch and also an FM tuner that works pretty well, though reception is not as good as on a Walkman type unit). You can also access the "bookmark" function through the menu button. Bookmarking is VERY useful if you listen to audiobooks (more on this later).
The sound quality of the S50 is outstanding (but it obviously depends on the sound quality of the source files). I am not an audiophile, so I may have fairly low standards compared to some people, but I think the S50's sound quality rivals any music player I have heard. The only weak point here is that the earbud headphones are not as comfortable for long periods as I'd like. They are easily replaced, though.
The S50 comes standard with 128MB of memory and can be upgraded with an additional 128MB of memory through MMC chips (which are installed near in the back of the unit). I have yet to upgrade the memory, primarily because I can not find a store that sells the 128MB MMC chips...I've tried BestBuy and similar stores and they always seem to be out of stock. It appears that the 128MB MMC chip runs about $65 or so when it is in stock, so the memory is not as cheap as other types of memory media. Nonetheless, I have found that the 128MB of standard memory is more than adequate for most purposes. The S50 will play both MP3 and WMA format files and if you convert your files to lower bitrate WMA files you can stuff over 40 songs on the S50. This comes at a loss of sound quality, but I can't tell the difference. So 40 songs (over 3 full CDs) on one small player is a nice amount for my usual uses.
As for battery life, it seems to be better than I could have hoped for. I've never even come close to running out of battery in the 3 months that I've owned the S50. It comes standard with a rechargeable battery (I'm not sure what size or type it is) and it seems to recharge itself quickly.
One of the things I did want to use this MP3 player for was listening to audiobooks. Unfortunately, the S50 is not supported by the source of audiobooks I use, audible.com. I'm not sure why this is (it may have something to do with the bookmarking function), but I did find a way around the problem. It takes a lot of work, but you can convert audible.com files (.aa, I believe) into mp3 files and then compress them so they fit on about 128 MB. It works, but I'm not sure whether it's worth the effort.
The S50 comes with some software (Rio Music Manager) that allows you to pick the MP3/WMA files you want to load onto the player. The software is pretty basic and works fine, but it doesn't have the ease of use that I would like. I actually find the Realplayer's MP3 player utility works better for my purposes. This is not really a knock on Rio Music Manager, as it seems to have all the basics covered (playlists, sorting by album, artist, genre, etc.), but there is, to me, something less than intuitive about the layout.
Overall, though, the S50 is a fantastic MP3 player. If you don't need the huge storage capacity of an iPod type player (10 gigs or more) and intend to use the MP3 player as a source for 1-3 hours of music, the S50 is an ideal choice. Great size, sound quality and value.
UPDATE 3/27/03
I've just been informed that SonicBlue has provided a "firmware" update that, among other things, greatly expands the memory options for the Rio S50. According to the SonicBlue website (www.sonicblue.com), the latest firmware update will allow the S50 to accept SD memory cards (as well as the MMC cards) up to 512MB, making for a total memory onboard of 640mb. I haven't upgraded the firmware yet, but will soon and will also try out the SD memory to see how well it works. I've also heard that there is a bargain out there on SD memory from Sandisk-by buying the Sandisk Cruzer, you can get a 256mb card PLUS a reader for about $80. Seems like a bargain...
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 150
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Epinions.com ID:
sneddren
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Reviews written: 36
Trusted by: 6 members
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