Rio 800 (128 MB) MP3 Player

Pros: big lcd screen, great carrying case, usb, good menu, 128 MB
Cons: bad qualtiy sound, bad voice recorder, battery life, comes with RealPlayer, (reccomend RealOne)

The Rio 800 is a decent mp3 player. It was my first mp3 player and I loved it. But there we're also some things that it could improve on. It had many good things about it... - PROS - - First of all the Rio 800 looks sleek. ...

Pros: Great sound quality.
Cons: Poor reliability, eats (and I mean EATS) batteries

I originally received this as a Christmas gift and I was excited. No more going to the gym w/ a bulky cd player and no more changing cd’s. Now I can make my own workout mix.

Yeah.

Opps, problem. As soon as I put the batteries...

Pros: Great sound. Attractive. Tough. Great user support groups. Audible support.
Cons: Battery cost and lifetime

The RIO 800 is an evolution of the strong line of MP3 players begun by Diamond. After the RIO line was purchased by Sonic Blue the firm inexplicably released several players that, arguably, were inferior to the old RIO 500. The RIO 800 offered a return...

Pros: Great unit while it works.
Cons: Awful customer service.

BEWARE when your warranty expires. You are COMPLETELY on your own as SonicBlue does not repair units or have an authorized repair service. I got screwed. Don't bother with anything from RIO/SonicBlue.

I now only hear audio from one side of...

Pros: Nice looking
Cons: battery, support

This now outdated product has never worked properly. There is a documented problem with the battery life and Rio support is tedious (at best). Worst, the support documents do not provide comprehensive information - there are software issues (windows...

Pros: With mp3s recorded at 128 Kbps or higher, you may think this is a Cdplayer
Cons: The battery is an issue, but easily solved with a replacement, RealOne Software :(

The RIO 800 MP3 player is a solid MP3 player that offers all the options that a user could want.
It allows you to move and delete songs right on the player, so you don't need to connect to your computer to remove a song that you are tired of. This...

Pros: Great sound. Compact and perfect for the gym.
Cons: Battery, Battery, and Battery. 384MB Model No Longer Offered

This MP3 player is the perfect sound machine for walking, jogging, or the gym. Easy to transfer songs from my laptop. The SonicBlue web site still describes this unit in different memory configurations including the 384MB (the one I really wanted)...

Pros: Good interface and outstanding sound quality
Cons: Battery needs a change,software is horrible, but there is a solution!

The Rio 800 with 128MB is a great product for those looking for a simple mp3 player. It stores up to 4 hours of music and has the ability to add aditional memory packs. The software included with the Rio 800 was unbeliveibly bad. It was very hard to put...

Pros: Loud; 85dB signal to noise ratio; 7 presets; playlists; good backlight; bookmarks; solid construction; layout
Cons: battery life; Ni-MH battery; charging adapter

First Impressions

The Rio 800 I purchased last year has served me well. I like looks of it, and the sound is good. This player has many features, some of which I do not use, but it is better to have them and not use them.

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Pros: Good sound. Easy loading with RealOne software.
Cons: Instructions are not well written.

I previously had the Nike psa120, and was familiar with what I wanted and didn't want. I use my tunes while working out, and need something small and light with a belt clip. Nike previously fit the bill, but only held 64M of music. I bought a Sandisk...

Pros: Good Sound, MP3 and WMA, Build-in-mic
Cons: I dis-like the case, buttons and display Battery problems, Lousy Software.

I got the Rio 800 as a replacement for a defective Rio 500 (now obsolete). I use it for music, and audio books.

Case and Buttons
I suppose that everyone has their own preferences about case design, but I prefer the simplicity of...

Pros: none
Cons: many, read on

This product is riddled with problems... some crop up initially (mine didn't power on at all after initial charging with a supposedly new, "safe" adapter)... and many problems seem to crop up later, as reported here and elsewhere. Don't wait for yours to...

Pros: When it works (not long), it works well.
Cons: No such thing as "support"

Here's why: Try calling their technical support line and see how far you get... 800-468-5846. Oh, wait, they don't offer technical support there, and when you call their toll number (for which you will pay $19.95 for support - if you ever get a human on...

Pros: Small, lightweight
Cons: Can't transfer songs to/from computer (what is the point then?)

I got this product to replace a creative nomad mg. This product so far has greatly disappointed me. First the install for the drivers is 16 bit and chokes on long path names, then when I move it to a different directory (C:\temp) it runs, but I still...

Pros: Very easy to use, good sound quality, 128 mb memory capacity, small size
Cons: Battery life is NOT 11 hours long, expensive ($250)

I wanted to get an MP3 player for use during exercise, plane flights, and as an all purpose music player for all the songs I've &*legally downloaded from the internet. When I was looking to buy, there were two products that had 128 mb memory capacity,...

Pros: ultra portable, intuitive user interface, large storage capability.
Cons: Actual battery life half as advertised. Popular to thieves!

This is my second Rio 800 (first was stolen). Being familiar with it's quirks (shorter than advertised battery life) and merits (awsome quality sound and lots of play options) I can obviously reccommend it. It can be found at lesser prices if you are willing to buy a "used" or refurbished unit (I did, both times!) The one glitch it has as I see it, is you can't easily scroll thru all the options without returning each time to the play page, resulting in a tedious string of button pushes to navigate your way thru a miriad of choices (good thing!) I currently am using the 128k file encription and can attest to the near CD quality skipfree music, I will try the 64K setting next to compare, either should be fine for a ultra-portable device.

this doesn't apply to anything. all it does is beep i agree with the other buyers. mp3 players with 128MB 3 weeks after I got it, it stopped working. Then, after a couple hour long (long distance) phone calls to the Rio tech support, a new one was shipped. Too bad I had to wait for over 3 months to receive the new one. That's just unbelievable. The one they sent, that didn't work either. In total I've had 5 different Rio 800's in my possession, and the one I'm currently using, does not have a functioning light. Don't buy this or any product from this horrible company.

I bought this for my daughter for Christmas. It would not come on the first time we charged it. I've emailed and spent a few hours waiting on hold for tech support which never picked up. I cannot get an RMA number to send it back. Don't buy this. You are wasting your money. I have been trying to get this fixed since Christmas.

3 weeks after I got it, it stopped working. Then, after a couple hour long (long distance) phone calls to the Rio tech support, a new one was shipped. Too bad I had to wait for over 3 months to receive the new one. That's just unbelievable. The one they sent, that didn't work either. In total I've had 5 different Rio 800's in my possession, and the one I'm currently using, does not have a functioning light. Don't buy this or any product from this horrible company.

A Good durabale mp3 player. Something good for walking, running and in a car. It is very easy to upload and delete song from your computer.

Although this may be a good player for a person new to the mp3 world, it is not easy to add more memory, costing nearly $200 for 128 mb, transferring files won't work unless you do it just right, you cannot use memory cards separate (I smell a monopoly), and if you record any data, you cannot put it on your computer unless you have a lot of time & money.

Well, to start off this is one heck of a MP3 player. The headphones are top of the line and are full sizedm , not like most MP3 players earbud style headphones. Second it can voice record and it sounds great. It's skip free, and supports MP3 and WMA files, upgradable for the future, I'm not sure if it does more, but I'm half sure that it also supports audible.com files. It also looks and feels great. Batteries are rechargeable and last at least 10 hours on moderate volume. Overall this is a great package not to be missed. One last thing, it can store up to 4 hours of music using WMA format. 2 hours for MP3 format.

Really liked this at first, until three months later, I had to get a new one. The sound, specifically the bass, no longer transmitted through the headphones. I got a second replacement, but that only lasted six months. The unit stopped reading from the cable and would freeze in the on position. In addition, both units had the same problems: low battery life, inaccurate battery display, and quirky cable connection problems. The sound quality is okay, with one main problem being that the headphones let in too much ambient noise. The Rio 800 might be great if the product were reliable. I would not recommend this product to a friend unless he/she had a great replacement plan.