If you have been playing around with
mp3s for a while you will know the
need, the empty hole of
want, for a sturdy
CD based
mp3 player. Over the last few years there have been tons of
vaporware,
teaser ads, half baked
DIY projects and a few good
home brew methods, but in the end the need was for a
cheap commercial device that would cut you free from the gimmicky hassles of past offerings.
It seems the wait is over.
Sonicblue, the company who owns the
Rio brand, has put out a solid
low cost CD based
mp3 player with enough of what everyone been clamoring for to make the
masses happy.
My main reason for listening to
MP3s is slightly different than most peoples. I still
listen to
music but I am more into it for listening to
old time radio shows,
audio books, and other
spoken word gems. The big hang up with many of the previous options was the lack of solid support for the
lower bit rates these
mp3s are made in. The
Rio Volt takes care of them pretty damn well. From all reports virtually every
old time radio show in
mp3 format tested on it plays with out
skips or
chirps.
One big plus for this
product is its
firmware. Yes these folks have done a little
research into what didn’t work with others
offerings and why. The addition to
upgradeable firmware allows them to
fix and
upgrade over time advances in the
decoding methods, file handling, and
interface workings. Rather than being stuck with what you buy this product will have some degree of
growth. Another venue opened by upgradeable
firmware is
hackablility. What wonders will come out of the minds of its more
creative users, who knows, But the possibilities are there for some interesting unthought of
tweaks.
So what is the
scoop on this products basics?