Rio Volt SP250 Personal CD Player

My oh my... how far the company now known as SONICBlue has come. Not too many years ago, it was known as S3 then as Diamond Multimedia and the company released the first portable MP3 player... the Rio flash MP3 player. A device that would prove to be revolutionary to the portable music field... helping to lead SONICBlue into this current direction.

The first RioVolt player was simply known as the RioVolt... now called the RioVolt SP100. This in reality was a second or third generation device in the field of portable MP3/CD players. The SP250 is the next generation of CD-MP3 players from SONICBlue. Improving on just about every aspect from the original SP100, the SP250 is an excellent CD-MP3 player.

What exactly is the RioVolt or a CD-MP3 player?

Well, essentially this is a portable CD player (or if you prefer Discman) that can play regular CDs as well as computer music files (in this case MP3s and also WMA files). It more or less covers the need for 2 or more devices.

SONICBlue is not the only makers of CD-MP3 devices. TDK has the Mojo player. Samsung and Phillips also have CD-MP3 players. There are a ton of lesser known manufacters and "no-name" brands out there as well. On top of that, a lesser known company known as AVC sells their Soul Player which looks almost exactly the same as the RioVolt line. Going to a website like easybuy2000.com will show you a slew of CD-MP3 players from unknown companies with a few very interesting features as well. On top of all of this, the major manufacturers have started to attack the market. Panasonic and Sony have already released some basic CD-MP3 players with Sony releasing another 3 model (whose specs sound very good!) by the end of this summer!

The SP250... another SP100 player?

Is this a slightly souped up version of the SP100 (i.e. original RioVolt player). Well yes and no. The SP250 looks very similar to the original RioVolt player... in fact, the dimensions are about the same. The body/case has the same shape as the original. The dimensions are 5.2" (130mm) (W) x 5.5" (140mm) (L) x 1.1" (27mm) (H) and a light weight of 8.05 oz. That's just 1/3 heavier than a Palm m505 handheld.

The outside of the player does look more streamlined than the original player... and the unit itself has had quite an overall. SonicBlue has improved this unit in many, many ways! You now have a FM tuner capable of up to 20 presets. There is now Electronic Shock Protection (Anti-Shock/Anti-Skip) memory for up to 8 minutes for MP3s and a choice of 40 or 160 seconds for playing regular Audio CDs. There is a much improved LCD display on the SP250... brighter and much, much easier to read than previous models. There is an improved system for going through MP3 files and more options available through the player. The SP250 also maintains the features that made the SP100 so popular... like a Flash ROM to make firmware upgrades to the unit. The player also has a slew of extras in the package.

The basic specs on the unit are

AUDIO
Number of Channels: Stereo (left and right)
Frequency Range: 20Hz - 20kHz
Headphone Output: 12mW (left) + 12mW (right), 16 ohms impedance
Line out Level: 0.57V ms(47kilo-ohms) maximum volume
Frequency Characteristics: +/- 2dB

CD SUPPORT
CD Type: CD-DA, CD-Text, CD-ROM Mode 1, Mode 2 Form 1, Enhanced CD, CD-Plus
CD-R/RW Read: Packet Write, ISO9660, Joliet, Romeo, Multisession
Direct CD has been tested and works (format CDs with compression OFF)
650 & 700 MB CD capacities supported (74 & 80min)

FILE SUPPORT
File Type: MPEG 1/2/2.5, Layer 3, WMA
Bit Rate: Supports 32Kbps - 320Kbps
Tag: ID3 V1 Tag, ID3 V2 2.0, ID3 V2 3.0 - up to 48 characters
*Note* the RioVolt will not play Secure WMA files. If these are present on the CD, they will not be counted or played.
*Note* the RioVolt will not play files created at 48k sample rates. This must be set to 44.1k or 22050.

POWER SUPPLY
AC Adapter: DC 4.5V, 300mA, positive tip, negative ring (1/8" OD x 1/16" ID x 3/8" L)
Battery: 1.5V, two AA batteries

GENERAL ITEMS
Dimension: approximately 5.2" (130mm) (W) x 5.5" (140mm) (L) x 1.1" (27mm) (H)
Weight: approximately 230g or 8.05 ounces (excluding batteries)
Operational Temperature: 0C - 40C (32F - 104F)

The short of all that information is that you have a decent sized Discman with rather extensive computer music file support and playback capabilities.

Unlike my review for the original RioVolt/SP100, I am not going through what every button and feature is... The player has all the basic playback functions for both a CD player and MP3 player with several advanced features. If you have a need to know before buying and seeing the unit, I suggest downloading the instruction manual from Sonicblue.com web site. It is almost a 8 Megabyte file mind you.

Performance

The SP250 is a good performing unit... I'm not an audiophile or extremely discrimatory to how accurate the sounds are reproduced. I just enjoy my own music... so the unit sounds pleasing to my ears capable of producing ear shattering volumes (provide you get good headphones!). The unit sounds like music I would play on my other MP3 players, computer, and CD discman.

The FM tuner is a nice feature on the unit... if you ever get tired of listening to you MP3 CD, you always have the radio. Reception is decent... about as good as other FM tuners on a CD player and on walkman units. There are a few drop out in reception but I have similar drop outs with some of my other FM tuners on devices (Nomad II MG MP3 player, Panasonic ShockWave Discman with AM/FM tuner, my walkmans).

Battery life is very dependent on your Anti-Shock memory selection. If you play only MP3/WMA files, SonicBlue rates the system at least 15 hours with the included rechargable batteries. I did not get 15 hours... but I do get respectable times of 12+ hours with the rechargables.
At least all you have to do to recharge the batteries is to plug in the SP250 with the included AC adapter. Alkaline batteries lasted 14+ hours with straight MP3/WMA playback. If you are using the unit to play Audio CDs only, the system is rated at 8 hours playback at 40 seconds of ESP and 6 hours at 160 seconds of ESP. I can't verify this since most of my playback is straight MP3 or a mix of Audio CDs and MP3s. I have been averaging around 9-10 hours with mixed playback.

The LCD is a huge improvement from the original RioVolt. The LCD screen is more like the screens in the Rio 800 units. A decent size LCD with a bright blue backlight and loaded with information that is clear and easy to read! You get the track time, title, directory, balance, equalization preset, file type, sampling rate, battery indication, repeat/shutter indicator, and file compression rate. You can create playlists on the unit and are kept in the player... (The original RioVolt can do this too with the latest firmware upgrades).

Firmware (i.e. the software that the player uses to play your music) can be upgraded very easily. Like the original, you download the latest firmware version from SonicBlue's web site and burn it to CD-R or CD-RW (after you run the program on your computer to decompress the file... don't worry instruction are on the SonicBlue.com web site). You then place the CD into your SP250 and simply turn on the unit. The software will install itself. You may want to keep the unit plugged into the wall socket though.

CD-R and CD-RW playback went off without a hitch with numerous CD that I burned. Both 5 inch and 3 inch CD-R and CD-RW played back without any major problems.

The Extras

You get a ton of extras with the RioVolt SP250. You get a ho-hum carry case... at least it is better than the one that came with the original RioVolt. You have access to the buttons on the player now instead of doing everything through the inline remote. The carry case has a wrist strap now as well.

You get an inline remote that allows you to perform all the basic functions of the unit. The access the menu and settings of the unit, you still have to look at the LCD on the player. The inline remote has a much better feel than the one that came with the original RioVolt player. It fits the curves of your hand more naturally and is a bit more intuitive to control. However, if you have the money, you can get the upgraded inline remote with a LCD. I don't have it so I don't know how good the LCD remote is... or bad for that matter.

You get 2 AA NiMH batteries that are recharged through the SP250 player when you attach the AC adapter. You can use regular AA batteries as well instead of the rechargables.

You get an extensive manual... through the included CD however. You also get RealJukebox for PC users and iTunes for Mac users.

You also get earphones and a folding headphones... neither of the two are very good. I still suggest getting better earphones or headphones to enjoy your music.

Problems?

The unit still feels a bit flimsy... not as much as the original RioVolt but it still looks like it is made of cheap plastic. Now it is jet black cheap plastic... which looks a little cooler than the royal blue colors and brushed metalic silver color. The unit feels relatively close to the original RioVolt... the cold plastic feel. That was a letdown.

Since this unit was made more than a year after the original, I would have liked to see and thinner unit. The SP250 is still fairly bulky for a CD discman unit. Not overly so but some people will notice it. With the 3 inch CD out there, there are smaller MP3 CD based units available as well (but you lose the Audio CD playback part).

The MP3 selection system is much improved over the past firmware versions but still not as robust as that in the TDK Mojo. That has the best MP3 navigation system I've seen to date. The SP250 has a good system but it's not the best I seen.

Overall

For a 150 bucks, there isn't much to complain about. The price is good, the unit is solid, and you have plenty of music options. At this time, this is the best bang for your buck. If you need this type of unit now, you shouldn't hesitate to buy it... I believe the best price that I've seen is $130.

However, the competition is looming. Models from the major manufacters are on the horizon... Sony has three models slated for this year in the under $150 range. Panasonic is also following suit. The field is already crowded with "no-name" brands.

Other problems is that hard drive based MP3 players have become ridiculously cheap with more features than the CD-MP3 players. SonicBlue's own Rio Riot is a 20 Gigabyte unit with a FM tuner and built in Lithium Ion battery and a fantastic MP3 navigation system. The unit is only 5 3/8" x 3 5/8" x 1 3/8" in size! That a bit smaller than the RioVolt SP250... and the unit weighs out 10 oz. The unit runs for $399 but should be less when it actually gets into stores instead of the SonicBlue store.