Rio 600 32 MB Digital Audio Player (MP3/WMA)

 (240 customer reviews)

Here's my assessment of things I like and don't like about the Rio 600:Pros:*Small, lightweight *No Skipping *Decent sound quality (the above apply to pretty much any portable MP3 player) *WMA Support *USB interface for fast transfer of songs *Future support for 340MB IBM Microdrive *Possible future AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) support *Low priceCons: *Rio Audio Manager software is extremely cumbersome to use *Supplied earphones do not sound good and will have to be replaced *You cannot distinctly discern by touch what button you're pushing on the round pad. You'll end up stopping or pausing tracks when you want to skip to the next track. *Only 32MB RAM standard with no upgrades available at this time *Larger than previous model Rio 500 *No belt clip *No recording for FM tunerThe Rio 600 is your basic MP3 player. WMA support is nice, but because of Digital Rights Management, the WMA format is difficult to deal with and I'm not going to convert all my MP3s to...Read more

Well, I was going to give it around a 3.75, but since there's no option, I left it at four. The Rio line of MP3 players is overall a very high-quality, top-of-the-line series of devices. The Rio600 in general is no exception, but I do have a few issues with it...The funky shape isn't that bad... I have a Nomad II also, and the shapes actually are quite ergonomically sound, for both players. It does look funny though. The clip-on faceplate idea is questionable... Why not just sell it in several colors?I don't care for the clip-on backpack idea... I feel that SmartMedia cards are more universally compatible. Sure, not as much upgrade potential with flash cards, in comparison with the 300mb+ capacities of the backpacks, but I usually steer towards more mainstream parts, away from proprietary designs.The player is easy to operate, but I prefer the old circle-dial controls on the Rio 300. The "joypad" is close, but no cigar. ;)32mb really is not enough for a typical...Read more

The Diamond Rio 600 is a paradox. It's twice as good as anything currently on the market, but half as much as you need. There's something very right about each of the three components of the system--headphones, body and software--and yet there are serious deficiencies with each part.The Rio's headphones are marginally tinny at any volume, and stressed at higher volumes, but good enough for a portable you'll probably use in a noisy environment anyway. To be sure, other headphones will be needed to fully realize the sound possibilities of the Rio, but the ones included give you at least the beginnings of great sound. Their rather odd, around-the-ear construction is both sensible and awkward. They're perfect for using while working out, because they never fall out, regardless of how vigorously one behaves. But they're hard to get used to because they do take a comparatively longer time to put in than other headphones. Serious audiophiles will dismiss them outright;...Read more