Home > Consumer Reviews > RioVolt SP100 Portable CD/MP3 Player with 120 Second Anti-Shock

That about sums it up. Fab device. I received it in less than 24 hours from Amazon, with standard delivery charge! I immediately did the firmware upgrade and it was ready to go. I tried several 1st generation MP3/CD players and they were unsatisfactory. This one is great! But the silly stick figure dancers are annoying! You want an MP3 player? You want 20 hour battery time? You want an average of almost 300 songs per CD (with up to 999)? Stop looking!! Buy this one. ...

This would have to be the best digital audio player I have ever used. As soon as I got it I upgraded to the most recent firmware version (1.13) which has many new features.

Pros:
1. MP3 and standard audio CDs supported
2. Full versions of Adaptec EZCD Creator 4 and DirectCD included.
3. Supports DirectCD enabled disks (see below)
4. In-line remote
5. No skipping
6. No data cables.

Con:
1. 25 sec before song is played during startup. (This is normal for all MP3 CD players)

I have always had all my MP3 songs stored on a DirectCD enabled disk and now I can listen to them anywhere. DirectCD support is not included in most players and I have not even noticed it in the RioVolt manual. All the user needs to do is enable standard CR-ROM compatibility before using it in the RioVolt. When you want to add more songs just re-enable DirectCD on you computer.

Don't forget to upgrade to the most recent firmware version. The version that comes pre-installed on the RioVolt only supports 48 songs and does not have a resume mode. The most recent version supports up to 999 songs plus it includes many other options.

BEST PLAYER EVER

-Scott
ziffbam@yahoo.com

I have no frame of reference, as I never used another MP3-CD player, but why should I? I bought this player after a LOT of research online, comparing it to the Philips Expanium, Pine (D'Music) players and others, and I came to the conclusion that this one is the best, without a doubt.
This player's ability to read ID3 tags is marvelous, as well as its ability to navigate through folders on the CD, including nested folders (not every player will do this). The Rio Volt has an internal Memory of 2MB, meaning 120 seconds of memory for 128kbps songs, which serves as 2 minutes (!) of anti-shock, a very useful feature, especially if your country has roads as bad as Israel. I took it on a bumpy train ride of 1 hour, and it skipped only once. I can't say that for my old cassette player!
With 15 hours of battery life, built-in equalizers, a remote control and easy navigation it is worth every penny.
It does come with earphones, but these aren't much. Get good ones yourself.

This MP3/CD player really is the best one out there. It plays both normal store-bought CDs and MP3 CDs. It's the only one that reads ID3 info, and the only one that offers firmware updates. Unlike my old Kenwood, this one reads CD-R/RW cds. It is very light, and the skip protection is good, making it perfect for walking. I don't recommend buying it for jogging though - I tried running with it, and it just started skipping like crazy. But once again, if you're just gonna walk with it or use it as a table-top player, this is the PERFECT one. You can also be sure that it will be a long time until it becomes obsolete because of the firmware updates. If someone out there comes up with MP4 or something, you will be able to play MP4s after a 30-second firmware update.

I own the Rio 500, Creative Labs Nomad Jukebox, MP3Trip and now I have the Rio Volt. The Rio Volt simply rocks them all. Great sound, love the remote, ability to be flash upgradable (check the Rio site for upgrades).

The unit is relatively large compared with the lightest and smallest generation of standard CD players, but in terms of value, and the ability of this unit, there is no current competition.

I so have longed to use my Creative Labs Nomad Jukebox more, but alas, that unit does not have the cool and useful inline remote, nor does it offer comparable battery life.

Creative Labs should take note on what the Rio Volt does well and implement them because I will be leaving my Creative at home and taking my Volt with me. The Rio Volt also sounds better than the Creative Labs.

Impovements?

5-band equalizer? - you have 4 settings now, Rock, jazz, classical, normal. Rock seems to offer the best compromise.

Slimmer build.

Better plastic (feels cheap, not as cheap as the MPTRIP).

Maybe a Radio tuner.

Great job by Rio (this is not their product, they get it from an OEM and rebadge it as a Rio Volt).