Rio Riot 20GB Review

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Rio Riot 20GB
3.1 stars
Average rating for this product is: 3.1 out of 5

From 3 ratings and 4 reviews

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Steve.'s Review of Rio Riot 20GB MP3 Player

7th Oct 2002

Overall Rating

4.5 stars
  • Value for money
    4.5 stars
  • Sound Quality
    4 stars
Good Points

Great Sound Quality, Huge MP3 Capacity, Easy to use Software,large size LCD Screen and a lot of information displayed.


Bad Points

The controls are a pain to use: The wheel selector is slow to use, the volume control buttons are hard to use, the multi-function play/pause/stop/select button could be marked better and the power/lock switch is too small.


General Comments

My first Diamond Rio Riot portable MP3 player would not hold a charge. The battery went dead within a half hour and the charge indicator did not work at all. The second unit had many hard drive errors and I could load only three CD's before it crashed. The third unit works like a charm.

I travel abroad for weeks at a time and the Rio Riot is a wonderful way to pass my time on the trains. The only major negative to report is the lack of quality control by Sonic Blue. Had my wife not insisted on trying the third unit, I would have thrown it in the garbage.

The price averages $349 in the United States. But if you shop around on the Internet it may be up to $ 100 less. At any rate, it is well worth the price. Buyer Beware of rip-offs

Don't belive the reports you may have read about volume. One would have to be deaf to claim this unit does not deliver on sound.

Some people have complained about an ocassional chirp. However, if you record at 196 kbps or better there should be nothing but a smile on your face

The jukebox software works with the internet to provide song and album information. Always be sure to type in the artist with the album name especially on "Greatest Hits" albums. Otherwise your Rio album directory will seem worthless

In summary: The Rio Riot is a wonderful road companion. It sure beats having to listen to your wife nag while you are not out on a trip.

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Members' Comments onSteve.'s Review

  • Jose p.. on 27th Jan 2003

    THIS PRODUCT ROCKS, better then the minidisc player, but the only thing that sucks is it's battery life :(