gsferrari : REVIEW : Apple iPod (3rd Gen) VS Rio Karma

[gsferrari]

Disclaimer:

This review contains results, observations and suggestions that are based on my listening preferences and my expectations from the products in question. I am in no way responsible for any problems you may encounter in the process of using my review as a guideline for your future purchases. I hope you enjoy the review as much as I enjoyed putting it together and I hope you keep it clean.




Introduction:

In my search for a portable mp3 player I stumbled upon quite a few candidates from various manufacturers. Choosing between them was a difficult and confusing task and reading numerous reviews only seemed to confuse me even more. When all hope seemed to be lost I realized that the best way to evaluate a product was to…um…evaluate it myself, in my hands, under my operating conditions and with my equipment. So what I did was pick up two of the products that were readily available at the local store with a decent 14 day no questions asked return policy. I will choose between the two and return one of them. The store in question is Best Buy and though their prices are high I like their store warranty which guarantees me a working product for a period of 5 years. If it goes kaput they will give me a new one from the latest crop of products.



The candidates:

• Apple 20GB generation 3 iPod
• Rio 20GB karma


Equipment used in evaluation:

• Sennheiser HD-580 precision Headphones
• MG Heat OTL – MK1 Headphone Amplifier
• Creek OBH-11 SE Headphone Amplifier
• Sager NP 5660 Notebook PC
• Homegrown Audio RCA-RCA Silver cable



Categories for evaluation:

• Price
• Performance
• Battery Life
• Features
• Ease of use
• Design
• Overall Value

[gsferrari]

First up: Apple iPod

The apple iPod stood out in the store. The packaging was attractive in a subtle way that begged me to buy one. I couldn’t resist although I had only recently given away my 2nd gen 15GB iPod in disgust. I was hoping for something special and something new from the new batch of iPods.



At $399.00 at Best Buy, the iPod is easily the most expensive player if you look at it from am “$$$ per GB” viewpoint. Some may argue that the form and functionality of the iPod alone can support the price and to an extent I agree.




What do you get in the package?


The package is very well thought of and laid out. You get a LOT of stuff with the iPod which is impressive because straight out of the box you get a player that is ready to use, supported with a remote control (albeit one with minimal functionality), case, dock, earphones (never opened them) and cables, software etc.

Basically if you don’t have time to hunt for everything separately then the iPod does very nicely by giving you everything you need to get started.

Performance:

I did not bother with the software that came along with the iPod. Simply downloaded iTunes from www.itunes.com and installed it on my PC. The program works great and I ripped my entire (modest) CD collection of about a 100 CD’s in under 6 hours (not working continuously at this task). I ripped them as 256 kbps mp3’s without any particular intention. I could have done WAV or AAC but I also had a Rio Karma waiting and AAC was a no no. After ripping the CD’s it only took around 10 minutes to completely load the entire 4.5GB worth of music into the iPod which is stunningly quick compared to the Rio.


Line Out:

The dock for the iPod has a miniplug type Line Out. Although volume controls don’t affect the line out level, the sound can be altered by the EQ settings in the player. While some may like this, others may not – in which case you can always turn off the EQ.

I was hoping for a RCA type Line out which would have been uber sexy but the iPod is all about sleekness and well…IMO RCA would have ruined the slick look of the dock.

Touch Sensitive Controls:

The controls are the same as the previous generation and feel good as expected. Very easy to navigate between different options, tracks and settings. I love the user interface of the iPod and even a total n00b will know what to do with this machine if they were given one out of the blue. Fantastic…

I expected to have trouble with the iPod in my pocket because the controls are just a bit too touch sensitive I changed volume while slipping it into my pocket, touched the buttons in the process and basically made a mess of it. Putting it in the included case however changes this and I didn’t have any problems with the clip on case. And in any case there is the hold switch on top of the player.

Screen:

Whats not to like about this. The backlight seems a bit shabby but it does its job. The lit controls look cool in the dark and the terrible white faceplate comes to life with the lights on. I hate the whitewashed anaemic look of the iPod’s front – the lights make it look a lot nicer…They should have a black version of the iPod…maybe various different colors…

Battery Life:

Unbelievable. Totally pathetic and a real disappointment. I have read a lot about 8 hours and 9 hours of battery life but the stark reality is that you just have to twiddle with the iPod while its playing and BAM! Battery life is 5 hours at best. After 3 or 4 battery cycles I was still getting 5 hours of battery life and sometimes 6 and 7 if I just left the player alone. I am afraid no matter how good the sound and the design, the battery life will decide in favor of the Rio Karma.

Very disappointed…

Either apple cheaped out in the battery department as a trick to make $$$ or they are having genuine hardware problems…

I don’t care. A portable mp3 player shouldn’t need a portable generator to be used in the aircraft or on long journeys!! 10 hours is the BARE minimum to expect!!

[gsferrari]

Next up : Rio karma



I got to read about this player just a day before I went to the store to pick it up. There were several positive reviews and more mixed reviews about the software bugs and the bulkiness etc. etc. But I decided to pick it up anyways and make up my mind after seeing for myself.

I can tell you…so far I am not disappointed in the least.

At $329.00 after rebates from Best Buy, the Rio Karma is some $60.00 cheaper than the apple iPod. YAY!!!

Nah…not really…read on…

What you get in the package:



The player, dock and adapter, Software CD (cant live without this), RCA – RCA Interconnect (cheap quality), USB cable, Ethernet cable (Hmmm…!), Sennheiser earphones (surprisingly good!) and the so called “Case” which is a cheap drawstring bag.

Remote : NO!!

Performance:

The player feels very nice and solid. I didn’t think it was plasticky at all. The feel for the controls is also nice and as mentioned several times before, one handed operation is possible although you will be using both hands like I ended up doing anyway.

The faceplate is prone to scratching. I recommend getting a PDA screen protector and modding it to fit this faceplate.

The rear end of the dock can get VERY crowded indeed



The dock also sports a cool blue color Very nice…gets boring after a while but you can wow your friends with this feature.



Screen:

The backlight is very good and uniform unlike the apple’s. Screen is scratch prone and has to be protected. Very clear display which tries to put out as much info as possible to the user. I found only one visualization – the VU meter which is pretty neat but not really accurate…sometimes it was outputting BS LOL but its just a gimmick…



I used the same mp3’s that I ripped with iTunes and loaded them into both the iPod and the Karma for a comparative study. The Karma tool the better part of an hour to load all the songs into its HDD!!! I was sure there was something wrong because one hour is ridiculous!!

I removed all the USB hardware and made sure the karma was on the USB 2.0 port…still…one hour to load 4..5 GB of data To top it off it did a spontaneous reboot in the middle of the loading process for some reason! Gave me multiple errors and went into standby…

I decided to update the firmware and did as instructed. This time I didn’t have any problems loading the player with music although it still took a pretty long time. This baby needs firewire!!
I like the controls of the player. They are not as neat or well defined as the iPod but they work. There is a separate menu button just like there is on the iPod. The jog dial on the side has a fair amount of functions and fastforwarding is one…works very well…



One point to note is that this player is difficult to use in the sense that - to fully exploit its functionality, you cannot afford to be a n00b or ignorant. You HAVE to read the manual to get into the groove smoothly, if not you’ll spend the better part of the day figuring out what option does what…its pretty easy once you know how and I was flying through my songs.

This player is uber responsive. After the firmware update the controls become really responsive. Just hit play and it starts IMMEDIATELY. Hit next and IMMEDIATELY you have the next song playing…its fantastic…the iPod took a while to get to the next song. The Rio has a longer startup time though.

[gsferrari]

Some notes at the time of listening…

Very responsive controls with the latest 1.11 firmware.
As soon as you touch the stick the player does your bidding.
Plays instantaneously unlike the iPod which takes a good 1 to 1.5 seconds to respond.
Headphone output is insufficiently powered for anything on the upper side of the Senn HD-580.
EQ is decent. Not as great as you might imagine. Yes it is better than anything else out there...
iPod included...but it is just not what it should have been With a 5 band EQ you are missing a slew
of potential tweaks to the sound which could make it sound sweeter. The presets are hopeless - dont
waste time trying them - go straight to parametric and tweak it - you CAN hit a sweet spot.

I dont know if there are additional visuals but the VU meter is decent.
Dock is very very solid. Grips the tabletop with its rubber feet and the grip is helped by its weight. This
is not going to slide around. The blue led glow to the holder is a nice touch but it gets boring after a
short while. It will still wow your mates
Line out is not pure line out. System volume doesnt affect line out level but the EQ does...for some this
is good and for others this is a bad idea. I'll tell them to turn off the damn EQ I like it...




Loading 4GB into the player took over an hour for some reason. Ridiculously slow but this could
be because I had other devices that *might* be USB 1.0 connected to the other ports at the same time. I will
re-evaluate this asap. The iPod was a whiz in getting its files...less than 10 minutes for 4 GB which is stunning!!



The base is so solid that you can use the players controls with one hand while it is in the dock. No need to support
it with one hand while you mess with it. NICE!!

The software is very good. Updating firmware is a breeze and the instructions are fairly decent. Unlike the iPod
however you will not be screaming off over the horizon with this player because it takes some learning. its got features
that need the "Know-How" so RTFM is something I recommend

I noticed that while my laptop was in the vicinity and turned on - I could hear keyboard activity and mouse scrolling
the headphones...never heard this before...Didnt have the problem with the headphone out but I can hear it out of the amp.
This is either because the dock is sensitive to nearby noise sources OR the amp is sensitive


Battery life:

First cycle I got close to 12 hours. Second cycle got me close to 12 hours and 30 minutes (I was fiddling around with EQ and the backlight was on for at least 30% of the time )
This is very close to the projected values and if I keep my hands off the player it could well go into the 15 – 16 hour slot. This is almost double or more than double the life of the iPod. For all its ugliness compared to the iPod, the Karma wins my vote because of the battery life and equal sonic performance.

[gsferrari]

Sonic Performance:

• Listening with my Sennheiser HD-580’s plugged into
headphone port

The iPod manages to power the cans very well indeed. With EQ off the sound was faithful to the original CD quality. I could listen to it without any EQ settings because it sounds clean even without an amp. Some of the settings, especially Deep and Electronic are decent. The others are crappy and the lack of a user specifiable EQ is a downer. If you use an AMP however turn off EQ and listen to good clean sound. It sounds very nice this way. One problem with the iPod is that if you have a song playing and you go to change the EQ settings, you cant go right back to the “Now Playing” screen…you have to wait for the menu to automatically collapse before you can control the volume. Either this is true or I have not idea how to do this…someone correct me. This is also a downer IMO.

The Rio Karma struggles to power the Cans as well as the iPod managed. They manage to reach the same volume but start to distort earlier than the iPod and just sound harsh.

In general both struggled to power my cans but I had to do the headphone socket test because bringing in an AMP into the equation changes everything and it becomes hard to evaluate the sonic character of each device. However this is not a perfect test because without low Z headphones it is impossible for me to be sure. I have asked a friend for his Sony MDR-v300 cans to test and I will post about the sound through these headphones in a short while...(I promise!! )

Apple iPod sound in general :

Very soft and warm. Through the headphone socket I found the Bass lacking where it should have been and muddy where it was present but its not toooo bad. However, Through the amp, even a basless amp like the creek, the detail and bass came to life. I was surprised at the Creek OBH-11SE and iPod combo…very nice!! The MG Head is also good but it’s a “just as good as usual” sound – Nice but expectedly so. The Creek was an amp I didn’t particularly like before but now I was looking at it a bit differently…hmmm…

If anyone doesn’t want the iPod because of its sound quality – you’re making a mistake. This is a VERy good player sonically. Its just that the battery life sucks so bad that its not even funny. Also I am expecting a shipment of Ety's and Shure's from TTVJ (Todd) this week and I will test the iPod with those and post my observations...

Rio Karma sound in general :

Very up front “Gradoesque” sound which tends to be a bit harsh at times, with the mids. If you’re not using an amp. With higher volumes it just got more harsh. I prefer this player with an amp. You can use the EQ to tone down the mids and highs and it gets better. The line out feature is amazing and I have no complaints about the sound quality through line out and amp. The headphone socket is inferior to that on the iPod... Not by much but the difference is noticeable. Like I said above, I am expecting a shipment of Ety's and Shure's from TTVJ (Todd) this week and I will test the karma with those and post my observations...



EQ is good but not great:

The karma’s EQ feauture is good but not without its limitations. 5 bands is simply not enough…When will someone come up with a 10 or 12 band EQ in the software where we can make our own presets. I was fiddling with the 5 band parametric EQ for almost every song to get it to sound right. The sweet spot is ridiculously small!! But enough complaining – at least the Karma HAS this feature…the iPod doesn’t…so don’t knock Rio – they are making an effort…

Karma Bugs:

Unfortunately the Karma is still not ironed out. Random reboots on two occasions really pissed me off. With the new firmware I had one crash while trying out some EQ settings with a song playing in the background

Head to Head:

In a head to head between the iPod and the Karma I have to give the gold medal to the iPod for the design, sound quality and higher value for the “headphone without amp” guy. The sound is just a lot sweeter here…

The Karma wins the gold for performance, battery life, line out which is a BIG WINNER and the nice design as well…its not bulky or fat at all. The dock is stunning!!

The iPod is the winner for offering the most stuff out of the box. The Karma offers almost nothing and leaves you feeling cheated when you open the box up

However feature wise the iPod is left far behind. The Karma offers superb EQ options and although you might be tweaking the EQ for every song to get it *just right* you WILL get it just right which makes using the karma all the more intriguing and enjoyable. The iPod in this case is ho-hum…gives you good sound but that’s about it.

Here is a shot of my friend cringing when I hit him with some noise by Prodigy!!! I think the song is "Smack My Bitch Up" or something...I personally dont listen to that stuff but I wanted to blow him away...LOL

incidentally he prefers the Rio for a very different reason which I will point out at the end...

Amplifiophiles:

If any of you want to use the iPod or the Karma on the go with a portable amp then you are going to be disappointed. Neither come with a line out on the unit – you HAVE to use the dock to use the line out facility. While they can both be used with the dock on the go, the karma seems to stick in its dock a lot stronger than the iPod. I was able to carry it in the bag with the playlist going without jolting the karma out of the dock. The iPod is a little less snug in the dock and its impossible to keep it in the bag with the dock connected. However – the iPod has the remote which makes it practical to operate it from the bag – the karma will have you opening up your bag every time you want to change something – SUXXERS!!!

Both the units are impractical for this purpose – leave your amps at home and stick to low Z headphones or Ety’s

Winner:

I hate to disappoint the reader but at the moment I am just as confused as everyone else. Neither offers better value IMO.

If you are a tech geek with a desire to explore software and hardware and you don’t mind missing the additional frills like a case, remote etc. then go with the Karma. If you are a simple person with minimal technical knowledge who just wants a reliable good sounding player then go with the iPod.

Additionally - If you have clean, non-greasy hands then stick with the iPod because if you are sweaty palmed like I am then the iPod will look like it was born in a sewer after a few button presses. Its waay too polished for me, I want to use my player in the gym and on the road and if the sweet looking chrome is gonna look like twisted and rusted metal after a few minutes of handling then i'll pass...The karma looks the same no matter what you do with it. The screen does show off a few fingerprints but this can be weiped off unlike the chrome on the iPod.

I for one am going to check out the offerings from iRiver and Creative before I make my final purchase. I think that both these babies are going back home if either the Creative and iRiver (taking delivery this week) meet my expectations.

Did I say I was going to keep one of these players?? I just might if they grow on me some more but until I see what else is out there, and based on what I am seeing here, my PCDP is looking more and more attractive every minute...

Strange world!!

[gsferrari]

Questions posed by CS1323 and some answers :-


Rio Karma: Pictures
1) Picture of all visualizations at work

2) Picture of track info of any song

3) Picture of tracks in playlist


Rio Karma: Questions
1) Have you tried putting a .jpeg file for example and then transferring it through Rio Taxi. Was it successful for any other type of file?

Yes – This is a breeze. Simply open Rio Taxi with the karma in the dock andn turned on -> Select the Karma when it asks for you to choose the device -> Drag and drop the files you want to upload -> they are transferred immediately.

On the Karma – menu -> features -> rio taxi -> Files on board -> the file shows up and you can delete it if you want. When you restart Rio Taxi with the karma in the dock it opens up and shows you the files on board the karma.

Works for jpeg, .doc, .pdf – haven’t tried any other format…mp3?? LOL

2) Does it fit good in your pocket? Does the rubber thing cause the Karma to kinda be rough getting out of it?

Yes it fits my pocket and is easier to use from the pocket than the iPod (assuming you equate the fields by removing the iPods remote What rubber thing!?!? There is no rubber thing on the karma.

iPod: Pictures
1) Picture of track info view :


track info scrolls on the screen. I dont know of any separate option to view the track info unlike on the karma.
2) Picture of start up screen : I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THIS MYSELF. THERE ISNT ONE AFAIK
3) Picture of tracks in playlist view - hard to capture on my camera


iPod: Questions
1) Does the 8-hour battery life suit your needs for atleast a full day? - NO
2) Does your iPod have games? Do you play them? – IT HAS GAMES. I HAVENT PLAYED THEM YET
3) Does the iPod act as an external hard-drive? - YES
3) When you upload files to the computer, is it fast? – VERY IMPRESSIVE!!