[Ender Wiggin]

I'm going back and forth between the Rio Karma and Zen Micro.

I'm looking for a smaller sized player (both fit the description, though the Zen is really tiny) with a good battery life, good sound quality, and an easily navigatable interface.

They pretty much split those categories in terms of pros and cons, but one big thing that pushes me towards the Karma is a lower price. The lowest I've seen the Micro is around $215 and the lowest I've seen the Karma is $175. Also, I have a lot of Best Buy gift cards I'm looking to use, and I can't find the Micro on Best Buy's website, although it might be inside the actual stores.

The Micro's big pull for me is the plug and play capabilities...I think I would use this a lot. It's awesome that I can just plug it in and drag and drop other files, making file transfers between school, home, and my laptop much easier.

So...I need help choosing, which should I go with?

Oh, and if anyone has a better suggestion, let me know.

 

[Underdog311]

I have never owned a Karma, but after having my micro for a few weeks I give it both thumbs up.

 

[Cyclone]

the karma isnt what i or really anyone would call "one of the smaller players"

the user interface on zen is much more intuative but some people dont like the scroll pad and preffer the slower but easier to use click button navigation that comes with the karma.

best buy doesnt have the zen micro in any of the stores that i've been in so i think your out of luck there, i hate (and so sould every body else) gift cards. the thing with the plug and play is that the computer has to be running on win xp and have wmp 10 on it. so wmp9 wont cut it for plug and play (95% sure correct me if i wrong). but the plug and play is very handy.

sound quality is equal for both unless your running an amp in wich case definately the karma trounces the micro. it comes down to how much music you have, how big you want your player to be, and how willing you are to have a slower, less intuative interface thats easier. if you have a lot of music dont mind a fat player and have time to spare running through a list of songs go with the karma.

hope that helps a bit, and ask if you have any questions. if you havent browsed through the "just got my zen micro thread" i suggest you go through that because it has way more info than im willing to type out.

 

[tracyrick]

I just went from a Karma to a Micro, after owning a Karma for over a year. I highly recommend that you buy the Micro. The Karma was a nightmare for me in the quality dept. - hard drive freezes and other problems. This happens to a lot of people.
The sound quality and EQ of the Karma are awesome, but after comparing both using my Etymotic ER-4Ps I concluded that the Micro sounds just as good (subjective test, so take it for what it's worth).
The software for the Karma was great, even though it wasn't drag and drop. The Micro is working fine also.
The small size, replaceable battery, and remote option for the Micro are pretty sweet. The touch pad is a little annoying to me, but I don't have to use it very much so I put up with it. No buttons to break off at least...
Finally, you can make a really cool case for your Micro all by yourself with a mint tin - it doesn't get any better than that!

 

[scorpian007]

Zen Micro. Here's my review on it

http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=103452

If you have any Q's feel free to ask.

 

[DigDub]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ender Wiggin Oh, and if anyone has a better suggestion, let me know.

maybe you could consider the muvo2 fm, the one whch is my avatar. sound quality and battery life is great. navigation can be a bit troublesome with its small display but its not rocket science either. its true plug-and-play, meaning you won't have to install wmp10 like the micro. i'm very happy with mine.

 

[crimsonadam]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tracyrick The Karma was a nightmare for me in the quality dept. - hard drive freezes and other problems.

When did you buy your Rio Karma?

 

[Underdog311]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cyclone hope that helps a bit, and ask if you have any questions. if you havent browsed through the "just got my zen micro thread" i suggest you go through that because it has way more info than im willing to type out.

The search button is still an enigma to some...

 

[IstariAsuka]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cyclone slower but easier to use click button navigation that comes with the karma. [The Karma has a] slower, less intuative interface thats easier. if you have a lot of music dont mind a fat player and have time to spare running through a list of songs go with the karma.

I don't know what Karma you may have used, but I have yet to see an MP3 player where I can scroll through songs faster than on the Karma. Faster than the iPod? Easily, and I hear tell that the iPod is faster than the Micro.

 

[mr.karmalicious]

I don't know how you can think that the Karma is 'big,' if you do, you may be smoking something. It's definatley small enough for me. I am VERY happy with my Karma. Search my other posts for my opinion on it- I'm too lazy to copy and paste it

 

[taymat]

Go karma: Arguably the best sound quality of any mp3 player, great battery life, quality line out, parametric eq, drives any phones <40 ohms easily and has 20gb not 5gb. Also fits into pockets easily even if it is chunky.
EDIT: Also stock software is great and so is the interface. Unlike the 40gb zen I just bought which has poor firmware, controls and software.

 

[gorman]

I've owned my Karma since February last year. I used it every day for a year. On public transport, walking, on train, in the car, on vacation. It froze two times in a year. Always fixed with paper clip inserted in the reset hole.

It has good battery life. Still the best EQ available on DAP, gapless play that works. For me the choice, after a whole year, would still be a no-brainer.

 

[mr.karmalicious]

Those are my opinions summed up into compact form