Peddler
1000+ Head-Fier
I won’t go into details about the physical aspects of the player as this information is easily available on the net for anyone to look at. Needless to say the player is fairly large and heavy but does fit in your pocket. The player comes supplied with a pouch and belt clip.
The display is nice and clear – not much good when the unit is strapped to your belt though – shame the unit doesn’t come with a remote control – for the price this is something I would have expected.
Usage
Connect the Riot player to your USB connection on your PC – run the supplied software and begin exporting tracks to the player. Be warned though, you really need to take care with your ID tags on your MP3’s as this player tends to rely on them for navigation and sorting purposes. If you don’t, the playlists will be a mess and there’s no easy way of sorting them out once they are on the player.
File transfer is reasonable but if you plan on exporting a lot of tracks to the player best make it an overnight session. I personally don’t feel that this is much of a problem as once the tracks are exported that’s it generally. 20 GB is a fair amount of space but sod’s law says that eventually you will run out of space and need to erase some of your lesser played tracks.
Navigation from the player is pretty good (providing you follow the details listed above and sort out those ID tags – believe me it’s worth it!). You can play selections based on artist, album, genre, date, most often played, least often played and so on. Pretty cool but what’s really missing is the ability to play say 45 minutes of music from a particular genre – that would be useful when wanting to listen to classical music in bed.
Battery
The battery consumption appears to be pretty good. I have not done any specific tests on the unit but you should get at least a couple of days or more general playback from one charge – obviously this depends on how often you listen to the unit though. The battery charges up pretty fast and you can use the unit to transfer tracks whilst charging. Note that you cannot listen to music whilst the unit is connected to your PC – the USB port also takes up the headphone port. Potential owners should also note that the battery appears to be a sealed unit. This means that you will have to open up the unit to replace in the future which will almost certainly void the warranty. It does appears that you can get into the unit no problem though.
Sound Quality
This is what it’s all about. The good news is that the player sounds superb. I own Etymotics ER4P, Sony D-915, Iriver SlimX, Panasonic 570, Sony MDR-900 MD recorder and others and I know what to listen for. This player is the best MP3 player I have heard period! The sound is rich, full, mellow (in the right way) and loud.
My sister summed it up when she listened to the unit – “oh wow – sounds like the old valve stuff!”. To be honest I have been using Sennheiser MX400’s with the unit as my Sony 888’s only have a short lead. There is no hiss, artefacts or nasties to the sound – everything is as sweet as a nut. Most of my MP3’s are encoded at fairly high bit rates – I personally find 128’s generally horrible and don’t waste my time with them however this unit plays 128 encoded mp3’s better than any other player I have heard.
Misc Info
I have not even bothered trying the supplied headphones so no comments there. The player only features a headphone socket – no line out – no line in – nothing else. Headphones, USB and power. The unit appears to be well made but I noticed that the volume buttons are a little creaky after a couple of days use. I am being very careful with the player as it’s almost certainly going back to good old Argos before the 16-day money back is up. The only reason for this is that I honestly don’t think I can afford it yet.
The player doesn’t act like a portable hard disc. You are limited to using the supplied software to get your tracks into the unit. You can still use your favourite LAME/EAC combo to extract your tracks from CD before porting though.
Hopefully some of the minor issues with the navigation and functionality of the unit will be addressed with firmware upgrades. The one thing that really cheeses me off about the unit is the lack of remote control on the headphone lead - for this kind of money I expect perfection. If you have the cash and are looking for a HD-based jukebox player, this may be a great choice. I must admit I am seriously considering selling my SlimX, D-915, R900 and Panasonic 570 and get one of these units – very VERY impressive.
Comments/Questions Welcome.
The display is nice and clear – not much good when the unit is strapped to your belt though – shame the unit doesn’t come with a remote control – for the price this is something I would have expected.
Usage
Connect the Riot player to your USB connection on your PC – run the supplied software and begin exporting tracks to the player. Be warned though, you really need to take care with your ID tags on your MP3’s as this player tends to rely on them for navigation and sorting purposes. If you don’t, the playlists will be a mess and there’s no easy way of sorting them out once they are on the player.
File transfer is reasonable but if you plan on exporting a lot of tracks to the player best make it an overnight session. I personally don’t feel that this is much of a problem as once the tracks are exported that’s it generally. 20 GB is a fair amount of space but sod’s law says that eventually you will run out of space and need to erase some of your lesser played tracks.
Navigation from the player is pretty good (providing you follow the details listed above and sort out those ID tags – believe me it’s worth it!). You can play selections based on artist, album, genre, date, most often played, least often played and so on. Pretty cool but what’s really missing is the ability to play say 45 minutes of music from a particular genre – that would be useful when wanting to listen to classical music in bed.
Battery
The battery consumption appears to be pretty good. I have not done any specific tests on the unit but you should get at least a couple of days or more general playback from one charge – obviously this depends on how often you listen to the unit though. The battery charges up pretty fast and you can use the unit to transfer tracks whilst charging. Note that you cannot listen to music whilst the unit is connected to your PC – the USB port also takes up the headphone port. Potential owners should also note that the battery appears to be a sealed unit. This means that you will have to open up the unit to replace in the future which will almost certainly void the warranty. It does appears that you can get into the unit no problem though.
Sound Quality
This is what it’s all about. The good news is that the player sounds superb. I own Etymotics ER4P, Sony D-915, Iriver SlimX, Panasonic 570, Sony MDR-900 MD recorder and others and I know what to listen for. This player is the best MP3 player I have heard period! The sound is rich, full, mellow (in the right way) and loud.
My sister summed it up when she listened to the unit – “oh wow – sounds like the old valve stuff!”. To be honest I have been using Sennheiser MX400’s with the unit as my Sony 888’s only have a short lead. There is no hiss, artefacts or nasties to the sound – everything is as sweet as a nut. Most of my MP3’s are encoded at fairly high bit rates – I personally find 128’s generally horrible and don’t waste my time with them however this unit plays 128 encoded mp3’s better than any other player I have heard.
Misc Info
I have not even bothered trying the supplied headphones so no comments there. The player only features a headphone socket – no line out – no line in – nothing else. Headphones, USB and power. The unit appears to be well made but I noticed that the volume buttons are a little creaky after a couple of days use. I am being very careful with the player as it’s almost certainly going back to good old Argos before the 16-day money back is up. The only reason for this is that I honestly don’t think I can afford it yet.
The player doesn’t act like a portable hard disc. You are limited to using the supplied software to get your tracks into the unit. You can still use your favourite LAME/EAC combo to extract your tracks from CD before porting though.
Hopefully some of the minor issues with the navigation and functionality of the unit will be addressed with firmware upgrades. The one thing that really cheeses me off about the unit is the lack of remote control on the headphone lead - for this kind of money I expect perfection. If you have the cash and are looking for a HD-based jukebox player, this may be a great choice. I must admit I am seriously considering selling my SlimX, D-915, R900 and Panasonic 570 and get one of these units – very VERY impressive.
Comments/Questions Welcome.
