Oddball
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Oct 10, 2003
- Posts
- 1,861
- Likes
- 11
introduction
When I first got my iPod a few years ago, I was absolutely ecstatic. I had anticipated getting an mp3 player since the Rio players came out and when 256 MB of memory was a big deal. I had seen the larger Creative players, but I was wary of the 6 hour battery life. When the iPod came out for Mac, I was understandably jealous of Mac people. I liked my PC and wasn't going to change my computer just to use the iPod, but I wanted that wonderful piece of white plastic and stainless steel nonetheless. But still, I waited. It wasn't until the Windows version of the iPod was released that I bought my first mp3 player: a 2G 10 GB Windows iPod. My iPod died a last winter--the victim of a mysterious hard drive failure. When I bought it, I was one of two people at my high school to own an iPod. Now, everyone at my Biology table but me has one.
Since then, I have bought a used NJB3 and recently, a Rio Carbon. I bought the NJB3 because of its excellent reputation here. It was the "audiophile" player and not only had two line-outs, but an optical in as well. It could record! It had a remote! It could be expanded to 80 GB! However, I didn't take a shine to the player. Its interface was clunky and slow for this ex-iPod user. I loved the on-the-fly playlisting but didn't like the miniscule scroll wheel. Its gargantuan size got to me. I already received enough "I-am-cooler-and-techier-than-thou" comments for my headphone choice (Sennheiser HD25-1) from Streetstyle wearers, but the constantly ribbing about my NJB3 was too much for me to take. Strangely enough, I also found the headphone out to be too loud for the Shure e2.
Sadly enough, I had to search for a third mp3 player. During the summer, I contemplated getting a Karma, but then saw the rumors of a Karma 2. I decided to wait for it, and am still waiting. While I was during research for a friend who wanted her first DAP, I came across an IGN.com article on the Rio Carbon. I thought it looked cute, but then pushed it to the back of my mind. I wanted a DAP with a big hard drive and that puny thing wouldn't suffice.
Then came a chain of events: seeing the iPod mini and gushing over it, wanting a smaller DAP, seeing the high iPod population at my school, and then seeing that the Rio Carbon came out. You can figure out the rest.
build quality
It's a curse, but I have judged all mp3 players I've encountered by my first iPod. Here, the Carbon holds up nicely. Some say that the Carbon takes stylistic cues from the iPod, and I agree to some extent. The Carbon is aesthetically pleasing, but I find it to be a more modern, techy sort of look as opposed to the iPod's classic, iconic look. Like the iPod, the Carbon has a very shiny and scratchable back. But unlike the iPod, the Carbon came with a little clingy plastic cover for the back. I kept it on, and my Carbon is looking as shiny as ever. I recommend all Carbon owners to retain the plastic on the back for protection. It looks good too.
The front of the Carbon is made of some plastic stuff. I really have no idea what it is, but it's excellent! I was terrified of scratching the front, but it hasn't happened, yet. (knock on wood). It looks sufficiently shiny and high quality as well. There's also a gray rubbery strip along the bottom and sides of the player which makes the Carbon more "grippable." Very nice indeed. The buttons feel fairly solid and give a satisfying 'click' when pressed. The backlight slowly fades out instead of instantly extinguishing—very cool.
However nice the Carbon's build quality is, if in direct comparison with the iPod, I think the iPod wins. But don't get me wrong: the iPod is something that I felt the need to baby. I don't get that feeling with the Carbon. I also like the pocketable wedgy shape.
ease of use (gui)
Wow--a dedicated power button that's actually kind of nice! When holding the Carbon with my right hand, the power button is in a perfect spot for the index finger to press. Nice work, Rio. Hold down for a few seconds and wait for a 10 sec (approx) start-up. I like the navigation system, but as a former iPod person, I'm missing something. When I go from the music playing screen back to the navigation, I go straight to the top layer unlike the iPod which went to the previous menu. I'd prefer for the Carbon's menu button to function as a back button. Another quibble: I don't believe that the scroller accelerates. This leads to a tedious journey when browsing tracks. The
However, unlike the iPod and NJB3, the Carbon does not revert back to the now playing screen after a designated amount of time. This compensates for the lack of on-the-fly-playlisting to some extent as I can cue up a song and hover over the button to play it after the current song ends.
Carbon has a solid GUI, overall. It's no frills--no searching like the NJB3 had, but you don't need it since your collection is limited by the HD size.
When turning off the unit, a little gauge appears and fills up as you hold the power button. When it fills completely--you guessed it--the player turns off! It sounds moronic, but I think it's a nice touch.
I love file transfers with my Carbon. I just use the drag-and-drop and ignore the software. With my iPod, I was traumatized by MusicMatch. With the NJB3, Creative MediaCenter was a nightmare. The Carbon acts like a hard drive when I connect it to my PC. All I do is copy my music to appropriate folder, wait, and voila! Fully loaded. I have to mention that I don't have USB 2.0 (gasp!) but only USB 1.0. My experience in loading ~2.5 GB is that it's doable. Sure, it takes an hour, but I'm not changing my music collection on here often.
Note: I am right-handed, but found it entirely feasible to use my left hand to operate the Carbon. It’s not as simple, but it’s very doable.
sound quality
I was wondering how long I could procrastinate before having to pass judgment in this area. The reason I'm calling this piece a list of impressions is because I'm not going to go hardcore here as a review would. Because this is a portable player, I assume that no one's looking at the Carbon for a super-duper-hi-fi music machine. Comparing it to my Denon DCP-150, the Carbon is easily blown away. Comparing it to my horrible Sony PCDP. the Carbon is amazing. The Rio Carbon is a solid player as far as sound quality, I can't find anything it does horribly wrong. I use a Sennheiser MX500 and a pair of Sennheiser HD25-1 with the Carbon and haven't done any critical listening. Why should I? I use this DAP to fill the silence when I'm on the go. In those conditions, using my low to mid-fi cans, I'm not going to care if the highs are rolled off or if the midrange is particularly boxy or anything like that (and no, I don't think they are). I just want something that sounds nice. The Carbon works in this sense.
The EQ is a nice feature. I tweak the sound a bit to my non-audiophile preference. You can do this too! Don't be afraid of being less than hifi with your portables!
Comparatively, I think the Carbon falls in between the iPod and the NJB3 as far as sound signature. It's lively, but not as dynamic as the NJB3. I'm really enjoying the sound.
battery life
...which is another reason this isn't a review. I haven't timed how long the battery lasts. I can say that it lasts a darn long time though. Very adequate and definitely longer than my iPod.
accessories
The case is disappointing. My solution was to cut two windows to create a crude play-through case. It works and it a lot cheaper than the $50+ Vaja, though I do have to give points to Vaja for making a prettier case than I did. The charger takes a cue from Apple and has two parts: a USB cable and an adaptor. I don’t mind having to tote the USB cable around to charge my Carbon, but others may disagree. The earbuds will surprise you though. They look really nice and sound like the $0.10 it cost to produce them. The surprise is that the earbud covers are fluffily comfy, better than the Radio Shack ones I had. Yes! They’re good for something!
complaints
-no on-the-fly playlisting
-no hold switch (yes I know the hold function exists)
-scroll wheel doesn’t accelerate
-static problem (the headphones I use with the Carbon don’t have the problem though, but it’s a drag)
-no play-through case included
praise
-long battery life
-nice form factor
-cool backlight
-aesthetically pleasing
-easy to use
conclusion
I really like my Carbon. Is that obvious yet? I can imagine that you're tired of my talking by now, so I'll shut up.
Pictures and editing to follow.
This post was inspired by Tuberoller's call for more member reviews. Better late than never! Comments and questions and corrections are welcome.
photos
I decided early on that I wanted a playthrough case and wasn't so keen on shelling out $50+ for a Vaja case, so I cut the freebie Rio case up. I still think the Vaja cases are awesome and a lot nicer looking than mine, but there's nothing more satisfying that case modding with nothing more than a pair of scissors, an x-acto knife, and some electrical tape. This was inspired by the creative people at riovolution.com. It's not too pretty, but hey, it works.
When I first got my iPod a few years ago, I was absolutely ecstatic. I had anticipated getting an mp3 player since the Rio players came out and when 256 MB of memory was a big deal. I had seen the larger Creative players, but I was wary of the 6 hour battery life. When the iPod came out for Mac, I was understandably jealous of Mac people. I liked my PC and wasn't going to change my computer just to use the iPod, but I wanted that wonderful piece of white plastic and stainless steel nonetheless. But still, I waited. It wasn't until the Windows version of the iPod was released that I bought my first mp3 player: a 2G 10 GB Windows iPod. My iPod died a last winter--the victim of a mysterious hard drive failure. When I bought it, I was one of two people at my high school to own an iPod. Now, everyone at my Biology table but me has one.
Since then, I have bought a used NJB3 and recently, a Rio Carbon. I bought the NJB3 because of its excellent reputation here. It was the "audiophile" player and not only had two line-outs, but an optical in as well. It could record! It had a remote! It could be expanded to 80 GB! However, I didn't take a shine to the player. Its interface was clunky and slow for this ex-iPod user. I loved the on-the-fly playlisting but didn't like the miniscule scroll wheel. Its gargantuan size got to me. I already received enough "I-am-cooler-and-techier-than-thou" comments for my headphone choice (Sennheiser HD25-1) from Streetstyle wearers, but the constantly ribbing about my NJB3 was too much for me to take. Strangely enough, I also found the headphone out to be too loud for the Shure e2.
Sadly enough, I had to search for a third mp3 player. During the summer, I contemplated getting a Karma, but then saw the rumors of a Karma 2. I decided to wait for it, and am still waiting. While I was during research for a friend who wanted her first DAP, I came across an IGN.com article on the Rio Carbon. I thought it looked cute, but then pushed it to the back of my mind. I wanted a DAP with a big hard drive and that puny thing wouldn't suffice.
Then came a chain of events: seeing the iPod mini and gushing over it, wanting a smaller DAP, seeing the high iPod population at my school, and then seeing that the Rio Carbon came out. You can figure out the rest.
build quality
It's a curse, but I have judged all mp3 players I've encountered by my first iPod. Here, the Carbon holds up nicely. Some say that the Carbon takes stylistic cues from the iPod, and I agree to some extent. The Carbon is aesthetically pleasing, but I find it to be a more modern, techy sort of look as opposed to the iPod's classic, iconic look. Like the iPod, the Carbon has a very shiny and scratchable back. But unlike the iPod, the Carbon came with a little clingy plastic cover for the back. I kept it on, and my Carbon is looking as shiny as ever. I recommend all Carbon owners to retain the plastic on the back for protection. It looks good too.
The front of the Carbon is made of some plastic stuff. I really have no idea what it is, but it's excellent! I was terrified of scratching the front, but it hasn't happened, yet. (knock on wood). It looks sufficiently shiny and high quality as well. There's also a gray rubbery strip along the bottom and sides of the player which makes the Carbon more "grippable." Very nice indeed. The buttons feel fairly solid and give a satisfying 'click' when pressed. The backlight slowly fades out instead of instantly extinguishing—very cool.
However nice the Carbon's build quality is, if in direct comparison with the iPod, I think the iPod wins. But don't get me wrong: the iPod is something that I felt the need to baby. I don't get that feeling with the Carbon. I also like the pocketable wedgy shape.
ease of use (gui)
Wow--a dedicated power button that's actually kind of nice! When holding the Carbon with my right hand, the power button is in a perfect spot for the index finger to press. Nice work, Rio. Hold down for a few seconds and wait for a 10 sec (approx) start-up. I like the navigation system, but as a former iPod person, I'm missing something. When I go from the music playing screen back to the navigation, I go straight to the top layer unlike the iPod which went to the previous menu. I'd prefer for the Carbon's menu button to function as a back button. Another quibble: I don't believe that the scroller accelerates. This leads to a tedious journey when browsing tracks. The
However, unlike the iPod and NJB3, the Carbon does not revert back to the now playing screen after a designated amount of time. This compensates for the lack of on-the-fly-playlisting to some extent as I can cue up a song and hover over the button to play it after the current song ends.
Carbon has a solid GUI, overall. It's no frills--no searching like the NJB3 had, but you don't need it since your collection is limited by the HD size.
When turning off the unit, a little gauge appears and fills up as you hold the power button. When it fills completely--you guessed it--the player turns off! It sounds moronic, but I think it's a nice touch.
I love file transfers with my Carbon. I just use the drag-and-drop and ignore the software. With my iPod, I was traumatized by MusicMatch. With the NJB3, Creative MediaCenter was a nightmare. The Carbon acts like a hard drive when I connect it to my PC. All I do is copy my music to appropriate folder, wait, and voila! Fully loaded. I have to mention that I don't have USB 2.0 (gasp!) but only USB 1.0. My experience in loading ~2.5 GB is that it's doable. Sure, it takes an hour, but I'm not changing my music collection on here often.
Note: I am right-handed, but found it entirely feasible to use my left hand to operate the Carbon. It’s not as simple, but it’s very doable.
sound quality
I was wondering how long I could procrastinate before having to pass judgment in this area. The reason I'm calling this piece a list of impressions is because I'm not going to go hardcore here as a review would. Because this is a portable player, I assume that no one's looking at the Carbon for a super-duper-hi-fi music machine. Comparing it to my Denon DCP-150, the Carbon is easily blown away. Comparing it to my horrible Sony PCDP. the Carbon is amazing. The Rio Carbon is a solid player as far as sound quality, I can't find anything it does horribly wrong. I use a Sennheiser MX500 and a pair of Sennheiser HD25-1 with the Carbon and haven't done any critical listening. Why should I? I use this DAP to fill the silence when I'm on the go. In those conditions, using my low to mid-fi cans, I'm not going to care if the highs are rolled off or if the midrange is particularly boxy or anything like that (and no, I don't think they are). I just want something that sounds nice. The Carbon works in this sense.
The EQ is a nice feature. I tweak the sound a bit to my non-audiophile preference. You can do this too! Don't be afraid of being less than hifi with your portables!
Comparatively, I think the Carbon falls in between the iPod and the NJB3 as far as sound signature. It's lively, but not as dynamic as the NJB3. I'm really enjoying the sound.
battery life
...which is another reason this isn't a review. I haven't timed how long the battery lasts. I can say that it lasts a darn long time though. Very adequate and definitely longer than my iPod.
accessories
The case is disappointing. My solution was to cut two windows to create a crude play-through case. It works and it a lot cheaper than the $50+ Vaja, though I do have to give points to Vaja for making a prettier case than I did. The charger takes a cue from Apple and has two parts: a USB cable and an adaptor. I don’t mind having to tote the USB cable around to charge my Carbon, but others may disagree. The earbuds will surprise you though. They look really nice and sound like the $0.10 it cost to produce them. The surprise is that the earbud covers are fluffily comfy, better than the Radio Shack ones I had. Yes! They’re good for something!
complaints
-no on-the-fly playlisting
-no hold switch (yes I know the hold function exists)
-scroll wheel doesn’t accelerate
-static problem (the headphones I use with the Carbon don’t have the problem though, but it’s a drag)
-no play-through case included
praise
-long battery life
-nice form factor
-cool backlight
-aesthetically pleasing
-easy to use
conclusion
I really like my Carbon. Is that obvious yet? I can imagine that you're tired of my talking by now, so I'll shut up.
Pictures and editing to follow.
This post was inspired by Tuberoller's call for more member reviews. Better late than never! Comments and questions and corrections are welcome.
photos
I decided early on that I wanted a playthrough case and wasn't so keen on shelling out $50+ for a Vaja case, so I cut the freebie Rio case up. I still think the Vaja cases are awesome and a lot nicer looking than mine, but there's nothing more satisfying that case modding with nothing more than a pair of scissors, an x-acto knife, and some electrical tape. This was inspired by the creative people at riovolution.com. It's not too pretty, but hey, it works.
