Rio Volt SP90 vs. GPX C3847 PCDP impressions

[Mr.Radar]

These are impressions of the cheapo GPX C3847 PCDP ($12.50 new at Target stores) verses the Rio Volt SP90 PCDP w/ MP3 support (a crippled, rebranded iRivier iMP-100, that retailed for $100 when I got it in 2002). For my listening I used the soundtrack to the 1996 computer game The Incredible Machine 3 (the quality of the recording is so good I highly suspect the guy who did it was an audiophile looking for a good sampler disc to test his gear with as this disc is perfect for that job). The headphones used were my DT440's with the 120-ohm adapter jack and they were connected directly to the headphone jack on both PCDPs. On the SP-90 all equalization was turned off and the anti-skip protection was set to 10 seconds (less compressed).

Here are my quick impressions: The SP90 has an emphasised bass that was also a bit loose and wasn't very extended. The treble was also a bit undefined and the mids were recessed. The sound was maybe a bit more fun, but overall not to my liking compared to the GPX. The GPX OTOH had a much more balanced, tranparent sound that was more extended on both ends. The bass was tighter, and the GPX was more resolving of details. The highs were very slightly "plasticy", though it wasn't nearly as bad as pre-burn-in. The soundstaging was also a bit more 3D on the GPX.

Here are RMAA readings of the GPX (though the were made with the ADC on the Chaintech AV-710 so it's value is questionable). I tried to get readings from the SP90, but RMAA kept complaining about distortion or channel leakage with it.

Overall the differences weren't night and day, and neither player I would consider to be true hi-fi, though both were on the high end of mid-fi/consumer level gear (the GPX being closer to hi-fi than the SP90). The Rio Volt is still a semi-decent player, if sound isn't very important, especially considering all the features you get and the $10~20 price it's going for on eBay right now. However, if you live near a Target and are looking for a basic PCDP then you should definately take a look at the GPX C3847.

EDIT: A few technical differnces between the SP90 and GPX:
Code:

[left] GPX SP90 Volume control: Analog Digital Formats: Redbook CD Redbook, MP3, WMA 7 (non DRM) Outputs: Headphone* Headphone, Line-Out(not true line-out though) AC Adaptable? Yes Yes Skip Protection None 10 or 40 seconds (120s for 128kbps MP3) DAC 8x Oversampling, 1-bit | Unknown EQ'ing? No** Yes (5 presets) CD-Text support? No Yes Interface Simple Complex but more powerful Hold switch No*** Yes[/left]

*The "N" variation of this model also has a line-out, and there is a place on the PCB for the jack for it on non-N versions.
**The "N" variation of this model has a bass boost feature, and there is a place on the PCB for the on/off switch for it on non-N versions.
***The "N" variation of this model has a hold switch, and there is a place on the PCB for the on/off switch for it on non-N versions.

 

[D-EJ915]

I have a few comments to add to this comparison. The SP90 is the worst cd player on earth, I've gone through two and can't stand the thing; it sounds terrible and acts like a ..., really, it is the worst unit ever. It's not worth 5 dollars, it eats batteries (easily 10 hours battery life), takes forever to load and distorts like half-way up the volume control (which is very low-output I might add). To sum up the SP90 in a word: abismal.