Some Rio Carbon questions

[Blubb]

Hi,

I just received my Carbon from my friend who brought it from America. It's cool, only the wheel isn't working so good

My friend says he can fix this. Hopefully without problems (some guy used some brute force to open the Carbon and now has a hole in its housing => riovolution.com )...

Besides the wheel I got two other things (don't have camera to take a picture of the cord I have

):
1. I'm testing the battery life now. This is the second time I am fully discharging it after fully charging it. It has 16½ hrs* now on volume 15, EQ off and about once in two hours I was playing a bit with it (setting date 'n time, scrolling a bit, etc.).
How much should the battery life last normaly under these conditions?

*Edit: Now I'm finished and the total battery life under named conditions was 17h45'. Nice, but is this average?

2. I got such a strange kinda cord. Firstly it's a bit short (20-30cm / 8-12 inches) and it has an ability to hang your Carbon 'round your neck.
Image with the Packard Bell version of the click-thing:

Are these cords normal or did my friend bring a different kinda cord. I noticed the earphones are the same as on pictures of the Rio Carbon, so it could be only the cord... Quality is good, so that's not the point. Only it's to short. I can't reach my pocket :S

If it is normal there are hang-around-your-neck-versions of earphones, what should I look for then to hang it around my neck? I don't have the connection part between the Carbon and the click thing and I haven't found any hole to put it in...

 

[Blubb]

Nobody knows anything about these things?

 

[JeffS]

I had a carbon and never saw a neck cord.
I bought it in early to mid Jan, and the only extra piece
that was in the package, was the adapter to prevent static
with metal based headhpones.

good luck
-Jeff

oh, and the battery life you're getting is normal, or at least it was for me.

 

[Blubb]

I guess my friend didn't buy it in an official store then. Could be it, cause he and his friends buy like 500 mp3 players in the US and they sell them here with profit. Buying from non-official sellers results in bigger profits (greedy, greedy friend :|)

That's why it was much cheaper than in stores. I had to pay €175 ($210), which is very cheap in Holland. In stores you have to pay like €250-280 ($300-336)*

It would be nice though to have my Carbon hanging around my neck. The only thing is I can't find a hole to connect it with. So I think my friend isn't only greedy, but also a bit dumb. Or the guy who sold my friend the mp3 players can talk really well

Although it's a non-official seller, all other aspects, including the battery life, seem good (exept the wheel then, but I read it can be fixed without big problems)

My friend isn't as secure as me, so he forgets to check all aspects. That's why I'm checking now

[size=xx-small]*1 euro = 1,2 dollar[/size]

 

[karma]

I bought my Carbon back in September shortly after its debut. There was no neck strap.

As for battery life, that sounds normal to me. When I first received it, I gave it a battery rundown and it lasted about 22 hours before I finally stopped it. I don't remember the exact settings, but it was pretty similar to yours (except I didn't fuddle with the player at all during the test).

 

[Snark]

Intersting.

I got my carbon in december and had no cord...Also i would be hard pressed to find a place to tie the cord to on the Carbon....

Are you sure it's a carbon?

Did you get an extender cord with it? (a short extender for the phone jack to remove the static issue with some phones)

It would be nice if you could post a pic...

 

[Blubb]

I am sure it's a Carbon. I'm quite sure now I got a non-official cord. Unfortunately I don't have a digital camera or anything with a camera, so I can't post a pic.

 

[slunk007]

From the sounds of it, you didn't get your Carbon in the original packaging, am I right? It sounds like your friend is just buying these things wholesale and bundling them with different headphones for some reason.

In terms of Carbon battery life, that sounds about right. Even if it were average battery life for the Carbon, it would be way above average compared to other players out there, only to be bested perhaps by some of the iRiver iFP series players (which aren't using a hard drive).

Enjoy your player.

 

[Underdog311]

When I had a Carbon I really hated how short the cord was for the headphones. I couldnt put it in my pocket and have the earbuds in my ear.

 

[Blubb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by slunk007 From the sounds of it, you didn't get your Carbon in the original packaging, am I right? It sounds like your friend is just buying these things wholesale and bundling them with different headphones for some reason.

I think I have the original packaging. It's white, with black and blue-gray/silver, with on the upper left a black man with dreadlocks who really enjoys his music.
Right next to the excited man there's "Ultra Thin Design" in a black oval.
Under the oval there's the logo of Rio and the notice of "5GB; 2500 songs"
On the left sides of the front package there's our gorgious Carbon with a nice shadow under it. It stands like it's "looking" to the excited man.
The package is in two languages: French and English.
Does this silly description help?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Underdog311 When I had a Carbon I really hated how short the cord was for the headphones. I couldnt put it in my pocket and have the earbuds in my ear.

Same as I have! How long (or better: short) is your cord? Mine is at about 25 cm (± 10 inches).

Because it seems there isn't a way to hang Carbons around your neck (it would be great though!), I'm going to buy some headphones with a longer cord. I think I can make my friend pay the price of the official earphones... how expensive are they?
As I'm buying new headphones anyway, maybe there are better headphones for the same price? What kind can you guys recommend me? I would like to have some suggestions, because I don't know anything about headphones...

 

[Blubb]

Ok, I did some research myself

Cans:
I found Sennheisers PMX60 en with $4 more the PMX40 (how much difference between the them?)

Buds :
A really cheap iRiver set which is, according to the website, comparable to the MX300 of Sennheiser. The Carbon goes fine with almost all sets, so I think these iRivers will go fine too.
For a normal price (double iRiver phones) there are MX450's and MX550's (with an asymmetric cord, what do I do with that?!?).

As you can see, this is all in the price category of $20-$35. That's the money I want to spend on it.
Also I don't know either to buy cans or buds. I think cans are worn more comfortable, but buds are smaller. And what about isolation from wind and background noise?

Can you give me some advice?

Thanks in advance

 

[Underdog311]

I use some Sony EX-71's, which arent really earbuds or cans...but they have a long, detachable cord. Sound decent enough.
Also, 10'' sound about right.

 

[Blubb]

hmm, that site I was browsing on didn't haven ANY Sony headphones... Worth looking at? I've heard Sennheiser is better, but I don't know..

 

[karma]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blubb As you can see, this is all in the price category of $20-$35. That's the money I want to spend on it. Also I don't know either to buy cans or buds. I think cans are worn more comfortable, but buds are smaller. And what about isolation from wind and background noise? Can you give me some advice? Thanks in advance

If you want isolation, you'll need to look at in-ear phones (also known as canalphones). Sharp MD33, Sony EX-71, and the Shure e2c if you can stretch your budget to ~$60.

If you're looking for earbuds, the Senn MX4x0 are very well regarded here. But as you said, buds aren't as comfortable as regular cans.

Other suggestions: Senn PX100, Koss KSC-35/75, PortaPro.

 

[Underdog311]

I can say that the ex-71 are very comfortable and do not hurt after having them in your ears for extended lengths like the earbuds do. Ugh i hate earbuds...
Anyhow, I know the Shure e2c's are canalphones that are regarded well and sound good. I went with ex-71's though since I can get them in white (I prefer white to black or clear).