LCD and Other Features
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| Rio 600 with sleek LCD Display |
This player has a superb LCD display. The resolution of the display is simply AMAZING. The size of the screen would lead you to believe it could only display a limited amount of information, but thats only because you havent yet seen a LCD screen on MP3 portables capable of printing crystal clear, mini text. Even beautiful LCD displays like those found on the Creative Nomad II didnt impress me as much as the screen on the Rio600. The player is capable of displaying 20 full size characters across the upper half of the LCD, where the song titles are displayed. But thats not all
just below this full size text is miniature text that switches between displaying the Artist, Album name, and technical info such as file type, bit rate and track length. And just below that is the track number, total tracks, elapsed time, and volume setting. Above the alphanumeric portion of the LCD is a simplified icon system that indicates whether you are in repeat and/or random play modes. The only thing missing is some indication of what EQ settings are in effect. The LCD is also backlit by a nice indiglo-like backlight that doesnt hinder legibility in full light conditions, and nicely lights up the text in low and zero light conditions. The contrast afforded by the backlight in complete darkness is superb, and I didnt have to strain at all to use the player in the worst of light conditions.
The Rio600 is a very responsive, very fast player. I found this out very early on when playing with the many menu options. When you press the menu key, several tabs pop up at the bottom of the LCD, and you have access to a suite of options including some preference settings that control how long the player waits during inactivity before it shuts down into low power mode, and how long the LCD display lights up when you depress buttons. As with past Rio players, there is no LCD contrast control, but I had no problems with the factory contrast preset, so the lack of this feature posed no concern to me at all. The speed with which you can move between menu options and change settings contrasts starkly with the Creative Nomad II. The Nomad II had a very complex menu system that far exceeds the Rio600 in features, but it was also slow and clunky the Rio600 dances through its menu options lightly and quickly, and you never get the feeling that it is slowing you down.
The player is also very fast when moving from song to song. Some portable MP3 players dont have the processor power or software capability to quickly jump from track to track, but the Rio had no problems keeping up with me as I let my whims take charge and hopped from song to song. I also enjoyed the speedy track seek capabilities, which far surpassed that of the Rio 500 (which seeked through tracks slowly by comparison). The final clue to the power behind the Rio600 was the way that the EQ settings worked. You access the EQ controls via the menu system, and move around using the D-pad. In the EQ menu, you see a list of all 7 preset EQ settings (including normal), and as you move from setting to setting, you can listen to that EQ setting take effect
WITHOUT having to choose that setting! This is the most interactive, most amazing EQ menu effect that I have seen implemented yet in portable MP3s, and it just blows me away. A custom option also exists within the EQ menu, and that lets you change the treble and bass settings. In fact, all of the EQ presets are essentially bass and treble filters, but they are different enough that I think some of you may have use for them with various material.
Considering the fact that the player has the backlight and the fast response speed, I would have guessed it would require a lot of power to run. Instead, the player runs off of a single AA battery, and a fresh battery should last you over 10 hours, according to Diamond. Thats a pretty damn impressive operating life from a single battery.
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