Diamond Rio 500 Cont'd
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| Rio 500's USB Interface |
Even when pushing the bass setting to its limit in the custom EQ settings, I couldnt get the bass response I wanted even from our reference headphones, which are usually able to squeeze out some extra bass response. Treble control was no more encouraging, and didnt affect the sound enough to clarify the upper end frequencies.
When using the stock Koss earphones, the music sounded a little less warm than our own reference headphones. Stereo separation was exceptional, and we could localize the vocals quite easily. Unfortunately, extreme upper end frequencies were lacking in quality and definition. The bass was so under represented that I found it hard to understand how Diamond would pair the Koss earphones with the RIO500 (since both seemed to be a little weak in the bass department). It was indistinct, unfocused, and very, very weak the perfect recipe for bass disaster. Other than these shortcomings, I found that I enjoyed the sound of the Rio500 and Koss pair very much the minute I punched the volume up into the higher levels this is a really fun player that takes the higher volumes VERY well thanks to its high 95db SNR. The Koss headphones also tended to be extremely clean sounding, without any of the hiss that we have come to dread during silent blocks in music.
The Rio 500 does have some quirks that I am going to nit pick. The first is the lack of LCD contrast adjustment, because the factory default setting was a little off, and so there was a background shadow that haunted our LCD display. The second is the slow seek speed, and a third quirk is the slight interference or buzz that accompanies any changes in volume. This interference manifests itself as a slight click or skip in the sound that accompanies rotation of the jog dial to change volume. A more serious drawback in the player is the poor implementation of the treble and bass controls, which have little effect on the audio reproduction. The bass settings were so much weaker than other players of this caliber, that I can say without hesitation that it is the key reason that I couldnt get myself past a certain level of appreciation of the device which is unfortunate because this is one of the best MP3 players I have come across and would have been my all-out favourite if the bass performance had been on to par with the Yuan, or the Creative Nomad II.
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| Rio 500's Back-side |
When it comes right down to it, the Diamond Rio 500 is one of the best players that weve come across to date. It doesnt have the best audio quality, but it does rank higher up on the scale there, and it is simply the most user friendly of all the players in this roundup. It is a true pleasure to use, with its large and excellent buttons that are easily distinguished by touch, its superb multi-function jog dial, and its high quality LCD display with track titling. I found it to be one of the most easy to handle players ever, but I still felt that the LCD was a little hard on the eyes, in spite of its excellent character resolution. The only negative that could be said about the player is that it doesnt have as many bells and whistles, but I appreciate how Diamond has concentrated on a quality player with all the essentials solidly implemented.
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