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When it comes to digital audio players or "DAP's"
as most people like to refer to them,
the IPOD continues to have a strong hold of the market. Apparently, size
does matter to many and there are only a select group of players
currently available that compete well with the IPOD. One such device is the
Rio Karma. This player has been the most appealing alternative since the
introduction of the Nomad Jukebox Zen which we
reviewed quite some time ago.
While the Zen did impress us with its excellent sound quality and playback
features, the Rio Karma offers you much more and is one device that that has
truly been designed for the hardcore audiophile. So before you go out and spend all
that extra cash on an IPOD, join us as we take closer look at this excellent
hard drive mp3 player.
Packaging & Contents
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The Karma comes bundled with a
docking station, Sennheiser MX300 earbuds, USB 2.0 cable, stereo RCA cables,
ethernet cable, power supply, installation disk, quick start guide and a pull
string carry pouch. As a musician, I can tell you that
Sennheiser is quite
a respected company when it comes to mics and headphones. It is quite
nice that Rio opted for some quality ear buds from the company. While
not quite up to par with my Sony MDR-EX71's, they are much better than most
other ear buds on the market.
Design
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The Rio Karma, in my opinion, is quite possibly
the most attractive and well
designed player currently available. This player is tiny, especially when compared to most other
hard drive MP3 players on the market. In fact, it always looked much
bigger in pictures until I happen to come across one at a local computer
store. When I saw just how small and well designed it was, I just had to
get my hands on one for review. The front features a large backlit display and
the indistinguishable red riostick that is found on mostly all of their new
products.
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To demonstrate just how small it is, I put it
next to a Nomad Jukebox Zen. While slightly thicker, it's much smaller
and much more ergonomic than the Zen.
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On the left side of the player is your button
lock and volume buttons. On the top, you'll find the scroll wheel,
headphone jack and power button. If you notice, the headphone jack is
design to support some kind of optional wired remote that has not yet been released by
Rio. This is a good sign as it will further enhance this already
feature-rich player. The bottom of the device is where you'll find the
connection ports. The larger of the two is used by the docking station.
The DC power jack is located next the dock port.
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