Whipsaw

New Music Players Gun for the iPod

By: Bill Machrone

Rio Karma

Rio invented the MP3 player as we know it, and it continues to innovate in this currently crowded space. The 20GB Rio Karma has serious geek appeal, because it includes Ogg Vorbis and FLAG (Free Lossless Audio Codec) support in addition to the usual MP3 and WMA codecs. The additional codecs make it especially suitable for Linux as well as PC and Mac.

The Karma’s squarish, hand-sculpted shape (5.5 ounces, 3.0 by 2.7 by 1.1 inches, HWD) is inviting, and it comes with a base that brings out both USB 2.0 and Ethernet interfaces, so you can use the Karma on your network. The base also has left/right audio jacks, and it’s an ideal bridge between your PC and your stereo system. What’s odd about the Karma is the lack of a belt clip or holster; the player is too thick to fit comfortably in most pockets.
The Karma is a pleasure to use. The face of the player has a menu button and a joystick/selector. A real scroll wheel (not a rocker) gives you another means of navigation, and dedicated buttons on the side control the volume. The menu system is very logical and easy to navigate. On-screen displays are quite legible, and the player lasted more than 14 hours on a single charge.

The player sounds very good through the bundled Sennheiser MX300 ear buds, which deliver solid bass and clear highs. Our frequency sweep and pink noise tests show a noticeable roll-off in both low bass and high frequencies, though with the frequency limitations of most compression schemes, you’d never know it. But if you want to drive a high-end stereo system with losslessly compressed files, you’ll need to apply bass and treble boost.

The Karma lacks the FM tuner that others in this price range have, but its network and home-stereo connectivity options are a plus.

Rio Karma: $270 street. Digital Networks North America Inc., rioaudio.com.
4 star