I’m looking to buy an mp3 player for the gym. I don’t need it to hold my entire CD collections, just about an hour or two of music. I looked on CNET.com and am leaning towards a Rio mp3. Has anyone had any experience with any of the Rio products? All of the topics about mp3 players here a T-Nation are all atleast one year old and I figured things have changed in a year.
I work out alot and always carry with me my Creative Muvo NX mp3 player. Its really small, about the size of a zippo lighter. Mine holds 256 megs, but the newer ones hold 512 and has FM radio. 256 is plenty for me as I can always change up the songs whenever I want.
The plus’s of it are its small, has a good case/clip. Light, doesnt skip. It has a long long battery life, with a rechargable NiMH mine plays something like 18 hours.
If you do get one, i suggest you get the newer TX versions, which is usb 2.0 . Id suggest getting something with 2.0 as usb 1.1 is a little slow, though not too slow. It takes me like 2-3 mins to load up the player, whereas 2.0 would take like 10secs.
You can get the TX at amazon for around $70 for 256megs.
Check it out. lemme know what you think or any questions about the player.
I second the Muvo. I’ve got one from last year and it is perfect for lifting.
iRiver has some decent models as well, I’ve got one of the lower end 128’s…the only thing it really needs is a good carrying case; now it’s stuffed in my pocket and gets annoying every once in a while (though I know it’s a good set when I rip the earphones out accidentally…).
I have a Rio…the light green one with the arm band. The band only goes around my forearm so I ditched it and clip it to my waist. It works great and I haven’t had any problems with it yet. I have had it for about a year now. The carrying strap in comes in keeps it from getting wet regardless of how much I sweat.
Are there any players that have wireless headphones, ie. bluetooth?
a wireless headphone combination like you just mentioned would be awesome. i think the problem is amplifying the sound. you cant get terribly loud without solid battery power.
but if they invented something already i would love to get it. i just got the philips nike version. its meant to be abused a little. FM radio on it sucks ass though. but it stays loud for about an hour, then starts to taper off for the next hour.
to me the best mp3 player is the one that can drain out the music in the gym and do it for my entire workout.
May I suggest an iPod mini? It holds 4GB which is a lot more than you’ve stated you’d want, but those smaller flash players can be quite expensive (for the amount they hold). At $249 it is quite comparable price-wise to a lot of the smaller capacity players yet holds a lot more and is incredibly user friendly. Just something to keep in mind.
Hey harley, I suggest the Rio s35s. The model is a couple of years old but it is a great Mp3 player. There are many websites out there that still sell them. I think the going price is about $65 on amazon.com. It has 128mb internal and an expansion slot up to 512. So your lookin at 640 when all said and done. It has a FM tuner, stop watch, armband, belt clip. All the goodies you would want out of a sports type mp3 player.
I have a Rio Chiba player and I love it.
It holds about a CD and a half of music (depending on track length, of course),which is perfect for a workout. It’s really small and doesn’t get in my way at all. It comes with this great clip holder-thingy that never slips off, too, which is a concern when running or doing cardio or any big movements. The Music Manager software that comes with it is really nice, too. HIGHLY recommeded.
Oh yeah, and it has a stopwatch function and AM/FM tuner, and a couple of other features I haven’t botherred to mess with yet.
I’ve got the Rio Cali sport, or something like that. It’s the yellow one. I love it. It holds plenty of tunes, never skips or anything, has a stopwatch that I use to time workouts(rest periods, etc.), fm tuner, clock, customizable settings.
Whatever you do, don’t buy the nike/phillips stuff. I’ve heard bad, bad things about them. The one I had quit after a week. I got my money back, but it was a pain in the ass.
I second the Rio S35. I have both the rio and an ipod. The Ipod never sees the gym (scared of breaking it!). The rio has built in FM radio (might come in handy while watching tv/running), is small, holds plenty of songs, water resistant, and can take a beating. Not to mention it’s fairly cheap and the cost of 512 meg sd cards are less than $40.
Creative Muvo NX 512mb and the Koss ear buds that form fit your ear. Great for working out, I couldn’t give a better recommendation.
Thanks for all the info. I think I’ve narrowed it down to some version of the Rio or the Creative labs Muvo. Thanks again
Of all the MP3 players suggested, I’d have to go with one that has an AM\FM tuner. Choices like that are a good thing.
The most important piece of info that no one mentioned, is be sure to pick up the store’s extended warranty. If purchasing online this may not be an option. Think about it, this is not some piece of eletronics that is going to be stationary like a television. The chances of this thing taking damadge are very high. Take it from me, My wife (Mrs. Butterfingers) just dropped my minidisk player at the gym, luckily my 2 year extended warranty does not expire until 12/29/04. This is the second time I’ve used the warranty, maby I’m clumbsy (actually there is no maby about it) but that warranty has has paid for itself 15 times it’s value. Be safe and protect your new toy.
Just to add…Nike MP3 players suck ass. That was the first one I bought before getting the Rio payer and it busted within two months. The Rio has been crushed, bumped, sat on, kicked, dropped, hit, sweated on, spanked, thrown, laughed at and still keeps playing.
Man, I want the Ipod with the 40g. Put my whole entire CD collection.
[quote]Bob423 wrote:
iRiver has some decent models as well, I’ve got one of the lower end 128’s…the only thing it really needs is a good carrying case; now it’s stuffed in my pocket and gets annoying every once in a while (though I know it’s a good set when I rip the earphones out accidentally…).
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Bob423: Get one of the tiny cell phone carriers that people clip on their belts. The player will fit in there and you can clip carrier to your shorts…Works for me.
I got an RCA Lyra from WAL-MART. Only cost me 50 bucks. Only holds 64 mbs though. However, it does have an expansion slot for SD cards if you want more memory. I use the SD cards like compact discs… one for 2 or more albums, one for just a collection of songs I like to listen to, etc. I don’t think you need that much memory space if you’re not going to be in the gym for more than an hour and a half, but if you are there for that long of a time or more, that’s where the SD cards can help.
In terms of battery life, it runs on one AAA battery that will lasts quite long (never tried to find out how long specifically though). A battery can get me through a week of workouts.