#267730 - 22/10/2005 00:07
Rio Receiver pre-purchase n00bie q's
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old hand
Registered: 16/02/2002
Posts: 867
Loc: Oxford, UK
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After missing out on an HSX-109 the other day I took a look at the Rio Receiver. I'm no HiFi buff and considering that my living room doesn't have an audio system at all, the built-in amplifier in the receiver makes it very appealing - saves having an amplifier and I've got a Linksys WET54GS5 in the living room already, it all seems pretty straightforward really.
That said, I'm completely out of touch with current audio streaming devices and I could use a little pre-purchase advice:
1. What is the going price for a Dell-branded Rio Receiver nowadays?
2. Bearing in mind the 'going price' of Rio Receivers, are there any other products that I should be considering too?
3. The UI on the empeg is fantastic, by comparison what's it like on the Receiver?
4. Is the Dell Receiver for all intents and purposes the same as the Rio Receiver?
Edited by AndrewT (22/10/2005 00:32)
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#267731 - 22/10/2005 00:44
Re: Rio Receiver pre-purchase n00bie q's
[Re: AndrewT]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 30/10/2000
Posts: 4931
Loc: New Jersey, USA
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Quote:
1. What is the going price for a Dell-branded Rio Receiver nowadays?
2. Bearing in mind the 'going price' of Rio Receivers, are there any other products that I should be considering too?
3. The UI on the empeg is fantastic, by comparison what's it like on the Receiver?
4. Is the Dell Receiver for all intents and purposes the same as the Rio Receiver?
1. About $50
2. I would go with the Rio Receiver still mainly for the built-in amp in your situation
3. Not as good, and without using 3rd party software, you can only play album tracks in alphabetical order
4. Yes, they only really differ in appearance for the most part
_________________________
-Rob Riccardelli
80GB 16MB MK2 090000736
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#267732 - 22/10/2005 06:02
Re: Rio Receiver pre-purchase n00bie q's
[Re: AndrewT]
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new poster
Registered: 14/01/2005
Posts: 18
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I would generally agree with robricc.
However on point 3, I would add the following
The "standard" Audio Receiver Manager software is very robust and east to install and use. As robricc mentioned, its main drawback is that it plays albums in alphabetical track order, not numerical track order. However, if you listen mainly to playlists then it doesn't matter so much.
The other points I would mention is that if you want to search for a track, IMHO the standard software is much better: press search, then type FUNKY TOWN using the same method as on a predictive text mobil phone, and it will select all the tracks with that name: the Lipps Inc original, the Charlotte Church remix etc. I use this feature all the time (although selecting other titles!). Lastly, the standard software allows the host PC to enter standby mode when the Rios are turned off. When the Rios are switched on the PC will wake up (so long as you have a newish PC that supports WOL and you have it configured). I try not to have my PCs whirring away continually for the 2 hours a day that they are serving music.
Just my thoughts, and there is plenty of info on this forum.
Fair points robricc?
Cheers
M
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#267733 - 22/10/2005 18:11
Re: Rio Receiver pre-purchase n00bie q's
[Re: bmark]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 30/10/2000
Posts: 4931
Loc: New Jersey, USA
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Yeah, those are good points. I personally wouldn't use the stock software. I no longer use Rio Receivers, but the last server I used was xPLRioNet.
_________________________
-Rob Riccardelli
80GB 16MB MK2 090000736
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#267734 - 22/10/2005 18:15
Re: Rio Receiver pre-purchase n00bie q's
[Re: AndrewT]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 10/06/1999
Posts: 5916
Loc: Wivenhoe, Essex, UK
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Quote:
1. What is the going price for a Dell-branded Rio Receiver nowadays?
It might be worth sending Hugo (altman) a PM. He did at one point have a stack of Receivers to get rid of and I never noticed him selling them.
Quote:
3. The UI on the empeg is fantastic, by comparison what's it like on the Receiver?
Be prepared to be shocked on how lousy the screen is on the Receiver. It is an LCD rather than the VFD on the empeg. The backlight on some of them is extremely dim and even on the one I have with a bright backlight is hard to read from more than a couple of feet away.
I am planning to reinstate my dormant Receivers soon, but using a Pocket PC to control them, rather than trying to use the screens on them.
_________________________
Remind me to change my signature to something more interesting someday
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#267735 - 23/10/2005 00:26
Re: Rio Receiver pre-purchase n00bie q's
[Re: bmark]
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old hand
Registered: 16/02/2002
Posts: 867
Loc: Oxford, UK
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Well, the auction didn't make reserve so I'm engaging the seller with a view to a SCO at a realistic price. In the meantime... Quote:
When the Rios are switched on the PC will wake up (so long as you have a newish PC that supports WOL and you have it configured). I try not to have my PCs whirring away continually for the 2 hours a day that they are serving music.
I can make sure the server has WOL but will WOL fire if I'm using a wireless bridge between the receiver and server?
Quote:
3. Not as good, and without using 3rd party software, you can only play album tracks in alphabetical order
So, it looks at the ID3 tags and plays in title order, or does it essentially ignore the tags and play in filename order?
Quote:
It might be worth sending Hugo (altman) a PM. He did at one point have a stack of Receivers to get rid of and I never noticed him selling them.
Thanks, I'll ping him in case he's interested in offloading one here.
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#267736 - 23/10/2005 14:22
Re: Rio Receiver pre-purchase n00bie q's
[Re: AndrewT]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 30/10/2000
Posts: 4931
Loc: New Jersey, USA
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Quote:
Quote:
3. Not as good, and without using 3rd party software, you can only play album tracks in alphabetical order
So, it looks at the ID3 tags and plays in title order, or does it essentially ignore the tags and play in filename order?
It reads the ID3 tags and plays in alphabetical order based on the track name. This was a request made by Dell from what I recall.
_________________________
-Rob Riccardelli
80GB 16MB MK2 090000736
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#267737 - 23/10/2005 17:57
Re: Rio Receiver pre-purchase n00bie q's
[Re: AndrewT]
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new poster
Registered: 14/01/2005
Posts: 18
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Quote:
When the Rios are switched on the PC will wake up (so long as you have a newish PC that supports WOL and you have it configured). I try not to have my PCs whirring away continually for the 2 hours a day that they are serving music.
I can make sure the server has WOL but will WOL fire if I'm using a wireless bridge between the receiver and server?
I used Linksys WET11s with no problem. The only thing to remember is that the Rios can only wake up the PC once they have made their original connection and the Rio has obtained the MAC address of the server. When the button on the Rio is pressed it can then send a magic packet to the server and wake it up. If the Rio has been hard powered off (I never do, and you would not in ordinary use), then it will not know the server's MAC address and can therefore not wake it up.
M
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#267738 - 26/10/2005 18:43
Re: Rio Receiver pre-purchase n00bie q's
[Re: robricc]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31600
Loc: Seattle, WA
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Quote:
3. Not as good, and without using 3rd party software, you can only play album tracks in alphabetical order
Actually, you can just put albums into playlists to do that.
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