Rio Carbon Pearl

At first, the Carbon seems like a great buy, but time will show you that it is a piece of rubbish, and no one can help you with it.

I've enjoyed the time I have own this player.

The battery is good, as is the sound quality. As for the new Ipod's with thier colour screens - I want to listen to music, not try and watch a movie on a screen 3 inches big.

At first I used Sony in-ear phones, which sound great with this player, but each pair broke after a few months.

Nowadays I use Sennheiser HD650s with a headroom portable amp.

Although the Carbon does a resprectable job with these ultra high-end headphones it is obvious that there is a reduction in quality with the MP3 sound files it plays. However up until this point I was unable to spot any flaws in the quality of sound, so overall the device has performed very respectably.

The battery life is great, and obviously diminishes as the device gets older. I have had mine for over a year and, as with most portable players, the battery life is now laughable.

I would recommend this device to consumers, if it is still sold.

I had a horrible experience with my Rio Carbon Pearl, something internal. Had to return it, then my second one stopped working after about 2 months. It would turn on and off until the battery wore out, over and over again. When I tried to get another replacement they said replacement Rio's only have a return period of 30 days. Overall I was not happy with my player or the tech support. I would not recommend this product to anyone.

Up to the problem with the switch I couldn't fault the Rio Carbon Pearl but it is just too fragile for everyday use.