A little bit of an overview before reading this: I've been trading emails on and off (around once or twice a month) with him since July or so. (Was trying to get an internship in... it looked optimistic at one point, but I guess it kind of fell through. Didn't help when he found out I was underaged either.)

He's a good guy, nice to talk to (albeit a bit slow to reply, but I understand he's busy). One of the topics we've emailed about is the Karma... when would it be released, reviewed, what he thought of it, etc. Well, today he posted a review of the iHP-120 and said it was the best player on the market.

Now, I don't know why I'm posting this (no matter where I post this I'm likely to be flamed), but a paragraph in the review struck a chord with me. I'm not sure why, but it almost seemed as though he implied that there was no room on the market for the Karma. That I had to disagree with.

Keep in mind that I have had no personal experience with any of the players besides a few minutes with an 3rd Gen iPod, and am basing this on the specs on paper.

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You know, I really should keep my mouth shut until I read your iHP-120 review completely and read the Karma 20 review when it comes out to find out why it isn't the best, but I felt like replying to a paragraph that stuck out at me during the review.

"All things considered, I think the iHP-120 is the best hard drive portable on the market. Any of you planning to email me asking what the best jukebox is, regardless of price, can take that last sentence as an answer. (The Rio Karma is hella close, but you'll have to wait for the review to see why.) If you're on a tight budget, then the Zen Xtra is still the way to go. If you simply want something to impress other people, or if supporting Apple is some sort of weird political/aesthetic trip for you, then the iPod is the way to go. My money is on the iRiver."

I need to stick up for Rio here. Not just because I'm partially biased towards them (my RioVolt still works after all these years - can't say that for my other PCDPs), but because I have a current belief at the moment that the Karma 20 is one of the best values out there.

First of all, MSRP is not really a good guideline to go by. It's a fine line to draw here because the average consumer will most likely be faced with the MSRP when they walk into a retail store, but if a larger company like Dell or Amazon carries the Karma for around $340 without being on sale, then I believe in general it has a $60 advantage over the other two players.

For the record, the lowest a Karma is going for right now is $269 after $20 rebate at Harmony Computers. I believe the lowest an iHP-120 is going for at the moment is around $345. An iPod rarely goes below MSRP unless here's a sale or you have an educational discount, so $399 for the 20GB is a fairly safe assumption.

The form factor of the Karma is significantly smaller in height than the Zen/Zen NX/Zen NX Xtra (or the iHP-120/iPod, for that matter). It's a bit wider and thicker, but I suppose it would come down to a matter of preference. In any case, it's the cheapest 1.8" HD player at the moment.

I'm not saying the Karma is perfect or the best player out there. Out of the box, the Karma lacks four things that the iHP-120 includes: recording, FM tuner, remote, and carrying case. On paper though, the Karma has the iPod beat in most aspects (exception: lack of accessories, possibly the UI).

My point: $270 for a Karma 20GB. About $56 more than the cheapest price on Froogle for a comparable 20GB Zen NX. Sure, it's not the iHP-120. But the Karma is shaping up to be a good value for those that don't need the extra features and want a smaller, inexpensive player. Definetely worth a consideration when looking for a new player.

- Jason

Just in case anybody wants to actually read the review in quesion:

http://gear.ign.com/articles/457/457818p1.html

I don't know, he mentions that the Karma is "hella close" to being the best. He says that the iHP-120 is the best "regardless of price" which kinda means he's not talking about best value. I don't really think he's hating on the Karma all that much to be honest.

I don't really think he's hating on the Karma all that much to be honest.

I don't either. I would love to see the Karma review.

Sorry. I overreacted about it... was tired and drowsy last night when I read that. The reason why I felt that way about the paragraph was that it made it seem as if there was no reason to consider the Karma. He mentioned the Zen NX, iPod, and of course the iHP-120 (which was the unit being reviewed), but he didn't mention a place for the Karma. I guess that's what stuck out at me.

Anyway, I surprisingly got an reply back today from him. I'm not going to post what he says because he probably doesn't want it posted to the public, but he does say he agrees with what I've said, and also mentioned a few pros/cons. That was good to hear... quite reassuring.

I just wanted to clarify whether or not he felt as if there was a reason for someone to consider a Karma and why/why not, and I got my answer.

Guess it's time to start saving up for that Karma...

Looks like the feedback paid off, Mike Wiley's final review of the Karma is very favorable and he apparently changed his mind saying that he liked the iHP-120 and the Karma equally. Read the rest of the review here:
http://gear.ign.com/articles/458/458401p1.html

I think he liked it.