Posted by: AndrewT
Rio Receiver pre-purchase n00bie q's - 22/10/2005 00:07
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?
Posted by: bmark
Re: Rio Receiver pre-purchase n00bie q's - 22/10/2005 06:02
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
Posted by: robricc
Re: Rio Receiver pre-purchase n00bie q's - 22/10/2005 18:11
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.
Posted by: AndrewT
Re: Rio Receiver pre-purchase n00bie q's - 23/10/2005 00:26
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?
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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.