Anything I should look out for? Also, I have a Blaupunkt HU and I was wondering if there was any way to program the Rio to accept the signals from the Blaupunkt Thummer remote?

I thought it was possible to do this by using Hijack, I've got my Pioneer steering wheel remote working this way. You can find out about Hijack by looking at the FAQ.
It uses a feature called ir_translate, you can map buttons on the Blaupunkt remote to buttons and function on the riocar.

Good luck

I also have another question. I am not a programer, just someone looking for a hard drive music solution. Having said that, why should I get a Rio Car over the Neo Jukebox?

why should I get a Rio Car over the Neo Jukebox?

Decide this for yourself, by looking at this honest and accurate comparison matrix here.

For some people, the Neo is a "better fit".

The Thummer has been discussed many times on this board, and people keep coming to the conclusion that it is not compatible with the empeg because the IR frequency is wrong for the empeg. And, apparently, that is a hardware thing for both the Thummer and the empeg.

However, you can probably find out more information by searching for ``thummer'' on this board.

The Thummer has been discussed many times on this board, and people keep coming to the conclusion that it is not compatible with the empeg because the IR frequency is wrong

But not to worry, though. There's a host of options for hooking up steering wheel controls to the player. All are detailed in the FAQ right here.

For some people, the Neo is a "better fit".

Gasp!! Heresy! And from the FAQMaster Himself.

Quick, everybody, start gathering the torches and pitchforks. We'll soon teach him the error of his ways.

tanstaafl.

I think he was just making the guy feel better because there is no point in selling someone on the empeg now because pickings are slim.

I was just thinking more in terms of the version that can be mounted in the trunk or under the seat with a remote display. For some people, that's a better fit. The empeg really only works well in the dash, and if you don't have a way to put it in the dash, then one of the other products is better.

Of course, those other products don't have the software that we do.

What about the sound quality difference between the Rio Car and the Neo?

What about the sound quality difference between the Rio Car and the Neo?

With this class of products, the sound quality is going to be more highly dependent upon your amplifiers/speakers/wiring/installation than in the playback unit itself. And of course, how well-made the MP3s are.

The empeg player supposedly has very high-quality DACs, it's been said that it's the best available in this class of product. Also, it has a fully parametric equalizer. This allows you to tweak the sound more than the other units.

If you can't find anyone willing to demo the Empeg/RioCar for you, the sound quality is better than Neo's. That is from a technical standpoint comparing software-based (Empeg) decoders and hardware-based (Neo). I am not an audiophile, so this is something that is coming from memory. Neo is run through an existing head unit, so the amp in your HU will determine sound quality/loudness as well. With Empeg, in the intended installation setup (no HU), you will need an external amp which is almost always better then what's built into a HU.

If you have a Best Buy near you, they should be stocking the Neo. They would probably be happy to give you a demo. I have not been in a Best Buy since they started carrying it, but I would assume they have them on display.

For some people, the Neo is a "better fit".

Gasp!! Heresy! And from the FAQMaster Himself.
Quick, everybody, start gathering the torches and pitchforks. We'll soon teach him the error of his ways.

I must leap to Tony's defense here. What he said is perfectly correct. Some people *are* insane.

If a guy simply wants a player for his car and there is absolutely no room for the empeg in the dash, then I would have to say the NEO IS a better fit. There isnt a remote display/wired control for the empeg (something I always thought should be developed.) In certain cases, there are positives to the NEO.

Call me insane if you want, but with an MP3 encoded at 192 I really cant tell the difference between the empeg and the neo in my car. The empeg does, however, provide you with many more options to tweak the sound than the NEO does.

Joking aside, unless the Neo had worse-than-soundblaster-16 audio quality, you'd probably be fine with it in a car. Let's face it, a car is such a bad environment sonically:

It's shape is determined by passenger comfort and aerodynamics.
Speaker placement is determined by "Where will they fit?".
The interior surfaces have a mixture of bright and dead tonal qualities that are determined without regard to audio - the windows and seats need to be in a particular place in a car.
The entire structure of a car needs to be light, hence maximising the odds of components resonating.
There's somewhere between about 4000 and 84000 explosions a minute occuring about a yard in front of you.
There's only about a foot and 3mm of glass between you and gale-force wind.
And, of course, let's not forget road noise from the tires.

All told, I'm very impressed that car systems sound as good as they do..

Let's face it, a car is such a bad environment sonically:

Every time I hear statements like this, I have to disagree.

I mean, OK, you're right about all of the drawbacks to audio-in-the-car, but the car is the only place where I've got the time to really sit and listen to music intently. When I'm at home, I'm too distracted by doing other things for the music to be anything but background noise. It's very hard for me to force myself to sit there and do NOTHING but listen, so I'm always doing something else at the same time and I find that I often don't really HEAR the music. On the road is the only place where I ever feel like I'm able to pay proper attention to the music. Driving takes exactly enough of my attention so that the rest of my brain can pay attention to the music.

So for me, it makes sense to pour time and money into getting my car audio to sound the best that it possibly can sound. And despite the drawbacks you listed, there are also advantages to car audio:

- You can get rather large speakers with decent amounts of power into a small space.

- The speakers are relatively close to your ears.

- You can listen at loud volume settings without anyone asking you to turn it down (well, on the highway anyhow).

- The odd shape and cloth interior of most cars tends to soak up reflections instead of creating reverberation problems between flat walls.

I appreciate everyone's honest input. Here is my situation. I currently have a VW Jetta that had the Monsoon sound system stock. I replaced the HU with a Blaupunkt MD unit and kept the rest of the stock system. While in the past I might have spent a couple of thousand dollars on an aftermarket system, my aging ears and sensibilities told me this sounded fine. I have recorded music onto MiniDiscs from CD's and off the net from 128 to 192. They all sound fine to me. However, I realized that I would like to be able to listen to all of my music, at random, without having to change discs every 75 minutes or so, thus my desire to get a hard-drive based unit (probably to supplement my HU).

I have a DIN space available in my dash, so fitment is not an issue. What is an issue is that I can get the Neo from Best Buy, have them put it in, and if for some reason I am not happy I can get my money back. The alternative is to get a Rio off of Ebay and put it in myself (I installed my Blaupunkt myself), but if I am not happy with it (yeah I know, not likely), I am pretty much stuck with it.

Now, the advantage I see to the Neo is that it is still supported by the manufacturer, I can buy it and return it and I can mount the guts of it in my trunk and use their DIN Frame to mount the remote unit. The down side is that the color of the display won't match the rest of the car and I am not sure it will sound as good as the Rio (the Neo only has 1V outs).

As for the Rio, I would have to install it in my dash, and I worry about having to constantly remove it every time I leave my car (for theft protection). Years ago I had both Sony and Pioneer removable HU's and I am convinced that the constant removal and replacement, and the associate jarring, caused their failures. Plus there is the issue of having to buy the unit off of E-bay, which is always a risk.

Cost looks to be within $100 of each other, although the Rio and am looking at on Ebay is only a 10MB model, which is more than enough for me right now (I know upgrading is cheap).

So given that I am not running a high watt/dollar system and I am not looking to "hack" either unit, what do you guys suggest? If someone told me that the Neo didn't sound good, I would get the Rio, but taking into account my system, if they would sound similar, I might go for the Neo (just for piece of mind).

In reply to:

---

the Rio and am looking at on Ebay is only a 10MB model

---

10 MB?! You might be able to squeeze 3 songs onto there. No, I'm sure you meant GB.

Let me put it this way. If you get an empeg you won't regret it. You might not regret getting a Neo either though. I've never had one, butfrom what I hear they get the job done, but they lack all of the fancyness, neatoness, coolness features of the empeg.

If you got the DIN space it really is a no brainer. After hacking up a mounting kit in order to get the remote display to look good in your dash, and dealing with the plain FAT32 non database driven system, you will probably regret getting the NEO. The NEO is my suggestion only if you dont have the DIN space available. If I were in your shoes and had a chance to test both units (which I have, I own both) I would spend twice the NEOs price to get the Empeg. The Empeg may not be physically sold by the manufacturer anymore, but it IS very supported by them. Dave at Sonic Blue has helped me plenty of times on things he didnt have to do. Plus you have the most knowledgable people (including the designers) right here at your disposal. If you dont like a feature on the NEO, even though it is still "supported", you will probably never see it change. SSI just doesnt provide the kind of knowledge and support that the guys here do.

It sounds like the only "real" advantage you have to getting the NEO is that if you arent happy you can take it back. I can assure you, as most people here will, that you probably won't want to take either back no matter which one you decide. Having your entire music collection available at your fingertips is just an awesome feeling.

So in conclusion (sorry to go so long) you would be wise to spend your cash on the Empeg IMO.

Yeah, I ment 10GB.

"but if I am not happy with it (yeah I know, not likely), I am pretty much stuck with it."

They only go up in value. Just look at eBay to see that. You could EASILY turn around and actually make money reselling it.

Yeah, the value of the empeg is only likely to go up, until someone produces something better (nothing that anyone's aware of on the horizon), but the value of the neo is only going to go down.

I'm guessing you won't be buying either for their resale value, but if you're going to take a gamble on one to see how you like it, it's something to bear in mind.

I wonder if there are any owners near you in FL that would be willing to give you a demo?

I will be in the Tampa area (Spring Hill) July 15-17 with the Viggen. I would be happy to give a demo.

EDIT: Just saw that Deerfield Beach is 5 hours away.

Yeah, Tampa is a bit far, but I think I am sold on the Rio.

Let's face it, a car is such a bad environment sonically:

Every time I hear statements like this, I have to disagree.

I mean, OK, you're right about all of the drawbacks to audio-in-the-car,


I thought that's all I was talking about.


but the car is the only place where I've got the time to really sit and listen to music intently. When I'm at home, I'm too distracted by doing other things for the music to be anything but background noise. It's very hard for me to force myself to sit there and do NOTHING but listen, so I'm always doing something else at the same time and I find that I often don't really HEAR the music. On the road is the only place where I ever feel like I'm able to pay proper attention to the music. Driving takes exactly enough of my attention so that the rest of my brain can pay attention to the music.

So for me, it makes sense to pour time and money into getting my car audio to sound the best that it possibly can sound. And despite the drawbacks you listed, there are also advantages to car audio:

- You can get rather large speakers with decent amounts of power into a small space.

- The speakers are relatively close to your ears.

- You can listen at loud volume settings without anyone asking you to turn it down (well, on the highway anyhow).

- The odd shape and cloth interior of most cars tends to soak up reflections instead of creating reverberation problems between flat walls.


Yeah, I totally agree with you about the usability aspect, and I have no problem with people that spend a wad on their car audio - I was just observing that sb16 quality outputs vs pro-quality outputs is far less important in your average car because there is so much working against you to start with.

I disagree with your last point though. The odd shape and soft cloth of car interiors creates a complete acoustic mess...and gives each speaker a different response. It is easier to deal with 2 sets of opposing walls, and a floor/ceiling reverberation, as the resonant frequencies can be calcluated and eq'd easily, or passive measures can be easily implemented (eg live-end, dead-end approach)

Sometimes I go drive around just to listen to music. It doesn't have the acoustics of a recording studio, but in my opinion it is one of the most relaxing ways to listen to music.

sb16 quality outputs vs pro-quality outputs is far less important in your average car because there is so much working against you to start with.

All the more reason to have the best quality you can get in order to compensate.

I disagree with your last point though. The odd shape and soft cloth of car interiors creates a complete acoustic mess...and gives each speaker a different response.

Well... maybe. But the inside of a car is really pretty symmetrical, as are the possible locations for speakers. Are you suggesting that the "...soft cloth of car interiors..." is perhaps absorbing some frequencies more than others? Maybe so... but this is why I have a 20-band parametric equalizer in my empeg, and a pair of third-octave parametric equalizers back with my amps, along with both electronic and passive crossover networks. It's not like the interior of the car is changing all the time (at least, no more than a stereo "room" in your house, with the addition of more or fewer people) and with the right equipment you can compensate pretty well for the perceived inadequacies of the car interior.

I would put my car stereo up against most home audio systems of comparable price.

tanstaafl.

You can listen at loud volume settings without anyone asking you to turn it down (well, on the highway anyhow).

I see you've never driven anywhere with my mother...