Customer Reviews

RCA Lyra RD1080 128 MB MP3 Player

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(23)

 

 

Having had this mp3 player for a week now, I can honestly say that I am quite impressed. This unit is lightweight, very simple to use, and I didn't find the buttons awkward to mess with as I did the other mp3 players that I have tried. The RCA Lyra RD1080 also boasts an FM tuner -a feature that seems to be lacking on other mp3 players out there on the market. And the audio from this bad boy? Well, The sound from this little toy is simply awesome!

I wasn't able to find any specific instructions (could be I didn't look hard enough) on how to download my mp3's to this device, but after loading the software, I was able to play with the software and download into this mp3 player within 15 minutes.

This player comes with Musicmatch software where all of your files are managed. Keep in mind that you cannot download raw mp3's into this unit, as the Musicmatch software converts your mp3 files into mpy files. Therefore you wouldn't be able to just go to your friends house and download mp3's off his/her PC without the Musicmatch software.

To download into this mp3 player, I simply hooked it up to the provided USB cable, opened up the Musicmatch software, went to "file", then "send to device", and then I simply clicked and dragged my mp3 files from a folder on my hard drive to the Musicmatch software then hit the download button. It took about 6 seconds to convert one mp3 file to an mpy file and download into the player. It's that simple...

All in all, I am very happy with this mp3 player and would gladly recommend it to those looking for a combination mp3 player and FM tuner for a reasonable price!

I bought this machine a month ago at Radio Shack

Positive:

No need to use bundled software that many reviewers have complained about. Just plug in the USB cord and it pops up on your computer as another drive. Drag and drop the MP3 or WMA files you want, it will play both types without any intervention for the user.

This is my third MP3 (and WMA) player and the one with the best sound so far.

Many reviews complain about a belt-clip, my model did not come with a belt clip, it came with a very clever elastic arm band that holds it perfectly on your upper arm. I have used it 2-3 times a week at the gym and it is so much nicer than all the other Walkmans (yes I am old, the tape type) and CD players I have hauled to the gym.

Very good value for money.

Negative

The headphones are comfortable, but you can improve sound quality with better headset.

The radio is a nice feature with impressive auto search and memory for many stations, but all that does not matter because the receiver is so poor that most channels give you terrible static noice that ruins the experience.

All in all I am very pleased. The additional memory slot came in very handy as I had an old MMC 128 meg card laying around from an old digital camera. Just fill it with music, pop it in, and voila - you have 256 meg or in my case 61 songs to enjoy.

Good value, buttons and interface easy to use, I have not (yet) had any problems with the volume getting stuck on maximum as some people have reported.

Have fun.

Have been looking for an MP3 player for working out and traveling for some time now. Have looked at the Rio for a while but it just seemed so ...expensive. Came across the RD 1080 and decided to give it a try. I LOVE IT! FM Tuner works well, and has good reception and quality. Sound quality for the unit is very good. It's small and lightweight and seems to be pretty reasonable on battery life. However, I'd make sure you keep a few things in mind before you buy.

1) You have to use MusicMatch. Period. No other options. (As far the other user's comment about paying for upgrades to the software, I'd splurge and buy the lifetime membership to the software. I bought it a year ago and love it).

2) This is NOT a replacement for your $2000.00 home sound system. While it comes with some preset equalizer settings, you can't get too creative with the sound quality. But for [the price] you're getting a pretty ... good value.

3) Download times are slow (approx 15 min for 20 128k songs)

4) Belt clip does not really secure the player if you're pretty active with it (ie off-road running). No arm band either. However, you can readily rig one up with a little bit of creativity.

5) You have to use MusicMatch. Enough said.

All in all, I'm VERY happy with the player as an all around compact way to carry lots of great music with me in the outdoors or working out.

The RCA Lyra is my introduction to digital music, and overall it is a positive experience. The price is far more reasonable than many of the other 128 MB MP3 players out there, especially as it was one of my Amazon.comGold Box offers. However, before you buy, you should keep the following in mind:
Pros
1. Nice sound. Other reviews have complained about an annoying "hiss" between tracks, but I have not had that problem.
2. Surprisingly nice radio reception, with several (10 I think) preset stations.
3. Easy to handle. I have no difficulty in working the buttons/knob even when I am running.
4. VERY lightweight - you don't notice it when you exercise
5. Once you figure out the software (more later) it's pretty darn easy to generate and load music into the player.

Cons.
1. The belt clip is a joke. When I first saw it, I thought, oh, cool idea. Then I tried to use it. It does NOT want to stay clipped. It seems to work OK when I am running, but it will fall off if jostled. Don't try to listen to it while working with your hands (like I did while painting my basement) as anytime that you knock the headphone wires with your arms the player will "leap" off your waistband.
2. The software instruction manual. HAHAHAHA. When you read the hardware manual you will be instructed to go to the software manual for specific into on Music Match and how to download the music to the device. THERE IS NO PRINTED MANUAL FOR THE SOFTWARE. It is part of the tutorial on the installation CD. Don't bother to try to print it out either - it won't.
3. You have to use Music Match software. While the software is not difficult to use, it will annoy you to no end. It CONSTANTLY bugs you to upgrade. OK, already! And when you go thru the tutorial, the onscreen pics are for the UPGRADE, not what comes with the player.
4. Slow download times.

In summary, the player has great sound, small size, is more flexible than some other MP3 players on the market, reasonably priced and is easy to use once you figure it out. The downside is that it might take you a bit to figure out how to use it IF you are new to digital music, and the belt clip could be improved. Overall, a fun toy.

I have owned this player since July 2002. Unlike some of the reviews, this player has been very good to me. Sound quality is very good and I like the fact it is small and comes with a neck strap (I constantly use it at the gym). One annoyance is that it does not use RAW MP3 encoding: it converts files to a proprietary code via MusicMatch Jukebox, a piece of software that is more bloatware and can be cumbersome to use. However, I have not had any problems with installation, downloading, uploading, etc. Another annoyance is the headphones: they are too loose and I had to use an already owned existing pair. So far, support is non-existent on their website, even after numerous inquiries(I was told I was one of the first to buy and that it was not yet widely available).
Overall, the value is very good for the price: it is upgradeable via memory flash cards. Battery life is about 7 hours of play time (I usually change the 2 AAA batteries about once per week). I do recommend this player if you are a gym nut or a runner as it is lightweight and quite rugged (RCA has built a solid player)and is small enough to not get in the way. Again, sound quality is decent and comes with equalizer presets as well as Bass/Tone controls. Radio quality is average. I just wished it used RAW MP3 files.

I have had this MP3 player for two days. Works very well. I have used mine for recorded books.

The drivers downloaded fine, but the MusicMatch software would not install. (Don't even BOTHER trying to get help!!!) I am an experienced computer user who installs software regularly at my job. The problem is the software, not me.

Consequently, I had to use Explorer to cut and paste or move files to the Lyra RD1080. This is not efficient. I want to use the software I paid for.

I bought this specifically because it was advertised as upgradeable. I bought the additional memory flash card at the time of purchase. However there is one sentence in the entire manual that references the memory card. Sure it is upgradable, but you are on your own ...! You try to figure it out. No recommendation on which flash card to purchase, nothing, zilch. Consequently, I can't "find" the additional memory on the device, even though the card is installed properly. The additional memory does not show up on the drive directory, only the 128 MB shows up. Where is the other memory I installed?

That is a big letdown. Otherwise, the product has great potential. I would have easily rated this device a perfect 5 had the software installed properly and had there been more specific and detailed documentation on upgrading the memory.

RCA, you have a great product, but someone dropped the ball on this one!!!!

When I bought this mp3 player, it was not an impulse buy. I looked at all other competing models...and for the low price this one is hard to beat. I wanted an mp3 player with an fm tuner, this one has it. I wanted an mp3 player with at least 128mb of memory and again this one has it. ALL for a low price. This thing is so tiny it fits in the palm of my hand. I use it at work constantly for upto 10+ hours with name brand batteries. The other reviews give low scores for the software, of which I have had no trouble at all using...I am running the most stable operating system though...win2000. It does also play mp3pro files, which other reviewers have said it doesn't. It's just a bit tricky to get the files on the player, and a support page said it won't fully be implemented until december. I am a hardcore computer enthusiast, and I realyy enjoy this mp3 player. I guess the only gripe I have are the headphones are a bit too big and the carrying case/belt clip is a little loose on my belt so I have to put it in my pocket...also the button is hard to use to switch between tracks when it's in the case ;p BUt I love it.

Before I bought this player, I did my research, and read all of the customer reviews here. I can now tell you after using it 2 hours a day, 5 days a week for 5 months when I go walking, I am very impressed with the player. There are a few things to keep in mind, however, when using it:

1. I am not one to use Musicmatch, so I really don't recommend installing it. If you have Windows XP, simply download the Lyra program update from RCA's website for free. This will allow you to just plus your player into any USB port and you can use whatever program you want. Personally, I use the "Sync" option with Windows Media Player and have had absolutely no problems.

2. The battery life is 8-or-so hours. If you are planning on using this a lot, get rechargable batteries. You won't regret it. Also, on longer trips always have an extra set of batteries on you.

3. Lastly, I love the expansion slot. If you use WMA's and pick CD-quality, you can fit 2-3 hours of music without using the slot. With the slot, it only depends on the size of you multi-media card.

Overall, this is a great player for the price. I have seen it on sale quite often, so I recommend waiting for a good sale price and picking it up!

With a firmware upgrade, you can drag and drop MP3 files directly into the flash - and get rid of the Musicmatch software. Plugging the unit into the PC gets it recognized as a removable hard drive.

I'm a gadget freak and this has to be one of the best purchases I have made in a while. I did quite a bit of research and specifically wanted a compact player with at least 128mb of memory and an FM tuner. Not a lot of choices out there, I found out.

The Lyra turned out to be an economical and wise choice. It has it all: convenience, memory, FM tuner, ease-of-use and affordable.

I take it to the gym regularly and have not had a single problem.

Despite my being saddled with the ever buggy Windows ME, the software was easy to install and downloading music is relatively painless.

To be honest, my biggest shock was that this came from RCA. I didn't expect it from them. Not known for their early adoption of technology but they did a great job with the Lyra.