Customer Reviews

RCA Lyra Slider 8GB Digital Media Player (Black)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This player is AWESOME in several regards.

1. The ease of use is ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC. It is a plug and play device. Plug it into Windows XP, Vista, or higher PC and the computer knows how to deal with it, and gets the software needed from the ROM in the slider itself. No CD to misplace or lose. Would be PERFECT for someone like me that uses a Netbook without a CD or DVD drive

2. Porting MP3s over to the device could not be easier. Go to My Computer Log into the hard drive, directory. or thumb drive and select one or multiple directories click on the option "Send to" feature and choose the Lyra Slider as the destination, sit back and relax while the directories, files in those directories, and sub-directories are copied into the Lyra verbatim. I copied at least 90 hours of audio into the slider (14 hours of music, and five unabridged audio books. In other words I threw every MP3 file I had into it and only had it half full. the 2000 songs is a low estimate in my opinion.

3. The sound was amazing. The slider has the best and most comfortable ear buds I have ever used

4. The other reviewer is absolutely correct about the Lyra DESPERATELY needing the option to have multiple play lists. because when it starts it always starts playing the first song (unless you choose some files as favorites) If you turn off the player it goes back to the file you were playing. but multiple play lists would be VERY helpful.

5. Ease of use is a peach. If you want to delete a file for some reason you can do it from the player without the need to plug the player into the computer.

6 battery life is great! I have used it more than 2o hours in the last four days and have not seen a low battery indicator yet.

This player has three real down sides (the reason I only gave it four stars.

1. No multiple play lists.

2. I have not seen a randomiser or shuffle option in the four days I have used it.

3. The biggest downer for me is that every time you turn the devicce on it takes time you want to be listening to something to generate the current tracks in the device. They should only do this AFTER the player has been plugged into the computer.

I bought a unit back in January. I waited to write a review until after I had a few months of use.

The first thing I noticed about the unit was that it was super light weight and kind of cheap feeling. The buttons are stiff plastic and make an awful heavy clicking sound every time you search through the menus or playlist. All I wanted it to do was play music, I didn't care about the features nor the bells a whistles. It did this fine with excellent battery life for about two months.

After a month, the unit began to experience quirks. While listening to a song, the unit would randomly shut down. The problem eventually persisted until I could no longer listen to a song all the way through. I mailed it back and after a month, I finally received a new unit. Not more than a month later, I noticed the same problem happened a couple of times. I waited and the issue did not get worse as it had last time so I chalked it up to an anomaly.

So then two months after I had my second unit, the screen shut down and went completely black. Yes it still plays music but you cannot read the screen at all. Since the only way you can play all of the music on your player involves navigating a series of menus, the unit is now useless.

What I thought would be a basic cheap user friendly alternative to an ipod turned into a very costly and infuriating paper weight.

I could not see paying the prices for most media players, and when I saw this I was skeptical. But, I was pleasantly surprised at the qualiity of both sound and video. It is well worth the asking price. It may not be "cool" to buy the old-fashioned RCA brand name, but don't be fooled by names!

My husband has a Lyra MP3 player and I wanted one bigger and better than his, so when I saw this slider (because I'm a sucker for sliders) I jumped on it. The sound is good, but if you like to make you're own playlist and control the player the way you want to, don't get this. Howeer, it does play/record great off the radio.

Options: All Songs, Artist, Albums, Genres (ect; basic) but when you create (and you can create your own playlist hooked up to the computer) it doesn't list them on the player (on your computer, but not on the player) so you cannot play your own playlist. There is a "Favorites" option, but only one list, you can't have multiple favorites lists.

It's a cool device for travel to just put all your music on for the family, put it on shuffle and go on a road trip. But for everyday usage, NO. Get something with more options. Software is no good either. Coping from the music library or music folders on your computer works better.

I have had the Lyra Slider for almost 2 years. The only problem I have found is that the ability to save to favorites doesn't work all the time. Why it comes and goes I have no idea, I have freed up space to see if maybe that was the reason but that didn't work. The Battery life is amzazing. I download and listen to 99% talk radio so the feature to delete from the player without having to connect to my CPU is awsome. It is very user friendly. I work outside most days and have dropped it numerous times and it still works fine. I highly recommend it.

I got the Lyra Slider mp3 player as an early Christmas gift and was a little leery of it after reading some mixed reviews. But, I have to say, I am pleasantly surprised by how easy-to-use and functional it is. It doesn't have the brand-appeal of the ubiquitous iPod but it serves its purpose well, and for a fraction of the cost of a recent-generation iPod.

THE GOOD:

1) EASE OF USE: Anyone can use this mp3 player. Seriously. All you need to do it plug it into your USB port, and a folder opens. And you drag mp3 files into the "music" folder. And voila! They are on your mp3 player, ready to be listened to. No synching required. In terms of user-friendliness, the Lyra Slider is actually ahead of the iPod by a mile.

2) PORTABILITY: The Lyra Slider is incredibly lightweight, and fairly thin. It easily fits into mp3 player pockets in workout clothes and would be great at the gym. You can also slide the device shut so the control keys are protected and cannot be accidentally pushed or moved, which is a nice feature.

3) COST: It won't break the bank, and performs many of the same functions that more expensive mp3 players do.

THE NOT-SO-GOOD:

1) NO PLAYLISTS: Well, that's not exactly true. Mp3s are organized several different ways on the Lyra -- you can browse through them by artist, by album, etc. But if you're the kind of person who wants a Gym Playlist and a Driving Playlist and so on, this is not the mp3 player for you. But a few reviews lead me to believe that the songs are just on the player in a never-ending list with no organization whatsoever, and that isn't so.

2) STRANGE MENU SET-UP: Well, maybe not strange. But not what you may be used to. A review on this site mentioned that there is no shuffle function; there is, in fact, a shuffle function... you just have to go into Settings to turn it on. And if you want to shuffle through all your mp3s at random, you need to press "ok" on the "Music" option of the menu. If you decide you want to hear a particular song and shuffle from that point on, you're out of luck, because it will just shuffle the songs in that artist's/album's folder. It's a small thing, but it can be a little bit annoying.

3) YOU WILL NEED TO BUY HEADPHONES: I'm not really a fan of earbuds in general, and typically toss them out and just use regular ol' headphones, but the earbuds that come with the Lyra Slider are bottom of the barrel. They're fairly comfortable, as much as earbuds can be comfortable, but the sound is just awful and muffled and wrong. If you're giving this mp3 player as a gift, I would recommend gifting a pair of headphones as well. The recipient will thank you.

4) CLUNKY DESIGN: I won't lie. It's not the coolest looking mp3 player. It looks kind if cheap, and honestly, it feels that way too because it's made out of lightweight plastic. It's definitely not as cute or aesthetically pleasing as other brands of mp3 players. I guess that's the trade-off, though. You pay extra for the funky colors and sleek design of other mp3 players. You pay less here, and appearance is one of the sacrifices.

That said, it's a perfectly serviceable mp3 player at a reasonable price, and again, I cannot stress how much easier this mp3 player is to use than the iPod. If you're not tech savvy or buying an mp3 player as a present for someone who is intimidated by electronics, the Lyra Slider is a great option.

RCA Lyra Slider is a great player. Bought it for my hubby and he loves it, says the sound quality is fantastic and the bass is unbelievable. It's small, light-weight, but solid design, comes with very nice earbuds, and holds a charge for a long time. Would highly recommend to everyone!

I bought this as a Christmas present. So the opportunity to hear it and etc. has not yet happened. Sorry that I could not be any help at this time.