RCA Lyra: True Sonic Pleasure
Written: Feb 21 '01
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Pros: Great Overall Player
Cons: Um...
The Bottom Line: This is a great mp3 player - I'd buy it! (I did, after all)
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| vijaygt's Full Review: RCA Lyra RD2204 (64 MB) MP3 Player |
While most of my friends at school were strutting around with CD players, I was walking around with a state-of-the-art MP3 player! The RCA Lyra. I had purchased a few months after it came out, back in march 2000, and have learned a lot about it since then.
GETTING STARTED:
First of all, I would like to acknowledge that RCA made, for some reason, the poor decision to use the parallel port on your computer rather than USB. This is inexplicable, but it is something that is a fairly minor issue (songs are written in about 10 seconds). Other than that, setting it up was a painless process on both the computers I use (an IBM Aptiva with a 266 Mhz Athlon, and a HP Pavillion with a 700 Mhz Athlon; both had Windows 98). I've never had any trouble.
Having to convert files to mpx isn't a big deal unless you are a full blooded hacker or are in the habit moving from one machine to another.
Once I got everything going (it took me about 15 minutes), I was ready to roll!
A CORRECTION:
Next, a lot of people seem to think you must use Real Jukebox to use the Lyra - that's the biggest load of trash I've heard! Even on the box, www.lyrazone.com is mentioned, and from there you can get a RCA approved alternative - MusicMatch Jukebox. I feel MMJB is the best JB out there, but regardless, it is still considerably better than Real JB. It's available, free, at LyraZone. Another plus is that MMJB lets you use WMA. and it seems as if the newest WMA codec gives you MP3 128K sound at WMA 64K. Also, there are many NOT ENDORSED BY RCA, WARRANTY VOIDING alternative programs, some of which even let you skip conversion to *.mpx. I just wanted to note this, as I felt that this was one "drawback" that in other reviews is foolishly mentioned.
MUSIC OUTPUT:
I have about a 1000 MP3s, and they all tend to have deep, heavy bass parts. Personally, I have been able to test a few other CD players my friends own, and the Lyra had equal or better bass output than all of them, especially if you change the DSP settings to bass. Bass ,Jazz, and the little EQ are the only DSP functions i use - the others never seem to have that good of an effect. I had heard that some MP3 Players don't pump out music loud enough, but using the headphones that came with the Lyra and with my favorite Sony phones, I've never had problems getting the music loud enough. The sound is beautiful, especially at 128K. By the way, a lot of people have flamed RCA for including "crappy" headphones. Actually, they are pretty good. They have a weak bass, weak midrange, and weak treble. It seems bad, but if you turn EVERYTHING up the your EQ, it sounds quite nice. However, i love bass and midrange sounds, and the included headphones, while not horrible, just weren't good enough.
Also - a very sad thing is that the RCA Lyra has a S/N ratio of only greater than 75dB! Most CD player have AT LEAST greater than 80dB. Now, this may seem like audiphile jargon, but what it boils down to is this - the ration specifies how much "noise" will be present when you listen compared to how much music you hear. Greater than 75dB is fine for normal Mp3s, but I listen to a lot of stuff I've burned off of tapes. To preven digital distortion and ugly crackles, I set the volume at a fairly low volume. These mp3s would come out crisp on most people computers, but on the Lyra, a mildly annoying, bairly audible hiss can be heard, during quiet parts, when listening. Not a big thing, but not a plus, for sure. I have found I can overcome this hiss by focusing on what I am trying to listen to. :)
MEMORY:
The obvious drawback to CompactFlash memory is supposed to be cost. But actually, now you can get a 128 MB CF card for around $138 - not really CHEAP, but still bearable - 2-3 hours at CD QUALITY!). That price is from pricewatch.com.
The included 64 MB CompactFlash card is incredibly small, and I thought that it stored just enough to prevent me from getting angry - about one and a half hours worth of music (at 96K mp3, 2 hours with 64K WMA - i am currently using the latter, which sounds as good as 128K MP3). Another plus is that the CF cards are sturdily built, especially in light of SmartMedia, which are the flimisiest things on the planet. After about 5 moths, I bought another 64 Meg CF card, for les than a hundred $. Now they are going for $80 and below!
As a footnote, I think it is important to remember that for any MP3 player similar to the Lyra, SmartMedia and CompactFlash are the only 2 options currently available. A 128 meg CF card costs $138. SmartMedia Cards of the same exact capacity cost $199(best price!!!). This is probably because SmartMedia cards are limited to 128 megabytes as their maximum capacity. After all - why would you reduce the price of a top-of-the-line product when people who bought pathetic SmartMedia player like the Philips Rush and the Diamond Rio will still be buying them (in addition to the people who own digital cameras that use this inferior format). I guess what I am trying to say in my trade-mark roundabout manner is that the memory the Lyra uses is by no means bad - it's actually the best around! (excluding the power-hungry microdrives, but that's another story).
DURABILITY:
OK - I wouldn't do any active thing without buying the 15 dollar MP3 player case, which even has room for cards and batteries (made by Case Logic). Under gentler, this-is-an-expensive-electronic-device-type treatment, the Lyra holds up extremely well - I haven't managed to scratch it, and that's something! Also, the batteries last anywhere from 8-20 hours (I've experienced anything in that range), but using Durcacell Ultras, i've found 12 hours to be a good benchmark.
However, I might want to note that the 20mw(yes, 20mw) output on the Lyra is quite power-hungry (most CD-players come with 10mw output, and those new high battery-life models ALL have 5mw output - SOFT!). If you want to blow your eardrums when you finally get a nice music system like the Lyra, well - go ahead. Just don't expect great battery life - 3-5 hours maximum at 45/50 (which is WAY TOO LOUD FOR ME. Oh yeah, don't expect to hear much after that, either.
DISPLAY:
The display is quite simply awesome! It's large enough so that you don't have to squint, and it displays all the information you might want. The backlight works wonderfully. Also, I found the display was very durable, and didn't get scratched easily. The only bad thing was occasionally, granules would form in the display if you used in it cold (40 degrees or less) temps, and they would go after a about week. They were annoying, but nothing to get worked up about.
BONUSES:
I thought the programming feature was straightforward and useful. The unit's compact size was great, plus the car adapter was nice. True, the adapter doesn't sound half as good as you'd expect, but you get it with with the Lyra 64 meg version, and I use it with my CD player. Another bonus is that you can buy this player now, and upgrade the memory almost five-fold in the future - already, 300 Meg CF cards are being made, and their prices are bound to come down soon. The MusicMatch JB software I mentioned earlier even lets you burn MP3s of old LPs or tapes you might have ( I have a bunch! ), and at obscene bitrates, upto 320kbps! The RCA Lyra website I found to be very helpful, and their customer service is above average. RCA Lyra also offers a Lyra "compatibleizer" at the Lyra website for either Real Jukebox or MusicMatch Jukebox. As those jukeboxs develop along with new compression formats, your Lyra will not go out of use. A current example: WMA! In the future: AAC? mp3PRO? whatever - the Lyra should support it.
CAUTION:
Do not buy the Lyra if you want to store a whole bunch of music on a small system and cart it around with you. The Lyra was meant to be a competitor with MiniDisc players, even CD players, not a 500 CD jukebox-type thing. If you want that, I would recommend the newly released Treo - u can get some nice specifications on that at www.dmusic.com, in their hardware section.
If you do want a totally awesome player for a reasonable price ($200 with the additional case), DO BUY THE LYRA.
Once again, I personally feel the RCA LYRA WAS ONE OF THE BEST BUYS OF MY 13-YEAR LIFE, AND I THINK THAT U SHOULD BUY IT TOO! Kudos to RCA for making a product that actually lives up to the hype marketing gives it!
OK, FINE! - it didn't live up to all the hoopla - but at least I don't feel ripped off! :)
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 210
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Epinions.com ID:
vijaygt
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Location: Chicago, World
Reviews written: 13
Trusted by: 1 member
About Me:
Sorry for wasting your time :p
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