MP3? - What is it, anyway?
Written: Apr 02 '00 (Updated Apr 02 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Quality, Convenience, Adaptable
Cons: None I can think of - yet
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| davea888's Full Review: RCA Lyra RD2204 (64 MB) MP3 Player |
As with anything new, and not yet familiar to everybody, there is lots of mumbo-jumbo, fast talk, and those that ‘have’, really try to fast-talk the ‘have-nots’. Yeah, so let’s get down to some straight stuff about this new gadget that keeps popping into conversations as soon as the subject gets around to “What’s new...?” MP3 players...what the heck are they, anyway?
I’m logging onto AOL one day a few weeks ago and up pops an ad banner (yeah, like the other 100’s you have deleted to get logged on), but something makes me hesitate to hit the ‘no thanks’ button...don’t know why... anyway, for some reason I hit the ‘more info’ button and the games begin...fun stuff!
Okay, so I liked what I read. I mean, they made it sound really good...then I saw the price ($229 for the ‘complete kit’)...yeah, well, maybe I don’t need this thing...yeah, but...???...what the heck, with AOL you can always return it – no problem – in the 30-day try-out period...OK! (I hit the ‘order’ button!) 4-5 days later, UPS comes knocking and I open the box...
What a neat little gadget! The ‘complete kit’ stuff saves you some bucks ($25-$30 I guess), and you don’t have to immediately wish that you had gotten the this-or-that accessory item, etc. etc. The CD software disk is user-friendly, quick to install, and in a few minutes, you’re downloading your songs off your CD’s into your PC and they're neatly stored in your ‘Library’ files, and now you’re cooking...
You have to download each selection into the PC at ‘REAL TIME’ speed – that is, if the song is 4:20 minutes long, that’s how long it takes to get it into the PC...Damn! I thought it would be faster...oh well...anyway, you can at least listen to the song while you’re downloading (if you want – you don’t have to). So, now you get a bunch of songs loaded in. The included, removable memory card - 64mg - (Man! Are they little!) holds about 80 minutes or so of music (about 20-22 songs). So, after picking out which songs to download, then doing each one, you’re down the road a couple hours – the good news – you only have to do it once. Once it’s in there, you can copy, re-arrange, and generally fiddle with it any way you like.
The even better news – it only takes about 8-10 SECONDS per song to download into the RCA Lyra Player. Now you’re talkin’! Best of all news – you can get extra memory cards in various larger and smaller capacities (at relatively larger and smaller dollar costs), so that you can carry around as much music in as many different genres as you like. The little ‘travel pack’ accessory that is included in the kit is wearable, weather-proof, and has a belt clip for quick attachment.
If you don’t like or don't always want to wear the ear-muff style headphones, you can go to Radio Shack and pick up a pair of the ‘Ear-Nut’ style that fit right IN the ears and are almost invisible (the sound quality is JUST as good!). The expected news – the sound quality of the RCA Lyra itself is amazing! Really good. Added dividend: You can use the headphone output jack (standard stereo mini-jack) to connect with a standard, stereo patch-cord to your HOME STEREO SYSTEM – and have CD-quality sound coming out of your main speakers from a little AA battery-powered, hand-held machine that’s smaller than the old Sony Walkman! Wow!...I was impressed!
Also, with no moving parts, the batteries last a long time! Jarring, bumping, and even dropping (on the carpet, I hope), there is no hitch in the sound – smooth as silk while juggling it – if you like. It also comes with an audio-cassette-clone adapter (attached to another standard, stereo patch-cord) that inserts into any cassette player (mainly for the one in your car), and now you have your personally selected CD-track program to play in your car – with no CD’s to worry about! Nice...
Sure, there’s competition products out there, sure, it takes getting familiar with it, and yes, people are going to like some features on others better than...yada, yada, yada...but, you know what? This little baby, will impress the heck out of lots of people because it’s really neat, and it really works!
I’m glad I clicked on the ‘More Info’ button – and so is my wife! She now has taken it over as “MINE!”
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
davea888
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Member: Dave Andrews
Location: Lake Havasu, AZ and Lahaina, Maui
Reviews written: 87
Trusted by: 36 members
About Me:
That woman knows how to rob a train...
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