Improvement over Kazoo
Written: May 22 '03 (Updated Oct 05 '03)
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Pros: Compact, functional, great for working out. Takes SD & MMC cards. USB device
Cons: No backlight on display. Music match sucks.
The Bottom Line: A nice improvment over the Kazoo line. Compact and functional and great for working out.
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| aaron_d's Full Review: RCA Lyra RD1020 (64 MB) MP3 Player |
I obtained this unit as a warranty exchange from RCA for a non functioning RD1060 Kazoo. I have been using the new unit for 3 months.
The actual model number on my unit is a Lyra RD1021a. It has 64MB of onboard memory and a memory expansion slot. The unit accepts MMC and as an improvement over the Kazoo, SD cards as well. The front panel LED contains track number, elapsed time, track ID, battery life, playback mode (random, repeat), DSP mode (Flat, Bass, Pop, Rock, Jazz) and volume level. Buttons on the front panel are Stop, Last Track, Next Track, and Play/Pause. The right panel of the unit has volume up/down buttons and the battery cover for the single AAA battery. The left panel contains the card slot and a button lock slider switch. The top panel has the DSP and playback mode buttons as well as the 1/8" phono earphone jack. The back panel has the USB port with a soft rubber cover. The unit is lighter in weight than the Kazoo, probably from one less battery.
The unit is small, approximately 2 inches square by 0.5" thick and is great for working out. The unit comes with open ear phones that have an ear clip similar to the earpiece on a pair of glasses. They are secure when bouncing around, comfortable, and sound quality is acceptable. Another great improvement is the upper arm band which holds the unit securely and is made of stretchy 1.5" wide band with a small pouch and velcro flap. Quality of construction of the arm band is very good and comfort is excellent.
The unit has been kind to batteries. My best guess is 6 hours intermittent or 3 hours continuous on standard Alkaline. I have a NiMH 750mAhr AAA battery that close to doubles the times.
Capacity of the player is reasonable. With the 128MB expansion card, I can fit 12 CDs worth of Mp3s burned at 32kbps. I've played around a bit with compression rates and have determined I can't hear any improvement over 56kbps with this player/headphone combination.
The unit is a true USB device and the internal and external memory appear in the windows explorer as removable drives.
Uploading/downloading music is done by connecting the unit to the USB cable and pressing the play button. Almost immediately the player LED reads "USB connected". At this point the drives appear in the windows explorer. To upload music, you need to use Music Match. I don't like Music Match and many others agree for reasons you can read about in the Kazoo reviews:
http://www.epinions.com/RCA_Kazoo_RD1060_Portable_MP3_Digital_Player_with_64MB_Internal_Flash_Memory_Portable_Audio/display_~reviews
To summarize:
The good:
1) Compact, lightweight, quality armband make it a perfect unit for working out.
2) The unit is nicely improved over the Kazoo line; 1 battery instead of two, track ID readout, true USB device, accepts SD cards in addition to MMC and good quality armband.
The bad:
1) No backlight on LED display.
2) Music Match. Wouldn't it be nice if you could load mp3s onto the unit directly in windows explorer and not need to screw with Music Match?
3) The unit appears to be built better than my Kazoo but I am giving a poor reliabitity rating based on past experience.
UPDATE 10/5/03
The player has continued to work without any trouble. The arm strap and headphones have aged well and handled wear and tear from weekly use for about a year now. I continue to be pleased with this product. I am upgrading the reliability from a 2 to a 3.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 0 - exchange
Recommended for: Athletes - Lightweight and Portable, Perfect for the Gym
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Epinions.com ID:
aaron_d
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Reviews written: 4
Trusted by: 0 members
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