RCA Lyra RD1080 (128 MB) MP3 Player

Pros: Great sound; small size; external SD card slot.
Cons: Supplied earbuds have unequal length wires; carrying case covers controls.

I saw the 1080B on sale at a local Officemax store. I had been considering buying a much more expensive MP3 player, but wasn't sure if I would like it and didn't want to spend $200 or so to find out. The MP3 players under $200 only had 128MB internal ...

Pros: Everything!!!
Cons: Nothing!!!

I cannot overstate the excellent sound quality of this mp3 player! I have listened to different iPods and, let me tell you, they can't hold a candle to the sound quality of this tiny mp3 player!!! Now mind you, I am an extreme audiophile fanatic who ...

Pros: Handles mp3PRO format and 2GB cards.
Cons: No SDHC (4GB+ SD card) support in sight.

Okay, so most of the information about this item's features and usability have already been covered in the existing reviews. It's a USB 1.1 device, it's not easily searchable through its primitive "back/next" interface, and so on. (Has anyone else ...

Pros: Lightweight compact design, back lit LCD display, 128MB memory, expandable memory, Radio, Music Match Jukebox
Cons: Battery life, Radio reception, Battery cover, no Mp3Pro Support yet, USB cover.

The RCA Lyra RD1080 is an excellent little player despite it's minor problems which are easy to get over.

PROS:

Design-
The RD1080 is fairly ergonomic, small; and lends itself well in ones hand. Controls are easy to...

Pros: Small Size, Price, Reliability, Variable Bit Rate
Cons: Poor earphones, Always begins with the volumn high

After spending a lot of time reviewing products, I purchased the RCA rd1080. It was quite simple to use. I have found that the radio works well, but I live close to many stations. The software is easy to learn and I was able to download mp3 songs on...

Pros: Easy uploading, mp3pro, wma,.mp3, no encryption required
Cons: BATTERY LIFE!!!! It sux, slightly slow transfer

It's an amazing player, one of the best on the market, but the battery life is pretty bad, it's transfer rate could be faster, but its so easy to use, and you can transfer directly to it with the latest software uploads! You can make playlist orders, but...

Pros: Compact, lots of memory, great sound
Cons: The volume control locked up at 50.

The positive attributes this device contained were it's size (approx. 2oz), memory (128 MB as opposed to other units at comparable prices which had 1/2 the memory size or less), the FM radio tuner (most units at this price did not have the radio tuner),...

Pros: Price for quality ratio is in your favor.
Cons: The buttons are funny.

The RCA Lyra RD1080 is a well rounded MP3 (and WMF) player with quite a bit to offer. This particularly small player offers everything you would expect in a digital audio player plus an expandable memory from an already sufficient 128Mb and a cool little...

Pros: Simple to use, compact, and light weight...
Cons: Buttons are a bit hard to press...

I purchased this MP3 player before I bought my iPod because I wanted to see if getting rid of my CD’s would be worth it or not. I did not want to pay $150 or more on an iPod and later decide that it was not for me, so this was my try out player. I ...

Pros: Quality construction, FM tuner, Good battery life, Large display
Cons: Odd design, Difficult to operate buttons, Adding songs not that easy

The Lyra sports a very unique design which I still am having trouble getting used to. Although its construction feels much more solid than my other MP3 players (the Rio S10 and Memorex Biomorph), the Lyra's ergonomics can be troubling. The joystick is ...

Pros: Good sound, decent value in a distinctively styled package.
Cons: Some design issues make this unit susceptible to damage.

It’s out-of-character for me to buy electronics on a whim but found myself almost nonchalantly tucking the blistered pack MP3 player in between a double-pack box of Mini-Wheats and the poinsettias in my shopping cart at my warehouse retailer. What ...

Pros: FMRadio, MPPro!, memory, skip-proof, reasonable cost.
Cons: software slow, crashes, paid MPPro upgrade, reliability?, WMA=bad.

Bought product (version 1080B) as gift for a runner, also for 4hour roadtrips, and car-trips around town (no CD in car). This player was easily available in all of the big-name stores. Love: Size, design, interface, great FM tuner (won't work in most ...

Pros: Good price, easy to use, expandable
Cons: Slow navigation, RCA support is almost worthless.

*********-UPDATE-**********
RCA just released MP3PRO support for the RD1080. in addition to supporting MP3Pro, the new update removes the MPY conversion and plays native MP3, MP3Pro and WMA. I am now changing my overall review from three to 4...

Pros: Expansion slot for extra memory
Cons: battery life, bulky design, headphones suck.

The RCA Lyra RD1080 is the first MP3 Player I have ever owned, so I have little to compare it to. It is easy to use and with Windows XP (not sure of older versions of Windows) you don't need to use the software that comes with it. You can drag and drop ...

Pros: Size, price, sound quality. Controls are easy to use (after I figured them out)
Cons: Slow interface, poor documentation, weak FM radio (like most portable radios).

I am very happy with this unit after a couple of problems initially. I love the sound, but hated the clip-on earphones. I replaced them with a Sony set that I had bought some time ago. I read several reviews complaining about the belt clip, but that has ...

Pros: Battery Life, Size, Weight, Ease of Use, Ease of Transfer
Cons: Speed of Transfer, No Hold Button, Sound Quality

I received an RCA Lyra for Christmas this year. It was the perfect gift for the time. I was about to take a trip and I hate bringing along a CD player and cds. I hate it becuase of the bulk and the fact that when I walk my less then usable CD player ...

Pros: Decent sound, pretty nice design, fair price, reception seems good, nice backlit LCD
Cons: Barely works with a Mac, virtually no support for Macs, manual is basic at best

When I see big letters on the front of a box that say "PC/MAC Compatible" I assume that both systems ...

Pros: Easy Controls, Nice Display, MMC Slot, USB Drive Letter
Cons: Signal to Noise Poor, Battery level indicator, No belt clip

Purchased this in February 2004 from a Best Buy because it was on sale and I had been looking for an MP3 player that had 128mb of storage as I was upgrading from a 16mb JaMP3 player. The controls are laid out well and it makes it easy to operate without ...

Pros: Good sized memory. Small size. Good sound quality
Cons: Belt clip is unusable. Problems getting all files to transfer.

I took it back after one week. Would have taken it back sooner, but I didn't have time, what with a ...

Pros: Size, price, expandability
Cons: FM, headphones

This is a remarkably small MP3 player with a FM tuner. The unit comes with headphones, a wristband case, a carrying cord and batteries. The Good- Very small size. Decent 128MB capacity. Easily expandable with SD/MMC cards. Backlit Screen. The Bad- ...

Pros: - Small, easy to use - MP3Pro support - FM tuner - Backlit display
Cons: - Poor sound quality (background squeal, crackling) - Flimsy USB port cover

I purchased this unit primarily for work-outs and occasionally outdoor activities (skiing, etc). I wanted to be able to share software, and even more importantly SD memory cards with my wife (who has a Lyra RD1021). It had a great price, and a very ...

Pros: Sound Quality, MP3pro, half decent radio, small & light,
Cons: LAG!!!!, 3HR BATTERY LIFE!!!, no browsing at all, file transfer, joystick and volume controlls

I saw this item on ebay for $10 ($15 shipped) so i decided to buy it. When i got it i saw that it was much smaller than what i expected it to be and surprizingly light. Until you put the batterys in, which brings me to the other issue: Battery Life ...

Pros: Size, display, sound quality
Cons: cheaply made, froze often

This MP3 worked brilliantly for about a week. Soon, the player began to freeze incessantly and for ...

Pros: Nice Looking, Easy to use, appears as usb drive
Cons: Horrible sound quality, Horrible FM reception, Poor headphones

SUMMARY JUDGEMENT (See www.thepeters.org/sj.htm ) This product is not worthy of a full ...

I looked at a lot of players and for the price this one is the greatest. I needed something to play "oldies" that are my favorites and help me train for a marathon. This was just the ticket. The sound is great, the size perfect - amazing that this little player can do so much with so little!! And an FM stereo too!! Plus it's expandable. But, I downloaded 34 songs and have yet to run out of music. The window displays the name of each song and artist and is easy to read. The FM has 10 channels that you can preset or you can just scan through them. I like the headphones that came with it -you wear them behind your head instead of on top so you can wear a hat without any problem. The only problem so far is that I lost a cover to the earpiece. Also, the USB flap cover broke off immediately on the player but it's not a problem that I can see. I would recommend this product highly!

Dudes, this little thing suprised me with the quality of music and the memory for the price, along with the fact it is still expandedable. The earphones seemed a little older style, but hey $10 can go along way for some ones. Workout, at work, walking, in class, this player is durable and reliable. The program to transfer seems like the usual, but remember, it's RCA...so if you like their stuff or not, you will use it when you get this. It's still easy and fast. Great bang for your buck.

Pros: Expandable Memory, Great Price, Awesome Armband
Cons: Slow upload of music. Buy a SANDISK 8-1 card reader to upload music faster

This MP3 player is awesome. It has an SD slot so I can use multiple cards with different types of music. It comes with a great armband so you can go for a run with the MP3 player on your arm and not worry about it falling off of your shorts. It sounds great and is easy to use. The radio option has great reception. I never leave home without it.

I looked at a lot of players and for the price this one is the greatest. I needed something to play "oldies" that are my favorites and help me train for a marathon. This was just the ticket. The sound is great, the size perfect - amazing that this little player can do so much with so little!! And an FM stereo too!! Plus it's expandable. But, I downloaded 34 songs and have yet to run out of music. The window displays the name of each song and artist and is easy to read. The FM has 10 channels that you can preset or you can just scan through them. I like the headphones that came with it -you wear them behind your head instead of on top so you can wear a hat without any problem. The only problem so far is that I lost a cover to the earpiece. Also, the USB flap cover broke off immediately on the player but it's not a problem that I can see. I would recommend this product highly!

this player brings us in the 21st century with a 20th century price.its small handy,cute amn very powerful.rca has outdone itself with this unit!!!!!

This is a great unit. I got it for my birthday and I have used it since. Great sound, Cd quality. This is one of the best units to run/play sports with because of the size! *******************PROS*********************** *Extra Small *128MB (not bad for such a small unit) *Sound is great! like a cd *Easy to transfer on *Best if you have the full version of Musicmatch but the trial version is still good *Expandable *Song Name Clear and Easy to read *Batteries seem to last awhile *FM Radio!Great Feature! *Price *********************CONS********************* *Back light turns off quickly *If your a Music Fanatic 128MB is nothing, especially compared to the other Rca Lyra with 10GB

This is a great unit. I got it for my birthday and I have used it since. Great sound, Cd quality. This is one of the best units to run/play sports with because of the size! *******************PROS*********************** *Extra Small *128MB (not bad for such a small unit) *Sound is great! like a cd *Easy to transfer on *Best if you have the full version of Musicmatch but the trial version is still good *Expandable *Song Name Clear and Easy to read *Batteries seem to last awhile *FM Radio!Great Feature! *Price *********************CONS********************* *Back light turns off quickly *If your a Music Fanatic 128MB is nothing, especially compared to the other Rca Lyra with 10GB

Dudes, this little thing suprised me with the quality of music and the memory for the price, along with the fact it is still expandedable. The earphones seemed a little older style, but hey $10 can go along way for some ones. Workout, at work, walking, in class, this player is durable and reliable. The program to transfer seems like the usual, but remember, it's RCA...so if you like their stuff or not, you will use it when you get this. It's still easy and fast. Great bang for your buck.

Pros: Lightweight, easy to use.
Cons: Using buttons requires removal from armband.

I had originally bought the Nike-Philips psa256max unit. I really liked that unit, but it could only be used with MP3s. It stated support for WMAs, but would lock up when it came to one. The RCA has no such trouble. I replaced the headphones that came with it, because they didn't stay on all that well while running, but I like the little player a lot. The only drawback I've encountered so far is that the player has to be removed from the armband to use the controls. Playback, battery life, overall weight and size are great. It doesn't seem to get very good reception on FM, but I haven't used it much for FM, either. Love the SD expandability. I'd definitely recommend this little player for running/working out.

If I had more time to look for a different MP3 I would return it just because of the software. The software is hard to use. The software uses tricks to constantly get you to buy the update like listing features in the menu and then when they are picked a window pops up saying "This option available on upgrade version only". The player is great and easy to use. It needs basic software that will just allow you to convert and upload your music to the player without all the extra junk.

I think it is generally good unit however I was livid when I found out you coundn't just transfer your MP3's directly. You have to convert them using Music Match which also has annoying upgrade reminders etc.

If I had more time to look for a different MP3 I would return it just because of the software. The software is hard to use. The software uses tricks to constantly get you to buy the update like listing features in the menu and then when they are picked a window pops up saying "This option available on upgrade version only". The player is great and easy to use. It needs basic software that will just allow you to convert and upload your music to the player without all the extra junk.

I think it is generally good unit however I was livid when I found out you coundn't just transfer your MP3's directly. You have to convert them using Music Match which also has annoying upgrade reminders etc.

Pros: Lightweight, robust construction, excellent backlighting, good quality sounding headphones.
Cons: Headphones can be uncomfortable at times, radio isn't that strong, anomalous scratchiness in music.

My RD1080(B) supports mp3Pro and has excellent battery life, I have played it for over 5 hours and have not yet seen the battery life go down -- AT ALL, still shows full charge.

Sometimes I hear a scratchy sound in the mp3 playback, not sure why, but it is rectified by going back or forth a track and replaying.

The headphones do take some getting used to, but the sound quality is good, if only they were more snug on the ears to really hear the fullness of the sound they do provide. I wear glasses so sometimes it can be annoying wearing the style of headphones provided.

The radio tuner doesn't pick up stations really well, but that's okay for me. I picked it up for $128 CDN dollars at Sam's Club while everyone else was still selling it for $200. It was purchased in December 2003, a christmas gift.

Its resilient, I have dropped it 1 time on concrete and it is fine. I'm hard on my products. It comes with a neck strap and a jogging band for your arm that is quite comfortable. I love this product and would recommend it to friends.

Pros: Compact size, decent sound, multiple tone settings.
Cons: Bad headphones, poor software, no MP3Pro conversion included.

Originally looking to buy Rio Cali or Forge 256, I found this player on sale and took chance. Happy I did. Good sound, expandable memory and multiple tone settings (including one user-set) make this a good choice, at any price. Even after adding 256K card I spent less than either Rio wold have cost. Included software is nothing special, easier and more efficient to use Windows Explorer drag and drop option. MP3Pro encoding only available at extra cost on included programs. Tried to use free download from RCA, but that required first converting everything to WAV format. A pain. Better earphones make big difference.

Pros: lightweight, easy memory upgrade w/SD card
Cons: battery life, MusicMatch software is terrible

I bought my Lyra 1080B and the first thing I discovered was that I didn't like the MusicMatch software at all. But I quickly discovered that after running the Lyra System File Update Utility that Windows Media Player 9 recognized the device and I could use it to upload music to the unit. The sound quality is good, particularly when played via my car stereo. The biggest drawback seems to be short battery life and having no other way to power the unit. If there were an alternate method of powering the unit it would be heavier and bulkier, so that is a trade-off I'd probably rather not make. If not for the kludgy software the Lyra would be an exceptional choice.

Well I have been waiting for the perfect portable sound system for 5 years and I'm still waiting. Despite it's size and display, the RD1080 didn't bring me what I have been dreaming to. I just need and upgradable MP3 player with backlight, and good FM sensitivity. I have then compared the RD1080 against an cassette with FM radio and the FM radio was very loud in this shopping center and when I tried the RD1080 I could not hear anything, so........... The day I find an MP3 player with enough memory and a NORMAL FM sensitiviry receiver then I will spend my money for it.

Well I have been waiting for the perfect portable sound system for 5 years and I'm still waiting. Despite it's size and display, the RD1080 didn't bring me what I have been dreaming to. I just need and upgradable MP3 player with backlight, and good FM sensitivity. I have then compared the RD1080 against an cassette with FM radio and the FM radio was very loud in this shopping center and when I tried the RD1080 I could not hear anything, so........... The day I find an MP3 player with enough memory and a NORMAL FM sensitiviry receiver then I will spend my money for it.

Pros: Great Sound Quality, Pretty fast transfer
Cons: Batt. Life, Poor Design, FM Reception

I bought this MP3 player last year and just recently learned of Epinions. I will be returning this player in exchange for a RIO Cali256. I originally bought it as a replacement for my FORTH mp3 player which had just busted. I'm a student who skateboards, bikes and uses it for sports.

Why? Everything. First, the battery life is horrible with the backlight, the "Enter" button broke in the first week (along with the "Volume Down" button), the software is awkward and disorganized, and FM reception sucks. Now the thing won't even turn on...it's dead... Purchasing this MP3 player was a very big mistake.

However, I did enjoy the sound quality... It was crystal clear, no matter what the volume was. If not using the software included (Windows Explorer instead), the transfer speeds are pretty fast, surprisingly.

Overall, I would NOT reccomend this MP3 player to anyone I know.

Well, it's not too bad. But, you have to use a nag-ware version of musicmatch jukebox to convert all your mp3 files to mpy files in order to play them. USB transfer is terribly slow (appx the same as a 2-4x burner writes to a cd), and problems with the driver in XP. Install the driver, it works once and then requires a reinstall to make it work again. Nice sound quality though, and once you've got the music you want onto the player it's pretty nice. It's just getting the music there that's a huge pain.

I bought the RD1080 and since then I have had to return it twice with memory problems. We are now waiting over 3 weeks for a replacement unit as it seems that RCA has trouble getting this unit to the retail outlets. Having a memory issue twice is concerning. It maybe a fluke that we have had two units go south on us but there are things I think they should add to this unit. 1. A reset button. Clear the memory and restore default. 2. RCA proprietary software to upload music. Like all others have said, the Music Match software really sucks. 3. Develope plugins for exisitng MP3 software such as WINamp and Windows Media. I think the money these players cost, I would have expected some better research and deployment of better software interfaces. I would hesitate at this point to recommend the player. Perhaps I should have waited another year or so for the bugs to be worked out in this new medium.

I bought the RD1080 and since then I have had to return it twice with memory problems. We are now waiting over 3 weeks for a replacement unit as it seems that RCA has trouble getting this unit to the retail outlets. Having a memory issue twice is concerning. It maybe a fluke that we have had two units go south on us but there are things I think they should add to this unit. 1. A reset button. Clear the memory and restore default. 2. RCA proprietary software to upload music. Like all others have said, the Music Match software really sucks. 3. Develope plugins for exisitng MP3 software such as WINamp and Windows Media. I think the money these players cost, I would have expected some better research and deployment of better software interfaces. I would hesitate at this point to recommend the player. Perhaps I should have waited another year or so for the bugs to be worked out in this new medium.

Well, it's not too bad. But, you have to use a nag-ware version of musicmatch jukebox to convert all your mp3 files to mpy files in order to play them. USB transfer is terribly slow (appx the same as a 2-4x burner writes to a cd), and problems with the driver in XP. Install the driver, it works once and then requires a reinstall to make it work again. Nice sound quality though, and once you've got the music you want onto the player it's pretty nice. It's just getting the music there that's a huge pain.

Pros: Excellent sound; good ease of use; light weight; plays FM radio, mp3 and WMA.
Cons: Unit failed twice within warranty period. Thomson refused to honor 1-yr warranty.

Unit's volume control failed after 10 months. Returned it to Thomson - received a new one 3 weeks later. New unit's volume control failed in 5 days. Returned it to Thomson. Now Thomson is refusing to replace 2nd failed unit. This is my 2nd review of this product.

Pros: Small size.
Cons: Mediocre sound quality, unreliable.

This piece of equipment failed on me within the first three months of use. The sound quality is mediocre and its capacity is by no means impressive. After standard use of the MP3 player, it would no longer send a signal to the right ear of my headphones. I was very disappointed and got my money back. I decided to never buy RCA again.