Rating: 
Summary: Nice Features, But Cheap Little Plastic Body = No Durability
Review: When my last mp3 player broke a few months ago a spent a long time researching the newer models. I eventually decided on the Lyra.PROS
1) nice, big LCD screen
2) very small and easy to fit into a pocket
3) the buttons were well-laid out and I especially liked the volume buttons on the side
4) lots of people complain about the headphones, but I had a previous pair and like the clip-on design. CONS
1) The arm band is really not practical if you are not working out, and there is no clip.
2) NO DURABILITY. The reason that the Lyra 128 get such a poor rating is because, even with all of its nice features, it didn't last me more than a weekend. About two days after I received it in the mail, i dropped it about 2 feet onto a tile floor. (I will make a point of saying now that I had a Nike PSA]play 60 for 11/2 years and dropped the thing upteenth number of times. Never once did it stop working.) The RCA, on the other hand, would start playing after the drop, but when I tried to skip songs it made a terrible screeching noise and then would turn off. Also, if the player was jostled too much it would switch off.
Needless to say, i returned it the next day and will not be purchasing another one.
Rating: 
Summary: WHAT????
Review: the LCD has no backlight??? tell me this isn't so...i have been reasearching for a good MP3 player since last month, and i was already starting to think that this was the one, until i read a review that it had no backlight!!! i like to listen to music at night so this doesn't help me at all...
Rating:
Summary: a good bargain for a solid player
Review: I upgraded to the RCA Lyra 128 from my old Rio 600. I'd had problems with the Rio breaking down (and also SHOCKING ME IN THE EAR!), and the reviews of the equivalent 128 mb Rio (the Rio S50) complained of the same problem (the breakdowns, not the ear shocking). So I switched to RCA. Though it doesn't sport the huge capacity of pricier players, the Lyra is perfect for casual listeners, students, or bargain hunters. I did a lot of research on similar mid-range mp3 players before purchasing this one, and this and the Rio S50 were the only ones at this price range that got such positive reviews. The RCA Lyra has a wonderfully compact and lightweight design. The interface is simple and user-friendly: the buttons are all in good locations, the feel of the player is good (in your hand, pocket, or in the armband), and operating it is about as simple as operating a discman. It's pretty no-frills, and I like it that way. Obtaining tracks for the player is a bit tedious. Though it is easy to drag and drop tracks without compressing them (using MusicMatch or Windows Media Player), with only 128 mb of memory this will only get you around 2 hrs of play. Compressing files into wma format on Windows Media Player is more efficient, but takes time to master. I consider myself pretty computer-savvy but it took me a good hour to get the latest version of Windows Media Player, upload all my tracks, and then toggle the level of compression. Also, compressing the files takes time - about 20 minutes from computer to player. If you want radio-quality sound, you can compress the files all the way down to 32 kbps and cram in around 8 hrs of songs. I settled for 64 kbps and get 4 hrs of songs, and now it doesn't sound like silverware in the garbage disposal. There are some minor annoyances to this player that weren't an issue with my old Rio (or the Rio S50). 1) the Lyra screen is not backlit, so it's harder to see at night or in the dark. 2) the LCD display doesn't scroll, so I never get to see the full title of my songs or the artists' names. 3) as a compromise for its tiny size the player runs on a single AAA battery, which is admittedly less convenient than the single AA that a Rio runs on. However, the thing is so lightweight and well-designed I can't stay mad at it for long. Of the mid-range mp3 players, this one's definitely a good bargain for a solid player. I'm loving it (and the lack of shocks to the ear).
Rating:
Summary: I like it, crystal clear sound, but batteries are an issue
Review: I just got one of these things at WALMART today because I was really fed up with all of the annoying plastic CDRs scattered all over the floor in my room. You don't even need to install the software that comes along with the player if you have a place to burn the music like windows media player..just plug it into the USB port and you're good to go. Now back to the battery issue. This player requires one AAA battery. Sounds good eh? Nice and lightweight. One prob. It only runs for eight hours of happy music playing time. I would just reccomend buying some GOOD quality rechargable batteries to save money in the long run. Trust me. You'll need em. If you're used to making cds and have a huge hard drive, i would reccomend making lots of playlists. That way you can erase songs from the player and put songs on easier when you need them. What I really like about this thing is it will burn FAST. Like 7 min for 30 songs. You'll like this gadget.
Rating: 
Summary: This is great
Review: I just got my RCA LYRA 128 mp3 player. I find that the sound is absolutely amazing i could not beleive it when i heard it at the top volume. Set up was much easier than i thought with transferrs being resonably fast this is both on XP and 2000. I like the fact that it is so so so small!! I thought it would have been a little bigger. It is the perfect mp3 player for going to the gym. As a student it is so small that i can and will take it to the library with me. I dont like the ear phones they are too big for me but thats my only complaint. The arm band is also good abd i like the key lock function.
Rating:
Summary: Electronics Fan
Review: Just bought the MP3 player got it home downloaded some songs everthing was easy but when I play it not enough volume! Im a much older person then the generation who likes these kind of gadgets but I was disappointed (not enough volume) I have it turned all the way up and can hear my TV over it I even changed headpones to my Sony headpones still doesnt work! I like my music loud when Im listening to Ozzy, you young folks will be disappointed not enough cranking volume!! Too bad, its a neat MP3 player but its going back, I wonder if all the digital MP3 players have low volume??
Rating:
Summary: Great for running!
Review: I've been using it for 2 months, and am VERY pleased. The player installed flawlessly with my XP Professional systems, and the Music Match software works OK, but has some bugs. I'm using MusicMatch 7.5, the newer versions might be a little better, but haven't tried them. Some of the other critisims -- such as played songs out of sequence is due to the music match. The trick is create a playlist, save, send and then do not reorder the tracks, or the songs may play out of order.
The only weak part of the unit is the headphones, but decent headphones cost $20. I like the Panasonic RP-HS40. I havent't use the SD cards much (I use them for my digital camer, and pocket PC) because I heard they suck up the battery. With the install 128MB memory I've been getting the full 15 hours.
Use the MP3 Pro as opposed to the MP3 format. At 96kbps it sounds great!
Rating:
Summary: Amazing player
Review: Installation was a breeze. It comes with MusicMatch Jukebox and once installed, you can drag and drop using MusicMatch or Windows Explorer. Player is super-light and comes with a sturdy arm-band. The sound that comes out of this is amazing. Very clean and the volume can go very loud. Plus, it's expandable with a SD/MMC card. Can't ask for anything more. I'm buying one card for me and another for my girl so we can share the player. I'll never go back to CD player's now.
Rating: 
Summary: Major Flaw
Review: The device isn't bad on the whole, but the the extraordinary difficulty in getting a computer to "recognize" the device, enabling downloading, makes using it almost impossible. There is a magic formula (load software, turn computer off, turn comp. on, plug in cable to both computer and device, turn computer off, start again in different order, chant mantras etc.), but I've only stumbled across it once. As there's no telephone support, you're on your own. (the instruction manual is poorly written and confusingly organized) The software comes w/ a number of unrelated applications, that serve to make an irritating experience even more unbearable. After four days of tinkering, I returned mine.
Rating:
Summary: Really now, what more do you need???
Review: Let's not get crazy here. Save your money, this is all you need. Minute size, great sound (LOUD!!), cheap, and...oh...did I say cheap. This is all you need. Believe it or not, I sent back my iPod for this and saved $400.
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