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RCA RD2800 10 GB Lyra Jukebox

RCA RD2800 10 GB Lyra Jukebox

List Price: $249.99
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: RCA Lyra Jukebox Review
Review: Well, having tried over 4 different mp3 players over the past 2 months, there's a lot that I can say about the RCA Lyra Jukebox.

Over all, it has impressed me in many ways. Sound quality is spectacular, battery life and recharge time is awesome, size and weight are great, and the DSP Equlization (5-band) is terrific. And since it comes with virtually ever adapter and cable you would need to hook it up, either in the car or at home, it leaves very little for you to need to buy as an accessory. So as far as the essentials, RCA definitly has it covered well.

But when it comes down to details, there are many little things that the Lyra Jukebox lacks. For example, there is no battery life indicator on the unit! Come on now! Also, the case that comes with the unit is pretty horrendous. Doesn't offer anything in terms of protection. Another little feature that might be bothersome to many (especially myself) is the fact that the LCD backlight will not stay on when the unit is plugged into the wall. Also, there is a slight delay between switching tracks, a big no-no for us who work in the DJ world.

Perhaps the worst (or best feature, depending on how you look at it), is the navigation system used in the software. Unless you have all your mp3 ID3s tagged, forget about trying to browse by filename. The unit features awesome support for browsing by artist, album, title, genre, and even playlists. But the unit will not sort alphebatically if you browse by filename (something many of us are used to).

So overall, I gave this unit a 5 rating because it has impressed me with the basic essentials. And since RCA has provided the ability for this unit's software to be upgraded, I would hope that in time, RCA fixes the little issues that many of us would get bothered by.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Worth Every Penny!
Review: Wow wow wow!!! I am utterly amazed at this piece of gear! This is my third hard-disk based mp3 player. I owned both the Archos Jukebox Recorder and the Treo 10, both of which had to be returned do to a whole host of issues including sound quality, lack of playlist support on the treo etc. The Lyra Jukebox smokes these two players, no comparison.

Construction:

The RCA Lyra Jukebox is very different than the other two players I have owned. The first thing I noticed was how this device's construction is flawless, even upon close inspection the build quality is far far better than either the archos or treo. Grade: 100

Sound Quality:

I loaded 500 megs of mp3s on the Lyra in 9 minutes and plugged in the headphones Wow! The sound quality is way better than either archos or treo. Also unlike those two other players there is no hiss or other unwanted noises during operation, It is a true pleasure listening to my Mp3s with this outstanding sound quality. Grade: 95

Headphones:

Finally a company has realized it is important to include some decent headphones with a hard disk based mp3 player, I am keeping this headphone
Grade: 90

Usability:

The Lyra is recognized as an external drive so transferring of MP3s and other files is a breeze. The User Interface on the Lyra is very easy to use and a vast improvement over both the treo and archosc. Grade: 95

Accessories:
You get everything you need with the player from decent headphones, to a cable to connect to the line out on the lyra to your home stereo, to a cassete adapter for your car, to a power adapter for in the car, and finally to a decent case with a sturdy belt clip. Grade: 95

Overall:
I think at this price point the RCA Lyra Jukebox cannot be beat. The Ipod is probably better in many facets but it is not worth twice as much. I finally have an excellent sounding, easy to use hard disk based mp3 player. Grade: 95


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