64MB RCA Lyra MP3 Player at Target... YMMV!

[PTCvette]

I was in the local Target in Newnan, GA and saw they had the 64MB RCA Lyra MP3 player on clearance from $69 marked down to $35... It's got an SD expansion slot on it and hooks up via USB. Looked like a decent deal so I grabbed one for the wife to use while working out, etc... Check out the link at RCA for more info on it, and as always, YMMV with Target clearance!!!

LINK

Jeff

 

[LarryS]

Does this use encrypted MP3s? If not I'm all over this deal! I own an older Lyra and it's a REAL pain in the ass.. you have to use MusicMatch Jukebox to encrypt the MP3 before putting it on the player.

 

[Growltiger]

For what it's worth, Cnet review

You might want to look at this thread for a deal on 128 MB SD card @ Amazon

 

[PTCvette]

Originally posted by: LarryS
Does this use encrypted MP3s? If not I'm all over this deal! I own an older Lyra and it's a REAL pain in the ass.. you have to use MusicMatch Jukebox to encrypt the MP3 before putting it on the player.

Actually, the first thing I did was plug it in and XP picked it up as a drive, so I just started dropping stuff onto it... Unfortunately the Lyra has no idea what to do with that and just displayed the one track that came pre-loaded on the player. I used musicmatch and everything worked much better. Kinda a PITA, but I can deal with that for $35. Nothing fancy for sure, and I think that cnet review is pretty accurate about the player. Good player if you can find it for $35 IMO.

Jeff

Oh yeah growltiger, thanks for the heads up on the SD deal. The first thing I thought when I saw the player was "nice... now where can I get a bigger card?" but I haven't had a chance to look yet.

 

[Parasitic]

I'm looking for a cheap player to last long enough for a bus ride.

Was thinking of this + 256MB SD card for $64 on Kingston.

WMA 64kbps @ 320MB should be enough to last 6 hours right?

 

[carmann]

These went clearance months ago so you may have trouble finding one. They never went below 50% off ($35) in my area.

 

[WT]

This is the 1020 model ... I got the 1021 model from Target a few months ago. The difference appears to be a circular jog wheel on this model for menu access as opposed to my unit with its horizontal buttons. I loaded no software at ALL for my player, just a firmware updater. Its simple drag n drop operation, copy the files from your PC onto the player via Windows Explorer. I don't bother with WMA and use many high bitrate mp3s, finding 160 to be the minimum for my ears. The headphones are good units but since they are quite sizeable require an ear clip that may bother you after an hour or so of usage. I leave one side off (to answer my cell) and alternate every 30 minutes to the other ear. The original Lyra players had that awful copy scheme, as an earlier poster mentioned, but this unit seems to be just fine. Run time from 1 AAA battery is probably in the neighborhood of 5-7 hours (depending on brand used). Add a big SD card and you are set. There is no noticeable lag on the player from onboardsongs to the SD card ... totally seamless transition. Good unit for the price.

 

[ronton888]

Also available, YMMV, is the RCA Lyra Wireless Transmitter RD900W, beams music between two base stations. The only minor drawback is lack of a display on the receiving base station and the fact that it only accepts a USB stream on the transmitting base station.

Here's a snippet of a review from PC Mag

Review

Found it for $25 clearanced at a San Gabriel Valley store.

 

[Amploud]

All,

I have the 128MB Model RD1071A. I love it. It plays all mp3's that I have tried, including ones I've ripped myself and ones I have downloaded. I don't know how similar these are, but if they are similar, this is a steal.

The best thing is that it required no software on my Windows 2000 PC. I just plug it in and "drop and drag" files back and forth.

 

[badluck]

Originally posted by: Amploud
All,

I have the 128MB Model RD1071A. I love it. It plays all mp3's that I have tried, including ones I've ripped myself and ones I have downloaded. I don't know how similar these are, but if they are similar, this is a steal.

The best thing is that it required no software on my Windows 2000 PC. I just plug it in and "drop and drag" files back and forth.

I own the same model as you, and have to agree. This was a great buy for me. I got mine from a seller on ebay for around $75 shipped. I use it daily while working out, and can definately recommend it to anyone.

 

[TrentSteel]

Originally posted by: carmann
These went clearance months ago so you may have trouble finding one. They never went below 50% off ($35) in my area.

My Targets haven't had these in many months (Minneapolis area). They never went below 30% off.

 

[fcastle]

Target in Spokane, WA, had the Lyra 64MB for $79.99 and I could not find any on clearance. Is this a new model?

 

[PicknGrin]

Originally posted by: Growltiger
For what it's worth, Cnet review

You might want to look at this thread for a deal on 128 MB SD card @ Amazon

That Cnet review is for a different Lyra model, actually.

 

[Growltiger]

Originally posted by: PicknGrin

Originally posted by: Growltiger
For what it's worth, Cnet review

You might want to look at this thread for a deal on 128 MB SD card @ Amazon

That Cnet review is for a different Lyra model, actually.

How so? Both the review and the link in the OP are for the RD1020 model.