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CNET editors' review
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CNET editors' rating:
stars
Good
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 07/13/2005
Aside from being attractive, the Lyra's design is wonderfully uncluttered. The power button rests on the right spine, while the face features a menu button and a small control joystick that sits in the middle of a thumb scroll. You can use the scroll for volume control during playback and for navigating menus and playlists. The joystick controls playback and lets you move in and out of submenus. The color screen is vibrant--we had no problem reading track information outdoors in bright sunlight. Best of all, navigating through the menus is a breeze thanks to the thumb scroll, and you can browse content by album, artist, genre, year, title, or playlist.
The Lyra RD2765's package isn't too loaded--along with the player, you get a simple case with a belt clip, a USB cable, and an install disc.
Compared with similar players, the RCA Lyra RD2765 is a bit skimpy on features. On the plus side, it supports DRM-protected WMA files and MP3s. Windows Explorer handles transfer for all unprotected music files, so it's a snap transferring this content to the device. For songs purchased from online music stores, however, you have to use a jukebox application. The Lyra is compatible with Windows Media Player (WMP) and Musicmatch Jukebox (MMJB).What we miss with this unit are such niceties as line-in and voice recording, as well as an FM radio. You do get a JPEG viewer, though, and if your music files are tagged with album art, you can view them for up to 20 seconds during playback. Unfortunately, these are the only images you'll be viewing while listening to your tunes; the Lyra, even though it has a slide-show function, won't let you look at your personal photos and listen to music at the same time.
The Lyra RD2765 features five preset DSP, or EQ, modes (Flat, Bass, Rock, Pop, Jazz), as well as a customizable five-band EQ. Note that in the DSP menu, the user-defined EQ is labeled Graphic, as in graphic EQ.
If the RCA Lyra RD2765 were in school, performance would be its worst subject. For file transfers through Windows Explorer, the player exhibits no serious issues, although it's rather sluggish at 0.8MB per second over a USB 2.0 connection. Continue readingMost helpful user reviews
- Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 22 reviews
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5 out of 5 people found this helpful
"Great little player, nice size, easy to use and packed with features."
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2 out of 2 people found this helpful
"The best small player on the market, lots of nice features"
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