Lyra is a serious MP3 contender (Thomson Lyra)

Member Name: grandslam

Product:	Thomson Lyra
Date:	04/02/01 (1016 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great sound quality and super software

Disadvantages: A few weaknesses in design

The Thomson Lyra was one of the first MP3 players to go on general sale in Europe. Since then the market for portable digital audio has expanded dramatically, so how does this pioneer measure up against the competition in 2001?

"Quite well" is the answer, but this doesn't mean the Lyra is the perfect MP3 player. It just implies that other manufacturers have failed to come up with anything much better so far. The industry is still a young one and there are surely more players to come.
And let's get one thing straight: good MP3 players like the Lyra don't come cheap, so think carefully about whether digital audio would meet your needs. If you're happy with your portable cassette or CD player, it's unlikely you'll be able to justify the £200 cost of the Lyra.

A fine example of where portable MP3 comes into its own is in a gym, where I never go without my Lyra. CDs and tapes don't perform well when you're bouncing around, and MP3 solves this problem forever. The music never skips or jumps, and placed inside a pocket or tied to jogging pants the Lyra is so light you can forget it's there.

Open the Lyra packaging and you'll find the tiny player itself, good quality "over-ear" headphones, a Compact Flash card reader to connect to a PC, one 64Mb memory card, a CD with the Real Jukebox software, and a number of manuals, mostly in foreign languages! Once you find the English version though, you'll discover it's clear and concise.

The card-reader is a parallel device connected in-line with your PC printer using the cables supplied. It doesn't appear to upset printing in any way, and the use of the parallel port makes downloading music onto the card quite fast. A USB connection would have been faster still, though. Next you install the reader driver software and Real Jukebox off the CD, and you're ready to go.

Real Jukebox is worthy of a review all to it
self, but suffice it to say it's an excellent product. Use this to play CDs on your PC, and record them in MP3 or RealAudio format on your hard drive. (The Lyra can handle either format, and there's not much to choose between them). You can select the level of compression at which your files are recorded up to a maximum of 128 kb/s. I tend to use 96 kb/s, at which you will store about 90 minutes of music onto the flash card. 64 kb/s is an acceptable option if you need to get a double CD onto the player. Even at this compression, a copied CD sounds a lot better than a tape cassette. Copying a CD with RealJukebox takes just a few minutes since write speeds are typically 5x or 6x. Then just select all the files you want on the flash card to move them across to the card reader, and the transfer takes just a couple of minutes. Easy!

The Lyra itself is simple to use. The flash card presses into a slot at the side, but take care to insert it the right way round by lining up the arrows. The card is ejected by means of a slider that gently forces the card from the slot. Power is provided by two AA batteries, and will play many hours of music. You can get away with using NiCAD rechargeables but they will only last around 90 minutes so make sure you're carrying a spare set. The battery cover does not detach completely from the compartment, so you'll not drop the loose cover onto the gym floor while you're rifling through your sportsbag for batteries. It would have been nice to see a charger/mains adapter included in the price rather than as an optional add-on.

MP3 players have often been criticised for rather lightweight construction, and the Lyra does indeed seem to have a "tinny" feel to it. But over a year's use I have found it actually quite robust. Since the player has no moving parts there is little inside that would warrant protection by a more substantial casing. There is a removable belt clip on the back which holds
the Lyra securely in position.

The headphones supplied don't really fit the bill. If you are exercising you'll probably want to substitute them with very lightweight "in-ear" phones, which are more secure. For serious listening sat at home, good quality hi-fi headphones really do justice to the Lyra playing files recorded at 128kb/s compression.

The Lyra front panel consists of a small backlit LCD which shows the track playing, volume level etc. Dainty little silver buttons give you all the controls of a basic CD player. These are quite easy to manipulate but won't get knocked accidentally. Volume control is via a rotating knob at the side of the player, which also doubles as a selector switch in some modes.

Playing music is simplicity itself, and there are some pre-programmed tone settings you can toggle through to change the sound. It's also possible to set up a basic graphic equaliser to shape your own sound. Tracks can be programmed to play randomly, to a set program, or repeat, much as in a CD player. The software controlling this is not too intuitive, however, and it takes a while to master the art of programming the Lyra.
The player's inability to store any settings in a permanent memory is its most frustrating limitation. When the battery goes dead, or you remove the flash card, the volume returns to the default level, and you'll lose the settings on the graphic equaliser. So while it might take ten seconds to replace the batteries, it takes much longer to return the player to the settings you were using previously. The volume level is only displayed when the level is adjusted, which is also rather tiresome.

It's possible to navigate easily from track to track using the skip facility, but if you want to reach the middle of a track you'll need to shuttle-search from the beginning, which can take ages. It would be better to have a progress bar displayed on screen, which the user
can drag to access any point on the track. This facility is available on the RealJukebox software, but curiously not the player itself.

There is a short pause between each track while the file loads. This is hardly noticeable when playing studio albums, but it is a bit strange to hear the audience suddenly cease their applause on live tracks, only to recommence their appreciation of the artist two or three seconds later!

A word on sound quality. This will always be a balance between the amount of music you wish to fit onto the player, and the sound quality you find acceptable. No MP3 file will carry quite the same dynamic range as its CD original, but considering these files are compressed by typically 10 times, I consider the sound quality remarkable. Few people can hear much difference between a moderately-compressed MP3 file and a CD track. Consider also that the Lyra is designed to be used on the go: in a gym, on the train etc. These are not environments where it is possible to appreciate the very highest sound quality.

So in summary, consider carefully if the very concept of portable MP3 is for you. If you're fed up with a skipping CD or fluttering cassette when on the move, the Lyra might just fit the bill. There are a few annoying design limitations, but these are not limited just to the Lyra. In the imperfect world of portable MP3, the Lyra gets my vote.

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