Music to go!
Written: Sep 19 '02 (Updated Sep 19 '02)
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Pros: Tiny, light, simple to operate
Cons: Battery hog, poor quality headphones
The Bottom Line: For those who want small, simple and cool, this is it.
Tech lovers may want more features, but it's perfect for my purposes.
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| kadenza's Full Review: RCA Kazoo RD1060 (64 MB) MP3 Player |
I love music, and I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in my opinion. Good music can change a bad day into a good one, and make a boring workout routine fly by. With my MP3 player at my side, the right song is always on!
I've had my little (though strangely named) Kazoo for four months. What I like most about it is the portability, plain and simple. It's the size of a matchbox, and that is plenty convenient enough for me. Even with the batteries (two AAA) in, it weighs scarcely more than the batteries themselves.
Sound
The unit has five equalizer presets, namely Flat, Bass, Pop, Rock and Jazz. I always leave it on Bass (and who would want to listen to Flat, anyway?) As for the sound quality, an MP3 will never sound as good as a CD, but I find the convenience to be a fair tradeoff. The software that comes with the player allows you to downsample your files at a lower bitrate as they're transferred, which means you can fit more songs on the 64 meg memory card. Sound becomes noticeably muddied when this happens, however, so it's a matter of personal preference how much sound quality you're willing to sacrifice for more music.
Without compression, the sound is quite clear. Not crystal clear, but clear enough for walking outside or in the gym. With no compression at all, the memory card is good for at least 68 minutes of music. I have doubled the capacity of my player with an additional memory card.
The headphones are a different story... I ditched them as soon as I tried it with my Sony earbuds instead. They've stayed in the back of the drawer ever since.
Ease of Use
The Kazoo has a minimum of buttons and features, and its non-lighted display screen shows a minimum of information: track number, and minutes and seconds. There are also tiny icons to let you know what mode you've selected (shuffle, repeat) and the sound preset. Personally I prefer the stripped-down interface. Although it would be nice to know the song title, whatever keeps the size and price down are fine by me. The controls can easily be operated by touch alone which is very important to me... I don't want to have to pull it out of my pocket to figure out which little button does what.
The software that ships with the player, MusicMatch Jukebox, offers a fairly convenient way to keep track of all your MP3 files and upload them to the player. If you have the time and inclination to rank your tracks with Mood and Tempo properties, you'll be able to "Auto DJ" which means you pick the mood and the length of time you want to fill, and the software picks the songs. I love this feature. I have saved dozens of different playlists for working out, walking, or getting mellow. I even have a mix for watching thunderstorms across the city from my balcony, my Rainy Day mix. File transfer can take a good 10 minutes via the USB connection, so I often set the files to download while I'm having a shower or something.
Durability
Once inside its clear vinyl case, the player seems somewhat cushioned against the occasional bump or connection with the pavement. I handle mine pretty carefully so I can't really say how it deals with rough treatment. As with any digital music player, there are no moving parts and it won't skip no matter what you do.
Portability
The Kazoo comes with a number of carrying options: the case (which doubles as a belt loop), a neck strap, and a wrist strap. I honestly have never found a use for the neck or wrist straps. I carry the player in my pocket or even tuck it under my bra strap sometimes, but RCA seems to have forgotten the most obvious choice: a clip! It could really use one.
Battery Life
It could be better. It sucks its 2 AAA's dry in four hours or less. I definitely recommend rechargeable batteries to feed this hungry little guy.
The Lowdown
Truly portable music has been a longtime dream of mine that has finally come true. As technology advances, of course capacity and sound quality will increase and size will decrease, and when the time comes I'll be glad to upgrade. In the meantime, though, this player is exactly what I need.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 126
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Epinions.com ID:
kadenza
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Member: Heather
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Reviews written: 9
Trusted by: 3 members
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