[jeff1965]

Hello everyone,
I know you guys will be able to steer me in the right direction. At work they have an old multi-cd player, it works fine, but won't play mp3's. I want to get one that will play mp3's on cd's that I burn at home. It doesn't have to be audiophile quality, but it needs to be reliable enough to last for a while. I'm buying it myself, so cheap and functional is the word. Any specific models or brands you guys can recommend would be appreciated, but, also any brands to avoid. I'll be keeping my eye out on e-bay or wherever you guys is the best place to get used gear. I'm not concerned with having something new. In fact, I want something used. Main two requirements are cheap and reliable (as can be expected for a cheapo).
 
1: Cheap
2: Reliable
3: Must be able to play burned MP3 CDs.
4. Multi CD unit would be a plus.
5: Needs to be a home-audio type component, not a "walkman" or anything of that format.
 
Thanks in advance
 
Jeff

 

[billybob_jcv]

I'm curious - why get a CD player that plays CDs full of MP3s? Why not just plug an MP3 player into the same line-in connection being used for the CD player? That would avoid the entire issue of needing to burn CDs full of MP3s, and your entire library would be on one MP3 player instead of a stack of CDs that will probably just get scratched. For under $50 you can do all this with a Sansa Clip +.

All you need is this cable: http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=102&cp_id=10218&cs_id=1021804&p_id=665&seq=1&format=2

 

[jeff1965]

That is a good idea. I wouldn't want to use something that would require batteries. I'll see if I can find something like that that would work with an ac adapter. If it held a chip I could put a ton of songs on it and maybe even create playlists. Good thinking. 

 

[ProtegeManiac]

  I wouldn't want to use something that would require batteries. I'll see if I can find something like that that would work with an ac adapter. 

 
I'd rather deal with a battery than a transport - you never know with those. I had a fairly new Sony SACD player (the entry level one), and it stopped reading SACDs after a year; my Marantz CD60 lasted years and years, but the gear tray breaks all the time, then at some point I realized it won't read CDs that have PC bonus content and stopped reading CD-Rs...I could go on and on, but I'd rather open up an iPod and stick a new $15 battery in it rather than deal with servicing a transport (costs can range from a $15 gear tray I can replace myself, to replacing the entire transport). You can always get one of those iPod docks that have the 3.5mm lineout separate from the dock port on the rear, that way you canhook up a charger cable to the dock while the 3.5mm is connected to the amp.
 
If you really don't want to use an old iPod, try any MP3-capable video player from...well, anywhere, like Costco. Get one that has a USB input for thumbdrives, that way you don't even need to burn the CDs nor use the CD transports - just get the highest capacity drive that works with it and you're good to go.

 

[billybob_jcv]

Any decent MP3 player with a rechargeable battery (like the Sansa Clip+) can be powered by it's USB port and a cheap USB power adapter. You probably already have one that came with your cell phone or any of a zillion other portable devices. If not, they are readily available:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/INSTEN-White-Mini-Travel-Wall-AC-Charger-Micro-USB-Noodle-Cable-For-Cellphone/36617592

You haven't said what the current CD player is connected to - are you planning to use this with an amp and speakers, or are you planning to plug headphones directly into the device you purchase? Most folks these days would just listen to music off their computer with headphones, so I'm guessing you are probably going to be using speakers? What are you really trying to do?

 

[fatcat28037]

Check thrift stores like Goodwill, Habitate,....etc. they always have used gear. Any Sony or Pioneer should play MP3s and I've found multi-disc players are the majority.
.