What are the best portable MP3/CD player??

[proxops-pete]

Hi.
I don't know if this question has been answered yet...

I am curious to know...

Are all portable MP3/CD players about the same in quality?
I just got a Panasonic MP-36C that reads CD-RW discs as well and supports upto 320 kbps sample rate. I like it so far... but I wanted to know if there were others out there that could play my MP3's better... but it also has to be CD player still!!

Thanks!

 

[milamber]

have a look at iriver's mp3cd players. They're generally well thought of.

 

[ipushplanks]

i would have a look at iriver those are rated best everywhere i've been but it's all personal preference. i have a philips expanium from wallyworld and its kinda nice for $50 it doesnt play Vbrs, the sounds pretty nice for that price .

 

[proxops-pete]

Thanks...
Too bad I didn't post this question BEFORE purchasing the Panasonic!

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Quote:

Originally Posted by proxops-pete Thanks... Too bad I didn't post this question BEFORE purchasing the Panasonic!

All of the MP3/CD Panasonics share one common problem: They cannot fast-forward or fast-reverse within the same MP3 track.

On the other hand, most of the iRivers continue to suffer from extremely poor battery life, especially with standard Audio CD playback, on just the internally-mounted batteries. The poor battery life, in this case, doesn't translate into better sound quality or louder sound - instead, it is simply a sign that the spindle motors used in the iRivers are outrageously power-hungry for their small size.

Oh, by the way, your SL-MP36C is one of the first-generation Panasonic PCDPs with MP3 playback capability. As such, it has anti-skip which is permanently stuck in the highly compressed mode even for Audio CD playback, and it has a headphone output which produces grainy treble response, bloated mid-bass response and sharply rolled-off low end. The current Panasonics have selectable anti-skip (between a "shorter" noncompressed mode and a "longer" highly compressed mode) for Audio CD playback and a digital "D-sound" amp - but unfortunately, none of the current car-kit-equipped models support ID3 tags at all. And on those that support ID3 tagging, a car kit is an extra-cost accessory.

 

[proxops-pete]

Yeah, but mine does support ID3...
I did notice that there's no audio out and just a headphone jack.

Ah well... In the car, I won't mind so much of it since I will have a power adapter for it.

But basically, I will just look for a cheaper iRiver model to change to... do you know if SlimX iMP-350 has an audio out jack in addition to headphone jack? My slightly older Panasonic CD player had that... erg... too bad I can't just take it out of there and slap it onto my MP36C!

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Quote:

Originally Posted by proxops-pete Yeah, but mine does support ID3... I did notice that there's no audio out and just a headphone jack. Ah well... In the car, I won't mind so much of it since I will have a power adapter for it.

Like I said, you have a first-gen model from 2002.

If you didn't have a car adapter, and you must get a current Panasonic model, note that the only model that comes with a car adapter and MP3 playback capability is the SL-SX431C, which cannot display ID3 tags at all. (The SL-SX331C also comes with a car adaptor, but lacks MP3 playback capability.)

 

[Sczervok]

I'm not so keen on the sound quality, that of the iRiver players. They tend to be favored by those looking for portability in a CD player.

Highly rated. There are a few construction quirks... the battery issue... and iRiver's dying support of the forums...
But other than that, they're pretty decent players.

Don't trust what they hand out as battery life on their sites. It's BS, and it's been confirmed.

 

[zaen]

i disagree. I think iriver's battery life is just fine...and acurate. You just have to make sure you fully discharge and recharge the batteries a few times before you use them...i think most folks complaining have missed this step.

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zaen i disagree. I think iriver's battery life is just fine...and acurate. You just have to make sure you fully discharge and recharge the batteries a few times before you use them...i think most folks complaining have missed this step.

I did exactly that - and my iMP-350's battery life remained less than 4 hours with CD-DA playback.

 

[proxops-pete]

Battery consumption isn't so much of an issue for me...
You see, I intend to use it mainly at work and in my car... and in both places, I will have access to DC!

So battery consumption isn't such a big issue for me...

So far, I am now looking at iRiver's SlimX 350...
Let me know if there are any other good ones around... esp. with Line Out, dang it!!

 

[Mr.PD]

I have an old SlimX350. I've had it about 2 years.
I get around 8 to 10 hours out of the batteries playing VBR MP3s. I have two pairs of batteries. I use the player with a Mint META amp and Ety ER-4s. I am quite happy with the quality of sound. The player is velcroed into a vest pocket and takes a lot bumping and knocking around. I have developed a connection issue with the line out jack lately. The jack itself is getting loose. But, considering the abuse the thing takes in that vest, I am not complaining. I don't use any of the EQ settings, I run it flat.

I do need to state that I have never played an audio CD on that player. It has always been MP3 discs. I have a Panasonic CT570 that I take with me for audio CD work.

The SlimX was great in the car, with the cassette adapter. It worked much better than a Rio disc player I had previously. I don't have a car with a cassette player any more is the only reason it doesn't get used in that capacity any longer.

edit
How could I forget.

Iriver put out an update last year that made this the best MP3 player. It now plays the files in the order that you put them on the disc. Musicmatch lets me lay folders on the disc in any order I want and now the player plays them in that order. That was a huge improvement in my opinion.

 

[Aydn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eagle_Driver All of the MP3/CD Panasonics share one common problem: They cannot fast-forward or fast-reverse within the same MP3 track. On the other hand, most of the iRivers continue to suffer from extremely poor battery life, especially with standard Audio CD playback, on just the internally-mounted batteries. The poor battery life, in this case, doesn't translate into better sound quality or louder sound - instead, it is simply a sign that the spindle motors used in the iRivers are outrageously power-hungry for their small size. Oh, by the way, your SL-MP36C is one of the first-generation Panasonic PCDPs with MP3 playback capability. As such, it has anti-skip which is permanently stuck in the highly compressed mode even for Audio CD playback, and it has a headphone output which produces grainy treble response, bloated mid-bass response and sharply rolled-off low end. The current Panasonics have selectable anti-skip (between a "shorter" noncompressed mode and a "longer" highly compressed mode) for Audio CD playback and a digital "D-sound" amp - but unfortunately, none of the current car-kit-equipped models support ID3 tags at all. And on those that support ID3 tagging, a car kit is an extra-cost accessory.

that's right, and seeing as 80 percent of the music i listen to are 30-200 minute mixes, the slx i bought was .. pretty useless

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aydn that's right, and seeing as 80 percent of the music i listen to are 30-200 minute mixes, the slx i bought was .. pretty useless

On the bright side for Panasonic, at least Panasonic did away with its old Resume feature which resumed playback from the beginning of the current track. The Resume feature on Panasonics made in the past year and a half now resumes playback from the exact point where it was last stopped.

 

[dj_mocok]

for battery life, i trust SONY stuff better.
my CD/MP3 player is D-JC01, first SONY MP3/CD portable.
very long battery life, although the cons are such as no fast forward in MP3 mode. but i dont really need that option anyway. bigger display is also better. i think SONY has a few new CD/MP3 hybrid on the market now. worth checking out.