|
The primary function I needed, the ability to play MP3's, it does very well indeed, and I am very satisfied with its performance. There are also no provisions for connecting an Ipod or MP3 player. So far the MPCD450 hasn't had any such issues, and has been able to play everything, including material recorded over ten years ago. After reading a CD, the player begins automatically playing the disc.Sound quality isn't the greatest, mostly treble, with very little bass. The cassette player is also nice to have as well, and does a good job of recording from radio or CD. Since it favors the treble end, heavy distortion usually isn't a problem.The controls are basic and quite crude.
I was looking for a boombox that could play MP3's burned on CD's, with a cassette player. Not the best situation for music, but it's not that bad for the spoken word, things like podcasts, audio books, or talk radio programs. For no apparent good reason, the control buttons for the CD differ from the traditional layout. Forget to turn it off, and you may burn out your motor, or drain your batteries. The buttons are pretty stiff and clunky, and the player auto stops only in the Play and Record modes, not Rewind or Fast Forward. Given the size of its speakers, the unit is capable of quite high volumes. Unfortunately, the number of portable units that met these two basic criteria was quite limited. The Colby MPCD450 is one, and it is a basic no frills player that while somewhat crude, delivers pretty decent performance, at a relatively low price.
This player is mostly for those times where you just want some basic sounds. Aside from a headphone jack on the left side of the unit, there are no line ins or outs. At a time when almost everything has a remote control, this unit does not have one. The unit uses eight D sized batteries (12V), which adds to its bulk. The AM/FM radio gets good reception, but is tuned manually using a dial tuner, instead of a digital one.
If you are interested in high quality audio, look elsewhere. Hopefully the player will have a long usable life. The window over the cassette is translucent black plastic, but it is so dark that you need a flashlight to see through it. Players often have issues with reading MP3's burned on certain brands of blank CD or CD RW media. It's a pretty ridiculous, but cassette tapes almost always fail to seat properly when inserted, so you have to reach inside and tilt the cassette slightly in order to close the door.
Thankfully the CD player has a lighted LCD display. You are stuck with what you get, as there are absolutely no tone adjustment controls. The knobs and switches feel cheap and flimsy.
Everything are good for this money, tuner can be digital for easy search, and stored favorites channels.
The switched are wobbly and feel like they won't last very long. The box appears cheaply made.
coby mp-cd player has good sound, and I can playthe radio, and play my cds and mp3 cds.
That's a major pain, especially if you have a long list of tracks.Another gripe I have is with navigation through the CD. It is becoming increasingly difficult to find portable CD players, with speakers, that also play MP3 CDs. Quickly entering a track somehow would have been better, maybe via use of arrow keys that increase/decrease numbers in hundreds, tens, and ones place.Overall, this player does the job, but the problem with losing your spot during playback if you power off is a major nuisance. If your MP3 CD has many tracks (I have one with 134), then finding the chapter you want to start at, if not early on, is going to take time. This product fit the bill perfectly. The audio quality is good, the sound is clear, and the MP3 CD starts up reasonably fast.The major gripe is that they player does not save your position in CD or MP3 CD playback when you turn it off.
|
