More than I've paid for!
Written: Apr 22 '04
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Pros: Good construction, weatherproof, good battery use, GREAT sound, comes with AC adapter
Cons: Bulky, latch opens by accident too easily, resume/hold button badly designed
The Bottom Line: A very good deal if you don't have a lot of cash but still want a quality player comparable to Sony, Phillips or Panasonic, and if size isn't an issue.
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| yogi____'s Full Review: Aiwa XP-SP921 Personal CD Player |
I have had this CD player for more than a year, and to be honest, I think it is the best $89 I've ever spent on audio equipment.
When I walked into the store, what I had in mind was in $100 range and something that lasts (almost) a lifetime. Ok maybe not for life but at least it would last as long as my old walkman which was a gift from dad when I was 11 (I am 22 now and were still using the walkman before I bought this player).
I was tempted for a Samsung MP3 CD player for $129, but next to that player was this one. On the first sight, it looked like safe box. It looks very sturdy, it's made of hard plastic and its sides are covered by hard rubber. It claimed to be weather-proof too, perfect to counter Vancouver weather. I knew that instant I was going to get this CD player.
After using it for more than a year, I am happy with its overall quality as an electronic product. It never skipped once even when I was on the run to catch a bus to school or when I'm in the gym, thanks to its 48-second EASS anti-shock system.
Talking durability: Mine got soaked in the rain many times but it still works like nothing happened. It also fell down on hard floor a few times but it still works like nothing happened.
Most important of all, however, is its sound quality. I found its 'DSL' bass enhancement excellent and fat, but most of the time it is turned off; even without it, the sound response is already more than what I want. The headphone that comes with it is, surprisingly, of top quality, keeping in mind that it's a headphone that comes with a player by standard... I challenge you to compare it to the headphones that come with Sony or Phillips CD players. It has an excellent bass response but does not drown all the details of the mid-range and high frequencies. I even think it surpasses the Sony MDR-CD80 headphone I use for my computer (and that headphone costs almost the same as this CD player).
I am running this player with 3 pairs of rechargeable Ni-MH batteries which I recharge using a separate charger. It is no big deal for me because I've had one for my digital camera. Each pair runs the player for about 20 hours (not too bad - it translates to about 4-5 days of use).
To top all that up, it reads CD/R and CD/RW (so you can burn those MP3s and listen to them with this player) and it comes with an AC adapter and a cross-trainer pouch by default. What more can you ask for in a $89 package?
But of course no great product comes without flaws.
First of all it is bigger, bulkier than your average CD player. A big price you have to pay for durability and sturdiness I guess.
I think the rotary lock design looks cool (as a matter of fact it has been a subject of discussion on multiple occasions) but bad operationally. Many times (especially when I'm doing physical activities) the player stopped playing because the rotary key somehow unlocked itself and the hatch got opened.
The rubber plug that plugs into the AC adapter jack (to protect it from weather I suppose) is quite hard to pull out if you don't grow nails. The rubber plug on the headphone hole is just plain stupid. The only time you will need to plug it in is when you don't use the player, and I imagine most people wouldn't even bother doing that. It is easily torn off too - mine was torn off within 3 days of use.
The player can only charge Ni-Cd batteries. You can actually recharge Ni-MH twice and it will work fine (I tried it once) but who would want to get up at 3am just to press the 'Charge' button?
I find the 'Resume/Hold' switch that controls whether you want to have the player resume or start from track 1 everytime you turn it on, the most irritating part of the player. They should use a sliding switch instead of a dial with a protruding edge. Why? Because if you put it in a bag or even the pouch that came with it, there is always a chance of that dial getting switched to 'Hold' accidentally. I've been caught trying to turn my player on by trying to press the Play button multiple times. It's not that I'm blind, but because the player is in the pouch and I have no way of knowing the position of the switch until I wait for 7+ seconds (time required to wait for the CD to start spinning and playing) and realize that the 'Hold' is on. But other than that, putting 'Resume' and 'Hold' into one big switch works great, because it reduces the number of buttons and switches on the player.
My player actually started skipping about 2 months ago, but after I tightened the screws that hold the motor drive to the base (easy to do, took 1 minute with the right screwdriver size) it is a new CD player once again.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): /- 65
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Epinions.com ID:
yogi____
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Reviews written: 3
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