Great entry level MP3 stereo!!!
Written: Dec 23 '03 (Updated Jan 25 '04)
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Pros: Inexpensive, many features for the money, high quality unit, relatively easy to use
Cons: CDs skip easily, tuner/MP3 navigation buttons are small and hard to use.
The Bottom Line: If you're looking for a high quality, inexpensive MP3 player, this is your unit.
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| smulch's Full Review: Aiwa CDC-X30MP Car CD/ MP3 Player |
I wanted to get an MP3 player and wasn't interested in spending a lot of money. If you done research, you'll find that many MP3 radios are in the 250+ range.
It will read all types of CDs, CD-RWs, commercially purchased CDs, etc. The buttons for navigating the catalog are hard to use unless you know them like the back of your hand. I just let it run in Shuffle mode and that's fine for me.
CD playback is a little delayed when you first start the CD. You would hope that this would mean it was buffering some of the music to prevent interruptions from skipping. But it apparently does not. CD playback is more prone to skipping than my stock radio (which never skipped in 3 years of use). I should note that it only really skips over large abrupt bumps like frost heaves we have here in the northeast.
MP3 playback is also delayed initially and between songs. In this case, I believe the unit does do some buffering. I have never experienced any mid-track interruptions of any kind. One thing to note about MP3 playback: If you're not used to listening to MP3's on a real audio system you are in for a surprise. This unit will quickly demonstrate why higher sample rates (128kbps or higher) are desirable. With the dynamic playback this unit offers, you hear the degradation introduced from lower sample rates.
The sound quality is great and the added bass and treble handling features are nice. There is a feature to set the balance and fade so that the sound is tailored to the front right or left seat. I think it's a waste, it doesn't sound right. I set it manually and it's fine.
The display is not too bad. You can set the button illumination to red or blue. The illumination does not dim though and the buttons are not uniformly lit. At night it's impossible to see the labels on the buttons. Additionally, the clock seems to lose about 2 minutes a month.
There are some little issues with this unit that would bother me more if I paid a lot for this unit. Overall, for the money though, you can't beat this unit.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 155
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Epinions.com ID:
smulch
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Reviews written: 7
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