Recommend an MP3 CD player?

October 14, 2006 9:43 AM

Can you recommend a well-designed MP3 CD player? The Sony one I have now is lacking in so many ways and I'd like to replace it.

"Design" in the sense of usability rather than being good-looking.

Crucial features:

1) A decent display to see track names.
2) An intuitive set of controls that aren't frustrating to use.
3) Good MP3 support -- no glitching or freezing.

posted by smackfu to technology (10 comments total)

I bought a Rio before the Apple Ipod craze and have been very happy with it. It plays regular MP3s and doesn't require you to subscribe to a special service like Itunes or Real Player's Rhapsody.

IMHO it meets all of your qualifications.
posted by NoraCharles at 9:50 AM on October 14, 2006

I'm wondering why you're wedded to the MP3-CD concept, and don't want to move to a straight MP3 player. Most will meet your three requirements, and in addition are more portable. Even smaller flash-based players (iPod nano and similar) have much more capacity than one MP3 CD, and are small and light.

I myself would recommend an iPod*. I know it's becoming fashionable to eschew iPods, but in my opinion they outperform all of their competition.

* re: NoraCharles, iTunes does not actually require you to subscribe to a special service. Buying music from the iTMS is completely optional, and iTunes/iPod certainly play standard MP3s and other formats ripped yourself.
posted by The Michael The at 10:03 AM on October 14, 2006

Thanks The Michael. I need more coffee this morning, I also didn't notice the "CD" requirement.
Sorry.
posted by NoraCharles at 10:04 AM on October 14, 2006

Oh, I do have an MP3 player. But I also have the MP3-CD player for travel, when I don't have a computer handy. It's better for me because: 1) It takes AA batteries and lasts days on them, 2) It can play CDs I borrow or buy on the road, 3) I don't have to worry about safeguarding a small $200 piece of electronics at all times.
posted by smackfu at 10:09 AM on October 14, 2006

I have an Iriver SlimX that works really well. Controls are easy to see/use, and it plays MP3s flawlessly (even with weird bitrates or VBR).
posted by nixxon at 10:27 AM on October 14, 2006

Thanks The Michael. I need more coffee this morning, I also didn't notice the "CD" requirement. Sorry.

Nothing to be sorry about! We're all friends here.
posted by The Michael The at 12:35 PM on October 14, 2006

I too have an IRiver SlimX-550 that I loved when I was still carrying CDs around. Easy to navigate, inline remote instead of a display on the unit itself, sounded great. It runs off of custom power packs instead of AAs, but it has an AA adapter that plugs into the power jack for when you do have to run it off of AAs -- but when you have a chance to charge the power packs they give you a lot more battery life than a set of AAs would. Here's a review that I agree with.

(Of course nowadays it rests in a drawer awaiting its trip to the Island of Forgotten Toys, having been replaced by a Shuffle.)
posted by mendel at 5:23 PM on October 14, 2006

It's been a few years since I owned it, but I also had an IRiver model (a few models earlier than the SlimX) and thought it was pretty much the ideal device. It was my faithful companion and car audio device until I left it in the car one evening and had it stolen. These days I mostly use a junky Flash-based mp3 player (a SanDisk Sansa e140, which is cheap, portable, decent for music and the radio, and which I'm developing an ever-growing hatred for).
posted by whir at 7:22 PM on October 14, 2006

I'll put my word in for iRiver/Rio. I have a RioVolt SP90 hack-upgraded to an SP100. The display is a little awkward (big letters and not so many characters, so reading the whole title requires waiting for it to scroll). Ugly as sin, too, but it worked very well, until it was retired and replaced by an Olympus m-robe. Lives in my desk now.

That said, when I used it I always wanted to replace it with its much more stylish nephew, the SlimX mentioned above.
posted by alexei at 12:20 AM on October 15, 2006

Thanks all. The SlimX seems to be pretty available on eBay for $30-40, so I think I'll pick up a used one. The current products are nothing special and over $100 for the good ones.
posted by smackfu at 6:49 AM on October 16, 2006