billzucker's Full Review: Dual Electronics XDM-6820 CD Player
Had to write this review because it's hard to believe nobody else has reviewed this one and it's been out for at least a few months now...
As for the FM radio, the reception is better than many because of the high sensitivity. But the reason you're buying this receiver is for the MP3 player. It works as advertised and largely as you'd imagine. When the power is turned back on, the unit resumes playing the file at the exact point it was stopped at. Although the random function is another of the "repeatable random" types that will mix up the order but will choose the exact same next song based on the previous, I haven't noticed any undue repeating yet because of its ability to continue the music where you left off. However, after ejecting the disk and re-inserting, you'll get the same sequence. Oh, well. Why can't the designers select the next song by using clock milliseconds for a true random function. And mark a bit in RAM to show that the song has already been played. Maybe they need hundreds of dollars per unit to recoup the cost of 50 lines of software and one cent of memory...
The manufacturing quality appears better than usual, and the manual is a model of clarity and freedom from Chinenglish, with no typos! Good job, Dual! The volume control is flawless with a great feel. No hunting for up/down buttons.
As reviewed elsewhere, the display brightness is not controllable, and it is garish enough to attract the attention of a short attention-span teenager in the stereo store, but I'm okay with it so far. I did open the faceplate to block off the light to the cluster of six blue buttons on the right, which made things more acceptable.
Selecting songs individually is a pain, so don't buy this unit if you need this function, but I couldn't care less about the playlist other than it's mixed up.
I like the AUX connection in the back so you can hide the wires when you're connected to another source. And they include a female phone jack module so you can mount the jack wherever you want.
Other reviewers complain about a lack of bass response, but that's only if you select "flat" equalization with no loudness contour. Select any of the other ones, select loudness, and then stand back. There's plenty of power available and no limit to the amount of bass. Dual probably made the flat response light on bass so you can let a subwoofer do the dirty work rather than tax the other four car speakers.
One nice feature is a programmable power-up volume setting, so you can be cranking when you shut it off but don't embarass yourself upon restarting. And you can preview CD tracks with the "Intro" function.
The droid at the stereo store tried to get me to buy other (higher-priced) units by saying that these units always come back in a week after failing. Don't fall for this. Nobody makes money selling defective units, and this receiver is sold in lots and lots of places.
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