DAV311
Written: May 31 '01 (Updated May 31 '01)
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Pros: (DAV311) Nice improvements over the problems reported with the DAV310.
Cons: (DAV311) Improvements are generally software-based and therefore the hardware issues still exist.
The Bottom Line: If you need VideoCD playback as well as MP3, this is the way to go. If not, you can probably find a cheaper unit with the same features (without VideoCD).
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| jgoggan's Full Review: A-MAX DAV310 Personal CD Player |
Please note that this is actually a review of the DAV311 which essentially replaces the DAV310. Until there is a separate category for the DAV311, I thought that this was the best place to discuss it.
DAV311 vs. DAV310
From a hardware standpoint, the DAV311 and DAV310 appear to be very similar. I'm not sure any real component changes were made. However, the software has been redone -- both fixing some annoyances with the DAV310 and adding a few new features. Here are a few of the common complaints about the 310 that have been fixed/improved in the 311:
- The 310 does not allow FF/REW of MP3s. The 311 now allows this. As long as the first 5 seconds of the song have played, holding FF/REW will work to scan through the currently playing MP3 track. (Within the first 5 seconds, the FF/REW buttons skip to the next/previous track.)
- Enabling the anti-shock/ESP appeared to be somewhat of a problem for 310 owners. It is now easy with the 311. No more going through two different single-letter "menus" just to enable it. It is auto-enabled for all MP3 playback and user-selectable for CD playback.
- The 310 did not support multisession discs. The 311 now does -- allowing you to continue to add additional music to your discs without using a new CDR.
- The 310, to save battery life apparently, sometimes spins down while playing MP3s. It caches the data into RAM and plays it from there. This created long pauses/gaps while the unit spun back up to read the next track. This has been removed on the 311 -- the disc spins continuously and track changes are very quick (but probably at some slight battery costs).
The Good
The DAV311 is a very decent player. If you want the ability to play VideoCDs and MP3s, I think this player, for the money, is really the way to go. The video output looks nice (not as nice as VCDs played on my DVD player, but still quite good). If you have a lot of MP3s, playing them from CD is certainly the way to go. It is quite nice to be able to easily take along "200 of my favorite songs" as opposed to only a handful with RAM-based MP3 players.
It also seems able to take a bit of a beating -- even though it does look a little flimsy. I've dropped it a couple of times now -- as well as had it go flying across my truck once when I had to make a sudden, sharp turn while the player was just sitting on the dash! So far, it seems just fine even after such abuse.
The Bad
I do have a couple issues with the DAV311 that I want to mention:
- For VideoCD playback, the unit defaults to PAL instead of NTSC -- and the only way to change it is on the remote control pad. This setting is not remembered during power-off -- so it must be set each time. This means that you MUST remember to have your remote with you if you want to watch a VideoCD with the unit. It would have been trivial to put this option on a button on the unit. I also think that the default should have been NTSC playback -- since most people with PAL TVs also support the NTSC 60hz playback (and therefore they would be fine if it happened to be NTSC by default while we tend to get rolling garbage on an NTSC TV when the unit is outputting PAL).
- MP3 playback, on some songs, appears to have a slight "echo" effect. I certainly do not notice this all the time -- and have not yet determined exactly what causes it (it does not appear to be bitrate related), but you can sometimes hear an out-of-sync repeat/echo of the higher-end frequencies (such as someone singing in a high voice) during MP3 playback. It isn't a huge issue -- and I've learned to ignore it on the few songs that it does it on for me -- but still something I wanted to mention.
- Just so people know, the VideoCD playback is only to be used when the unit is connected to AC power. According to the manual, you should not try to play VideoCDs using the batteries. I have tested this a little bit and it actually does work -- but it eats up battery power faster than you can say "I should have bought stock in Energizer." I knew this before I bought the unit though, so I was not disappointed about this.
And The Ugly
As much as I like the DAV311, it does have at least one problem that may be a product killer to some people. The antishock/ESP, when it comes to MP3s, is just not very good. I use the DAV311 in my SUV (which, I admit, may be a little more bumpy than a car, but still). If I hit a decent bump, playback continues for about 20 seconds -- and then skips to the next song -- on a fairly regular basis. Basically, it appears that it is caching the data to RAM for non-skip playback, but never recovers from the skip itself. So, when it is bumped, it plays until it runs out of cached-to-RAM data and then just never recovers on that track -- and continues on to the next MP3 track. To me, this is the only "really bad" issue with the DAV311. However, I will note that others have told me that their DAV311 does handle such bumps rather well and they rarely see a skip. However, I have used two DAV311s that behave this way -- so it isn't simply a matter of me having a defective unit. It is more likely that there was some firmware revision along the way -- so some units recover well from skips -- and others, such as mine, do not. Therefore, there could be a bit of a gamble involved if you are unable to preview the actual unit before you buy it. Just something to keep in mind.
Summary
Overall, I really enjoy the DAV311 and do recommend it. For the price, it seems to be a great little player for audio CDs, MP3s, and VideoCDs. As long as you don't plan on taking it jogging while playing MP3s, it should be a fine unit for you.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 119
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Epinions.com ID:
jgoggan
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Member: John Goggan
Location: Weidman, Michigan
Reviews written: 27
Trusted by: 7 members
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