Music, Music, Music! What would the world be without it? I don’t know about you, but when I’m riding in the car, I love to have music playing. And, forgive me, but I hate radio commercials as much as I hate them on TV, so either the cassette tape player or CD player is the way to go for us.

The problem is that our car doesn’t have a built-in CD player and we don’t want the expense or the problem of having one installed. Last year, we bought a portable CD player that promised it could play CD-R’s and MP3’s, but it failed in that promise. Also, it had confusing controls, but we put up with it until a few weeks ago when it stopped playing altogether. We just had to get a new one.

We looked in five different stores for another player and ended up at Wal-Mart, which had a huge stock to choose from. I chose the Philips eXpanium eXp 313 CD/MP3 player. I’m not sure why, but I did like the ruby red color, the overall looks of it, and the price certainly was reasonable, $68.00, and it had a one-year manufacturer’s warranty.

The Package

The eXp313 CD/MP3 player – 1.1D x 5.1H x 5.4W, weight 8.8 oz.

Headphones – ear-bud - stereo

Car jack – plug into lighter or inverter

Cassette/jack –Connection from cassette player to CD player

AC/DC adapter – for home use

Belt clip for wearing

Everything you’d need is in the package, except for 2AA alkaline batteries that you have to insert when wearing the player.

The Philips eXp 313 Player

This is a top load, single disc player, playing more than 10 hours of music on one MP3-CD, with an LED Display screen.

It has a convenient button for Magic electronic skip protection. (ESP)

Volume Control
Start/pause switch
DBB – dynamical bass boost
Skip fwd/search button
+ MP3-CD only selects next album or switches forward
- MP3-CD only selects previous album or switches backward
Skip, search backward switch
Off-resume-hold –stores last position or locks all settings.
Program button
Mode such as Shuffle and Repeat
Stop
Line out
4.5 DC
battery compartment
belt clip hole

Using the Player in our Car


Let’s just say that I’m glad I had the terrible one for a while, because it has made the contrast between the players that much better.

The controls on the Philips eXp 313 are very convenient. The play and fwd/back switches surround the LED screen and the silver ESP, DBB, Program and Mode buttons are located on the top of the player, below the screen, and are clearly marked. No fumbling around on this one, for sure.

I was impressed with how easily and definitely it opens/shuts in order to put the CD’s on or to remove them. My other player was flimsy about it.

The sounds produced when using this player are terrific. I have loads of MP3’s that I’ve burned, plus CD-R music tapes (burned as data disks), along with many commercially produced albums.

Everything plays clearly, crisply, in stereo, and I could not be more thrilled with the beautiful music that emanates from our speakers.

The music starts playing immediately when you push the button, which is more than my other one did. The shockproof memory is 45 seconds and we have yet to hear any crackling or skipping. On our other player we had to continually use the skip protector and even that did not prevent the skipping from the car’s movements.

My husband rigged up a spot on our floor console and mounted the player on a foam block with thin, double-sided tape, so it is not only sturdy, but, also, convenient to manipulate. If I ever want to wear this player, it’s a simple matter to remove it and hook it up for a walk.

Otherwise, this player could be kept in the glove compartment or on the seat between the driver and the passenger. Whatever’s convenient for you. This unit takes up hardly any room at all, yet it is powerful.

Maintenance


“Do not touch the lens of the unit.
Do not expose to sunlight.
Active mobile phones near the unit could cause malfunctions.
Do not drop the unit.
Clean with a dampened cloth, and don’t use cleaning agents.”

These self-explanatory instructions were in the pamphlet that comes with the CD player.

Finally – Recommendations


The Philips eXpanium eXp 313 CD/MP3 Player is a truly marvelous player.

I recommend it very highly to anyone who is in the market for a personal CD Player for car or personal use. Also, for anyone who has MP3’s, CD-R’s or CD-RW’s that they’ve heard only on their computers is in for a thrill when he/she hears the CD’s playing on this player.

My husband and I are totally thrilled with it and know that anyone who owns one of these can only be pleased with it.

Now I have music wherever I go and you probably can hear me coming from a mile away! I love it! And it’s Commercial Free!

Thanks for reading my Review and I hope I’ve helped to solve a problem for you. Buy your Philips eXp 313 today!

Lorace
©2003


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