Beats the MpTrip
Written: May 01 '01 (Updated Jun 05 '01)
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Pros: Supports ID Tags, Inexpensive, Car Kit Included
Cons: Annoying "pauses" during songs, No directory scroll button, acts quirky in high temperatures
The Bottom Line: Worth the money until next generation arrives.
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| Epinionater's Full Review: Memorex MPD8505 Personal CD Player |
After having issues with my Geneca MpTrip (Read review here)
http://www.epinions.com/elec-review-3D28-14A9D776-3A316A68-prod4
I am pleased to report that Memorex has done a good job in creating the MpTrip killer. I ordered the Memorex MPD8505CP (catchy name huh?) player from Amazon.com for $120 back in December 2000 and it is well worth it. The problems and design flaws of the MpTrip have been eliminated with the Memorex player.
Here is what you get -
CD Player with 45 Second Anti Shock (and it works)
Headphones (poor sound quality)
AC Adapter
Car Kit (Tape Adapter and Cigarette Adapter)
Instruction Booklet (written in plain English that even a Palm Beach Democrat could understand)
All came sealed in shrink plastic (not a box).
First of all the quality of materials are solid. Up to par with any CD player you would buy for $60 - $100. The headphones are better than those that come with the MpTrip, but still have poor sound quality. I highly recommend getting new ones. The 45-second shock protection works, but not as well with regular CD’s as it does when playing MP3’s. I gave the Sampsonite Gorilla test to the player (well almost) while it played MP3 CD’s and studio CD’s as well as CD-R copies of studio CD’s. Not one skip after rapidly shaking and flipping the player. While driving I find that it will randomly skip even if the car is at a stop. I am still trying to figure out why and believe heat has something to do with it. When the car heats up, the player tends to act a little quirky.
When I popped in my first MP3 CD (that I burned on an 80 min CD-R) I was pleased to discover the directories and songs actually play in the order you burn them. While this might not sound like such an achievement, anyone who has experienced the MpTrip knows that congress has just approved a $2.3 billion budget for a taskforce to discover what causes the MpTrip to play in the random order it does. I always thought maybe if you hit the “Random” option on the MpTrip it would actually play in order. Anyway, with the Memorex you can also skip through your directories, but it isn’t such an easy task. It takes 4-5 button pushes to move to your desired directory. Push Enter twice, then the desired directory number( which could be wither 04 or just 4 depending on how you created it) , then hit enter again. It would have been nice to have a button that scrolled directories. And like I mentioned, if you create your directories for example 01-07 instead of just 1-7, you will need to enter the zeros before the numbers in the search or it will not recognize the directory.
One of the big benefits to the Memorex is that it supports ID Tagging for song titles. You can not only read titles, but search for specific titles. One of the reasons the Memorex has so many buttons is that most buttons represent a set of letters from the alphabet (not unlike a phone). The search must be exact however. For instance if you are searching for the latest Backstreet Boys hit “Rainbow Love”, you would need to spell out the entire song title. Anything short of the full title will give you a “No Title” display. The search process can be so cumbersome, that it might be faster to just scroll until you find you desired song. The player also has the ability to program 24 songs to play in the order you want.
The DBBS Bass boost has good sound and only works with the headphone jack (not the line out). There is no equalizer setting option.
The Memorex comes with the following play mode options-
Repeat 1 –Repeats same song
Repeat All- CD Repeats when done
Intro- First 10 seconds played of each remaining track
Random- Songs played random until all played once
In MP3 mode only there is an additional play mode called Repeat Directory where all songs in a directory are played repeatedly in order.
While both the MpTrip and the Memorex MPD claim to play CD-RW’s, only the Memorex makes good on its claim.
I have not tested the battery life claim, but never really plan to since I use this in my car. Here are the claims from the manual-
Regular CD with Normal Batteries (c’mon, splurge a little) - 3 Hrs with ESP on and 4 Hrs without ESP
Regular CD with Alkaline (hey, because you’re worth it) Batteries – 6 Hrs with ESP and 7 Hrs without ESP
MP3 with Normal Batteries- 4 Hrs *
MP3 with Alkaline Batteries – 10 Hrs*
*You cannot turn off ESP when using MP3 CD’s
So here is a breakdown of all the features you will get from the Memorex MPD that you will not get with the MpTrip-
Car Kit
Higher quality materials
Anti shock that works for both regular CD’s (at least better than the MpTrip) and MP3 CD’s
MP3’s that play in the order you burn them
ID Tag recognition
Title search function
24 song memory program
CDRW compatibility
80min CD-R compatibility
While there are bound to be improvements to the portable MP3 CD player right around the corner, this looks like one of the better players currently out there. This one is well worth the money until the next generation players arrive. MpTrip, R.I.P.
Update-
I wrote this review about 2 months ago and wanted to add a few things.
1. The player does have problems in the car if it gets hot. I’ve noticed it will shut down completely after random songs. When it does, it has no problem starting up again. It is just a hassle punching in the directory and forwarding to where you left off.
2. It does not support Variable Bit Rate (VBR). So check the bitrate first on your PC and if you see it fluctuating do not burn it. Find another one that is stable. VBR songs will play for a bit and just freeze up the player. The player does handle up to 256kbps no problem.
3. The player does at times pause randomly during songs. I can go 10 songs without one pause and then I could have 1 song that pauses 5 times. It is very random and can get annoying.
All in all it is still a good player and will tie me over until the next generation players are perfected.
Yet another update-
I have found a design flaw that has become quite frustrating. Certain CDR's must be slightly larger in size because some actually rub against a small piece of plastic inside the player making the CDR unplayable. It is possible that the heat in the car warped this thin piece piece of plastic which is located between the CD and the left cover spring. I cut the piece out and realized it is what holds the spring back from touching the CD. I had to remove the spring after this. Problem solved, but the lid now does not stay up on it's own.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 120
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Epinions.com ID:
Epinionater
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Member: Michael Miller
Location: Santa Clara, CA
Reviews written: 15
Trusted by: 5 members
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