Carry your whole music library with you!
Written: Oct 03 '02
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Pros: Plays MP3s, ID3 tags, nice display, aux input, price.
Cons: None to speak of.
The Bottom Line: A fantastic deal on a player with just about all the modern bells and whistles. Plays MP3 encoded discs for hours on end!
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| J_McNew's Full Review: Audiovox MP-5010K Car CD/ MP3 Player |
I have been waiting for an in-dash MP3 player for a long time. A few years ago, I bought a home DVD player that also plays MP3 encoded CDs. This was a neat function, but I rarely use it because it plays all my regular CDs, which are stacked right there next to my TV. I knew then that it wouldn't be long before this was a common feature in car CD players.
A few months ago, my brother bought a Pioneer deck which plays MP3 encoded discs. It's great, but it cost $500! Then his girlfriend bough one of these Jensen MP5010k's and I played around with it for a while.
There is a model below this one, the MP3310. The main difference is the lack of aux inputs and detachable face. I feel that the MP5010k is worth the extra $20 or so.
I searched the net and bought one the next day. Installation was as easy as any car deck can be. It has two RCA outputs and a set of RCA inputs. It's got SUB out, too. Of course, it's got four amplified speaker outs if you don't have an external amp.
The display is nice. Not too overly flashy, but definitely modern looking. The text is in big, white letters... bery easy to read. There are a few little indicators for random (shuffle), repeat, loudness, etc... which are a bit small, but I think most stereos suffer from this.
The volume control is a knob. This is something that I really like in a stereo. I just hate the up/down buttons that many new stereos come with.
The faceplate rotates down to allow access to the CD slot. This feature allows for a larger display. It does not tilt out and down... the bottom comes out as the top slides down. When opened, the display faces upwards. The unit functions in this position the same as in the normal, closed position.
It's MP3 playing abilities are as good as I've ever seen. I play mostly music that's recorded at 128 or 160k, but also some radio shows and book-tapes that are recorded at bit rates as low as 24kb/s. All of my MP3s play back beautifully in this unit.
When an MP3 CD is inserted, it takes a few seconds to scan the disc for songs. I used a Rio portable CD/MP3 player and can honestly say that the Jensen is much quicker to start. It is also very quick to change tracks, though a bit slower than with music CDs.
The display will briefly show the number of folders and files on the disc. Folders are accessed numerically, with folder 1 being the root directory. When playing a track, you can display the track name (if ID3 info is not available, it displays file name), folder name, artist, track number and time, or clock. Track name, artist, or folder text scrolls across the display. My brother's Pioneer cannot show more than the length of the display.
Tracks can be accessed directly by keying in the track number. Each track, like folders, are numbered. For instance, if the first folder has 10 songs, and the second folder has nine, the last song in the second folder would be number 19.
The included infrared remote is handy, but not too well thought out. The numbers at the top are not in the standard layout, they go from top to bottom, instead of left to right. However, the common functions such as power, volume, and track skip are easy to use.
Overall, this unit is a great deal at any price you'll find. It can be had for much less than $200 from many online stores. It does not lack any serious features, other than the ability to play Windows Media Audio files. However, I have still been able to put over 80 hours of vintage radio shows on one disc. For CD quality sound, expect to fit 10 to 15 albums on a disc.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 179
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Epinions.com ID:
J_McNew
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Member: Jesse McNew
Location: Annapolis, MD
Reviews written: 38
Trusted by: 3 members
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