A Good MP3 Portable CD Player for Under $20? You Betcha!
Written: Dec 04 '07
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Pros: inexpensive, good battery life and skip protection first several years
Cons: no MP4 support, belt clip eventually broke, battery life deteriorated after several years
The Bottom Line: I really liked it when I first got it but I started having some problems after a few years. For $19 I can accept that.
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| quasar's Full Review: GPX CDPM5004 Personal CD Player |
A few years ago I finally broke down and bought an MP3 CD player, the GPX CDPM5004 Personal CD Player. At the time I was using a computer without a sound card all day and I work a lot better with background music. The battery life of my MP3 player wasn't sufficient to last an entire day and, besides, even on my largest CompactFlash card I'd have a limited selection of songs. I wanted something that I could play all day without worrying about changing out cards and with enough variety that I wouldn't get bored. I thought about getting an iPod or other, similar, hard drive MP3 player but decided against the expense when I saw this GPX device on sale for $19 at my local Target.
Aside from the price (which placed it firmly in the impulse buy range), I really liked the look of the GPX. It came with a set of normal headphones with reasonably large earpads (I really can't stand the new behind the ear and curved backward styles), it had a full two minutes of skip protection, and it had a sturdy looking removable belt clip. All of the controls were in a column on the face of the player and seemed large enough to handle by feel. I probably would have gotten it anyway for that price, but I genuinely liked the look of the GPX CDPM5004.
For a good long while I only used this GPX to play MP3 CDs, CDs I'd created from music I normally listen to on my computer. The whole point of this exercise, after all, was to have a day's worth of music so that I'm not listening to the same ten songs over and over and over. It worked quite well, but then I noticed something odd over time. Some of the songs I transferred never played. I eventually figured out why.
A lot of CD software rips music into MP4 format (.m4a files) instead of MP3 files (.mp3) by default. These files work without any problems in iTunes or other software MP3 players but they aren't supported by the GPX CDPM5004. If you want to play music ripped from your CDs in the GPX CDPM5004, make sure your software is set to create MP3 files.
That irritation aside, I was reasonably satisfied with this CD player while using MP3 CDs. The 120 second skip protection worked fairly well but not perfectly. Every so often there'd be a minor skip while using the MP3 clipped to my waist while walking but there were no repeats and no skips when not in motion.
The controls are, indeed, easy to use by feel, particularly when the player is attached to your waist. The player is positioned sideways while clipped on which seems odd, but it places all of the controls right at your fingertips and makes them easy to find. This is the first player of any sort I've been able to effectively navigate through songs while walking and unable to look at the device.
About a year ago my belt clip broke while on a trip. Without a belt clip, this CD player is significantly less effective. Unfortunately, I'm not solely talking about the annoyance of carrying or stowing the CD player somewhere other than on my waist. After the belt clip was gone, the skip protection became much less effective. I guess the clip held the player more snugly and prevented much of the possible motion that would cause skipping problems because now it almost seems like a player without any skip protection; there are skips and jumps in almost every song when I'm using the player while walking or if it's perched on a seat next to me while I'm on a bus or plane or if I'm just holding it while in a seated position. Really the only thing it still does well is play while sitting on a stationary surface such as a desk.
The battery life seems to have decreased over time as well. Initially I regularly got 8-12 hours of use on one set of AA batteries. Now I rarely get more than 6 and can get as little as 4. I recently took a 3.5 hour bus trip with a fresh set of batteries and the low battery indicator was starting to flash by the end of the trip.
I'm not sure how to rate this CD player. I really liked it when I first got it and likely would have given it four stars, removing one for its lack of support for MP4 files. The player in its current state is closer to a two star player. I guess I'll split the difference and give it three stars. Just realize that if you're the type of person who gets new electronics yearly and don't need to play MP4 files, the GPX CDPM5004 Personal CD Player may be an excellent choice for you (of course, if you're that sort of consumer, you'll probably want a newer model). If you like to use your electronic devices until they fall apart from wear and tear, it may not be the best choice as the battery clip broke and its performance deteriorated after a couple of years of use.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 19
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Epinions.com ID:
quasar
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Location: Metro Boston, MA
Reviews written: 1981
Trusted by: 380 members
About Me:
I've been back from Florida for two years now :)
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