Customer Reviews

Coby MPCD450BLK Portable CD/AM/FM Stereo Cassette Player/Recorder - Black/Silver

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I was looking for a boombox that could play MP3's burned on CD's, with a cassette player. Unfortunately, the number of portable units that met these two basic criteria was quite limited. The Colby MPCD450 is one, and it is a basic no frills player that while somewhat crude, delivers pretty decent performance, at a relatively low price.

Players often have issues with reading MP3's burned on certain brands of blank CD or CD RW media. So far the MPCD450 hasn't had any such issues, and has been able to play everything, including material recorded over ten years ago. After reading a CD, the player begins automatically playing the disc.

Sound quality isn't the greatest, mostly treble, with very little bass. You are stuck with what you get, as there are absolutely no tone adjustment controls. Not the best situation for music, but it's not that bad for the spoken word, things like podcasts, audio books, or talk radio programs. Given the size of its speakers, the unit is capable of quite high volumes. Since it favors the treble end, heavy distortion usually isn't a problem.

The controls are basic and quite crude. The knobs and switches feel cheap and flimsy. The AM/FM radio gets good reception, but is tuned manually using a dial tuner, instead of a digital one. Thankfully the CD player has a lighted LCD display. For no apparent good reason, the control buttons for the CD differ from the traditional layout. At a time when almost everything has a remote control, this unit does not have one. There are also no provisions for connecting an Ipod or MP3 player. Aside from a headphone jack on the left side of the unit, there are no line ins or outs.

It's a pretty ridiculous, but cassette tapes almost always fail to seat properly when inserted, so you have to reach inside and tilt the cassette slightly in order to close the door. The buttons are pretty stiff and clunky, and the player auto stops only in the Play and Record modes, not Rewind or Fast Forward. Forget to turn it off, and you may burn out your motor, or drain your batteries. The unit uses eight D sized batteries (12V), which adds to its bulk. The window over the cassette is translucent black plastic, but it is so dark that you need a flashlight to see through it.

If you are interested in high quality audio, look elsewhere. This player is mostly for those times where you just want some basic sounds. The primary function I needed, the ability to play MP3's, it does very well indeed, and I am very satisfied with its performance. The cassette player is also nice to have as well, and does a good job of recording from radio or CD. Hopefully the player will have a long usable life.

First, the positive - This player arrived quickly, well-packed, and when I had to return it, I did so with no problems and received a credit very quickly. The player was small and lightweight, which was a plus for me. But alas, now the negative. I was initially pleased to have found such a reasonably priced player with everything I wanted in one device. But, reasonably priced (and I should have known this) translated to cheaply made. First I played a cassette, and though the sound was okay (I'm not a purist), I noticed that the tape deck cover was rather fragile, and thought it might be a problem with much use. Then, I tried the radio, and reception was almost nil, but we are in an area where that happens. Then, I began an audio book on CD. The first CD was fine. That was the last CD I was able to play. The player just refused to play another. To sum up, the seller was great, the product almost useless.

PROS:
1)CD/MP3 CD player.
2)Cassette deck
3)FM/AM Radio.
4)Radio has clear sound and picks up lots of stations.
5)Compact size and easy to carry around.
6)Low price

CONS:
1) Not very loud sound.
2) Looks somewhat cheap.
3) Hard to read the labels on CD controls.
4) No sound equalizers.
5) No sleep timer.
6) No remote.

This serves a great portable player for my home office. Also, for an extra player that I can travel with. Considering the low price and the fact that a player with MP3 capabilities and cassette deck are almost impossible to find, I am pleased with my purchase.
*Note: The reason that I gave it a 4 was because it is hard to read the controls for the buttons above the CD area.

We needed it in a hurry, and as usual, Amazon came through with flying colors. Better quality than we expected. Good sound in a little package.

I am happy with the sound coming from this small box. It looks great and is really a nice product to own.

Thrilled with its peformance and sound. Not complicated. Heavy enough to convincne me it's not made of junk. Hope it lasts a long time. I got the 3-year guarantee which is a pretty good bargain. I have purchased two and have recommended it to friends.

I ordered for my mother who is technology impaired. The player is easy to use and she loves it!

This unit is adequate, providing decent sound and (so far) reliable performance. Do not expect big sound or booming bass--that's not what was intended for a player of this size and price. The MP3CD feature is nice.

My player was shipped without an A/C power cord. A trip to Radio Shack (and $8.00) cured that, but one would expect that such a necessary item would be included in the factory packaging, even given the unit's low cost.

It is a bulky and useless deck in terms of output (sound) and cheap material used. It was so disappointing that I did not use it more
than once or twice, just for the sake of testing it! It is now in
my garage, collecting dust. If anybody interested can have it for
free. Just pay for the shipment and it is yours.

I purchased three of these players because I liked the CD/ tape combo. One did work great, but the tape deck was a bit finiky. The tape had to be pushed a little extra hard to be able to close and work. One came damaged from shipping. One had a problem with the tape deck. It would not close when a tape was inserted.