Philips EXP401 Pocket eXpanium CD-MP3 Player with 100 Second Anti-Skip

by Philips

Product Details

Product Manual [2.40mb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 3.6 x 1.1 x 4.7 inches ; 7 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00005O02X
• Item model number: EXP40117
• Batteries: 1 AA batteries required.
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

The return of the 3-inch CD--now rechristened as an "8 cm CD"--was inspired by the popularity of solid-state MP3 players. With no moving parts and only tiny memory cards for information storage, MP3 players require little pocket space. Portable CD players, on the other hand, even in the service of MP3 playback, can't help but be larger than the average MP3 player--which is where the pocket eXpanium comes in.

Philips's EXP401 8 cm CD player is indeed small, measuring a mere 3.5 by 4.5 inches (though it does seem a little thick at 1.25 inches). Since the trays or spindles in most standard CD and DVD players accommodate 3-inchers, and since few commercial baby CDs have seen release outside Japan (where the format continues to thrive), the incentive for investing in a dedicated 8 cm CD player surely isn't prerecorded music. And that's OK, because Philips just might be onto something here.

Using recordable 8 cm CDs and MP3 or AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) compression, one disc can hold more than three hours of music (compared with only 21 or so minutes of CD-quality PCM audio). No encoding software comes with the player, and, of course, you'll need a CD burner to take full advantage of the portability and extended playback. But, properly equipped, the EXP401 is a fun and worthy entry in the MP3-CD field, excelling both ergonomically and sonically.

The player lets you access digital-music files individually or in user-designated folders (called "albums"), simplifying the process of sorting through the 30 to 50 tracks you might end up with on each of your discs. It'll also play "mixed-mode" CDs--that is, discs bearing both linear PCM (CD) and MP3/AAC audio data--but doing so requires manual switching between PCM and MP3 modes.

Philips boasts nearly two minutes of "Magic" electronic skip protection (ESP), and, supernatural or not, we were unable to induce interruptions in our tunes shy of stopping playback or skipping to another track.

In our tests, we were impressed with the player's sound quality (through good headphones), with the player exhibiting ample amplifier power and pleasing, effortless sound from known CD sources. Compressed-audio files vary in their fidelity, of course, but Philips seems to have nailed the analog end of things with a quality headphone jack and volume control. The digital dynamic bass boost is actually useful, with level 1 offering a refreshing boost in the bass only and level 2 jacking the low end even further and introducing a little extra treble as well.

We strongly recommend using a better-sounding, more comfortable set of headphones than the included ear buds. As long as you stick with .125-inch minijack headphones, compatibility with the handy clip-on remote control won't be an issue.

Included in the box are the EXP401, a user's manual, one blank 8 cm CD-R, a limited-function clip-on wired remote control, a pair of ear-bud headphones, and an AC adapter. The EXP401 runs on a single AA battery (not included), from which it derives about three hours of playing time for an MP3-CD with electronic shock protection on (five hours with ESP off), and six hours for standard CD audio (with EPS on or off).

Supported bit rates: MP3: 32 to 320 kbps; AAC: less than or equal to 160 kbps. Total number of music files and albums: around 350 (with a typical file name length of 20 characters). The number of music files that can be played depends on the length of the names, but given the relatively limited storage capacity of the 8 cm discs, this shouldn't pose a problem. --Michael Mikesell

Pros:

• Small size, large storage capacity
• Easy navigability
• Good sound quality
• Hold and resume features
• Supports AAC compression
• Strong anti-skip protection
• Lightweight
• AC adapter included

Cons:

• No ID3 tag support (for artist and song titles)
• Limited battery life with MP3 playback
• Limited non-MP3/AAC applications
• Slightly flimsy build quality

From the Manufacturer

The eXpanium 401 takes portable MP3 playback a step further, with MP3-CD plus Advanced Audio Coding playback. You will be able to read your MP3 tracks on the larger display as you play CDs that can hold over 10 hours of music.

As an added bonus, the EXP401 is ultra-portable: its only 3 1/2"! This eXpanium is so small, there's nowhere you can't take it... it really is a rocket in your pocket.

What's in the box

AC adapter, headphones, manual

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It does not get any better than this for an MP3 player!!!, November 3, 2001

By 

Pete (NJ, United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Philips EXP401 Pocket eXpanium CD-MP3 Player with 100 Second Anti-Skip (Electronics)

The exp401 is really small. Theres no weird software you need to install into your computer to transfer the mp3's to the unit. You burn your cd's on your burner like regular computer data cds. You can play em in your pc, or on the exp401!!! You can bring more than one disc with you and change the disc when your in the mood. i usally have a different type music style on the 10 discs i carry around in my pocket with the player. blank mini cd-r discs cost about 88 cents each.

Its worked well reading iso9660+joliet, and udf formats on both cd-r, and cd-rw mini cd's. I've only used 1 level directorys so far and they work great. I usually use a cd-rw disc formatted in udf to test mp3's. (we shouldent have glitches) Then i will make a cd-r in iso9660+joliet format for longterm listening.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars best i've seen...., October 28, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Philips EXP401 Pocket eXpanium CD-MP3 Player with 100 Second Anti-Skip (Electronics)

I just bought this a week ago and so far its awesome. The sound quality is great, the DBB (dynamic bass boost) works a lot better than the one on my panasonic discman. The 8cm CD's hold about an hour and a half of music, if you use bitrates above 128, which i do. The batteries and the LCD screen are the only bad parts. The batteries run out fast with the ESP (not that you need it), and the LCD screen doesn't display track names, which isn't that big of a deal on this model because the CD's probably wouldn't hold any more than about 30 songs. The ESP, is not even needed, unless you are doing some serious movment. I usually can run with it and have the ESP off, and it won't skip once. I definently would recommend this product to anyone that is concerned about size, and that doesn't mind not having 400 songs on a CD. If you do decide to get it, be prepared to get a nice pair of headphones, the ones that come with it arent exactly great, and don't fit comfortably at all. An all around great product, though.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Had the player for about 3 months now... my 2 cents., March 11, 2002

By 

Albert Lee (Albany, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Philips EXP401 Pocket eXpanium CD-MP3 Player with 100 Second Anti-Skip (Electronics)

1) The 3 hour battery life is not too bad. I usually carry around an extra pack of batteries with me.
2) I do appreciate that the player can read Joliet long filenames, unlike others which read only ISO9660.
3) The resume features have been touchy. Sometimes (at random) the player would resume at the beginning of the track or sometimes at the exact position i turned it off.
4) My main problem with the player is, for some reason, the battery would drain when left in the player, as if the player was on all along. I emailed philips about this problem, but I still have not gotten a response. I don't know if this is a common problem with others, but it's a major drawback with mine.
5) If have any other questions, feel free to email me.