Customer Reviews

RCA RCD128 Portable CD/MP3 Player

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Good points:
-Unit plays standard CDs as well as WAV, MP3 and WMA files on CD-R, and CD-RW.
-Plays mixed-format discs (any/all of the above formats on same disc)
-Good sound. Preset EQ and DBBS bass boost settings.
-Bundled Music Match software quite good, rips to various sample rates for MP3 and WMA.

Bad points:
-VERY sensitve to skipping: placing something down on the same table as the unit will usually cause player to 'lose it's place' I cannot imagine using this in ANY type of mobile situation
-Somewhat awkward control cluster
-Occasionally has trouble reading CD-RW, esp. mixed format.

Overall a good unit if you don't plan on moving it while it plays.

I reviewed several different MP3 players before purchasing this unit. I bought it primarily to play Old Time Radio MP3s, which are generally highly compressed MP3s that do not play on many MP3 players. The RCA handled the playback extremely well. I have not had it refuse to play or fail to read any MP3 files.

The unit has some good features, particularly the remote. The buttons on the unit feel cheap, but the remote handles all of the tasks effortlessly.

While regular CD tracks can be programmed on this unit, MP3's cannot, which was a bit of a bummer. It does however, allow you to set a timer to turn the machine off. This is a great feature if you plan to use the unit to play MP3s in the evening or as you go to bed. Otherwise, the MP3s will play for hours.

I do not notice any noise between MP3's or when the machine turns off. Sometimes, there is a distinct spin-type squeaking noise when listening to MP3s at the end of a CD. I have not found this to be a problem though.

I'll admit that the unit took a little bit of getting used to, but now I find it to be a spectacular player at an excellent price. I would definitely recommend this player for anyone interested in a lightweight, low cost MP3 player, particularly for Old Time Radio playback.

Being a collector of Old Time Radio in the CDR-MP3 format, I wanted a player that I could use at home or with a small group of people. The RCA-128 fits the bill with pretty good sound reproduction in an economical unit that works well at home or with a group such as at a nursing home. So far, it plays all the bit-rates that I've thrown at it and often makes the sound "appear" better than on the computer's playback from the same CDR. Some I record on my own and others I have purchased or traded for and there's no real standard bit-rate established for this stuff. This "new" technology in the RCA-128 makes the "old" technology sound real good and it cost much less than a hundred bucks! A real good buy for my perposes!

I respectfully disagree with some faults listed by other
reviewers: (I play music cds and mp3 cds containing 100+ old radio shows.}
SKIPPING: I have NOT been able to make it skip.. not by rocking, tapping on it, or setting it down abit hard.
THUMPING SOUNDS BETWEEN SONGS: The thump is barely audible,and
certainly not distracting!
PROBLEM READING CDs: I have had no trouble with this at all.

I believe if one experiences any of the faults above, that should prompt one to send the unit in for repair. I will re-post to this site if any problems arise in the future. (After I send the unit in) :)
Until then, I consider this unit's features, price and performance EXCELLENT!

As a collector of Old time Radio shows in mp3 format, I am always looking for new products that will accomodate the 32kbps mono format that has become the standard for OTR. At that bitrate, we can fit 100+ 30 minute programs on a single CD. I am happy to report that this unit (RCD128) will indeed read and play 32kbps files with no problem. The acceptable range listed in the manual is 32-320 kbps. SOUND QUALITY is quite good for OTR considering the original recordings are not always that great to begin with. Voice reproduction is accurate and well-defined. Music lovers may find the bass thin, but this is a plus for OTR, allowing the actors dialog to come through clearly. For under $50, this is a good economical choice for OTR fans.

Great concept, fair implementation. It does skip rather easily. Mine had difficulty reading CD-R mp3 discs consistently--sometimes it would not 'find' certain tracks. The most annoying thing for me: as it changes tracks (CD or mp3s) there is an audible noise--like 'thump'. I was using it for quiet, meditation music, and it is quite disturbing. Maybe it was just this unit.

This is a good mp3 cd player. I like the remote control, and even though it isn't very portable, if you want a portable cd player, then buy a portable cd player. The speakers are good and can get semi loud. I recomend it highly.

-note-it doesn't have a backlight which can be annoying at times.

A more than reasonable price for one of the very few of its kind. Old time radio programs are great on mp3 and have rendered my cassette collection to the back shelf.mp3's are so much cheaper and so easy to store. It has a great remote and presets. The most significant downside is poor AM reception.

Sadly I am returning the second of these for the same defect. I was pleased with the capabilities of the unit. I can't however, overlook it's one shortcoming. Both units I tried produced an audible "thump" between tracks. This occurred with MP3 discs, and regular CD's, purchased or "burned". When hooked to an amplifier this was especially annoying. Audio playback units are not supposed to introduce audible signals of their own.

Pros: Many features for the money (AM/FM, Plays CDs, MP3s, WMAs, etc). Displays the most information about a MP3 song on the 4x16 character display for a BoomBox Ive seen advertised. With the remote it is easy to navigate and pick the songs you want. With the MusicMatch software you can display more information about the MP3 song and sort playlists by Artist, Title, Album, or Genre.

Cons: Onboard buttons feel cheap and you have to steady the unit to push them without moving the unit backwards. Sounds poor without using the various equalizer options (I have to experiment for each environment  loud, soft, far, near, song type, etc). The thump between songs is annoying when playing music softly. It is sensitive to CD-R quality and skips when moved.

MP3 Tech: In File/Folder mode it displays the 1st 15 characters of the file/folder name to allow song selection. (Dont name your folders The Best Songs of  because you will only see The Best Songs  for each folder.) When playing a song it displays 32 characters (scrolling) of the filename and 16 characters each of Artist and Album from the ID3V1 tags. Never displays ID3V1 Title tag content, just the filename without .mp3. In SmartTrax mode it displays the information the MusicMatch software places in .mau playlist files for Artist, Title, Album, and Genre. See the manual