Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent choice for low-res Mp3 files of old time radio!, September 22, 2004
I collect public domain old time radio shows from Internet enthusiasts' websites, which feature many hundreds of shows from the 1930's and 40's. Most of these are taken from old noisy transcriptions or network shows, with limited audio fidelity, and are encoded as 'low' as 16 kilobits resolution. This model RCA is one of the few portables that I have found that will play even 16 kbs Mp3 files (the manual claims the file encoding must be at least 32, but I find that 16, 22, or 24 kb encoding also play just fine.) Unfortunately it is true -- as stated in the manual -- that WMA files have to be 64 kbs, which leaves out many OTR files, but as far as I know, few (perhaps no) portables handle 16 kbs WMA files, though computer software can do so.
I am a professional sound engineer of many years' experience so I have been mystified by the negative reports about this player, written by users who have had very bad luck with their units. I have not had almost any of the problems reported by others. It is such a reliable player that I am now looking for a second one, or perhaps a later RCA model, to augment it. I also own an RCA RCD-148 CD/Mp3 boombox, pretty much the same thing but in a larger cabinet with radio tuner, amp, and speakers -- and have found it, too, to work very reliably, and to play almost any Mp3 file I have on CD-R, with no skips or discontinuities.
Here are the "problems" allegedly experienced by other amateur reviewers:
1. Hiss at all times? This is absolutely NOT the case with mine. Using either the phones supplied, or other better quality ones, I don't hear any line out hiss.
2. Bad sound, worse than other units? Not so! If the equalizer is set for flat reproduction, the sound is equivalent on high quality classical music CDs in my collection to any of my other regular portable CD players. Mp3 files sound absolutely the same as played back thru my Windows' computers.
3. Skipping? Not so in my unit. It takes effort to make it skip: banging on the lid will do it but this is also true of my other half-dozen CD-only portables. It seems no more sensitive to shaking than my Sony or Panasonic CD portable units.
4. Playing part of a CD audio or MP3 track, then quitting? Well, this has never once happened to me in more than a year of use with thousands of tracks played, on either CDs or CDRs.
5. Terrible battery life? Not really; I find it rather close to the claim in the manual. With a brand new pair of high grade alkaline batteries I can usually listen to one or two half-hour old time radio shows daily FOR THREE WEEKS to A MONTH before the batteries need to be replaced. Battery drain may be reduced -- as I use the machine -- by using an external headphone amp and keeping the RCA's volume level on the low side. I employ an inexpensive Koss three-band external equalizer/headphone driver since its graphic equalizer sliders are easier and quicker to use than the programmable equalizer in the RCA player (and have more control range.)
6. Not audiophile sound quality? Perhaps this is partly true. I find that when playing my finest quality classical music audio CDs that the RCA player has a noticeable sampling artefact at the start and close of some tracks, especially on old CDs made without dither. This would suggest that the D-A conversion and filtering is imperfect and not absolutely linear at the lowest part of the dynamic range, where sound levels drop below (say) -45 to -55 dB. For example, my Panasonic SX-SL270 handles the "fade in from black" of the very faintest music tracks seamlessly, while the RCA 2480 produces -- for a few milliseconds -- a slight faint crackle/thud until consistent sample amplitudes are at an appreciable volume. This is not noticeable DURING THE ACTUAL MUSIC but in the 'dead zones' in lead in/lead out tracks; with normal music playing I cannot hear any sampling artefacts at all. I find this inconsequential, and it does not seem to happen at all on Mp3 tracks (or at least the ones I have on CD-R.)
7. Low volume? Not at all; with the headphones supplied, I found the volume level generally higher than my Sony players, and quite sufficient for the music and radio programs that I have on CD. I can only imagine that people who like to play back (say) rap, with a driving, intense, extremely low-frequency bass down to perhaps 30 or 40 Hz would not find the dynamic range and power output of either the RCA's internal amp, or supplied phones, satisfactory; but portables do not handle this type of program material as well as high powered car or home stereo equipment operated from much higher current power sources than two little AA cells!
8. Instructions unclear? As far as I'm concerned, the supplied manual was a model of clarity, and the actual functionality (though somewhat cumbersome at first) is quite logical once you absorb the idea of what to do, step by step. The display provides more information than any other portable I've seen, and the ability to search the root and directories of CD-Rs containing huge numbers of files is quite exemplary and straightforward. I think the average VCR is an order of magnitude more complicated and confusing than this little device!
9. Unreliable. That is not true of the unit that I purchased. It worked correctly from the instant I put in the batteries and first disk; it still works fine a year later after hundreds and hundreds of hours' use.
I can only assume that people who have found this unit to be entirely UNsatisfactory have failed to observe the following conditions:
a. They haven't read the instructions;
b. They are using lousy batteries; maybe even carbon-zinc cheapies;
c. Their CDs are in TERRIBLE shape;
d. They have allowed the unit to become very dirty, so that the lens is not clean and clear;
e. They have subjected it to some severe physical damage, or left it in 100-degree sun for hours at a time (which will dry up the tiny capacitors on the circuit board);
f. They work for COMPETING COMPANIES (!) and are publishing disinformation to discourage people from considering this product;
g. Or -- let's face it -- they just don't know what they're talking about, have ridiculous expectations, and are almost never satisfied.
For the record, I have been a salesman of high end audio, have designed professional recording equipment, and have many years' background as a recording and audio engineer. The RCA is one of my more satisfactory items of home electronics; I recommend it to people who have expectations of actually receiving a product that lives up pretty well to its published specs (if not pleasing ignoramuses and clumsy folks with lousy, damaged CDs and the expectations that a $60 battery-operated portable will operate and sound like a multi-thousand dollar AC-operated device.)
- 8H Haggis
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
not enough drawbacks to not recommend to anyone, June 17, 2003
i'll keep the review short and to the point:the construction of the player is quite sturdy, although i suppose if you tried hard enough you could break it. the buttons are nice and easy to get to, and feel like they could take a lot of pushing before going out. the display is very well thought out, but we'll get to that in a sec. the skip protection works amazingly well...i had to drop the player to get the CD to skip (not recommended :)), and i couldn't get the mp3 to skip at all. over all, a very good player. now with the bad stuff:
no seperate line out and headphone jack (i don't care because i never used the line out anyway). the display isn't backlit, but then again, it only cost [$$]. the stock headphones might be good for some people (the sound quality isn't too bad), but the design of them hurt my ears. the CD player part is very very sensitive to scratches, or maybe it was Audio CD-R. i'm not sure. probably both. the last bad thing is it has some line noise at low volumes. while, no, it's not an ipod, and you shouldn't expect it to be, it is very worth the money for anyone looking for a CD-mp3 player. definite recommend buy.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Gut!, September 27, 2004
A Kid's Review
I am replacing this cd player now, but i have to say it was more than sufficent. It has lasted a year and a half though many falls, scorching heat, and being soaked a few times. I am well pleased with the fact that i can keep my entire rammstein collection on one cd, and still have room for a hundred more! The navigation was simplistic, the buttons never stuck, and after the above abuses, it still works, sorta. I don't know if i will buy another, but i do know that i wasnt disappointed by the one i own now.
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