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Phillips EXP301 CD/MP3 Player

Phillips EXP301 CD/MP3 Player

List Price: $129.99
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Adequate device
Review: Adequate, but I wanted ID3 tag support, so I returned it and got the EXP503.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Its time to throw all the smart/comapq flash in the garbage
Review: Dont waste another dime on the expensive flash memory for you mp3 player.. dont waste more time uploading, and uploading songs to your flash memery player. GET THIS, or its smaller sibling the exp401. So what if you cant read the song or album name. who gives a (...) about that. I know what i burned on the thing. and if i get confused because two artists plagurized each other well then a quick look from a pc cdrom drive will show me the full file names. It also helps to label the CD if its a cd-r
try labeling flash memory, or taking more than 2 or three flash memeory with you jogging.

This player does not skip.. with the skip protection off it barly skips when i take a miss step. takes alot of motion to get to skip. if only awia had put the same cd drive in their mp3 car player.. that thing skips!! and thats very anoying when i am driving..

This player can hold what over a hundred songs. More if you encode at a lower bit rate then the 220kbps average i get from the HQ VBR encoding method. I have 104 songs on the (iso9660+joliet multi session disc) cd-rw i have in my exp301 right now. the songs are grouped into directorys named in the following format 'artist - album'. I have never had a desire to read id3 tags on the player. I know every song on the disc already, adn can tell instantly what i am listening to since i have only ripped the HITS.

I am ripping my mp3's in VBR format at a quality of 100% using the great software that come with my sounblaster live card.. something called creative playcenter 2. if you have an old verson go and get an update from their website. They make it so easy to rip and encode using the best encoder known to mankind franhoufer!

If your going to rip your cd collection i suggest using a cd rewriter drive to do the ripping. you will have many more glich free mp3's this way.. it has to do with the quality of the head tracking and positioning.. read only cdrom drives are made much cheaper by skimping on the head positioning hardware

I would also suggest ezcd creator for multisesson, or direct cd for udf (DRAG AND DROP like a big floppy disk) formated CD's. You will most probley get a basic edition of this great product with what ever cd burner you have, or will buy. If not then go and buy version 5.0 on here.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Rugged, high performance unit--great value.
Review: I bought this for my son, who plays tennis for his college and travels extensively. This unit is perfect for him. It's highly flexible--it works with CDs, CDRs, CDRWs, and even DIRECT CDs. It's powered by 2 "AA" batteries which provide substantial playing time.

The unit is rugged. Given the way he tends to treat his equipment, throwing it into and dragging it out of tennis bags which in turn are thrown around a lot, he should know. This ruggedness also is evident in that my son tells me that this unit has the best Anti-skip function he's ever experienced.

The unit Comes with AC adapter and a very good car kit (order the model 303) which is easy to use and works well. This is important to him as, apparently, a lot of the school vans they travel in have no CD playing capabilities. (Ah, the hardships our kids must endure!)

Finally, he really likes the ear phones. They have a unique design that is both comfortable for long use and provide excellent sound reproduction.

This kid went through about 15 CD players in his last two years of high school and has had this puppy for as long as any 5 of his previous models combined.

If that's not value, what the heck is?

A great buy!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Rugged, high performance unit--great value.
Review: I bought this for my son, who plays tennis for his college and travels extensively. This unit is perfect for him. It's highly flexible--it works with CDs, CDRs, CDRWs, and even DIRECT CDs. It's powered by 2 "AA" batteries which provide substantial playing time.

The unit is rugged. Given the way he tends to treat his equipment, throwing it into and dragging it out of tennis bags which in turn are thrown around a lot, he should know. This ruggedness also is evident in that my son tells me that this unit has the best Anti-skip function he's ever experienced.

The unit Comes with AC adapter and a very good car kit (order the model 303) which is easy to use and works well. This is important to him as, apparently, a lot of the school vans they travel in have no CD playing capabilities. (Ah, the hardships our kids must endure!)

Finally, he really likes the ear phones. They have a unique design that is both comfortable for long use and provide excellent sound reproduction.

This kid went through about 15 CD players in his last two years of high school and has had this puppy for as long as any 5 of his previous models combined.

If that's not value, what the heck is?

A great buy!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A awsome player! affordable too!
Review: I bought this player because of the high customer reviews, and they are totally true! THe expanium is very easy to use and never gives me any troubles. I never have to turn on skip protection, even when I'm walking. Quality is A++, no questions there. THere is no resume function, however, for mp3 discs; but I have accidentally discovered a way!
Read this carefully:
start the player with the mp3 disc in it by pressing PLAY,
listen carefully for the sounds it makes (after a while you would be able to memorize the noises),
at the last scratching noise (right before it starts to play), press STOP quickly, twice (to shut it down),
then wait for a sec or two, and then pres PLAY again.
THis should resume it to where you left off last time.
You might not be able to pull this off in the beginning, but after a while when you get more used to it, it should work.
The timing is very important, you have to press STOP at the exact moment, not a half second earlier or later.

NOte: I do not know if this will work for all cd players

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A awsome player! affordable too!
Review: I bought this player because of the high customer reviews, and they are totally true! THe expanium is very easy to use and never gives me any troubles. I never have to turn on skip protection, even when I'm walking. Quality is A++, no questions there. THere is no resume function, however, for mp3 discs; but I have accidentally discovered a way!
Read this carefully:
start the player with the mp3 disc in it by pressing PLAY,
listen carefully for the sounds it makes (after a while you would be able to memorize the noises),
at the last scratching noise (right before it starts to play), press STOP quickly, twice (to shut it down),
then wait for a sec or two, and then pres PLAY again.
THis should resume it to where you left off last time.
You might not be able to pull this off in the beginning, but after a while when you get more used to it, it should work.
The timing is very important, you have to press STOP at the exact moment, not a half second earlier or later.

NOte: I do not know if this will work for all cd players

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Choose this over flash media
Review: I bought this unit a year or so ago and it's given me no serious problems. The switch to open the player is a little flimsy -- a few times I've brushed against it while sitting in the car and it popped open, which is annoying, but I've also dropped the player a few times and it hasn't popped open, which is more important and something I can't say as much for my Sony. The display doesn't show ID3 tags but unless you have no idea what is on the CD you've made yourself, this shouldn't be too big of a problem.

As most previous reviewers noted, the Hold/Resume button doesn't allow you to do both at once and furthermore the Resume option doesn't actually work. I find that with a little file/folder organization, it's easy to find the song I left off at without needing the Resume button, and as for the options being mutually exclusive, if I want to use the Hold option, it's usually because I'm going to be travelling for a long enough time that resuming exactly where I left off is not vastly important. But that's just my take.

If you're considering a flash or hard drive MP3 player, get an MP3/CD player instead. High capacity flash players are expensive whereas CD-Rs easily carry 700MB, and an erasable CD-RW acts pretty much like a mini hard drive. I have little faith in hard drives, as the one in my laptop failed after a year. But what REALLY did it for me is that you can't play a conventional CD on a flash or hard drive MP3 player. What if you're on a short trip and buy a CD? In order to listen you'd either have to a laptop or a CD player in addition to the MP3 player. With an MP3/CD player, this isn't an issue -- it's so convenient it's beautiful.

So save yourself the trouble and get an MP3/CD player! It's convenient and this one is particularly good!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Choose this over flash media
Review: I bought this unit a year or so ago and it's given me no serious problems. The switch to open the player is a little flimsy -- a few times I've brushed against it while sitting in the car and it popped open, which is annoying, but I've also dropped the player a few times and it hasn't popped open, which is more important and something I can't say as much for my Sony. The display doesn't show ID3 tags but unless you have no idea what is on the CD you've made yourself, this shouldn't be too big of a problem.

As most previous reviewers noted, the Hold/Resume button doesn't allow you to do both at once and furthermore the Resume option doesn't actually work. I find that with a little file/folder organization, it's easy to find the song I left off at without needing the Resume button, and as for the options being mutually exclusive, if I want to use the Hold option, it's usually because I'm going to be travelling for a long enough time that resuming exactly where I left off is not vastly important. But that's just my take.

If you're considering a flash or hard drive MP3 player, get an MP3/CD player instead. High capacity flash players are expensive whereas CD-Rs easily carry 700MB, and an erasable CD-RW acts pretty much like a mini hard drive. I have little faith in hard drives, as the one in my laptop failed after a year. But what REALLY did it for me is that you can't play a conventional CD on a flash or hard drive MP3 player. What if you're on a short trip and buy a CD? In order to listen you'd either have to a laptop or a CD player in addition to the MP3 player. With an MP3/CD player, this isn't an issue -- it's so convenient it's beautiful.

So save yourself the trouble and get an MP3/CD player! It's convenient and this one is particularly good!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Could have been more user-friendly ...
Review: I decided to change my discman after my old Panasonic SL-SX469V
discman started to have problems. I know that technology has enabled discmans to support MP3s. The problem is only of what brand to get, since virtually every commercial brand seems to have their models. I did some research and found that the EXP30117 received the best reviews. My friend has one and also commented positively about it. So, eventually I got myself a set at S$206.

In terms of sound, it doesn't disappoint you. Whether playing audio CDs or MP3s, it sounds good when using a pair of reasonable
headphones. With 2 levels of DBB bass enhancement, it should be enough for the average listener. I'm using the KOSS KTX-PRO headphone - a rather good match.

In terms of shock protection, I don't have a problem either. I usually put it in my backpack and listen to it wherever I go.
Don't even have to turn on the ESP - no skips !!

BUT ... I have a problem with its functionality. This is something the reviews never mentioned. Thus I want to make this
VERY clear to potential buyers out there:

1) This model has a RESUME function. But it works ONLY when the
period between stopping and replaying is around 5 mins. That means if you set it to RESUME before a movie starts(assume last played track is album 3, track 3), after the 2 hr movie, when you turn the set ON, you're back to album 1, track 1! I think
this defeats the ultimate purpose of the RESUME function. It should work regardless of the period between stopping and restarting the player.

2) The OFF, RESUME and HOLD functions are incorporated into the same slider switch. The HOLD disables the buttons and prevents any accidental presses. BUT you can only choose EITHER RESUME OR HOLD. If you intend to set it to HOLD during the movie, and resume a song on the trip home after a movie - sorry, you can't.
RESUME and HOLD must be on different, mutually exclusive slider switches.

Sigh ... if this model do not have the above 2 problems, it
would have received a 5-star rating, without a doubt.

Another possible improvement is to enable AM/FM tuner functionality, just like the RioVolt.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Right idea, poor execution.
Review: I had one for about two weeks, then returned it for a refund. My gripes:
1. [Bad] headphone amplifier. Far too much bass saturation. Got better as it warmed up, but never got good...
2. Buggy software. For unknown and unrepeatable causes, this unit would occasionally (once every couple of hours) just freak out and play garbage......regular CD's, mp3 CD's....didn't matter.
3. Skipping. If you sat still or just occasionally bumped it, it kept running fine. However, if I tried to walk with it, it would empty the buffer fast and start skipping all over the place...


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