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CD Players With Car Kits

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Koss CDP1689CP Portable CD Player with Car Pack

Koss CDP1689CP Portable CD Player with Car Pack

List Price: $69.99
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Product Info Reviews

Features:
  • 40-second antiskip buffer
  • Extended battery life
  • 24-track CD memory
  • Dynamic Bass Boost Sound (DBBS)
  • Includes cigarette lighter and cassette adapters, AC adapter, and stereo headphones


Description:

Koss has an easy and cost-effective way to upgrade your cassette-based car stereo to a full-featured, CD-quality sound system. This portable CD player comes packed with everything you need to enjoy CD sound wherever you go, including a cassette-to-CD adapter and power adapter that connects to your car's cigarette lighter.

For earth-shaking sound, you'll want to enable the optional Dynamic Bass Boost Sound System (DBBS) feature, which is extremely effective at increasing the output of bass. While we did find that the enhanced bass level caused some distortion at higher volumes, this is not likely to impact the majority of users.

We were particularly impressed with the high-quality Koss headphones. These lightweight and flexible headphones were the most comfortable pair that we've experienced in our tests, offering a secure fit without squeezing the head.

We also liked the built-in antiskip technology, which resists playback error due to excessive shaking. This feature is a must if you plan to use this CD player in a mobile environment such as your car. The manufacturer claims it has recently enhanced its antiskip technology to better prevent skipping, with a broader tolerance for horizontal shocks, as well as an enhanced laser focus. While we weren't able to access an earlier incarnation of Koss's antiskip technology to verify this improvement, we can report that our CD continued without skip or interruption after we deliberately knocked this player around both vertically and horizontally.

When the antiskip technology is first enabled, it takes a few seconds for the player to fully buffer 40 seconds of music. During this time, the LCD screen contains a graphical icon that shows the progress of the buffering activity. This was a useful feature that we had not seen in other personal CD players.

If you are tired of playing your aging cassette tapes in your car stereo, the Koss CDP1689CP is a reasonable choice for upgrading to CD sound quality. The price alone makes this a steal for both car and portable personal use.

Pros:

  • Effective antiskip technology for error-free CD playback
  • Comfortable, high-quality headphones
  • Good bass-enhancement option

Cons:

  • Some distortion at high volume when bass enhancement is enabled
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