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Memorex MPD8505CP Portable MP3-CD Player with 45-Second Anti-Skip

Memorex MPD8505CP Portable MP3-CD Player with 45-Second Anti-Skip

List Price: $89.99
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: S-W-E-E-T CD/Mp3 Player! WILL NOT SKIP!
Review: This cd/mp3 player hardly skips! If you vigoursly shake it back in forth in your hand for a good 25sec (when playing a CD) you might get a quick milisecond of audio loss. But when you are playing mp3s, it NEVER SKIPS no matter what you do to it! Its also very easy to use, although the lettered buttons for typing searches in may take awhile to get used to. Its fairly compact, light, and using NiCD or NiMH batteries will help on the battery life. The instruction booklet gives the following times (by the way, mine was entirely in english, I have no idea what other reviewers were talking about)

Battery life is 3-10 hours depending whether ESP is on or off and whether you are playing mp3s or CDs. (Mp3 battery life is much longer than CDs and ESP is always on for Mp3s whereas it is an option for CDs.)

Note: Mp3 playback always has ESP on.

I highly recommend purchasing some high drain batteries (this player takes two at a time, so get four so you can charge two and use two)

And of course this CD/Mp3 player scrolls ID3 tags on the 2 line LCD display (you can edit them in the Winamp program by right clicking the song, selecting file info, checking the ID3 tag box, and filling in the artist and track) Otherwise ID3 tags are usually embedded in the mp3. This mp3 player will hold about 200 songs!

Another nice feature is the ability to search for songs and albums (albums are the folders that contain more songs). You just hit the search button (once for files, twice for albums) and punch in the first few letters for the file/folder you are looking for on the CD, and it will take you right there. If there is more than one match for your query, it will blink and you can go through them with the search up/down keys.

It is worth noting that it takes 2-3 seconds to switch tracks or directorys when playing mp3s. When you first turn the player on, it takes 5-30 seconds to start up (depending on how many mp3s you have). But its nothing and you get used to it!

I hightly recommend using "data cd" with Adaptec's Easy CD creator (don't use direct CD). In the program, you chose the songs you want and can create folders and subfolders with different songs under them (referred as albums, you can place entire CDs under them and label them by that CD's title, or you can make albums as artists, or make them as genres). So then after you burn the CD on a cd-r or cd-rw and pop it in the player, you can search for a folder (album) by typing in C,L,A (thats all you would probably have to do), hit enter, and then the classical folder comes up with all your classical songs. Or, if you know exactely what song you want, do a file search and hit M,O,Z and get Mozart. Really nice, although it will get easier with bigger displays in the future. But at a price this cheap for something this good! WHY WOULD YOU BUY A GOOD MP3 PLAYER THAT HOLDS 64MB AND ABOUT 1 HOUR OF SONGS FOR $150-$300 WHEN YOU CAN GET A EXCELLENT CD PLAYER THAT NOT ONLY PLAYS CDS, BUT 650MB OF 10 HOURS OF MUSIC AT THE SAME QUALITY FOR A CHEAP PRICE !

Basic stuff: it plays 32-128kbps files (i have heard that it can do 192, but I haven't tried it yet). You can always reduce or increase song's quality to 128kbps in Musicmatch. Includes 45sec ESP (works great), line out, headphones (actually the memorex brand fits and works nicely), car adapter, ciggerate lighter power adapter, standard AC adapter.

Also includes features such as programming tracks (up to 24), digital 45sec ESP, repeat, repeat all, repeat directory, intro, random, and DBSS (bass enchancement) switch.

OVERVIEW: (if you were too lazy to read everything above)

BUY IT NOW!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Disappointing
Review: At first this seemed like a decent CD player. The headphones that come with it are pretty lame but fortunately I had another pair of my own. It's somewhat ugly and bulky but not unbearable. The search feature is very handy, especially when you've got MP3 CDs with 100+ tracks; it was very easy to find the song I wanted.

However the skip protection was disappointing from the beginning. Walking caused several skips per song and it would sometimes skip in the car. Don't even think about doing anything more than that with this player; it'll skip like crazy and drive you crazy. The worst thing, though, was that a few months after I started listening to it frequently it broke to the point where it now skips every few seconds when it's just sitting on my desk (with both regular and mp3 CDs). This happened after I had taken it on a few plane rides, so maybe that had something to do with it, although I'm not really sure how. Whatever happened, it's too annoying to listen to now.

Despite the nifty search function, I wouldn't recommend this CD player. It's got a lot of flaws and you can probably find something much better.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Best for a Bargain!!
Review: This player is one of the best on the market for the money. It is rugged and plays regular CD's, CD-R's, and MP3's!! I get over 100 mp3s on one CD. I like to put it on shuffle play...it's like having your own jukebox with all your own favorite songs. Get one!!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Initial impressions
Review: The mere thought of an mp3/cd player gives me wood :P So it was with much excitement that I finally bought one.

My initial reaction is "hell yeah."

Decent headphones, a complete car kit (so you don't have to drain the batteries while jamming to your tunes in your car), and lots and lots of neat options. Searching and id3 tag reading and 45 second skip protection, oh my! :) Not to mention file folders.

The only downside is the confusing interface. Getting the thing to turn on is a bit of a trial. You have to keep hitting the play button in various combinations before the player clicks on. This will prove fun in the morning bus ride, as the display doesn't glow. Oh well. At least now I can fit my entire cd collection (about 1300 songs) onto 7 or 8 cds. Nice :)

Oh yeah; the file search is a bit weird too. Haven't quite figured it out, but it shouldn't be that hard. It's probably due to my mp3's not having any id3 tags :)

One caveat, however: If the model number/type/whatever DOES NOT have "suffix A" added on, RETURN IT. It's a piece of crap. Suffix A works just fine though.

Rock on, buy this product, and be the first person on your block to have the next wave of technology in your hands :D

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Important Tech Stuff! Great Player.
Review: Last week I read most of the reviews here, and even contacted two reviewers with what I thought was a simple question asking what Sampling Rates the player will read. The question went unanswered:( It's not on the Memorex web site, first place I tried. Most Old Time Radio MP3s are encoded at 32 kbps and a sample rate of 22 kHz. First generation MP3-CD players would only accept 44.1 kHz. Converting the files to acceptable sampling rates not only made the files larger, but often degraded sound quality as well.

I went shopping with a bunch of CD's with different sample and bit rate conversions, hoping that the original 32/22 would fly. 32/22 did play in MP3 Car Stereos, Sony and Akia, but no one had portable players set up. I bought the unit locally, with the option of returning it since it could not be tested. Would have saved the tax if I purchased online with free shipping, but I didn't know if it would do what I wanted.

Well, it's NOT going back. After I opened up it's plastic tomb, I popped in the CD-RW with the original 32/22 cuts and it played flawlessly. I opened up the manual and right near the end usable MP3 Properties are listed.

MPEG rate (bitrate) = 32 - 384 kbps

Sampling Frequency = 16,22.05,24,32,44.1,48 kHz

MP3 1, 2 = Layer 2, 3

MP3 playback = ISO9660 format compatible

also must burn CD as a single session.

The Memorex unit sounds great and it's format flexibility has saved me from converting most of my collection. There a few files encoded at lower bitrates than 32 kbps, but not many.

For a price of $... for a second generation unit it is a deal. I should be able to figure out the ALL the buttons just before the forth generation players hit the market:)

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Memorex MPD8610: much improved MPD8505
Review: I have the MPD8610, which appears to be an updated MPD8507.
. lightweight: approx 8oz with 2AA batteries.
. cosmetics reasonable: powder blue and silver.
. construction: okay. cover latch pretty firm.
. 4 line LCD - large letters, no backlight.
- displays logo on powerup.
. 10-30sec from powerup to operational.
. approx 10 hours playback with MP3 on alkaline batteries.
. Pause/Resume works okay.
. No AC adaptor or car kit, mediocre headphones.
. ID3 tags - displays filename - use IS9660 30 char names.
. Poweroff after inactive for 45 secs.
. ESP on audio CDs - 45secs - not checked but seems to work.
. 44Khz and 22Khz MP3 seemed to work okay, no skips, pops.
. Sound okay, 4 position equalizer - Classic, Jazz, Rock, Pop
pretty useless.
. Volume okay, line out useful on home speakers.

Tried a few MP3 CDs on first purchase and nothing but problems.
Used other reviewers recommendation (not stated in manual) with ISO9660, 30char names, and single-session, using Adaptec CD creator and success. No problems since.

Can navigate - directory and track number.
- sequence through the directories.
- using file search mechanism.

Has repeat mode, repeat within directory, random, 10 sec scan, or a 24 member playlist.

Can use display key during play to cycle between directory name, filename and ID3 tag.

(...)Backlit LCD, faster loading, Joliet naming, improved sound
quality, AC adaptor, and better headphones would be my recommendations.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: For the price, it's pretty good
Review: I've had mine for about a month now and this is what I've found. The sound quality is very good, especially with the bass boost on. Every MP3 CD I have burned so far, whether it be a collection of songs from Napster, personally burned albums to CD (using either Audio Catalyst or Music Match) or some mixture of both seem to have skips or pops in them. I have used 128kbs for my speed as suggested by most reviews on here. I have also tried burning in both joliet or ISO9660 with similar results using either Just Burn or Adaptec. I usually listen on the bus, so I thought that most of this was caused by movement, but I have heard the same types of things lying still listening in my bedroom. These MP3s play flawlessly on my PC. That said, for ..., you can't beat having 150 to 200 songs on one CD at a time, and it includes the car adapter. Battery life is acceptable, probably around 6 or 7 hours with alkaline and about 4 with new rechargable NiCad. Audio CDs play flawlessly, including audio copies. I am sure that the RIO is a better unit, but it is A LOT more money and for those of us on a tight budget, the Memorex is more than acceptable if you could but up with the pops and skips in just about each song (I can, many people can't).

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great unit with some flaws
Review: For the price that I got (under $40) it was a very nice unit. I've had the unit for over six months now and so far, only some skipping occur, but not much at all. The skippings usually seem quite random, and doesn't happen because th eunit is being moved or anything like that. The unit I have contians the suffix A sticker.

The car kit that came with mine, though, is a little weird. At times the volume will be too soft for no reason, but mostly they all worked great.

The only things I really don't like about this unit are 1) the display LCD isn't backlit, making reading practically impossible at night, and 2) the search option is not very user friendly, and the unit doesn't seem to respond too well to it.

Over all, I give it 4 stars, for its price, and that it hadn't died on me yet.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: dissapointed
Review: I got this for a christmas present and it was awsome!for the first 6 months and then it totally stoped working and by then i coulden't return it! it is under my bed collecting dust. i'm never getting a Memorex cd player again!!!

If your thinking of getting a MP3/CD player, Don't get one, i would recomend that u look into minidisk players (much more reliable)

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Disappointing Memorex player
Review: I bought this player last year at Target. I soon realized that it will not play a lot of the MP3 files. It will not play any VBR encoded files. It will not play bit rates about about 192 kbp3 or below 64 kbps in most cases. The player will skip and stammer all the way through these tracks. DOn't waste your money. You can get something better for very little more. Hard to find specifications on these portable players. Let the buyer beware!

Also, after 6 months it quit working altogether, apparently due to heat exposure inside an automobile.
I was very disappointed!

I should have returned this piece of junk while it was still under warranty.


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