Looking for a CD-MP3 player... what choices do I have now?
May 25 '01 (Updated May 28 '01)
The Bottom Line CD-MP3 players are evolving rapidly today. Although many first and second generation player were horrible, the top two choices kick much bootie.
So you decided to make the plunge into the world of MP3s... but you want to maintain access to your grand collection of music CDs when you need to... what to do?
CD-MP3 players... I've heard about those. There were those models... uhhhmmmm... you know the ones named like the DAV309 CD/MP3/VCD player, the MPTrip, and a few more units. I also remember hearing about the MamboX, a unit from Aiwa, and units from RCA. I read the reviews and they all sucked! I can't even play a regular music CD on these units right unlike my cheapo CD Discman for $40 from Sony... and it doesn't skip nearly as much as those CD-MP3 players.
Note: I am not going into the other types of MP3 players in this review and strictly focusing on the CD-MP3 players. If you're looking for general MP3 player information, then read my review titled "Too many choices... RioVolt, Rio 800, Nomad II MGs, Jukeboxes, TDK Mojo and so on" at the following link
http://yusakugo.epinions.com/content_1025089668
That was the story a year ago. Time passes... things change. Currently the top two models duking it out in the CD-MP3 world are the SonicBlue RioVolt (and the similar AVC Soul Player) and the awesome TDK Mojo. Two units that are similarly priced and do a similar job... play both music CDs and your MP3s off a CD... and they both do it well!
Who be da Man?
At the time I'm writing this, all the other choices other than the SonicBlue RioVolt/AVC Soul Player and the TDK Mojo are inferior products that might be considered in the under $75 budget... The only other available CD-MP3 player that may be decent or even good is the Phillips Expandium player (since I have absolutely no experience with this player unlike almost all the other CD-MP3 players prior to March 2001).
If you want good MP3-CD playback and music CD functionality, you must buy either the RioVolt/Soul Player or the TDK Mojo. You should pony up the $150-170 to get one if you're even considering a CD-MP3 player at all. You will likely not have to buy a new unit for quite some time! The MPTrip can be found for $69 and lower but why bother buying such an inferior unit. Poor CD-R and CD-RW playback... skipping during playback. Spend your money once and be happy with your choice, don't play around!
Which do I choose?
If you want exhaustive reviews, read the following links
SonicBlue RioVolt
http://yusakugo.epinions.com/content_16976219780
AVC Soul Player
http://yusakugo.epinions.com/content_19010981508
TDK Mojo
no epinions catagory yet... but my review is on my hard drive after 3 weeks of hard use! :)
Here, I'll go into some of the basic functions that can influence your decision towards one unit of the other.
First, the decision between the RioVolt versus the Soul Player depends on just a few things. Do you want a brand name supporting you? Then go for the RioVolt. Firmwave updates seem to be released far more frequently on the RioVolt although all the major firmware updates are released for the Soul Player as well. Slightly different accessories included in RioVolt versus Soul Player. The Soul Player comes with a car kit while the RioVolt has better software and a belt case. Otherwise, the decision here is more of a preference for brand name or not.
The real decision is between the TDK Mojo versus the RioVolt/Soul Player...
TDK MOJO Magik!
The TDK Mojo ranks up there in MP3 players period. It sounds great, it looks decent, and it feels good. It feels much more solid than the RioVolt/Soul Player. What really makes the Mojo stand out is the navigation system. It is one of the nicest... if not the nicest file/song navigation systems out there. Not only that, it is one of the easiest to use to boot! TDK uses their Navitrack technology... which really is the way the unit organizes MP3 songs into title, artist, and genre regardless of the directory the files are in. The only problem is the longer spin up time of the Mojo to do this. You can always switch the unit to a file/directory structure for faster spin up time via the menu. The LCD is smaller than the RioVolt but much clearer with the thicker text on the screen and brighter backlight... The Mojo seems to pack more info on the screen than the RioVolt. You also get a decent pair of backphones too. You get 45 sec of regular CD ESP and 8 nosebleeding minutes of MP3 skip buffer protection. WOW! The unit did not skip on being roughly shaken or driving on a rocky trail road in a Ford Explorer.
The Mojo does have some problems. Almost all other non-basic function had to carried out through the LCD menu... although the menu carried just about all the choices I could want. The unit isn't as slick looking as the RioVolt. There is no inline remote or even external remote for the Mojo. There is no WMA file playback... only MP3 and CDA (Compact Disc Audio) format only. The biggest drawback is the non-upgradable firmware! That's right... unlike the RioVolt and Soul Player, you CANNOT upgrade the players firmwave to add new features and fix any bugs!
The RioVolt/Soul Player resurrection!
I'll only go into the RioVolt since the two are basically the same unit. The RioVolt has a number of nice features over the Mojo player. There are more buttons on the unit so people don't have to rely solely on the LCD menu to control multiple function of the unit. The larger LCD screen is a bit easier to read in terms of text size... but although the LCD is clear, the Mojo LCD is even clearer and cleaner looking. The ability to play MP3, CDA, and WMA files! You get an inline remote. And the major bonus... the upgradable flash memory. I had firmware 1.13 on the RioVolt before the TDK Mojo came in. The Mojo seemed to win out with the easy to use and clean song interface... but I just got firmware version 2.0 in the RioVolt now. Whoa! The RioVolt is like a new machine now... a much better song navigation system was added, better battery saving options, less noise on the unit, more volume steps, better user defined equalizer settings are added, sleep timer added, and user selectable power off settings! Unbelievable! This firmware upgrade makes the RioVolt an even better player now!
What weak about the RioVolt? It still feels cheap because of the poor hard plastic casing. The LCD is still not as nice as the TDK Mojo. Crappy earphones. Despite user selectable 10 and 40 sec music CD anti-skip protection, the unit skips quite a bit. You also get only a maximum of 3 minutes of MP3 buffer protection overall (although the minimum selection is 30 or 60 second minimum protection)
Conclusions
Between the two players, it depends on your priorities. If you want a sturdy looking player with excellent anti-skip protection and MP3 playback with great song/file navigation, you may lean towards the TDK Mojo player. If you desire upgradability and multiple format selection, the RioVolt is more for you. Not everyone can have both players in their home like I do, but you really don't need both... just the one that fits your needs better!
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Member: Rich Go
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