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Review 4 of 69
Price Paid:
$299.00
from Best Buy Year / Model Reviewed:
2001 Aiwa CDC/MP3 Strengths:
Good sound and power
Generally performs well with CD-RW mp3s
Cool Display
Removable face-plate is nice (it survived being dropped a few times)
FM/AM reception is fine Weaknesses:
Skips pretty bad with regular audio CDs:
On almost every bump the CD will skip, and sometimes it will skip for what seems like no reason at all. However if you plan on utilizing the mp3 playing capability, it gets better. With mp3s the music doesn't skip, it just pauses. MP3 playing is not as sensitive with bumps as audio CDs, and I have gone over big bumps without a pause. On somedays though, it has paused when going over minor bumps. I guess it just depends on whether or not the player is having a good day =)
It doesn't like certain CD-RWs:
The music kept pausing when using regular Memorex CD-RWs (with the white label). The Memorex Platinum CD-RWs (silver labeled discs) seem to work the best. I have some of those that I have reburned over and over and over since 2001 and they still work fine. Every once in a while when I burn a CD, the player will have a problem playing a small handful of songs on it (sometimes). Again, it depends on whether or not the player is having a good day. I can't explain this phenomenon.
The plastic hinge on the face plate cover broke (lol) =P Summary:
I bought this unit in the summer of 2001, meaning that I've had it for 2 years now. It's a decent mp3 system for your car. It puts out pretty good power, and combined with my Infinity speakers has no problem overpowering wind noise with the windows down. You won't get as much bass as you would with a home stereo system unless you install a "steal me" amp and sub-woofer setup.
I'm sure there are better car mp3 players out there. If you can pick up this unit for a low price, it will work for you as long as you avoid playing regular audio CDs. Stick to mp3 playback, and I recommend using CD-RWs so that you can reburn over and over onto one CD.
If you're the type of person that doesn't have a lot of patience and gets frusterated easily, perhaps you should stay away from this unit. If you give it a chance though, it is a functional unit that will give you plenty of enjoyment for many many miles. I'd take this unit over a regular CD or cassette player anyday. Once you experience having 80 CD quality songs (192kbps+ of course) on one CD played at random, there's no going back. I love this technology, and look for it to improve in the future. Similar Products Used:
FM/AM units (good for if the radio stations in your area are fantasic)
FM/AM/Cassette units (cassette components are a waste of materials)
FM/AM/CD units (very limiting)
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