Fully MP3 compliant Hardware MP3-CD players Options

[Shadow RD]

Hi All,

I have had troubles in the past with hardware that claims to play MP3 files but in practice does not play the files properly. I think it would be really useful to know which hardware devices FULLY support MP3.

By fully support I mean:

- playback of all the bitrates up to 320 kbps
- correct handling of VBR (showing correct playback times)
- no introduced sound glitches

Please feel free to reply to this post stating which devices offer full MP3 support in your own experience.

RD.

PS: My experiences... I know that the XMS-750 DVD player (only CBR) and the VOXSON-250 DVD player (plays VBR and 320 kbps but introduces sound glitches) both do not fully support MP3. I have a Kenwood MP727 CD player which seems to fully support MP3.

[SometimesWarrior]

My Philips Expanium plays --alt-preset standard files flawlessly; no problems after over 50 hours of playtime. The model number I think is EXP-401, but probably all new Expaniums perform the same. Also, perhaps because the CD's are so tiny (8cm mini-CD's), it practically never skips while it's in my pocket and I'm walking. It skips sometimes if I'm running, unless I hold it in my hand to keep it from banging around in my pocket. It shows the right "time elapsed" and fast forwards and rewinds properly, but it doesn't have an option to show time remaining.

As a plus, it starts playing 6 seconds after you press the play button... the RioVolts and Sonys I've seen take much longer to load. But the headphone output is a bit weak with my Koss PortaPro's, and very weak with my Sony MDR-V6's. It plays loud enough, but the sound isn't stellar; it's kind of mushy, and with the MDR-V6's the bass is weak. The Sony D-CJ01 (does NOT fully support MP3, needs --nores switch with aps VBR) and the SlimX both sound better to me.