EmailBest Reviewed
Portable CD Players
- Best portable CD player Sony D-NF430 *Est. $60
- Basic portable CD player Coby MP-CD521 *Est. $20
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Basic portable CD player
- Inexpensive
- Good sound
- Widely available
- No radio
- Small display
- Prone to skipping
- Durability
The Coby MP-CD521 gets mixed reviews from users, but it's your best option for a decent-sounding, cheap portable CD player that can also play MP3-encoded CDs. The market turned away from CDs in favor of tiny MP3 players years ago, so reviews are hard to come by. This is a bare-bones CD player with an anti-skip feature that works far better in a car than when jogging, owner reviews say. The most common complaint in user reviews – aside from getting a defective one – is that the LCD display is too small to read. It's powered by two AA batteries or with an included AC adapter. Reviews are better for the Sony D-NF430 (*est. $60), which is discontinued but still sold on eBay and the like.
You'll no longer find many professional reviews for portable CD players. Consumer Reports last rated portable CD players in 2002, and none of those models are still being manufactured. We found about 60 owner reviews at Amazon.com and a handful at Overstock.com and Buy.com for the Coby CD player.
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Our Sources
1. Amazon.com
About 60 owner reviews give the Coby MP-CD521 a middling average score, with positive and negative reviews nearly evenly divided. Most of the complaints concern the portable CD player either not working out of the box or failing soon after, and some say the LCD display is too small.
Review: Coby MP-CD521 Personal MP3/CD Reviews, Contributors to Amazon.com
A handful of users give mixed reviews to the Coby MP-CD521, a couple saying the headphone plug doesn't fit in the jack.
Review: Coby MP-CD521 Reviews, Contributors to Overstock.com
3. Buy.com
We found just a couple of owner reviews here, one liking the Coby MP-CD521 and the other saying it's difficult to use and had some assorted problems, including the door not closing, after a few days of use.
Review: Coby MP-CD521 Reviews, Contributors to Buy.com
