Philips AX5212 Personal CD Player

This is my first purchase of a Philips portable CD player. I looked towards Philips because I have a Philips stereo system, and really like it. I was in the market for a new portable CD player because the Philips stereo I have has such a great sound that I wanted a portable CD player with the same great sound. The Panasonic that I had had good sound, but I wanted something better. I bought the Philips AX5212 because it had some nice features good price, and I trust Philips' quality from the stereo system.

Sound 9/10
I ordered the Philips online and when it came I was not disappointed with the sound. Better than the Panasonic, but not quite as good (but very close) as my Philips stereo. The DBBS in the Philips is a bit lighter than the Panasonic, which is better for me because now I can use the DBBS and not hear just the bass, but everything else that is going on. I give sound a 9/10 because the sound is great, but I have nothing to compare it with anything else in its price range from other companies, such as Sony or Aiwa.

Features 10/10
The CD player has 45 seconds of Electronic Skip Protection (ESP), which can be turned on or off with by a switch on the bottom of the unit. I don't do any sports activities while using it, but I do walk with it in my pocket and listen to it while in the car with the ESP off, and have never had it skip once. It has resume and hold, both also controlled by a switch on the underneath the unit. It has memory for up to 30 tracks for a programmed playback. It also has all the usual things you will find on a CD player, shuffle, shuffle repeat all, repeat, and repeat all. It even has a beep that goes on every time you press a button to let you know that something was pressed. I do find it annoying only when I have it paused to listen to someone and it beeps every 10 seconds to let me know it is paused. However it is a livable annoyance that can be easily solved by taking off the headphones. The LCD screen has large, bold, easy to read numbers. The skip buttons not only skip to the next or before track, but also if you hold them you can fast forward or rewind to the exact spot in a track. I really like the button shapes and placements because I can feel for them instead of looking for them. For example the play/pause button is a large circular button just below the LCD screen, and now that I know I don't ever have to look at the CD player to pause. I think all buttons except program and mode can be figured out this way, and even if you were to use program or mode you'd probably be looking at the CD player. For those creative types who like to burn CDs, this CD player plays CD-Rs and CD-RWs just fine.

Batteries/Battery Life 10/10
The CD player comes with two battery covers, one for 2 AA batteries and one for 2 AAA batteries. The instructions estimates 33 hours of playback with 2 alkaline AA batteries with ESP off, and 18 hours with ESP on. 15 hours with alkaline AAA batteries with ESP off, and 8 hours with alkaline AAA batteries with ESP on.

Quality 8/10
The materials used feel durable and strong, like it will last for years. The buttons also feel strong, also like they will last for years. I would say quality is 8/10, because the lid when closed can swivel back and froth on the hinge for about 2 mm, and while it does not affect play, or its ability to close and stay closed, it just feels cheap and not well made, but if Philips thought it was a problem they probably would have fixed it, so it is probably nothing.

Cons
The Panasonic I mentioned before was 5 in. from top to bottom and side to side. The Philips is 5.5 in. from top to bottom and side to side. A big difference if you plan to put in it your pocket, a big enough difference that I do not use the CD player in my pocket for long periods of time. The volume is not like any volume I've had before. Not really bad, mostly just different. I'm used to 0 being the mute volume, but on this CD player it has 1 as the mute volume. The gaps between each volume level are small enough so you are not searching for anything in between. However, volume level 2, the lowest level with sound, is not low enough to be the lowest level. In other words, the gap between 1 and 2 is too big. When I first bought, I used to always look for something between 1 and 2, but now I have gotten used to it. Volume 2 is still listenable, and everything above it has nice, small gaps. My last complaint is that every time I turn it off, when I turn it on the next time it always goes back to volume 8, no matter what level I turn it off on. Volume 8 is not "I'll go deaf" too loud, simply just too loud, and every time I turn it on I remember to change the volume to a level I prefer, another shortcoming that I have gotten used to.

Overall
Overall this is a well rounded performer. Most shortcomings just take getting used to, but the big one, size, is a major shortcoming. In the future Philips could make this CD player much better by giving it back its portability and making it smaller.