Sony CMT-EX1 CD Mini Audio System

i bought this , if i am correct, in 2000. it cost then the monster tag of $350, or at least that was the price in the one amsterdam store i was shopping in. but, i wanted for the first time in my life something nice and clean and flashy, and of a big make. so i went for Sony. i was happily impressed with the niceness of controls, the shiny parts and display, and the nice whomp sound that it took from techno albums. Later, while owning this little jewel box, i became impressed with several different (and more important)things: the robustness of the glass window, the rds function that also reads from id3 tags, the quality of sound when playing more subtle music(classical), the longevity of the speaker cones(they'r still nice and soft, have almost the same dynamics as the first day), well, the all-around unbreakability of this machine(i'm talking about dropping it on the floor and/or carrying it stashed in crates packed with other appliances...real abuse). it may not be a $5.000 piece of high end stereo, but it has made my life very happy and i am glad i spent that money back then. since it now costs about half, i cannot see why one would not like it. oh yes, it works very well also with rc connections(in the back)in case you want to plug in a record deck or cassette tape. well, it's about it. i love it, and the one and only reason why i can't recommend it is that i don't know if something else -better- has come out in these last 4 years, and i imagine it has. but hey, if you'r looking for a nice affordable music player, i mean, you sure won't be disappointed.