Philips AX3301 > Reviews > Buy more batteries!

Author's product rating:   

Sound Quality	Satisfactory
Look & Design	Good
Range of Features	Limited
Durability	Poor
Value for Money	Poor

Advantages:	Small, compact, volume control on earphone wire, cool design, 45 second anti - shock
Disadvantages:	flimsy latch on lid, appalling battery life

Recommend to potential buyers:

no

Full review

Battery manufacturers are probably rubbing their hands together in glee from the moment you buy the Philips AX3301.

It starts off well enough - the unit is very well designed, the display although small is clear enough, the controls nice and easy to use / find, sound quality is fine.

There are even some nice touches for the price such as the volume control remote on the earphone wire (useful if you have your player in a case or in your bag and someone starts talking to you!), and also the dual-battery type holder - use one holder and the unit takes 2 AAA batteries, swap the holder and now it takes 2 AA batteries - useful to be not limited to one type of battery. It also looks rather nice with the "animated optical" case which is actually just one of those fresnel type stickers although is a nice effect, sort of like a hologram. The 45 second anti-skip protection is a welcome touch too.

However, the unit is plagued by a few small problems, and one huge one. The case is quite plasticy - I don't know how it would survive knocks and scrapes, but the catch that holds the lid shut feels particularly weak. The unit isn't exactly well endowed in features either - just your basic playback of cd's - no mp3 support.

The unit EATS batteries at a shocking rate - far above what is stated in the specifications. I initially started using the player with AAA batteries, and didn't manage half a CD before it died. After wasting two sets of AAA batteries, I followed the tips in the instructions and used good quality AA batteries. It was better, but not much, and certainly nowhere near the 20 hours quoted.

Also, disappointingly, the manual states that to hit the maximum battery life, you should switch the ESP to off - that's right - if you want longest playtime, turn that anti-shock protection off!!! So you get the choice of jog-proof and only play a short time, or longer playback but it might skip if you knock it.

This is one of the few items that I've returned (it was bought online so that was a hassle in itself) - it just wasn't acceptable. I'm willing to admit that there might have been a problem in the model I had (although doubtful - what would go wrong that would make it use more battery power?), but I wasn't prepared to risk it and so went with a Sony D-NE511 (also reviewed) - the difference is amazing - hello 85 hour playback times!!!

Sorry Philips but either your product or your quality control sucks. I'll not risk your CD player products in future.