Sony CFD-E100 Portable CD Radio Cassette Recorder
by Sony
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List Price: Category: Network Media Player See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Sony CFD-E100 Portable CD Radio Cassette Recorder
Customer Review: Portable CD player
Summary: 5 Stars
I am very satisfied with my purchase
thank you very much
satisfied customer!
Customer Review: Sony CD Cassette Radio Player
Summary: 5 Stars
Wow! It's great to find they still make a product like this. Works swell!Customer Review: Very good design, quality; sounds a bit bassy on cassettes
Summary: 4 Stars
The Sony CFD E100 rates say 4 stars for my purposes*; for others', it might rate 5.
Mainly I wanted a good quality radio-cassette player boombox, with CD function optional, and little space usage. This model looked trustworthy, and could use my existing 6 rechargeable C-cells. I bought it online, used, unseen anywhere, and the price was right. (I'm one of those over-age-34 curmudgeons the marketers seem to hate. I bought the E100 mainly for playing tapes of my favorite radio news/opinion programs, i.e., time-shifting, to listen when my mind is less occupied. My cassettes are usually recorded by a high-quality deck with Dolby-B.)
The design/shape factor is a plus, avoiding the fad of bulbous giant-fungus shapes.
Sound quality is very good, but a bit bassy, at least on tape playback; voices tend to sound low and boxy. The "mega-bass" button makes practically no difference. I'd rather have normal tone balance as the default. Subwoofers be da_ned!
Presetting radio stations was not difficult, following directions. Radio performance seems fine. The antenna can be swiveled when its bottom section is fully extended.
(No comment on the remote control, which I lack and don't miss. It would only be needed for direct access to preset stations, rather than in step sequence.)
CD playing works well, and the sound balance is more brilliant than on the cassette sound; maybe a tad weak in mid-range. CD track playing does not seem to be programmable; no random or auto repeat. Handling CDs must be done carefully, as the laser player mechanism hinges outward a little when the front-facing door is opened, and a CD needs to be held nearly vertical and snapped onto the hub --better with 2 hands. No, it does not play MP3s, but my CD-R copies play fine.
The cassette door is similarly located on the back of the unit, but the in-&-out motions are more straightforward (up/down, simple). The carrying handle should be rotated down behind the unit to keep from interfering with cassette in-&-out. Cassette actions are full auto-stop. Only the "record" button is easily distinguishable, on the left end, with its red dot. Strangely, the cassette can be powered on by just pressing "Play," but after "Stop," the power is still ON. If not noticed, and you don't push "Power" off, this can drain your batteries!
Overall, the design and function is quite pleasing to my senses. The E100 targets a near-empty niche, with very good design and quality. [*For what I paid used, it's 5 stars.]
Customer Review: Good -- for the money
Summary: 4 Stars
Updated March 2009. My unit has become buggy. I turn the power off after using the radio, and the CD player comes on when I turn in back on sometimes. Other uncommanded operation like that sometimes, usually the CD player starting when I do not want it to. Most of the time OK. I bring it down to three stars.
Also, I see the price is much higher than the $60 I paid. At $85 I do not think it is "OK for the money" as I said originally.
My original review from 2007 is below.
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It's OK for the money -- I don't think you will do better for the price. The sound is not nearly as good as, say, the Bose Wave Radio, but that costs $500. The Mega Base feature gives the audio an artificial, honking, shrill sound that I find annoying so I do not use it. I find voice quality on the unit to be quite good and better than other, similar units I have had. Music quality is a bit of a let-down. The remote control has several extraneous TV/video functions on it; I don't know why. (Push, push, push . . . No pictures! :) ) Don't lose the remote -- some functions are not on the main unit and are only available through the remote.
Customer Review: Excellent buy
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this CD player for my daughter 5 years ago. She was three at the time. I did not expect it to last for too long, but it is still going strong. I have had absolutely no problems with it. It is easy enough for a child to use. I have only a couple of critiques. First, it is easier to insert a cassette the wrong way than on most cassette decks. Second, there is no auxiliary port for connecting an MP3 player. Finally, I am less than impressed with the digital tuner. I don't keep batteries in the radio because of my daughter's tendency to leave the power on when not in use, and so whenever the radio is moved from place to place, all presets are lost and the tuner resets to the bottom of the dial. This would not be as much of a problem if there were a way to enter a desired frequency instead of scrolling through.
All in all, this has been one of the best electronic purchases I've ever made, and I will look for a similar Sony product when the time comes to replace it.