RCA RCD148 CD Boombox with MP3/WMA CD Playback

• CD/radio boombox with MP3, mp3PRO, and WMA CD playback and ID3 tag recognition (for artist/track information)
• 2.5 watts per channel, 4-inch speaker drivers in tuned, bass-reflex enclosures
• 32-track programming, SmartTrax navigation; includes MusicMatch music-management software
• Includes remote control, clock, and battery backup option
• Operates on AC power (cord supplied) or 6 D batteries (batteries not included)

I got this as a moderately priced way to play MP3 CD's in portable boombox format. It's turned out to be pretty good as a small household digital music player; besides regular MP3 CD's it also plays discs with MP3Pro files and WMA's. The MP3Pro playback feature is a plus, as files recorded in this format have CD-quality sound at a lower bit rate than regular MP3's. About 12 hours of music will fit on one CD! I've tried playback of in all three formats and they all put out moderate quality sound through the box's low-power speakers. It has a digital bass boost feature and simplified equalizer control: 5 presets and 1 customizable with only "high" and "low" frequency ranges being adjustable.

The box is bundled with MusicMatch software for creating and organizing your digital music library; mine had version 7.5. Unfortunately you have to pay the standard licensing feeto unlock all the burning features for more than 4 free demo burns. You can use other software to record & burn digital music discs and still play them with this boombox, but the other applications probably won't have the MP3Pro option or support the enhanced "Smart Trax" menu navigation features. If your preferred burning software can use folders to organize your tracks, though, that still works pretty well. One downside I've found with Musicmatch is that it didn't transfer the original albums' track numbers, so the menus list clips in alphabetical order by song title within the folders. Perhaps there is a setting I've overlooked, but I didn't have this problem using RealOne.

The overall design of the boombox is fair. It has prominent metallic grills over the speakers reminiscent of a 60's sci-fi movie prop; I guess it's meant to look "Xtreme" or sporty or maybe just camp. The main controls are placed vertically on the front and the buttons have a rather noisy "clack" when they're used, although the rubber buttons on the remote are quiet. Since the LCD screen for the menu is also vertical and not backlit, it can be hard to read and inconvenient to use unless you have it sitting near eye level in a well lit room. The menu has some advanced features including creating playlists of up to 30 tracks, repeat, intro, and shuffle.

The radio works fine and features digital tuning with 30 presets available, and it can be set up to automatically scan and assign the presets in FM mode. Neither the boombox nor the remote have direct access to presets; you have to scroll up or down to select them.

Overall I like this boombox, mostly because of the MP3Pro feature. The basic design of the boombox is fair, and the playback features are good. I can live with the LCD display design but it may be a feature that will put others off.

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I bought the RCD148 yesterday only because it claimed it could play mp3 files. I inserted some CD-R's which had perfectly good mp3 files on them. But this boombox never recognized or played any of these mp3 files. It always interpreted the CD-R's wrongly as audio CD's.

Well, I thought let's try the MusicMatch software they ship with the box. Maybe it does something special. I did that, experimented with different discs (CD-R, CD-RW), finalizing the disc, etc. I also tried to burn a 100%-ISO-conform CD-R with Nero and the Windows XP built-in burn software. Nothing worked!

I was even checking out the RCA website if there was any support information or firmware updates. Nothing.

You will also not find any customer service phone number in the user's manual.

I am going to return this product immediately.

DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT! IT DOES NOT PLAY MP3 FILES!

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I bought and returned this within 24 hours. After setting it up I tried to play a simple audio CD and it spun up and displayed the number of tracks and the total playing time, but when I pushed play the display would read "serching track" for several minutes before I realized the disc had stopped spinning. I tried another CD and the same thing happened. I then tried an MP3 CD I burned and it took a long while for it to display all the artists' folders correctly, but when I pressed play, nothing happened! After twenty minutes of this I packed it up and returned it. I had the same bad luck with an RCA MP3/CD portable last year and have come to realize RCA has a long way to go to make their products stable enough to simply play MP3 music without failure.

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I researched around for a MP3 Boombox and the most popular seemed to be the Sony S2 and the RCA line (118, 148, etc). I have tried both the Sony and RCA and went for the RCA because of 2 reasons:

1) RCA plays WMA and mp3Pro files along with the mp3. Those that are not familiar with these formats, they provide equal or better sound quality at lower bitrates. You can put more songs on a CD-R and not give up quality.

2) Approximately half the price of the Sony.

I have had the unit for about 1 week and have NO problems playing Audio CDs, MP3, or WMA files. For those having trouble playing MP3 or WMA files, need to make sure their media is compatible. The product manual suggests the following bitrates:

MP3: 32 320kbps

WMA: 64 192kbps (Sampling rate: 44.1 48khz)

Mp3Pro: 24 96kbps (Sampling rate: 44.1 48khz)

PROS: Versatile audio player MP3, mp3Pro, and WMA. Stylish. Rugged. Comes with a remote. Of course, PRICE!!!! Can't find many Boomboxes that play all the audio formats for under $60.

CONS: Sound quality isn't spectacular. Could be louder too. The bass is clean at most volumes, but tends to deteriorate at the peak, like most "low budget" Boomboxes. Navigation and seek are a little slower than expected. Display is small and not backlit.

Overall, the PROS outweigh the CONS in my book. Although the sound is inferior to the Sony, it is above average for a Boombox. I will live with Boombox sound quality and power and the poorly lit display, knowing that I can play MP3 files, amongst others and it is half the price of its competitors. Also, this box will probably take a couple of hits, bumps and come back with some scratches. That's why I'm glad I didn't break the bank to get music while traveling and even happier that I get to put 10 albums on one CD-R. **Grins like an idiot**

I agree with most other reviewers. I bought this a while ago but repeated frustrations with trying to play any kind of MP3 disc and FM led me to write this.

The only thing its good for is playing regular CD's. That too, it takes a long time to read a disc before it can play.

MP3 Disks 'die' after a song or two. It either overheats or the memory runs out. Ive tried this at 128 kbps and lower recordings and none work.

The FM tuner's volume fluctuates and it keeps losing the presets, even when connected.

Remote is useless since you need to get real close to the machine to read the display.

The only use I got out of this: I bought this for our newborns nursery and discovered that the remote also worked for the crib mobile ( which came with a remote). In the end, a 70 buck crib mobile remote...