Sony ZS-X3CP S2 Sports CD/Radio Boombox (White)

• CD and radio boombox with MP3 compatibility and Mega Bass low-end sound enhancement
• 4-line, dot-matrix display simplifies file and folder navigation
• ESP2 CD shock protection minimizes skipping during CD playback
• Jog-lever navigation control lets you move "fast forward" or "fast back" through MP3 files and folders
• Water-resistant design with high-impact plastic housing is designed for outdoor fun

Like many out there, whenever I buy any electronics, I first look at Sony products. So when I saw that Sony had released an MP3 boombox, I was really excited. I ripped 10 of my favorite CDs at 160 kbits, burned them onto a CD-R, and raced down to [the local store] to check this thing out !

From a style standpoint, this player is awesome. It's lightweight, it looks cool, and it's real easy to carry around. Thank you Sony for creating products that recognize our desire to rip, burn, & play MP3 on CD-Rs !

I then placed the CD in the tray. It took about a minute or so for the player to run through the 150 songs on the CD and catalog them into its memory...no big deal, I can wait.

But when the sound came out of the speakers, I was very let down. The speakers that Sony put in this thing are very, very average. The sound is not full range at all. It's got Mega Bass, but you hardly notice that it's on. The fidelity doesn't compare at all to sound that comes out of my current Sony boombox, which is about 3 years old.

Sorry to disappoint folks, but I'd have to say "thumbs down." For [money] perhaps I would consider buying. But at [more money], I would expect much more from Sony. It seems to me that the price tag covers the cost of the Sony deign team to dream up its great design & MP3 compatibility...... you are definitely not paying for the components inside.

In closing, if you do not intend on turning this thing up loud to play at the beach or in your back yard this summer, this boombox, may be for you. But if you expect a full range of sound and want to crank it up at a party, look elsewhere. Hopefully as future generations boomboxes are released from Sony, they will improve upon this product.

Believe me....I'm bummed out that [less money] Oritron MP3 model sitting next to it sounded better....

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I had the screeching problem as well. So did a little research and found you guys. I have determined that the screech comes from the unit not being able to properly read the encoding written to the CD. Here's how to get around any problems. If you aren't familiar with burning CDs then you may need to have another window open with Google handy.

I went through 25+ test CDs trying to fix and replicate the problem until I found a fool-proof solution.

1) The first thing you need to do is re-encode your files. You may think your files are fine, but why take the chance. I use the 'Audio File Format Converter' function in Easy CD-DA Extractor 6.5. It uses the LAME encoder version 3.95.1

1) a) You need to configure settings for the 'Output Format'.

1) a) 1) The 'samplerate' needs changed to 44100 kbit/s. This needs set manually as sometimes the default of 'Auto' with allow the original 'samplerate' to be used.

1) a) 2) The 'bitrate' needs to be checked to make sure it is set to 128 kbit/s and not 'Variable Bitrate'. I also tested 96, 112, 160, 192 kbit/s with no problems.

1) a) 3) The 'mode' can be set to anything; 'Stereo', 'Auto Select', etc.

1) a) 4) The 'quality' can be set to anything; 'Normal', 'High Quality, 'Highest Quality', etc.

2) Once the files have been re-encoded. Burn your CD.

2) a) You want to create a CD-ROM (ISO) disk.

2) b) Do not use 'multisession'

2) c) Use ISO Level 2 settings (max 31 characters, mode 1 format, ISO 9660 character set).

2) c) 1) Using Joliet is fine, just make sure that your file names are not longer than 64 characters to be safe. Really your file names don't need to be that long as the information for the file(title, artist, album, etc) is kept in the ID3 tag of the file.

2) e) Your write speed should be between 2x-16x. I am using a setting of 16x so far with no problems. 24x seems to work about 90% effectively.

These tests were done with 120 songs on each disc.

The CDRWs are RIDATA, they were so cheap it is almost impossible to tell which side is up or down as there are no identifiable marks on the entire disc. The CDRs are made by Khypermedia. So from my POV, media is not a huge issue.

The most important thing to keep in mind is the bitrate and samplerate used to encode the files and the speed at which the CD is written.

That takes care of the NOISE that everyone else was upset about. The unit definately looks awesome. It has been on several multi-day canoe trips over the last 3 years and seen its share of drizzle(light rain) and splashes.

The batteries hold up well and although I have never written down runtimes, I would estimate around 24-36 hours continuous use on a volume level of 4.3.

Dismantalling the unit was easy with just a phillips screwdriver(make sure the tip end is at least 5 inches long to reach all the screws). The bottom of the case comes off with no wires attached to the shell.

For the $$$ I would recommend this unit to anyone.

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I bought this for keeping my field season full of music. After 3 weeks of using this unit, here is my list of cons:

1) Takes about 1-4 seconds between MP3s; this is in addition to any silence that may be encoded on the MP3. 2) Only 15 seconds of skip protection. Most discman models offer much, much more. 3) No DC (auto) adapter like Sony models of old. 4) No remote. 5) Long load time (30+s for MP3 CDs if you have, say 6 directories). 7) No auto-power off. Bad for batteries. 8) Poor error correction for scratched CDs, particularly with MP3 playback. 9) Should be two shuffle options, all MP3s and those within the current directory.

I suppose these are the reasons that led to discontinuing of this player. Hopefully its successor (the ZS-XN30) will address some of these problems. I was bummed that it was within two weeks of purchasing this unit it was discontinued. As other reviewers say, it sounds great, generally works as it's supposed to, and it is fairly rugged.

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Very nice little boombox. Easy to haul around and operate. Sounds good although the MegaBass seems to have no affect whether it's on or off. Plays MP3s without a hitch. Has a random play feature which is very nice when you put an MP3 disc in with over 200 songs on it. You basically never have to swap the disc out unless you use it a lot. Radio works very nice. Pulls in stations in rooms in my house that other radios can't. I recommend this player without reservation.

I have purchased not one, or two, but three of these units! Each has survived in the harsh marine environment for less than a year. The problem always lies in the same two areas. The jog switch is not only difficult to use. It is the first thing to suffer from water intrusion. Why they would put such a device on a water resistant unit is beyond me. Obviously the seals cannot be made sufficiently water resistant. The second issue is where the power cord plugs into the unit. This is a standard plug arrangement, and not in the least water resistant. The metal portion of the plug remains visable upon installation.

Admittedly, the environment I use the unit is very harsh. I leave it on the deck of my sailboat where it receives light rainfall and ocean spray. I have been unable to find any water resistant unit other than Sony products. Sony used to make a Sports boombox that was yellow and extremely well built. It lasted me five years on the sailboat! That unit stayed on deck all the time. Even in heavy rainfall and sailed through a Tropical Storm while playing CDs!! It also came with a DC power adapter which is convenience for plugging in the boat. The new models do not.

The answer may be the expensive option of installing a complete audio system. However, that is expensive, requires wiring to be run through the boat, and, worst, requires putting holes in the boat to mount speakers.

In the meantime, I will purchase one more Sony Sports boombox because I like the price and the product before if fails to the elements. A hundred bucks a year for having tunes on the boat is worth it. This time, however, I am going to try the cheaper version without the jog switch, and treat the power connection with water resistant electric grease.