- Top loading MP3/CD player
- AM/FM stereo radio cassette player/recorder
- Built-in USB input
- Twin detachable speakers
- Bass boost system
What I was looking for was a portable stereo with decent sound, a CD player and the ability to play music from a USB stick, without spending a ridiculous amount of money. A few of the "name brands" made some a few years ago, but apparently not anymore. The only ones I could find are in India, and no one seems to have the old models for sale in the States. I searched for weeks. Now all the bigger names are concentrating on docking for Apple products, which I couldn't care less about. Many have aux inputs, which is nice but since I want portability I don't want to deal with multiple electronic pieces and extra cables. So USB was a requirement. And that left about 4 brands I'd never heard of to choose from.
I went with the Naxa NPB-428 because frankly it looked bigger than the others. I'm not expecting home stereo quality but I was hoping for something with some volume that sounded better than an old transistor radio. My experience with smaller off-name boomboxes is that they sound tiny and tinny (bass-boost is usually a joke), so I wanted to avoid as much disappointment up front as possible.
Having only just received it, I can't vouch for its durability. Here are my first impressions:
It's smaller than I expected. Which isn't to say it's tiny it just somehow looked bigger in the only picture of it that seems to exist anywhere online. I've posted my own pictures here to help anyone else who's curious. It's also very light. This is certainly the golden age of plastic.
Despite its size, it's reasonably well laid out. Space is tight but the controls aren't all crammed together in an irritating way. A standard size USB stick gets a little in the way but not too badly.
The CD player works fine. I've only tried it with commercial discs. No idea how it'll perform with homemade mp3 discs, as I'll be using USB for mp3s. The USB input works great. It's exactly what I needed. The display doesn't give any info other than track number though, so don't expect fancy scrolling text. I have no intention of putting a cassette into this thing, so I have no info for that. I assume the aux in is fine. It's just an aux in, which is pretty much the same on anything that has one. The radio is nice in that it's digital. Why any modern boombox would use the old-fashioned dial-type radio is beyond me, but a lot still do. Reception for me is better than expected.
The sound is not as good as I'd want, but better than I expected. It has a fairly big sound (glad I avoided the smaller boomboxes) and detaching the speakers will only spread the sound more and make it seem bigger. If you want portable, it's fine with the speakers attached. It definitely sounds like mediocre speakers in plastic boxes, but the size helps with the fullness. The main thing is it's not tinny and small sounding. It's not extremely loud but it'll definitely fill up the immediate area. It didn't distort at all at full volume. The bass boost is ok for lower volume but at higher volume it really highlights the plastic box sound, so turn it off when you crank it. There are no EQ or tone settings at all all you get is volume and bass boost, so don't expect to tailor the sound to your personal liking.
Unlike some other stereos I looked at, the remote will control the USB input, which is nice. Not mentioned in any information I could find is what batteries it takes. The stereo takes 8 D batteries, and the remote takes 2 AAA batteries. No idea how long they tend to last yet.
Overall, I'm pleased. It suits my needs perfectly, for working out in the yard or in the basement or wherever I have projects going on. Easy enough to pick up and bring with me, or I could leave it in one part of the yard and still hear it well enough in another. With the detachable speakers it's meant to double as a bookshelf system, but I think for most people it'd be disappointing in that role. As a boombox, it's more than adequate.
Buy NAXA Electronics Portable MP3/CD Player with AM/FM Stereo Radio and Cassette Player/Recorder Now
Volume is limited. Better than most low end units. The remote is very important to me. It failed the first day. When I called NAXA, they could not supply me with another remote, even though I was willing to purchase another one. They referred me to after market sources saying that they do not deal with parts or accessories. Take your chances with middle-low end devices.this replaced the old system i had & so far no complaints, sounds good & compact system makes it a great buyI purchased this to put on a shelf out of the way in the garage and use the remote to listen to the radio and MP3s while changing the oil and waxing my vehicles. In that aspect, it totally fails. This is the worst portable radio I've every owned. The old saying about not buying a radio you haven't used is VERY true in this case. I guess I'm off to B.B. or some other shop to find a useful/usable portable.Pros:
*) It works
Cons:
*) The remote is a joke. All it controls is CD/MP3 track selection. No control over on/off, mode (FM/AM/CD/MP3/Tape), no tuning control, no volume control. Why even bother?
*) Terrible FM reception, it won't even pickup the most powerful station without static. My pocket Sandisk MP3 player has much better reception.
*) Sound quality is terrible, poor/uneven reproduction, high distortion.
*) Bass boost should be re-named to distortion boost because that's what it does.
*) No presets for the radio!!! You've got to be kidding me, in this day and age.
*) The tuning and volume knobs are hard to turn do to them being stiff, very smooth and only sticking out a little bit.
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I purchased this unit for my husband to use in the garage. We have a custom 55 Oldsmobile so he loves to play 50's music when he's tinkering with his car. Other units I looked at did not have the cassette player/recorder and with over 200 cassette tapes they were simply sitting in a cupboard collecting dust. Now he can bring them out of storage and listen to his favorite artists anytime he wants. I had a lot of trouble finding any large boom boxes in stores, and when I did they were not very large and the sound wasn't nearly as good.I thought the price was excellent and the sound quality is fantastic! I highly recommend this over other similar products.
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