This sharp-looking unit is one of the first in a new generation of devices able to play traditional audio CDs as well as MP3 audio files burned onto CD-R or CD-RW discs. Although we maintain a few caveats with the Philips eXpanium's somewhat clunky design, we were pleased with its sonic performance. In our tests, it took anywhere from 20 seconds to a minute to create a directory from an MP3-encoded CD, depending on the number of files on the disc. Once it was playing, though, the quality of sound was quite good. The dynamic range was more than adequate: the high end was crisp and clean, and the low tones were solid, even without the bass boost activated.
The antishock system was virtually infallible when playing MP3s. We suppose that if we'd dropped the player down a long set of wooden steps, it might have skipped, but short of that, the music kept on coming, ignoring our jolts and bumps. It didn't hold up quite as well for normal audio CDs (or CD-Rs or CD-RWs encoded with real-time tracks), but the antishock protection for them was still very good. However, while Philips claims that the shock protection is good for 45 seconds on audio CDs and up to 100 seconds for MP3s, the player took what seemed an inordinate amount of time to recover after skipping.
Navigating through and within CD tracks was straightforward, but in MP3 format the unit provided no way to search within a track. The display was relatively difficult to read, lacked a backlight, and did not display the track names on MP3 files. Additionally, the display's dimness and placement at the back of the lid made the unit hard to use in a dark car.
Overall, the eXpanium currently leads the way in what will likely be the next big portable audio format, and it's only a matter of time before they package the technology in a slightly sleeker, more user-friendly design.
Pros:
- Utilizes cutting-edge MP3/CD technology
- Crisp and clean high-end sound and solid low tones
- Nicely packaged with a pair of small earbud headphones and a car kit
Cons: - Hard-to-read display
- Long skip-recovery time
- Lacked ability to search within a track in the MP3 format
