Oakcastle CD100 Rechargeable Bluetooth CD Player | 12hr Portable Playtime | In Car Compatible Personal CD Player | Headphones Included, AUX Output, Anti-Skip Protection, Custom EQ, CD Walkman (Black)

Product Information

What should you consider before purchasing a CD player? It's worth taking into account factors like DAC functionality, ease of use, controls and of course audio performance when making your choice. The Cyrus CD t is one of the best CD transports you can get, regardless of price. It's a CD transport, rather than a CD player, meaning it will simply read the data on the disc. You'll need a standalone DAC to handle all the digital-to-analogue conversion. In many ways, it outshines the Oakington in usability. Instead of a slot-load CD mechanism it has a CD tray, so it can also play 3 inch CD singles. The volume and navigation dial is on the front of the unit too, which I much prefer to it being on the top. The enclosure is MDF, but covered in a real-wood veneer where the Oakington is a wood-effect vinyl wrap.

We are always impartial in our testing and ensure we hear every CD player at its optimum – connected to the appropriate kit and placed on a sturdy and level surface. We'll use them in their best use case with different partnering amplifiers and speakers, as well as play plenty of discs in different genres of music through them. Naturally, we give them plenty of listening time (and time to run in) too. What does all that mean? It makes your music sound great. It's full of rhythm and drive. It's precise, clean and delivers for dynamics at every inch of the spectrum. Stereo imaging is focused and expansive, and there are even a few digital filters to tweak the sound to your tastes. On initial use the unit performs a full DAB scan and stores stations in an alphabetical list. You can also perform manual tuning, both in DAB and FM modes, to tune weaker stations that were missed. Navigation of both radio modes can be achieved with the controls on the front of the unit or the remote control, though access to the DAB radio preset functions is only possible via the remote control. Provided you own, or are willing to invest in, a good DAC, the CD t is an exceptionally talented transport for the money. Clarity and insight are unrivalled at this price. But there are differences under the hood. The Oakington has a self-contained power supply, the DAB500 is powered by a 12V 2A wall wart. There are no power output specifications, but we can make a reasonable assumption. 12 volts at 2A gives us 24W, so assuming a worst-case system power draw of about 5 to 7W in CD mode, and 1 or 2 watts of reserve headroom, we get a power output of 6 to 9.5W per channel. That is more than sufficient with small, efficient single-driver loudspeakers. It is built with proper speaker enclosures which are reflex ported at the rear and sounds every bit as powerful and loud as the Oakington, if not a little better.This Marantz model has been around in various guises for a long time, and remains the best budget option at this price. Protect the power from being walked on or pinched particularly at plugs, convenience receptacles, and the point where they exit from the apparatus. Time: The hour digits of the alarm will now begin to flash. Change the alarm hour with the Navigation dial or Previous/Next buttons (Rem.7/1 6 ). Once on the chosen alarm hour, press down the dial or the OK button to confirm. Follow the same process for setting the alarm minutes.

Close the disc door gently. Ensure that the disc door is completely closed, otherwise the player will not read the disc. Specs are thin on the ground. The claimed “Powerful stereo sound 60W Speakers” is nonsense – even at peak music power the system wouldn’t come anywhere close. RMS output power is roughly 5 watts per channel. The power comes from a pair of LTK5112 amplifier chips, which are a Chinese clone of the Texas Instruments TAS512 but with less output power and almost certainly without the onboard speaker, overload and thermal protection. The chip can produce 32W RMS in its BTL configuration at 15V, but without delving into the circuit it’s hard to say whether the components inside this system would be suited to raising the voltage of the power supply.Whilst playing a FM station, the following station information can be viewed by pressing the ‘Info/Menu’ button repeatedly (Ref. 3 ) on the unit. Programme Information: Displays artist and song currently being played on the station. PTY (Programme Type): Shows the type and description of the programme provided by the DAB station. Frequency: Displays the station transmission frequency. Today’s Date: Displays the date information provided by the broadcaster. AUX In Mode

It’s an expressive and punchy performer that builds its performance around a solid framework of surefooted rhythmic drive and expressive dynamics. Detail levels are good, but it is the confident way this unit organises that information into a cohesive and musical whole that really impresses. The loudspeakers are reflex-ported particleboard enclosures, each containing a driver with a cone diameter of approximately 4 inches (100 mm). They measure 123 x 130 x 172mm. The cloth grilles are not removable and the cables are fixed, terminating in a 2.54mm PCB connector at the end that connects to the system. They’re as basic as it gets, and are of about the same quality you’d have gotten with a cheap micro system in the mid ‘2000s. In DAB/DAB+ mode, press the MENU button on the unit or on the remote control to open DAB/DAB+ settings. Use the Navigation/OK dial (Ref. 6 ) or the Previous/Next buttons on the remote control (Rem.7/16) to scroll through the following options: Station List Select this option to browse through the available DAB/DAB+ stations. Scan Select this option to initiate a scan for available stations. Once scanning, the screen will show “Scanning” along with the amount of stations that have been received. Manual Tune Select this option to browse through available stations by multiplex and frequency. Once the desired multiplex and frequency has been found, select with the Navigation/OK dial or the OK button on the remote. Prune Invalid To remove stations that are listed but are unavailable, you can turn on the ‘Prune’ setting. Once this option is selected, the screen will show “This removes all invalid stations, continue?”. To switch on Prune setting, highlight “Yes” and confirm selection with the Navigation/OK dial or the OK button on the remote. Whilst playing a DAB/DAB+ station, the following station information can be viewed by pressing the ‘Info’ button repeatedly on the unit or on the remote. Programme Information: Displays artist and song currently being played on the station. PTY (Programme Type): Shows the type and description of the programme provided by the DAB station. Channel and Frequency: Displays the station transmission channel number and frequency. Signal Error/Strength: Provides details of the station signal strength. Bit Rate, Codec and Sampling Rate: The data rate which the signal is being transmitted. Today’s Date: Displays the date information provided by the broadcaster. FM RadioSet Timezone: Select your time zone to set the correct time on the unit. Daylight savings: Select whether you would like daylight savings for automatic adjustment between summer time and winter time switched on or off. In working mode, press the power/mode (REF.2) multiple times to select AUX In, DAB, FM, Bluetooth, CD, and USB mode. Inserting a Disc Micro hi-fi systems haven’t quite attained ‘retro’ status yet, but they’re not exactly commonplace any more. They used to be sold in every major big-box retailer and even in most supermarkets, but the trend toward Bluetooth speakers, smart home audio and streaming have seen them disappear from the shelves. I looked at one of the last models by Philips in a recent repair. It was a perfect example of how every last bit of the cost possible had been cut, a typical example of the last of these kinds of system that were commonly available.