Best bang for the buck

Unlike the earlier decades, there are not many quality boomboxes in the market probably due to the proliferation of personal nusic players. After searching and trying so many boombox models in the budget price ($50-$99) range, this is the one that stood out. The sound is good with enough bass for a boom box without a subwoofer - the case has a ported design for the bass effect. The design is attractive and the controls are well laid out. I particulary like the thumb-scroll used for MP3 file and folder navigation. The 2-line display with the amber backlight is clearly readable and shows ID3 tags (you can choose between Folder/File name, Title, Artist, Bit Rate etc.) Long names scroll in the display- you cannot ask for more for this price. I didn't yet come across a CD-R that this could not read. Though, with some CD-R's, the fast-forward function in songs did not work. Radio reception is better than average. The line-in port allows connection to personal players (I connect my iPod using a line-out adapter cable and the sound is great.) There is some audio distortion at the high frequency end of the sound, especially noticeable when listening to FM channels. The sleep function is very welcome at the bedside.