This is a printable version of the article found at http://onepc.net/reviews/0038/ To print, press CTRL + P on your keyboard now.

By Kelly Lu (kellylu@onepc.net) - July 13, 2001

Infobox

What? MJ-3000R Product Page Who? MultiChannel-Labs Co.,Ltd. Home Page How much? $129-$169 USD

The prospect of MP3/CD players isn't new around here at OnePC.NET. Ever since the release of these hybrid devices such as the Genica Tavarua, one of the first-ever to be introduced that we reviewed here a while back, these devices have gained huge amounts of support. From portable versions such as the D-Link DMP-CD100 to ones for the home theatre, such as the Genica Kalua, these MP3/CD players are now taking the industry by storm and it seems like everyone is producing a MP3/CD player of their own.

This is not a surprise, since these MP3/CD players allow users to cram up to 650MB, or, in some cases, 700MB, onto a CD-R or CD-RW disc and be able to play them back away from the computer. This is compared to a standard of 64MB found in most solid-state MP3 players. Plus, with more and more people adapting CD-RW drives in their personal computers, these MP3/CD players will continue to become more and more favourable in the future.

Today, we're looking at another portable MP3/CD player--this time, from MultiChannel Labs, a company based in Korea, called the MiSEL. This is a fairly new product and, according to the company, features a powerful and intuitive user interface compared to other players that make it unique. In this review, we'll test that claim, among others, including our usual suit of MP3/CD player "benchmarks."

Specifications

Detailed: Support AUDIO CD, MULTI-SESSION CD, ISO9660, JOLIET, ROMEO Function Key : Play/Pause, Stop/Power-off, Intro, Repeat, Hold/Resume Mode (1 song/Intro/Random/Directory), Bass Boost, BOOKMARK Electronic Anti-shock Time : MP3CD- 50 Second (Audio 45 Second) TREBLE / BASS (adjustable by user) Inputs : DC - 4.5V Audio Out : Line-out and Earphone (Stereo mini-jack) Battery Life Time : (Approx.) 6 hours Weight : 260 grams Unit Size : 131 X 135 X 34 (mm)

Unique Features: Support ID3 Tag Playback of MP3-CD as well as Conventional Audio CD Supports CD-R/CD-RW and the Multi-Session Supported Bit-Rates - 32kbps ~ 320kbps Supports VBR(Variable Bit Rate) Strong File Management    - Unique EDA(Easy Directory Access) System    - Support the LONG FILE NAME    - Supports the unique BOOKMARK function    - Max. Directory - 254 Directories / Max. File No. - 999 songs / Directory Depth 34 Step.    - Jog Shuttle - High Speed Search / Selection Large Graphic LCD for display of the song name, song no, artist

A quick glance at the specs of the MiSEL shows us that it is indeed a very powerful and feature-packed MP3/CD player. Its support for both CD-R and CD-RW along with Multi-Session discs and its capability of reading and displaying ID3 tags should be enough to put this player above many of the other MP3/CD players out there today. But wait, there's more! It claims to support up to 320kbps MP3 files, something that we've seen claimed by many, but only achieved by some. It also supports long file names, directory depths of 34-steps and includes a bookmark function. Finally, MultiChannel Labs claims that batteries will last for approximately 6 hours, one out of the many claims that we'll test in this review. Even just from looking at the specification sheets, it is apparent that the MiSEL is far ahead of its competition.

If you think the specs themselves are cool, check out the following: the MiSEL that we received is their newer model (MJ-3000R), which is essentially the same as their older model (MJ-2000) with a remote control. A remote control! Way too cool!

The MiSEL came with a power adapter, the above-mentioned remote control, 2 AA batteries, the MiSEL itself, a user's manual and a set of earphones. The headphones that came with the player are of the ear bud type (which is the type that I use personally), and provide sound that is quite decent-in fact, the best out of all of the MP3/CD players that we reviewed before-but still lacking compared to my personal Panasonic ones (my Panasonic ones are really really really good and I purchased them for a really really really high price, though).

The MiSEL includes a very powerful remote control that can be great for users who like to store the actual player in a pocket on in a backpack. It is a little bugger that can be clipped onto a shirt, etc. It has the usual audio controls on it such as Play/Pause, Stop, Next and Last as well as controls for volume and directory browsing. Finally, a hold switch is also built-into the remote control-very handy for fooling those people who deliberately and annoyingly press random buttons on your CD player to screw things up. Basically, you can listen to your music without ever having to touch the player!

The MiSEL itself has a very unique design that I've never seen with any other MP3/CD or just plain ol' CD player before. Being almost a square with rounded edges, the MiSEL's shape and color are actually quite attractive, although the snowy white can get dirty very easily. At the top are 4 buttons to control the ESP feature (45-second for audio CD and 50-seconds for MP3 CD's), directory browsing, play mode (all files/tracks, directory only, file/track only and bookmarks only) as well as how the files/tracks are played (play once, loop, random play and intro play). At the bottom are 4 more buttons for the usual audio controls such as Play/Pause, Stop, Next and Last. At the center of it all is the "large LCD screen." Little did I know how special this LCD screen is until I powered up the player...

Installation
Setting up the player is actually a little more complicated than most people would be used to setting up a CD player because of the remote control, but still remains very easy. The only extra step is to plug the remote control into the player and then plug the headphones into the remove control, or you can choose not to use the remote control and save having more wires to be tangled in, and just plug your headphones directly into the player. Either way works, and we're not ready to begin our testing!

Playing MP3's on the MiSEL is very easy. After one burns the MP3 files onto a CD-with directories or not, they can simply stick it in the player and press the play button and it'll start playing. It does take the player quite a bit of time to index all of the files on the CD, but that's quite normal for a MP3/CD player.

While we're at it, I think I should explain to you why the LCD screen on the MiSEL is so special. First of all, it actually has pixels where it can display and animate text (it actually scrolls the titles of the songs you're playing) or even draw pictures (like how it draws a picture of itself and displays the text "Reading…" when one first sticks in the CD). Finally, it is automatically backlit and, because of such, will allow the user to be able to read the screen even in the dark. Because of such, the LCD player is the best that I've seen on any player of any sort; period.

The MiSEL can also display up to three languages on its LCD: English, Japanese and Korean. This ensures exceptional compatibility with MP3 files that are in either of those 3 languages.

Another very handy feature of the MiSEL's MP3 playback is its bookmark feature. The user can set bookmarks for up to 10 MP3 CD's and 50 bookmarks for each CD so that they can quickly be played back. Plus, the MiSEL will retain and recognize bookmarked CD's, even after the unit has been powered off-very impressive!

Audio CD playing on the MiSEL is also a cinch. It handles audio CD's as well as any standard portable CD player, and the option of using the 45 second electronic shock protection is very handy (a 50 second ESP is automatically turned on for MP3 playback).

The sound quality that the MiSEL outputs is also top-notch, both with MP3 and regular audio CD playback. Not once did it choke or skip and its ability to let the user set their own bass and treble levels allows everyone to enjoy music however they want it. The MiSEL skipped absolutely zero times while playing MP3 CD's, which is the best out of all my the MP3/CD players that I looked at before and rivals the Genica Kalua, an advanced DVD/MP3/CD player for the TV or home theatre.

Below are the results from our (now) usual set of tests that we run on MP3/CD players to see what type of CD's and burning methods they can read from:

Next, we ran through our (again now) usual set of tests to test bit rate performance. Many players claim to support up to 320kbps bit rate MP3 files, but few actually deliver on that claim. The MiSEL, on the other, again rolled through each of our MP3 test files with ease and was able to play our highest-bit rate file, the 320kbps, without a problem and without any skipping. I'm very impressed!

Battery Life
When purchasing any portable device, it's very important to assess the battery life of the device so that you'll know that you will be able to use it for extensive periods of time. For this test, we used standard Energizer batteries and ran the unit at an acceptable volume level until it stops and powers down by itself.

For those of you looking to spend lotsa money on batteries because they run out so quickly, I'm happy to tell you that you can forget about that! During our tests, the MiSEL just kept on going and going and going and going... in fact, I was waiting for it to stop by itself so that I could finish off this review! In the end, the MiSEL lasted for a whooping 10 hours on just 2 AA Energizer batteries! That's excellent even for many regular portable CD player, nevertheless one that plays MP3's!

Unfortunately, there's one thing that I feel is missing from the MiSEL: a battery re-charger. Having one built-in would add so much more value as now I'm going to have to either use another re-charger or settle for buying alkaline batteries once in a while.

I'm proud to announce that the MiSEL from MultiChannel Labs is probably THE best product that I've reviewed for OnePC.NET yet. With its powerful features and the easiest and most intuitive interface for browsing and playing MP3 files, mainly because of the exquisite LCD screen, the MiSEL is nearly perfect. In addition, being able to play just about any CD you throw at it, the MiSEL is extremely flexible, too. Finally, to add even more value to an already superb product, the MiSEL is bundled with a distinctive remote control that allows users to store away the player in their pocket or backpack while listening to their music. The folks at MultiChannel Labs have heard what the consumer wants in a good MP3/CD player and have met these desires with ease--along with some extra flare for good measure.

Pros Integrated LCD screens the best that I've seen on a portable music player Plays just about any type of CD's you'll have Included remote control is very usefull It keeps on going and going and going and going... battery life is exceptional Displays ID3 tags and scrolls song names across the LCD screen Very customizable Cons Basically flawless except for the lack of a built-in battery re-charger. (-0.5)

Copyright © 2000-2001, OnePC Network Inc. All rights reserved.
OnePC.NET is found online at http://www.onepc.net