Philips EXP411 Pocket Expanium MP3-CD Player

The EXP41117 runs on a single AA battery (not included), which powers about six hours of playing time for an MP3-CD with electronic shock protection on (eight hours with ESP off). Supported bit rates are MP3: 32 to 320 kbps; AAC: less than or equal to 160 kbps. Total number of music files and albums is around 350 (with a typical file name length of 20 characters). The EXP41117 measures 3.6 by 4.7 by 1.1 inches.

I liked the idea of essentially having a "playlist" of songs on media that I can keep for a while and not have to erase and rewrite all the time. In the long run, managing a small collection of 8mm MP3CDs is less hassle than constantly reloading a flash based player and losing what was there before. Also, those 8mm CDs will play in 99% of computers and full size MP3CD players.

The sound quality is very good. The unit has an electronic skip protection (ESP). However, I have found that even when I am riding my bike it is hard to make it skip. Leave ESP off and your battery will last about 1/3 longer.

The only thing I wish this player did was display ID3 tags, but maybe I am asking for too much in a player this small.


Great mp3 player , bad battery life   April 26, 2004
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

This product is a great "poor man's mp3 player" Giving the perfect balance between price, portability, mp3 storage, and quality. the only problem I have like some other people here have had is battery life. Just like one of the other reviewers here said, my unit drains batteries even if it isn't turned on also. A great product though, if you don't mind using the ac adapter.


a very good choise   January 29, 2004
 8 out of 9 found this review helpful

my girlfriend gave me a 64mb samsung mp3 player which cost around $70, she told me that i could take it or not, cuz she havent paid for it... so i had this one for about a week and dont even put a song on it ... i just told her to take it back because 64 mbs is nothng .... 20 or 40 extra bucks and i could get a 128 or even a 256 mp3 player... so i started lookin for an mp3 player at amazon (very good service, have bought a lot of things and everything is alway on time and works good!) and i found out that none of the mp3s avialable fit to me, soudenly i remembered i have a sony mavica cd500 which uses 8 cm cd-r media and i looked for an 8 cm cd player who played back mp3s and i found this one, the best!!!

an mp3 cd player for 50 bux is the best deal u can do

i m very pleased with this product, i bought a 5 pack 8cm cd r two days before i got it and burned those cds on musicmatch jukebox plus, i almost got 80 songs on each and the sound is incredible!!!! i pretty much like this shuffle option, it rocks!
i mostly listn to punk rock music, in a 210 mb disc at 128kbps u can get around 80 tracks

its weight?? dont worry u dont even feel it!

i just have to advise two things:

1. the ear-plug covers comes a little bit damaged because of the way its packed, but its not that bad,
2. before purchase this cd player, u most buy a pack of 2 or 4 rechargable batteries and a charger for those, cuz if u use those standar batteries u are lost and will be mad cuz they only last about 4-5 hours, not kiddin!

thank god my brother had some cybershot sony rechargable batteries and gave me a pair and my problem was solved

i think philips should have think about a carrying case or a clip on for it, i usually use the expanium for jogging or walk on mornings and i have to carry it on my short's pockets


Super Practical   January 26, 2004
 1 out of 4 found this review helpful

The best if you want little space occupied and many songs, I totally recommend it. Small, sounds Neat, etc.


Good balance of price, storage & size...   January 17, 2004
 12 out of 14 found this review helpful

There are tons of portable mp3 players out there - ranging from solid state players, to hybrid MP3/CD players to fancy hard drive based players. Of these Apple's iPOD is hands down the perfect player. It's only problem? The darn thing is expensive as heck... and one good drop on the sidewalk will break it's delecate internal hard drive. Still, here in town I see lots of people on the bus and around the city with iPODs. For me though I don't think I could stomach carrying around a $300-400 dollar piece of equipment that I could easily break, have stolen or leave in a bar.

Solid state players are certainly sturdy, and although entry level players can be bought for less than $100 bucks, if you want any type of realistic storage (256 megabytes) your price point will get very close to an entry level iPOD.

At the bottom of the portable MP3 player bucket though are the mp3/CD hybrid players. These are essentially standard cd players that happen to play burned mp3 disks like a standard audio cd. As far as raw mp3 storage goes they are the bargain of the century - some models can be had for as little as $30 bucks. And the media (a CDR or CDR/W disc) is nearly disposable. Unfortunately a cd player sized object is way bigger than what I'm looking for.

Sony has had an interesting player on the market for sometime now - it's NetMD line are essentially compact mini-disc players that also play mp3s. The catch is again price point.

So I had pretty much been relying on my Palm Tungsten for mp3 playback - which has the side of effect of really sucking the battery down - when I happened across Philips' 8cm expanium disc player on Amazon. It works almost exactly like the mp3/cd hybrid players, except it uses small, 8cm CDR/W discs... what that means is that it's cheap storage with a small footprint. And best of all is the price.

I've only had it for about a day, but so far it works great, slips easily into my jacket pocket and if I loose or break it I won't feel that bad. The 8cm discs are cheap and available just about anywhere regular CDR media is sold - they hold 210mb which is enough to fit 2-4 cds worth of mp3s on depending on the bit rate at which they were encoded in - and because they are so small they won't weigh you down like full size discs.

Battery consumption might be an issue for some folks - but a pack of AA batteries are cheap enough at discount stores and is a small price given this player's initial low cost of ownership. (This player comes with an AC adapter too - so if you use it at home or the office you can always just plug it into the wall.) Also - battery life can be nearly doubled by disabling the shock control - which you should only use if you're running or doing some other jarring activity, not sitting on a bus or train.

The sound is great - I tested with mp3s that were encoded at 320kbs and it sounded nearly cd perfect. The player also sports 2 levels of bass enhancement. The navigation buttons aren't that complex, but it does allow you to fast forward a track & skip to the next album (folder on the disc) - two basic features that I wasn't really expecting.