Portable CD Players

To music enthusiasts and nostalgic audiophiles from the 80’s to the late aughts, CD collections are tantamount to a personal library that holds deep meaning and significance. Portable CD players offer a means to enjoy the albums that spark those deep-seated memories wherever you go.

CD Boomboxes & Radios

Many portable CD players now offer a few different features to round out the musical experience. To begin though, they have built-in speakers to blast your tunes, and all the controls to navigate through the track lists of your favourite albums. Many portable CD players will come with an AC cord so they can be plugged into the wall for unlimited playtime, or will offer the option to be powered by batteries for when you’re nowhere near a socket.

More than Just CDs

In addition to playing CDs, many CD boomboxes will also have an FM antenna which lets you tune in to local radio stations when you’ve spun that Big Shiny Tunes CD one too many times and need a break.

Some also offer the option to connect an external source like a smartphone or MP3 player to the unit via a 3.5mm headphone jack. This lets you use the speakers from the boombox to play whatever you want, perhaps even the audio from a TV or other device you’d like to hear a bit better.

There are even models that will let you connect your smartphone to the speakers using Bluetooth, effectively giving you a Bluetooth speaker as well as a CD player all in one compact device.

Compact Portable CD Players

When you would rather rock out to your CD collection solo through headphones, a compact portable CD player “discman” is a great choice. They’re slim, portable, and will typically support the use of Audio CDs, MP3 CDs, and CD-RW (rewritable CDs you can make at home). Certain models will incorporate anti-skip features which work by reading the information on the disk further ahead from the point you’re listening and storing it in a small cache. If the CD player gets jostled about and the disk wobbles, instead of hearing a skip or pause in the music, there will be no interruption at all since the CD player is actually playing from memory vs. directly from the laser.

When would I use a Portable CD Player?

Sometimes CDs rekindle memories of past road trips with friends and family, and you might have a nice thick binder of classic CDs under a seat in your car somewhere. The only problem is that many new cars don’t even offer CD players in them anymore. With some adapters, you could easily hook your portable compact CD player up to your car’s stereo and let the miles fly by as you’re serenaded by old favourites or even a classic audiobook or two. Just be sure to keep your eyes on the road and have your navigator/DJ operate the tunes.