Eclipse CLD MP3 Player Review
The Eclipse CLD MP3 player is an exceptionally low-priced MP3 player manufactured by Mach Speed Technologies. At only $12, it's one of the cheapest out there. But does that mean its a terrible music player? Not necessarily. The Eclipse CLD has a compact, pocket-able design, and a decent build quality. Audio quality is excellent as well. It features a small (not full color) 1 inch LCD display and a plastic clip for hooking onto your pants. Can it compete with some of the more expensive MP3 players though? Lets find out in our full review!
Hardware:
At 15 mm thick, the Eclipse CLD is not the thinnest MP3 Player (the SanDisk Sansa Fuze+ is 11 mm thick), but its still not all that chubby. Its also not all that heavy either. In fact, the CLD weighs only 0.7 oz. It feels like holding a piece a paper its so light! It is constructed out of a cheap plastic and fake metal (made to feel and look like aluminum). The main body is "aluminum" and the buttons, sides, and clip are plastic. Regardless of this, the device feels fairly good in the hand and doesn't feel overly cheap. It comes in two different colors, purple and silver. I personally think the silver looks better, but I guess that's because I'm a guy. Girls will probably like the purple better. It is only available in one storage option; 4GB. That isn't much, but its what I would expand from a $12 MP3 player. Time for a look around the device: the left side features the micro-usb charging and syncing port. The right has the 3.5mm headset jack and the power switch. The top and bottom have nothing on them. On the player's back is the cheap-feeling plastic clip. And finally, the front is home to the display and navigation/playback controls. The buttons feel cheap and mushy, having only slight tactile feedback. The screen is a 1 inch LCD capable of displaying two colors (blue and yellow). Quite frankly, it looks downright awful. But that doesn't really matter because you're not going to be spending a great amount of time looking at the screen. This is because the Eclipse CLD is capable of music playback only. That's right folks; no support for image or video files. Oh, and there's no FM radio either. It is strictly a audio player. And speaking of audio, the CLD only supports WMA and MP3 formats. As for the device's battery, well there's not much information on it. All I know is that its a Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery. No info on its capacity or how long it lasts. And on the note of durability, I would consider this things to be pretty damn durable. I drop-tested it to see.
What's in the box:
- Eclipse CLD MP3 Player
- Micro-usb cable
- Earphones
- Quick start guide
Software:
The Eclipse CLD runs a proprietary operation system. When you flip the power switch on, you first see the main menu. The main menu consists of several smaller menus; 1. Music: Play your music. 2. Folder: View all the audio files on the device. 3. Settings: View and change all the device settings. 4. About: Shows you the software version and available/remaining storage space. Each menu looks pretty bland and isn't very expansive or detailed. Lets talk about audio quality now. The Eclipse CLD produces some amazing audio quality. I popped in the ear buds that came with it and the music sounded atrocious Then I plugged in my own (more expensive and higher quality) ear buds, and the music sounded spectacular. I didn't even have to tweak the EQ settings to get it to sound good. Kudos to Mach Speed for making this MP3 player have awesome audio quality.
Conclusion:
The Eclipse CLD MP3 player is not a very good device. On paper at least. Using it first-hand gave me the opportunity to see if it's really worth the $12 I paid for it. I fully believe its worth that amount of money. Any more than $12 and I wouldn't have bought it. My overall thoughts on the Eclipse are; you get what you pay for. But in the end, I still think the CLD is a nice music player for anyone who is on a budget and needs something to listen to while jogging, riding the bus, or something of that sort.
*It is always possible that some specifications or facts may be incorrect. We try our best at MobileTechnology Reviews to provide accurate information, but we occasionally make mistakes. If you notice that something is wrong or incorrect, shoot us an email at [email protected] and we'll fix it!
Hardware:
At 15 mm thick, the Eclipse CLD is not the thinnest MP3 Player (the SanDisk Sansa Fuze+ is 11 mm thick), but its still not all that chubby. Its also not all that heavy either. In fact, the CLD weighs only 0.7 oz. It feels like holding a piece a paper its so light! It is constructed out of a cheap plastic and fake metal (made to feel and look like aluminum). The main body is "aluminum" and the buttons, sides, and clip are plastic. Regardless of this, the device feels fairly good in the hand and doesn't feel overly cheap. It comes in two different colors, purple and silver. I personally think the silver looks better, but I guess that's because I'm a guy. Girls will probably like the purple better. It is only available in one storage option; 4GB. That isn't much, but its what I would expand from a $12 MP3 player. Time for a look around the device: the left side features the micro-usb charging and syncing port. The right has the 3.5mm headset jack and the power switch. The top and bottom have nothing on them. On the player's back is the cheap-feeling plastic clip. And finally, the front is home to the display and navigation/playback controls. The buttons feel cheap and mushy, having only slight tactile feedback. The screen is a 1 inch LCD capable of displaying two colors (blue and yellow). Quite frankly, it looks downright awful. But that doesn't really matter because you're not going to be spending a great amount of time looking at the screen. This is because the Eclipse CLD is capable of music playback only. That's right folks; no support for image or video files. Oh, and there's no FM radio either. It is strictly a audio player. And speaking of audio, the CLD only supports WMA and MP3 formats. As for the device's battery, well there's not much information on it. All I know is that its a Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery. No info on its capacity or how long it lasts. And on the note of durability, I would consider this things to be pretty damn durable. I drop-tested it to see.
What's in the box:
- Eclipse CLD MP3 Player
- Micro-usb cable
- Earphones
- Quick start guide
Software:
The Eclipse CLD runs a proprietary operation system. When you flip the power switch on, you first see the main menu. The main menu consists of several smaller menus; 1. Music: Play your music. 2. Folder: View all the audio files on the device. 3. Settings: View and change all the device settings. 4. About: Shows you the software version and available/remaining storage space. Each menu looks pretty bland and isn't very expansive or detailed. Lets talk about audio quality now. The Eclipse CLD produces some amazing audio quality. I popped in the ear buds that came with it and the music sounded atrocious Then I plugged in my own (more expensive and higher quality) ear buds, and the music sounded spectacular. I didn't even have to tweak the EQ settings to get it to sound good. Kudos to Mach Speed for making this MP3 player have awesome audio quality.
Conclusion:
The Eclipse CLD MP3 player is not a very good device. On paper at least. Using it first-hand gave me the opportunity to see if it's really worth the $12 I paid for it. I fully believe its worth that amount of money. Any more than $12 and I wouldn't have bought it. My overall thoughts on the Eclipse are; you get what you pay for. But in the end, I still think the CLD is a nice music player for anyone who is on a budget and needs something to listen to while jogging, riding the bus, or something of that sort.
*It is always possible that some specifications or facts may be incorrect. We try our best at MobileTechnology Reviews to provide accurate information, but we occasionally make mistakes. If you notice that something is wrong or incorrect, shoot us an email at [email protected] and we'll fix it!
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