Philips DVP642 DivX-Certified Progressive-Scan DVD Player
Using it as a CD player
I make no recommendation on this unit as a DVD player.  See the other reviews here for that.  But I do want to add some comments about its performance as a CD player. <br /> <br />Nowadays it's hard to find a component CD player that doesn't incorporate a disc changer with its extra complexity and more parts to go bad.  When my ancient single-disc Sony CD player died, this Philips DVP642 was available at an attractive price.   It plays every format one can imagine, so I bought one with no intention to use it as a DVD player, but only as a CD player. <br /> <br />I am very pleased with the result.  I'm not an audiophile, but I have a decent stereo and can hear the differences between various music sources.  I rate the audio quality from a standard CD on this player as excellent. <br /> <br />Significantly, it will flawlessly play CDs that consistently skip on any of my three other players.  I have never noticed any sensitivity to vibration wiht the DVP642. <br /> <br />The remote control must be used to control all functions except play, pause/resume, and eject, but it is well suited for audio.  A \\"repeat\\" button works as expected, and the repeat mode (one, all, off) is clearly displayed on quarter-inch-high LEDs on the front panel of the player.  One can also repeat part of a normal CD track using the AB repeat function borrowed from DVD mode, but this doesn't work on MP3 files.  However, I have one recorded CD with more than 800 MP3 audio files on it; with the remote I can enter a track number directly and play it much more easily than I can on most CD-only players. <br /> <br />All and all, I recommend the DVP642 without reservation for those like me who want it as an audio player.