Home > Consumer Reviews > Nike ACT400 MP3 CD Player

Having already owned the Philips exp 511 (which sadly passed away 3 weeks after its purchase), at first the features on this player seemed a little sparse - (only able to view name of track, no favourites option, no inbuilt recharger). However, the quality of the features on the psa 12) more than make up for this.

For a start, the sound on this is fantastic, (and this is through my rubbishy little pc speakers) and the eq is easy to use too. The battery life is great on mp3s (just don't forget to turn on powersave!), lasting about 20 hours at a time, and it comes with a mains adaptor too.

It is also very robust, with the remote connections protected by rubber guard covers, so you can't knock them about at all, very handy on the move.

The software supplied (Musicmatch) is pretty good, and you can do just about anything you can with MP3s using it, though if you are a beginner it may leave you a little lost for a while (I prefer Audiograbber/Ahead Nero burner, but hey this is free!)As ever, Philips excellent customer services (no sarcasm, they are great!) is also a plus.

But my personal favourite is the remote. Oh, you could use this thing in your sleep! It's so easy. It's the most easy to use personal stereo remote I've ever seen. Once you get over your initial fears that the magnet won't hold it onto your person (it will), you don't need to look at it, though there is an id3 LCD display (as there also is on the player itself), if you do.

There is one real bone of contention with this product... the headphones. What were they thinking?! According to Philips, they are "sculpted to the contours of your skull". Either everyone who tried this on has a deformed head, or it was tested on the descendants of John "Elephant man" Merrick. They will NOT stay in your ears! It is hard to see how you are supposed to have a workout (this is a sports walkman) whilst having to slouch like the victim of some cruel prank involving a very short piece of elastic and your ear. And they look like a toy stethoscope. Don't bother, just buy some new ones.

Oh yeah, and the hand holder is a mugger's dream.

But apart from these minor gripes, I have to say this is an excellent product and it's surprisingly cheap too, considering just how good it is.

The best personal audio player I have ever had.

I basically got all I asked for when buying this MP3 player - I will recommend it to everyone, especially considering the price.

My boyfriend uses it while jogging and has experienced no skipping at all. He finds the hand holder perfect and the headphones pretty comfortable. (They fit around the back of your head and balance in your ears.) The only slight complaint is that the magnets have to be exactly in the right place or else they pull the headphones off.

The display is excellent - the song name marquees across the screen and then stops after a couple repeats. The only thing missing is a light for reading titles in the dark.

If you're looking for an MP3 cd player, you really should get this one - it's just so stylish.

The ACT400 has really been designed up and Nike's contribution is everywhere with clever stylings and small features such as the magnets cable clips.

The player offers fantastic sound quality and rivals products some 3x the price. The amount of kit that comes with the player itself is impressive. The headphone fit my head fine and the remote is excellent, this cd player really is my jogging companion. Fantastic product Period-

Just got this discman. The discman itself is lovely. Really nice to look at, strongly built and very nice display. Comes with a partial cover with a hand strap which is really cool. The heaphones though i don't really like. There awkward to wear and quite uncomfortable. The remote is really nice but you'll have to get rid off the magnets (there heavy and annoying) and I carefully cut the one off the headphone cable. The CD quality though is really good and the display is very clear.
The thing i hate though is the software. Its absloute rubbish. Its free for 5 burns and extremely hard to use. Its not free. I unistalled it straight away. Get SonicStage - its so much better. On the whole though, a very very nice discman at a great price. If this doesn't seem for you though, get the Sony d-ne511 for the same price. That slightly overtakes this one in my mind.

Nike and Philips! Superb styling (So you won't look out of place at the gym/coffee house/friend's stylish apartment), and the technology to back it up! This really is top of the line kit. My little brother has a much more expensive Hard disk unit, and I have to say I find this easier to use, has better sound quality, and is overall much nicer looking.

The Headphones aren't bad, but am I wrong in thinking that everyone has a favourite pair to use with all portable audio stuff? I still have the headphones, but will wait to use them until I actually have to (they are great at staying put, so use these for the gym or running).

The unit's main function though (The MP3 playback) is fantastic!
Tip: Organise your mp3s into genres and drop them into folders. You can get on average 6 or 7 albums onto 1 CDR. And if you mix up genres with the shuffle all/album functions, you have a great mix!

5 stars all the way!