Philips AZ1856 Soundmachine

The Philips Rip-all Soundmachine invokes nostalgia. No, it's not a relaunch, nor does it have a retro design, but it does something we used to do back in the day. Well sort of, because in those days we would burn radio onto tape, or CD onto tape, from our small boom box.

This Soundmachine rips songs from your CD to your MP3 player, so it's like a hardware version of the thousands of software available for this purpose. The unit is the AZ1856, and it looks like the classic deck of the 1990s. Let's see if the Beastie boys are interested in picking one up for their breakdance sessions...

Design and Features
Design-wise this category of music players is tough to describe in words, so check the pic if the geometry sounds alien (alien geometry... yum). The device is compact and light, with a metallic silver and dark gray plastic color tone. The front view is a montage of buttons, of different sizes and colors. The top center bears the analog radio tuning circuit – a sexy feature, though outdated when compared to the digital automated ones of today.

The volume knob is silver and placed on the right, while a small rectangular LED screen perched in the center tells you what mode you're in. On the left of the screen are four red buttons for CD/USB drive operation, while the port for USB is on the top panel. A rack of mechanical tape player buttons adorns the top panel, along with the CD tray with its flip-open cover. Finally there are the two speaker drivers fixed behind a scary looking black mesh grille on either side of the front panel.

Feature-wise, the player plays CD, MP3 CD, MP3 players via USB, FM radio and of course cassette tapes. The main feature is ripping CDs to MP3, which is done real-time via a small button on the gizmotic fa�ade. The player has a cool black handle and also sports the radio antennae.

The power rating in RMS was nowhere to be found, though it is 60 W PMPO, nor were other typical audio specs like frequency response etc, so I’m assuming the player is meant to be a basic functional unit. It has a headphone out, but no line or mic in. It comes with a nice silver remote, and how could I forget the dynamic bass boost button, which I'll always love?