Key Takeaways
- Retro tech enthusiasts are giving CDs a second go, so you’ll need a CD player to join in.
- EQ presets such as Jazz and Rock enhance the Hott CD204’s modern features, but we wouldn’t recommend the bass boost option.
- Priced at $70 on Amazon, it’s a solid choice for anyone looking for a simple portable CD player with skip prevention.
Audiophiles have known for some time that CDs are timeless, inexpensive and deliver great audio. In the age of streaming, CDs have fallen into disuse, but with a resurgence of interest in retro technology, many people are starting to try CDs again. There are many CD players on the market, one of which is the Hott CD204.
This portable CD player is unobtrusive and unassuming, but you don’t need fancy features in a CD player. We put the Hott CD204 through its paces to see how it performs and whether it should be your next portable listening staple.
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We don’t make assumptions – we buy, test, and review products ourselves and only publish our buyer’s guides after we’ve actually bought and tested them.
Hot CD204 CD Player
$38 $70 Save $32
The Hott CD204 is a lightweight, portable and easy to use CD player with skip prevention and EQ presets, offering a great mix of new and established features.
- lightweight
- Multiple EQ Presets
- easy to use
- Expensive
- Defective earphones included
- The bass boost preset is awful
Pricing, Specifications and Availability
Portable, lightweight and simple
The Hott CD204 can be purchased on Amazon for $70. The matte black CD player is roughly the same size as a standard CD player of its kind, weighing in at a very light 8.4 ounces with an AA battery inside, and measuring 5.5 x 5.5 x 1 inches.
The device runs on two AA batteries, not included, but can also be powered by connecting it to a power source with the included USB-C cable. It only supports wired earphones or headphones, there is no wireless connection like Bluetooth, so you will need to provide wired headphones to use with the device. The CD player also comes with a 3.5mm auxiliary cable, allowing you to connect it to your home or car speaker system.
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The Hott CD204 is a very simple CD player that looks and functions much like the ones you could buy 20 years ago, but with some added features that give it a modern twist – specifically, there are a few EQ presets to choose from, and it also has anti-skip functionality so that moving around won’t disrupt your listening experience.
What I like about the Hott CD204 CD player
The device successfully combines modernity and proven
For those who want to embrace more retro tech, the Hott CD204 has the same vibe as CD players from the early 2000s, without being overly modern, except for the added features like EQ, skip prevention, and the fact that it can be powered over USB-C. At first glance, the device is almost indistinguishable from the CD player you have in your parent’s basement drawer.
That being said, I really like the more modern features. The EQ presets are especially great. The presets include Bass Boost, Pop, Jazz, Rock, and Classical. I liked the Jazz and Rock presets the best. The Jazz preset brightens the treble in a way that makes horns and percussion sound beautiful and doesn’t overwhelm the lower frequencies, while the Rock option boosts the bass so it doesn’t interfere with other high frequencies. The Pop and Classical presets don’t do much for me, as they’re both very similar to the default sound profile, with Classical having a slight bass boost and Pop sounding a bit flat. However, the Bass Boost EQ preset is especially terrible, with the bass being so loud and muddy that it masks other frequencies in the music.
At first glance, the device is almost indistinguishable from the CD player you might have in a drawer in your parent’s basement.
As mentioned above, this CD player has an anti-skip feature to keep your music from skipping or buffering while you’re on the move. This feature works very well and I had no issues walking around with the CD player in my hand or in a tote bag, nor when I shook the CD player to test its limits.
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Finally, the Hott CD204 is extremely lightweight, making it truly portable in at least one respect. CD players are a little larger than a CD, so they won’t fit in your pocket, so they are inherently bulky, but at least they are lightweight, making them easy to carry around and toss in a bag. This couldn’t be better than the CD players I had as a kid, which were bulky and heavy.
A mix of simplicity, retro charm and a touch of modernity, the Hott CD204 is a pleasant device to use.
A mix of simplicity, retro charm and a touch of modernity, the Hott CD204 is a very easy to use device. I’ve listened to a variety of CDs from my teenage years and used the CD player with a variety of headphones, from Sony MDR-EX15AP earphones to Sony WH-1000XM4 over-ear headphones, and have always enjoyed using the CD player. I’ve had no issues or malfunctions along the way, and I consider it a very reliable choice.
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What I didn’t like about the Hott CD204 CD player
The CD player is great overall, with a few small caveats.
The biggest problem with the Hott CD204 is that it’s expensive for what it offers. There are plenty of other CD players available online that are more affordable or offer more features for a similar price. One example is the previously reviewed Arafuna CD player, which is $5 cheaper and has a built-in speaker and rechargeable lithium-ion battery. For $70, I’d expect more features, or at least a better build than the cheap plastic case.
Another small issue I was able to identify is that the earbuds that come with the device have a very cheap sound quality and even a faint static noise. The earbuds only come with ear tips and no other sizes, so they don’t fit properly in your ears and make an unpleasant clicking noise when you try to gently put them back in your ears.
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For $70, I’d expect more features, or at least better quality than the cheap plastic housing.
Finally, as mentioned when discussing the EQ preset options, the Bass Boost preset sounds pretty awful. Rather than simply boosting the bass, it’s overwhelmingly bass and sub-bass heavy, reducing the quality of the bass frequencies in favor of volume, resulting in a muddy sound lacking clarity. It’s too loud, masks the higher mids and treble frequencies, and makes any track I listen to with this preset unenjoyable. Thankfully, this preset is just an option, so you can easily avoid using it.
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Should I buy the Hott CD204 CD player?
Anyone looking for a reliable, simple, lightweight CD player will love the Hott CD204. I didn’t encounter any major issues during my time using it. The only drawbacks are the included earphones (not a problem if you have other wired headphones) and the price. However, if you can get it on sale, I think it’s a much better option. You can sometimes find it on sale for as little as $38, in which case I have no hesitation in recommending it.
Other than that, the Hott CD204 is a great device for listening to CDs at home or on the go. It satisfies my love for retro tech without being too dated. It’s also a lot lighter than the old CD players I had as a kid, making it a lot easier to carry around. I also love that it’s matte black, because matte black really goes with everything.
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