Excellent sound, little if any digital to analog distortion. Mechanism works well as expected. A friend said he didn't know they still sell these old CD plalyers as he uses an Ipod dock. I find the sound quality slightly better than an Ipod dock. This CD player will handle MP3 music computer recorded in the data mode, which means that an ordinary CD can handle about 3 to 4 hours of songs. The shuffle mode works on data MP3 CDs. My only complaint, is that the CD player only shuffles one CD at a time. I would prefer to have it shuffle several times and then rotate to another CD. Also be careful when inserting the CD, as sloppy quick insertion can cause a jam up.