The most powerful MP3/audio CD player on earth?

It could very well be if the crystal-clear sound quality and huge bass is anything to go by.

I must be getting old it was so loud I couldn't take the volume control higher than the halfway mark.

HanGo Electronics' portable Personal Jukebox PJB-100 is an extremely powerful piece of gadgetry.

It features a massive 20Gb memory for MP3 file storage.

If you are serious enough to say the final goodbye to those dreary analogue days, it is worth the cash.

Cheaper models, starting at £389, with a third of the memory are available for those with smaller budgets.

We are about talking 320 hours' of playing time (over 13 days of 24-hour sound).

There are six control buttons on the stylishly see through unit.

They are a cinch to use.

If you are an audio connoisseur, you will drool as you scroll down the LCD screen through dozens of album choices.

These are categorised into pop/rock, soundtracks, stuff, soul, funk, electronic, Seventies, Eighties, dance and easy listening, to name but a few.

The music on can be listed as individual CD titles or even separate track titles if you want to get really picky.

If you are in the dark and more wintry months are on their way, you can take advantage of the back-lit display.

You can connect it to your home hi-fi or car stereo with the cables supplied.

To complete this "must have" musical marvel, you get a cool set of foldaway headphones.

Its rechargeable battery gives you ten hours of pulsating pleasure.

The Beatles said All You Need is Love.

All you really need is a PC or laptop with Windows 98/2000 or a Mac OS system.

*Price: £529.

*Contact:www.pjbox.co.uk.

*Feel good factor: 9 out of 10.

The M3Po go player from Terratec looks like a throw back to the Eighties with its plastic moulding and chunky shape.

It offers a variation on a theme in the MP3 player genre.

Instead of downloading MP3 tracks straight to the box, the M3Po go is designed to play CDs which have had MP3 files written on them.

It is a joint-purpose player of standard CDs and MP3 CDs, with the obvious advantage of being able to cram many more compressed MP3 files on a blank CD than you get on a shopbought chart topper.

Twelve hours of MP3 can be fitted on to a CD-R or CD-RW.

The manufacturers are relying on the modern PC market's penchant for gadgets which sees most new computers sold with CD writers and internet connections.

Add a bit of free software and anyone can turn downloadingtheir computer into an MP3 album-creating machine.

The headset is a bit flimsy and the hinges designed to make it easy to fold away do not look as though they will stand up to heavy use.

Thankfully, it makes up for its appearance with what it can do when you start playing with the silver buttons.

M3Po go promises clear sound, easy-touse controls, varied playback options and a box-top LCD status display which can handle up to 999 files.

It delivers the downloading MP3goods on all these counts.

But it has one major downfall.

The player goes back to needing anti-shock buffering.

It needs to be kept fairly level or tracks jump.

Powered by two standard AA-size batteries, the player lasts for about seven hours before needing a fresh supply.

A car connecter kit and cassette adapter are optional extras.

To switch between your favourite shop-bought CD and your homemade MP3 party collection at the drop of a disc, this is for you.

*Price: £199.

*Contact: 0118 9821612 or www.terratec.net.

*Feel good factor:5 out of 10.