C. Crane Witness AM/FM MP3 Player review

Really, the CC Witness is an AM/FM radio and recorder at its core, while MP3 playback is a bit of not-so-tasty icing. Still, there are some limitations on the radio of the player, as well. Each of the bands only offers 10 preset slots, and the AM radio reception is practically nonexistent inside of buildings with plentiful concrete or metal. On the plus side, you can record from either AM or FM at varying qualities from 64kbps to 256kbps MP3. You can also set up to 20 timed recordings--with recurrence, if you so choose. In addition, the Witness can record via the built-in mic or the line-input (both up to 256kbps), and it can automatically detect silence and split tracks. You can also monitor recordings through the headphones.

During our testing, the CC Witness performed its recording functions admirably, working off the timers and detecting silence when we set it to do so. Mic recordings were decently clear, but had an excessive amount of background hiss. Line-in recordings sounded great (with the bit rate set to 256kbps). Predictably, the quality of the AM/FM recordings depended a lot on the reception, but those with a solid signal were more than adequate. C. Crane includes some relatively decent in-ear 'buds that offer reasonable sound quality for MP3 playback. Of course, swapping in a set of Shure SE310s still improved things. Overall, music sounds clear with nice warmth and a decent amount of detail. Audio isn't stunning, but it's good on the whole. The 18.3 hours of playback is also plenty adequate without being overly impressive.

In final analysis, our opinion of the C. Crane Witness AM/FM MP3 player is decidedly mixed. On the one hand, it includes an AM tuner and plentiful recording options, but the file playback is convoluted, which ultimately cripples the MP3 player aspect of the device. It seems more rational to just get a well-designed MP3 player and a separate portable AM radio, but if you must have the two wrapped into one--with all the recording trimmings you could want--the Witness fits the bill.