spiegel.de: hörbert is the test winner of Stiftung Warentest 11/2019

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Stiftung Warentest

Music Players for Children Are Often Too Loud

Many children love audio plays and audiobooks – and therefore often have suitable playback devices in their rooms. However, only one device performed well in the test.

October 23, 2019, 11:17 AM

On small play figures, on a memory card, or classically on CD: audio plays and audiobooks come to the children’s room in many ways today. But to actually hear them, a playback device is needed. Whether it’s still a CD player or a modern music player without a CD drive: many devices have significant weaknesses, warns Stiftung Warentest in the current issue of the magazine “test.”

The experts tested 13 music players with and without CD drives. One result of their investigation: eleven of the tested devices are significantly too loud for delicate children’s ears – at least in combination with headphones. Three problematic candidates also exert too much pressure on the built-in speakers.

Two CD players even reach a volume of more than 85 decibels (db). This is far more than the standard for children’s toys allows, according to the Stiftung. These products therefore receive the overall rating “poor.”

Other devices performed better, but only one candidate is rated “good”: the “Hörbert” from Witzki plays audio plays and music from memory cards, is not too loud, and is well-made. However, at 239 euros, it is also by far the most expensive device in the test.

MP3 Player for Children: hörbert. Winner of the Stiftung Warentest. Made in Germany. Its 9 playlists are rewritable with space for 17 hours, preloaded with 140 minutes of music and audio plays. Portable with a built-in speaker and volume limiter. Very robust made of wood and stainless steel.

Manufacturer: WINZKI GmbH & Co. KG

From €239.00

The “Toniebox” from Boxine, rated “satisfactory,” is cheaper at 80 euros. However, audio plays can only be played from special figures, each costing around 15 euros. The best CD player in the test is the “Avengers” device from Lexibook (overall rating “satisfactory,” 50 euros).

For the other candidates, the best they received was “sufficient,” with a total of four rated “poor.” Besides the volume level, the Stiftung criticizes, for example, the battery or battery life; even workmanship and operability are sometimes only “sufficient” or even “poor.” In one of the CD players, the testers also found the pollutant naphthalene in the control buttons. mak/dpa

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