Picking out a shelf type stereo used to be an easy thing - the most complicated thing you had to deal with was if the speakers detached and if the CD player was going to last more than six months. When we needed a new stereo for the shop I was appointed the official shopper and mostly because if I left the decision making up to them we’d end up with something so big that the windows would end up blown out.
I wanted something simple, something that didn’t require you take a class in how to operate it. Having had a lot of luck with Sony products in the past I was interested in the CFD-ZW755 when I saw it at the store. There were only two of them left so I wasn’t sure if they were extremely popular or slow sellers. I tried it out with some CD’s I had on me and a cassette that I had in my gym bag and liked the sound so I bought it. If they didn’t like it for the shop I’d find some use for it at home, even though we have more than a few shelf units and portable players, someone is always complaining that they don’t have their own.
Sony CFDZW755 Radio/Cassette/CD Boombox
When I dragged this into the shop everyone let out a groan, they wanted some monster sized stereo with tons of gadgets. Rolling my eyes at them in the same manner I do with the brood I started unpacking it from the styrofoam, cardboard and anti-theft plastic ties. It took me longer to get it out of the box than it did to get it working. In hindsight I should have gone with something that had a multi CD player but for the shop, it will do for now. Everyone wants to listen to their own music so there are little arguments now and then, that’s when I step in and put it on the classical station until everyone calms down. This has been a nice addition to the shop but I doubt it is going to be something that is going to last more than a year. They tend to crank the volume when they hit a song that they like and while it will tolerate a lot of bass and high volume, eventually I know that they are going to fry the speakers.
This is something that would be great for teens and those that want a portable stereo for parties and on the patio but it isn’t something that is practical for those that like to listen to extremely loud music. Sony says that this has 3.2 watts of power but to someone like me, that doesn’t really mean a lot. I have no idea if that means that it’s capable of handling a lot of volume or not. This isn’t the smallest unit and when you have the batteries in it, you are looking at something that weighs about eighteen pounds. To me this is larger than it really needs to be - when I measured it at the shop it came out to 26 inches wide, eleven inches high and eleven inches deep. You can’t tell me that the body of it needs to be that big, I think Sony made it that size for visual effect. It does have some nice features to it but I know that it’s only a matter of time before they destroy it by blasting it and thrashing the speakers.
Remote Commander
This is nothing more than a glorified term for the remote control that comes with this unit. It allows you to control most of the functions of the stereo except a few of the cassette deck modes. You can operate the power, volume, CD player and radio [both AM and FM]. The two AA size batteries you need to operate this come with the set up and so far we haven’t had to change them. You don’t need to be directly in front of the unit to have the remote control hit the sensor so you can use it pretty much from anywhere in the room. The keys are easy to use and they aren’t the small, tiny ones that most remotes have. I don’t have any trouble using it but a few of the guys at the shop complained about it saying that they were always hitting the wrong keys. Likewise, the buttons on the stereo are easy to operate and thankfully the cassette deck has full sized keys.
Cassette Decks
There are two decks on this; the B deck is for recording and playing tapes and the A is just for playing. I think that cassettes are pretty much on the way out - have you seen many artists releasing their new music in this format? Even so, I still have a lot of cassettes from 80’s groups that aren’t around any more [Death & Taxes, Reigndance, Havok etc] so I wanted something that I could play these on when I am working. The decks pop out quietly but slowly, I guess you have to compromise a little when it comes to these dual decks. You can record on to a cassette from the CD player, radio or the other cassette deck and the sound quality of the copy is a little above average. If you are recording from another tape you won’t get the same sound as if you copied it from a CD or the radio.
Digital Tuning
The AM / FM radio has a digital tuner so you don’t have to sit there and try to lock in a station. You will see it flux a little from time to time; this usually only happens when we are trying to get a station that’s far away so if we are trying to get 100.5 the LCD screen might read 100.4, 100.5 or 100.6. This is a lot nicer than the stereos that have dials on them for tuning purposes, it does all the work when you are trying to lock in a station. I do flip it over to the AM once in a while when I want to listen to a talk radio show but now that I’ve ordered a satellite radio service, I am sure I will be using that a lot more.
Battery Power
You get an AC power cord with this but you can also operate it on 6 D size batteries; we used this a few times outside and got about four hours of play time from the cassette and CD player before it started lagging and shutting off. If you are listening to just the radio you can get a lot more life from the batteries and if you opt to get the more expensive ‘long life’ batteries you will get more play from them than the cheaper / less expensive ones. The cord has the polarized plug on it so make sure you insert it into a receptacle that will accept it; don’t try to force it in or you run the risk of screwing up the plug.
Sound Modes
In addition to the Mega Bass Sound you also get to choose from four formats to listen to your music. You can choose from rock, jazz, club or pop; this lets you have a little more control over the music that you are listening to and to enhance the overall sound. If you are listening to cassettes this feature won’t play that much of a part in the sound but for CD’s it is really nice to have. I usually go with the rock mode because it gives you the best sound. For classical music this sounds best when you have it on the jazz setting but that’s just me. You really have to sit there and press the button and listen to the different modes to see which one you like best depending on what you are playing.
Warranty
Sony offers you a one year limited warranty with this; first off you have to make sure that you fill out and mail in the warranty / registration card that comes with it. My suggestion on this is that you plug it in and try it out first to make sure that it works before you do this. If it is defective out of the box then simply return it to where you purchased it for a replacement. This covers all aspects of the unit including the cassette decks, compact disc player, radio and remote control
but it doesn’t cover it if you blast out the speakers or spill something on it. Simply put, Sony will repair or replace the unit if it is their fault but if you do something to it or open it to try and repair it, the warranty is void.
Price
There were only two of these left at the store so I have no idea if these are really popular or these were the last two that no one else wanted. I got it for $62.99 which seemed like a good deal until I looked on line and saw some places selling it for $55.00. I guess it all worked out in the end because if I would have ordered it online I would have had to shell out the shipping fees. This is worth it if you want a dual cassette and CD player but if you want something that is going to blow your socks off in the volume department, go with something else. I’m not saying that this isn’t capable of some massive volume but it is only going to be a matter of time before those high levels are going to start taking a toll on it. You do get the one year limited warranty with it but that isn’t going to help much if you fry out the speakers.
Things To Know
Some of the odds and ends of the Sony CFD-ZW755 are well worth mentioning. You have a headphone jack on the front of it so you can listen to music in private. This is the small jack type of headphone [standard sized ones like the
Koss P-4] so if you have headphones from a portable CD player, you can use them with this but none come with the stereo. The LCD display screen is backlit so if you are operating this on batteries, you can expect that feature to take its toll on the battery life. This is a nice thing to have in low light situations but as I said, it is a battery power killer. The graphic equalizer on the front of the stereo is nice but I’m a sort of low tech person so all it does is amuse me. I guess if you are really into this kind of stuff it makes a difference, otherwise it’s just blinking flashing lights.
The Bottom Line
I can’t shake the feeling that this stereo’s days are numbered at the shop. If they were the kind of people that played music at a normal level I’m sure this would last a few years but they aren’t - they like it loud. When this one goes I am going to switch everything over to a large unit that can be hooked up to the satellite radio service I subscribed to. If they want to listed to cassettes or CD’s then they’ll have to find some other way of doing so. There really isn’t anything wrong with this stereo outside of the size of it; if you listen to music at a moderate level I am sure it will last a long time and it is a great pick for teens. For the price you are getting a CD player, AM FM receiver, dual cassette decks and a remote control. If you don’t need these specific features then go with something else but if these are things that you are looking for - in a decent price range - then the CFD-ZW755 is something well worth checking out.
As always, thanks for the read!
~^V^~ Freak ~^V^~
© 2006 Freak369
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