4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
A very nice unit!
Date of Review: Mar 12, 2005
The Bottom Line: I recommend it based on it's design, performance, and quality.
Unlike the other review for this product, who just looked while in the store, I actually own and enjoy one. And I recommend it. What I like about it is it actually fits on a shelf, unlike some models that have a lid on top that flips up to insert a CD or cassette, which requires extra clearance on top of the unit. The wood trim is very attractive, even though it's just a paper veneer. You get 3 knobs, for bass, treble, and volume, right in front, very convenient and all you really need. If a stereo only has 3 knows, those are the one's I'd want. You can also control these with the remote control, which is nice. Interestingly, there aren't knobs, or indicators, for left/right balance, or recording level when recording on a cassette, but, when you think about it, all they do is raise the price, complicate the esthetics of the design, so who needs it? Even though it seems too narrow, it holds 2 cassettes, side by side, BOTH auto-reverse, which is very hard to find these days. Only deck B records, including Synchro recording a CD. You can even program the thing to start recording (on a cassette), a radio program. Cool, for those of us who like to listen to Stern but only get up after his show ends (I work second shift). Records both sides of tape B with the auto-reverse record. It doesn't have relay record, because only deck B records, but I wouldn't expect to find relay-record in the micro bookshelf stereo universe. I have that on my big system out in the living room anyway. It also doesn't have a tape counter, or an exterior window to see how much tape is left. To compensate for this I just open the main door that conceals interior doors for tapes A and B, which have windows to actually see the tape.
It stores 20 FM stations and 10 AM, and a separate, external antenna for each, so you'll have no trouble bringing in all the stations you're familiar with, and you won't have to rely on the placement of the unit itself for reception. It has a manual search and an auto search, a nice feature not found on all digital tuners, so you can tune in a weak station the auto search feature would otherwise skip, then program it in.
It holds 5 CD's, has an input for video/MD, and an optical output. It'll even play CD's you record on your PC (i.e., mp3's). Wear and tear of the motorized tray just to see what's loaded is minimized because tiny lights in front indicate which CD's are loaded.
The display in general is not flashy or distracting, and even has 3 levels of brightness. That's thoughtful. And when it's off, you have the extra option of having everything off or to display the time. That's nice. These little details demonstrate the quality of Sony.
The volume control is unusual - by pressing a "DSGX" button, you get finer increments, starting with a quieter volume, which allows for some pretty fine-tuning of the volume. I think it's intended as a way to boost the sound of older, lower fidelity recordings, but anyway, it's nice. But it's not actually a "bass boost", which it doesn't otherwise have.
The speakers allow for respectable sound, although you can hook up bigger speakers if you want, using the wires that come with the system, due to the proprietary jacks that fit into the back of the receiver. It doesn't have an overly impressive bass, considering each speaker is 100 watts, but the high notes are quite brilliant when the treble is set on high. There's no distortion at the higher volumes, even though I only had it up to about 12 on the volume scale of 1-30. Again, it's a bookshelf system, and not bad at $299, and it could serve as a primary stereo if that's what you're looking for. It's certainly a better alternative to hooking up the old component system every time you move, one of the reasons I bought it. It may not be a "best choice" for a primary stereo, but is certainly otherwise an extremely good choice.
