Good quality, Good sound. All low, mid, & high freq is all good.

No bass & treble setting, sometimes it can't match someone ear.

Very good sound quality for a mini system like this. Deep bass, clear mid & high. The speaker's (Mission MS-5) sound quality almost compare the sound of my sony MDR-V600 studio monitor headpnones but with louder bass.

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Yamaha Pianocraft

Very good quality sound for a mini system

Cannot set timer volume separately to normal listening volume (so if you listen loud in the evening, it sounds VERY loud when it wakes you up.

I needed something to listen to in the bedroom which would act as an radio alarm too.
The sound is excellent for a mini, (i'm using mission 731i speakers bought separately), and all the tone controls are not needed - listening in "flat" mode is just fine. Normal bass/treble controls are missing, which may have proved useful, instead replaced with settings such as "pop", "classic" etc.
The multi cd trays are very good - you can swap out a disk when another is playing, although noisy when the machine moves from one disk to another, sounding like it may cease working sometime soon (speculation only, i've had no problems).
The remote control is OK. Very good sensitivity, but is realy quite ugly, has a few buttons outside, most hidden away under a panel which are almost too small and close together to use, including the cd pause button which should be on the outside.
All things considered, my gripes are very small, the sound quality, and general functions are great.
i bought it online from www.empiredirect.co.uk - great service - arrived in 3 days, and was the cheapest I could find anywhere.
overall rating 4 stars because nothing is perfect!

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Sony micro system, can't remember the model, but is very small with top-loading cd - also good, but not as good

stout, well put together unit. headphone output is top notch. best sound under $300

not ergonomicly friendly, w/o instruction impossible to program.

First of all, my opinion doesn’t come from volumes of research or electronic wizardry. What it stems from, however, is purely extensive listening.

This unit sounds good, not great. The truth is, I purchased this unit thinking it was going to be substantially better than my old Sony cmt ex1. I was wrong. There is more low end extension and the headphone output is more detailed, but that’s all. The missions make this unit worth the purchase. This piece is definitely an over achiever for a desk unit. When the mission m5’s were hooked to my economy line Sony str de 835 receiver at home, they performed better than anticipated, gaining definition in the midrange. On the other hand, when I hooked my B&W 302’s to the Denon ud-m5, the presentation did get bigger, but the definition throughout the mid and lower frequencies stayed about the same. This led me to believe that if there is indeed, a stronger piece, it would be the speakers. When it’s all back together, the dm-5 does perform well and better than the likes of Aiwa and Sony.

In comparing the dm-5 to the NAD 1-40/jpw set up, I prefer the NAD set up. It has more definition but it is about the same range in frequency. Keep in mind that the difference between the two in price (msrp), is about $300, with the NAD being more. NAD seems more refined, when listening to it. The Dave Matthew's band was on display as if I was listening at home. In contrast to the denon presentation, it is a better than average desk unit.

The headphone output is this units saving grace. It is far better than that of the Sony cmt ex1. The denon effortlessly muscles my Sennheiser 580’s. Actually, when teamed with the Senn’s, The denon sounds even better than my Sony str de 835. For normal headphone listening, I currently use Grado sr125 w/ the Grado ¼ to 1/8 adapter. This combination seems too forward and bright. To remedy this, I plan to upgrade to the senn 600 and use the 580’s with the denon.


As others have stated before me, the changer is loud and the remote is awkward. Since the unit sits on my desk, I really don’t care.

My listening is not that widespread. I basically listen to jazz and hip/hop. Therefore, my opinion may be further obscure than that of main stream listeners.


Recommend this unit, I would. However, only at a discounted price. The $600 msrp is misleading as far as value. My opinion is also different from many more decorated audio writers who have listened to more expensive systems. Perhaps I am being too critical of this unit. It seems like a movie with an abundance of star power but not enough plot.

My star rating of this product is from a $600.

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sony cmt ex-1, nad l-40 w/jpw speakers

crispness of sound, easy to use

none

i loved it it is one of the crispest sounding audio systems i have ever heard.

sound quality

no proper tone controls, bad remote

bought as a demo unit without speakers (that's why so cheap). Sounds great with larger PSB's, though.

got no manual and cant figure out the clock setting procedure with this stupid remote - help!

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jvc

Incredible transparency for $500 and 1/3 the price of my speaker cables on my big system.

None unless they raise the price $1,000!

I don't know what Mich was hearing when he listened to the Denon, but I can almost guarentee what happened. He was listening to it with the bass EQ on. It does sound sluggish in the bass on that setting, but OH BOY in direct mode it sounds just right.

This system is very 3 dimensional, images incredibly well, has nice tight bass and lets the micro and macro dynamics come through. I don't know of any system that I have heard where someone has spent less than two grand that rivals this little system. It is truely a high end bargain. It doesn't care if you set the speaker up close to one another or too far apart because it always sounds good. How many audiophiles, including myself, can say that about their systems? I have a friend that has a $30,000+ system that just got rid of his Conrad Johnson system in the bedroom and went with this system. Of course he kept the big system in the living room, but yes, he did get rid of the Conrad Johnson gear in the bedroom.


If you are looking for a system for a small apartment or even a house with a decent size room you owe it to yourself to listen to the system. Only if I could have derived the same satisfaction out of my more expensive interconnects on my other system!

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Audio Research LS15, Classe CA101, Arcam FMJ 23, Kimber Select Cables, Harmonic Tech Cables, Mirage Loudspeakers (my other system)

heavy bass, alot of inputs, optical input for MD, sub output.midrange. Good for movies.

the speakers (Australian model); remote control is poorly designed. Its very noisy when changing CD.

I was really pissed off with the remote control in the early days. It took me weeks to get used to it, even my partner does not know how to use the remote after more than a years we had it, except for basic funtions.
The sound is good, but not great. It lacks of high range i suppose. The display screen is small and does not show the total tracks of the cd you playing,and does not show ecliped tracks either. Well, but with that amount of money we cant expect much in Australia.
This is my first Denon system and it does not incourage me to try more denon.

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JVC

lovley sound, build quality, power output

lack of adjustments to EQ sucks

This has such a strong sound and I was amazed. The way it can fill a house with its sound is amazing for the size of the unit. I come from Ausralia and I know the the speakers are diffrent to over seas modles I don't know why. But from what I read of the other reviews I would say the sound would be close. It dose lack bass as all small units but it does have a sub in put which is good. This thing must have the most power out put of any micro system it is amazing you can run full size stereo speakers of this thing and they still sound good.

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JVC, Sony, Philips

Looks, size, sound quality, low distortion at high volumes, Super Dynamic Bass(SDB), Radio Data System (RDS) capable

preset EQ, no bass-treble adjustment, sliding door on remote, loud cd changer

The "feel & look" of this unit if very solid. I wanted to stay away from the casino style bookshelf systems with all the lights and worthless features. Although some didn't sound bad, I just couldn't stand the look.

Pairing the unit with Mission speakers was a good idea. The sound is very pleasant and smooth. I wanted a system which would compliment my music tastes, which range from hardcore rap, heavy metal, jazz and classical (don't worry, my friends can't figure it out either, but hey, I like all types of music). This system does sound good with all those types. If your expecting this system to put out some low tones, you'll probably be disappointed. Of course this type of system was never meant to reproduce those sounds, but that's why there is a mono sub out which allows you to upgrade if needed. However, the system can get loud with no sign of distortion if need be, and can rival many systems much larger than it.

The features are fairly simple, nothing that is unneeded, just the basics. The display is simple as well, however, it can be hard to see if your far from the unit. My friend has the Pioneer NS-5, which has a large display which makes it really easy to see when across the room, but the sound quality didn't compare to this Denon, which is what it really comes down to.

All in all, I'm happy with it, although there are some small things that I had mentioned in the weakness section that I would suggest as improvements for the next model.

This is just my opinion. If your in the store for a mini system, your best bet is to actually go and listen to them, because the best sounding system is what YOU think is the best sounding system, not some sales guy who's telling you this is the best system.

I give it 4 stars because 5 would mean a perfect system, which is always hard to find, in my opinion of course!