I found mine in a thrift store. They had just unpacked it. I could tell I had found something great when I turned it on. Looks brand new. Not a scratch on it. And I paid $15.00!!!

What impressed me most at first was the clarity in the midrange and treble. Very detailed sound for a unit in this price range. The controls are very easy to use and laid out well (sans the wierd metal-touch eject button). Having also used the head unit to test other speakers, I can attest that it makes a very clean 15 watts/ch. Then....there is the look. I wanted somthing that had a bit of style, and presence without looking like (as another reviewer put it) "a prop from an 80's SCI FI movie". And from the looks of it, i'd say Mission Accomplished.

Well....., it needs more inputs, and the optical jack should work in either direction, not just out. The headphone jack is in the wrong spot. There is no bass/treb control. I'm not one for too many "Bells and Whistles" but come on. It also needs larger speaker terminals. I, like everyone else, found that the bass was lacking, even with the DSG on 2. The solution was simple, find a sub, (settled with a Yamaha YST SW80). With the bass taken care of, I could relieve the little sony speakers from trying to produce it. My only other gripe is the eject button. If they could have only used either a real button or moved it away from the Volume buttons a bit more.

I purchased it about 6 years ago, and I have to say that it's held up very well. It gets used every morning (alarm clock), whenever i'm on the computer, or whenever we need sound out on the deck. I should note that it's even taken a fall or two off the desk.

Customer Service

I'm not sure, havn't needed any. A&B sound's service was excellent (but they're on commission, so what do you expect).

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cheaper mini systems

Great look/design, good sound for being a desktop unit.

No equalizer, remote could be nicer looking.

Overall I give this unit a 5 since it serves its purpose. This is meant to be a desktop unit and for that it is wonderfull, it is elegant and it has a good sound for such a small unit (although I would have liked to have an equalizer, even a small one, to adjust the sound on those CD's that need adjusting). The DSG helps a lot but it is always better to have greater control on the bass & trebles.

It Has exellent bass and can go surprisingly loud without the music being distorted.Perfect size for cabinets or small areas.

The bass port could be located in a different spot for better sound.

Overall, this is a great cd player for its size and cost of about 280$. the speakers have a great bass output for how small they are. I would recommend this player to anyone who wants a small cd player with good sound in a small, or normal sized room. I would not recommend it to someone who cranks the volume up to max all the time, or someone who wants to place it in a large room.

Design, size, price, easy to use.

"Lost" in large rooms. Sound effects deteriorate quality of sound, which is also sensible to the location of speakers.

I've bought this system as a second sound system, to be used mainly in the bedroom, for falling asleep or waking up with music. For the "major" sound system, I use products such as NAD, etc.., so I would not be honest to compare.
At the beginning, I have been desappointed by the poor quality of sound, and I have tried to see what I could do for that. I have tried to use Tannoy R1 instead of the Sony speakers, it was better but these speakers cost more than the full Sony system itself, so, stupid, no ?
Let's say that this small system is for ... small rooms. Then, avoid using the sound effects (DSG, dynamic sound generator, and the surround), which can have deplorable results on the balance. Even if you think that there is a lack of bass (and there is), make happy yourself with a flat sound, and take care of the speaker location. The best result I have obtained is with a distance of around 1 m for each speaker, leaving a short distance (10 cm) from the background wall, and giving it a height corresponding to your ears (so, if you listen to it when you're at bed ...). As it is, I enjoy now a clear, accurate and intimate sound, and I think that I have done a good purchase. Of course, this will not produce a lot of relief and impressive results on Pantera or Carmina Burana, but these music are not ideal to fall asleep or to wake up, no ?

By looking at it, you will love this system. Very elagently design.

Speaker air port is located at the bottom of the speaker and quite difficult to acheive good overall bass. Sound cannot be adjusted

I got this system the moment I set my eyes on it. The main console has a vertical front/top loading cd and small feather touch buttons located at the front bottom. Sony Corp. has cleverly designs this system. The main console look like a photo frame from far.

It is very neatly design too if you take a peak at the back of the main console as well as the speakers. All inputs and outputs connections are cleverly hidden. Same goes to the speakers air ports.

Until today I am still figuring the best location or the position for the speakers as the speakers air port is located at the bottom of the speakers. It may sound bad if the speakers is not properly positioned.

Overall this system sounds good. The vocals will be very clear if The Dynamic Sound Generator is switch off.

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JVC UX 5000 and Sony CMT-VP1

great looking, proportionate sound for size

...just not enough

The novelty of this piece is its best feature. It sounds a little better than any "boom box". Of course in purchasing a piece like this, expectations aren't very high, but I was looking forward to a little more potential. Although the equipment is at the $300 price point, it should have possessed better lows and more resolution. Sony could have built a better product. The ergonomics are exceptional and it’s easy to utilize the remote for all options on the unit. The only awkward thing is the 1/8 inch headphone jack in the back of the unit. Advice for purchase: I would recommend purchase, however at a price range of no more than $150-$200.

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denon dm-3, aiwa dont know which model, sony cd radio, nad l-40

TOO SOON TO TELL. UNIT IS STILL BURNING IN. HOWEVER, I LIKE WHAT I HEAR SO FAR AND IT'S GETTING BETTER. SHARP LOOKING.

YOU WILL NEED A BETTER FM ANTENNA THAN THE ONE PROVIDED.

LISTEN, MY REASON FOR THE REVIEW, IS TO LET YOU KNOW THERE IS ANOTHER UNIT OUT THERE, THE SONY CMT-EX22. FOR ANOTHER 50 BUCKS IT'S A MUCH BETTER UNIT WITH EVEN BETTER LOOKS. IT'S ESSENTIALLY THE SAME SET, HOWEVER IT IS FINISHED IN BLACK LACQUER, HAS BETTER SPEAKERS AND GIVES YOU BASE AND TREBLE CONTROL OR DSG WITH A CHOICE OF SURROUND ON BOTH. SPEAKER PLACEMENT AND ALL THAT OTHER STUFF DOES NOT SEEM TO MATTER, IT SOUNDS GOOD. FORTUNATELY, THE DIFFERENCE, WAS POINTED OUT TO ME BY AN ALERT SALESMAN AT THE WHIZ. I RETURNED TO HARVEY AND EXCHANGED THE EX1 FOR THE EX22. I THINK SONY WOULD HAVE DONE BETTER TO PRESENT THE CMT-EX22 IN WOOD OR BLACK LACQUER AND DELETE THE HOLLOW, HARSH SOUNDING CMT-EX1. I HEARD THE BOSE WAVE, ALSO THE TIVOLI 1 AND FOR YOUR OWN PRIVATE SPACE AT $350.00 THIS IS A BETTER SOUND.

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FIRST MICRO SYSTEM.

Looks, uniqueness, decent sound for it's size and application

speaker jacks are on the bottom, hard to put in thicker speaker wire, not quite enough juice to fill a large bedroom

I have used the CMT EX-1 for over a year now and love it. I have used it as my bedroom system and about 6 months ago I connected a 13"dvd combo to it. I have to say that DVD's sound great with the cheeseball surround on! I would prefer it have just a bit more wattage, it distorts a little easily. If I had known about the CMT EX-22, I probably would have bought that instead. Great remote control, access is easy and intuitive. Overall a great buy if you can get it for under $300. I bought mine for 250 and the next day they had the price at 300. I must have caught a sale or something. It really is more like a 200-230$ unit in my opinion, but the uniqueness was worth the little extra I paid.

Elegant Design. Great Sound

No equalizer... not even a preset. Strange location(back of the unit) of headphone jack.

I bought JVC FS-V30 and I wasn't really impressed with it. So, I returned it and bought Sony CMT-EX1. The sound was ok at the store, at least it was better than FS-V30. When I took it home, I was surprised how good it sounded. Without DSG(Dynamic Sound Generator) and Surround option, the sound was tiny and very weak, but as soon as I turned those options on, I could hear the difference. Bass and mid range gets much stronger and it's much better than I ever expected it to be. However, with DSG, vocal gets sometimes buried in the stong bass and sound very murky.. But it doesn't happen that often to really annoy me. If it had equalizer, I'm sure it can be fixed, but it's not available in this model... Not even a preset. The real problem is not the sound. It's the location of headphone jack. Strangely, it's located on the back of the unit. At least it's not located at the bottom, but still it's hard to plug in the headphone.

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JVC FS-V30