Highs and midrange excellent for mini-system. Overall power s great for a medium-sized apartment or similar space.
Simplicity of features.

Clunky remote. The cd player is a little noisy when loading and whines a little through the top vents.

This is an excellent sounding system and a definite bargain! I replaced a 7 year old Aiwa with this and the difference on jazz, vocals (any) and classical is pronounced. The speakers are rear ported, so placement affects the bass response. I would agree with everyone who said that the appearance is a lot better than the robotic looking Aiwas!

The cd player is a little noisy. They should have put the vents in the rear instead of right on top. However at normal listening levels it is only an issue during quiet passages.

A must for bargain hunters and those of us delaying investment in "hi-fi" but who still want decent sound without the kiddie looks of other systems. Not perfect overall, but at this pricepoint, very close.

Similar Products Used:

Aiwa, Kenwood

Great Sound, Features, Price

None

I was looking for a mini-stereo for my daughter's room and came across the GX-500. I was able to compare this product to over 25 various mini-systems and was very impressed with it's sound quality and the features that it offered. The only sytems that came close were well over $500.00. Now the really nice part, it was a close-out item (Good Guy's)and she only paid $169.00. That was with the cherry speakers.

Great sound, great looks. What more do you want in a mini?

The only thing that I have found that I dislike (somewhat) is that I am not able to get the time to display when the unit is in standby mode. (As I am able to with the JVC MX-D301T that I have in my office. By the way, the GX500 is light years better in quality.)

The GX500 is pretty unbelievable! I have a 16 year old system with NAD and Nakamichi seperates, as well as a M&K satellite/sub. system, so I was looking for really good sound when I wanted to get a mini system for my bedroom. I'm somewhat ashamed to say that the ONLY reason I went to get the GX500 was that I saw an ad for it in the Good Guys! mailer, and it was on sale for $249. I knew the Yamaha brand, and I thought I would try it out. Wow! The sound is fantastic for a mini system. The highs and mids are very transparent and there is quite enough "oomph" in the bass for most music genres. Considering the garbage that is out there for sale in the same price range, the GX500 is an exceptional value, and I highly recommend it.

Similar Products Used:

An old Sony that I am replacing, and JVC MX-D301T

For a low price ($300.00) it is the most outstanding mini-system I've ever listend to. Sound is crisp (even when volume is low) and clear. Not like similar price-range panasonics, sonys and AIWAs out there that offer nothing but ridiculously crazy designs and poor sound quality. Design on the YAMAHA GX-500 is simple and straightforward, which makes it a beauty.

Unfortunately, usage of the tape deck can be a hassle. First of all, one must acknowledge the direction of the tape before either pressing rewing or forward (since the machine does not do it automatically). Second, one can only program up to 20 tracks, which does not match up the total capacity of a tape. One top of that, it is impossible to program tracks with a number over 15 (ex: track 20 will nott be able to be programmed)

Besides some inflexibilities regarding programming and tape utilization, this yamaha rocks. So, unless you are a RAP or hip hop fanatic, this could be the system that is made for you (and I'm not getting paid to say that) >=).

Similar Products Used:

Nothing like this little beauty.

Great sound, clean looks, easy to use.

Remote could have been better.

The first thing that strikes you about this system is just how elegant it looks. A clean front panel, unobtrusive tape deck and an excellent display (with a dimmer). Nothing flashy and juvenile like those wierd Aiwas and Panasonics.
No damn crappy blinking lights or unnecessary information is shown on the display. At once glance all the required info can be obtained.

The build quality is very good and the system feels pretty solid overall. Once you load up the CDs and hit play, the sound that comes out of those two small (3-way, mind you.) speakers is amazing. Crisp and clear with very low distortion even at mid -- high volumes. This system just decimates those JVCs, Aiwas (YUCK!), Sonys and Panasonics in its price range as well as even many higher priced systems. Bass is tight, and the midrange and higher frequencies are very "spacious" (if i may use that word). The detail in the recordings is reproduced very faithfully. And for once the three equaliser presets REALLY make a difference in the output. Very relevant settings. I had tried out many systems before I bought this one, and I found that the presets in other systems generally dont make of a positive difference.

The tape deck is of high quality and the Dolby B is pretty useful. As far as tuner is concerned, the forty auto-tuned presets make life easier, and reception is very good.

I listen to a lot of rock, so I bought a Yamaha YST45 powered subwoofer ($149, Best Buy) and fixed it up to this unit a week ago. The combo is great.

My only minor complaint is that the remote is rather large. Well, the layout of the keys is okay, and operation is pretty intuitive (even though, at first sight it may not seems so). Yamaha could have supplied a smaller remote with the system. This is the only drawback i can think of.

I bought this system for $300 from Crutchfield (online). Given the price, features, sound quality, looks and overall value for money, i think this system is a STEAL!!!! If you have a $300 budget for a mini system, THIS system is THE ONE!!!

5 STARS FOR THIS BABY!!!

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer, Panasonic.

Great sound quality, simple to use, well designed

Finicky CD drive

Great sound system. This Yamaha not only looks better than all of those grey techno stereos out there, it's wooden speakers blow them out of the water. I got my unit for 1/2 price since it was a shelf unit, and it works great playing CD's - the sound quality is a lot clearer than the Sony I used to have, although I haven't used the tape player much at all.

I found the Bass a little weak (for rap, techno) so I added a subwoofer (there is a subwoofer output built-in). Also, make sure you remove CDs from the tray before you move it. If not, they get jammed in and you have to take a screwdriver to the thing to get them out (they head to various parts of the system). Great value!

Similar Products Used:

Old Sony mini-system

Typical Yamaha Quality, nice design, full features, 80WPC, Classy Style, usable soundfields, Subwoofer out, Digital in.
Excellent Reception on AM/FM

As previosily mentioned, clunky and slow CD changer, Tape Drive not intutive, cannot maunally tune radio stations from remote

When you balance out everything, this is one sweet Mini System.
My only changes were to put the Yamaha Speakers back in the box and hook up my Technics SBM-300's which work excellent with the 6 ohm amplification here, these greedy speakers are inefficent but warm and this Yamaha has enough juice to get them going but the yamaha speakers were very good as well.
Since I made changes to my HT setup I freed up a Sub an Advent AV550S and hooked it up, in my bedroom this system sounds like a full sized system and sounds worlds better than the rack systems from all the majors that cost $599 and upward of $1299.
For the money this is a great system and you have the Yamaha standing behind it, I trust the reliability of Yamaha over Sony, JVC, Denon or anyone else they just don't break.

Pro: tuner (excellent, the best of any midi systems that I previewed);looks (much classier than cheap looking Awai's and other brands)

Remote (big, bulky, and can't tune manually)

Overall, a steal at $225. Only drawback is that wood speakers/look is better than black that I purchased due to availability.

Great tuner, good (not great) speakers, solid CD performance & features.

Cruthfied is great to deal with. Very helpful/knowledgeable salesman and overnight delivery for only $5!

Similar Products Used:

awai xmr2000

Looks,tuner,great speakers,ease of use,features

noisy rear vents

I'm actually reviewing the Yamaha Gx-505--the Gx-500 was discontinued and its successor has a set of speakers with 5 extra watts each and some minor improvements.

I was searching the net and some outside sources when I came across the November 2000? issue of Consumer Reports and their review on the best minisystems for your buck. On top and currently rated again on top in an update in the Feb 2001 issue was the Yammie Gx-505. It was top for its sound quality,it's functionality,looks,ease of use,and features. I was in the market for a new minisystem and I had to get the best bang for my buck--this system is certainly the best choice and the cherrywood finish is really elegant.

While I plan on eventually adding a subwoofer,the speakers are in need of a little help on bass. Other than that,the system is near perfect. I bought 14 gauge speaker wire to replace the itsy bitsy wire that came with the system and the sound is very full. The main unit is a little noisy so I plan on leaving it somewhere far from my ears. Overall though,the highs and mid-range of the system are tops for minisystems and with a sub-out,optical out,aux in and out and some great and easy to use features,this system is a knockout.

Don't be dazzled by high wattage and needless features--go for a system that looks as good as it sounds.

Similar Products Used:

JVC UX-T1 minisystem,various Sony minisystems

Well, I don't actually own this system, so I'll just tell you about listening to it in Sears. It is amazing. I listened to the Aiwas, Sonys, JVCs, etc., and this thing just destroys them. Yeah, it only has two speakers, and it doesn't have "surround sound", but the sound that comes out is just beautiful compared to the flashy Aiwas and others. The most notable thing about it is that music actually sounds GOOD at low volumes. I've never seen (heard?) this except in my friend's $2500 stereo system. And, of course, I pumped up the volume, and I don't think I'd ever need something louder.

Maybe if all you listen to is bass-infested rock or rap or whatever at ultra-high volume, the difference between this system and an Aiwa or Sony is negligible. But if you like to listen to lower volumes sometimes, and you like a mix of music (classical, jazz, etc.) this system would be a good bet.

Of course, it was $400 -- $200 more than the Aiwa I ended up gettin -- so it was out of my price range. But if I'd had the money, I would have snapped it up. (And considering how nice it sounded, it would have been a great value).