power

anemic treble

This is mainly a response to the other reviews here. The system sounds good, and it's got plenty of power. BUT -- and this is a big one -- its high-frequency response is severely lacking. Right now I have this set up in my spare room, along with a JVC FS-SD9, which is considerably cheaper, and when I do side-by-side comparisons, the JVC's upper range is considerably clearer and pronounced, even if I turn up the treble on the Yamaha. The JVC's treble, btw, is set to 0 (not up or down).

Of course, the Yamaha has better bass, but if I add a sub-woofer to the JVC, it's about the same price as the Yamaha, and sounds better through the entire frequency range.

So the Yamaha goes back to the store, and I'll keep the JVC and sub, unless someone can tell me about a mini-system that has better-sounding treble.

Similar Products Used:

JVC FS-SD9

Very good build quality
Looks fantastic
Good remote
Easy to use
Beats every other mini-system out there
Solid feel to the music
Good quality connections
Subwoofer Out

Lacks a bit in the bass department
Get rid of the provided speaker cable and interconnect

Basically, I used to have a rubbish Sony mini-system that cost £200 when I bought it and it really did sound awful. So I was determined to not waste my money again and I was trying to choose between the Denon DM-50 and this. I am very glad I chose the Yamaha, because basically, it rocks. I am very pleased with the results. The quality connections make it easy to upgrade the provided cables, which I highly recommend.

The bass is a bit of an issue. For example, the depth and amount of bass highly depends on where you place the speakers. You can definitely hear more bass if you are to the side of the speakers but if you are in front of them, for some reason, the bass is much less apparant. I don't think it is the speakers, but more the amplifier because I have to turn the bass adjustment to half-way between normal and max to get acceptable bass. I recommend placing the speakers in the corners of a room if possible because this makes the bass deeper and more authoritative; it does not make the bass "boomy".

Overall, I highly recommend buying this system if you are looking to upgrade your mini-system or just generally want something a bit more special than your average stereo.

Similar Products Used:

Sony mini-system (can't remember which one, it was awful though)

The sound!!! Price, aesthetics

As if!

So after almost making it my full-time job for two months to find the optimal combination between price and sound, this choice is clear as Clearasil! My first instinct when I started to look at the mini-systems, was Denon's DM3. Solid name with Mission speakers...what a bust. The speakers are so utterly incapable that I seriously thought something was wrong. Nope, listened to the system in another store, pathetic. So then I started to randomly examine all the systems that I came across, one worse than the other. Since I refuse to have anything that loads more than one CD at a time, I guess that limited me a bit in my decision but I still listened to them. This system is THE system for you to buy (and no I don't get paid to say this). Looking for something around $300, forget it! Pay a hundred more and you can get something that fulfill every audiophilic wet dream that you ever had. In my case those dreams are very few, but I do enjoy really good sound. This provides me with that, regardless of what type of music I am listening to. I did get some monster-cables and a new cord between the cd and amp, the difference really IS sgnificant! Now I guess I am looking for a sub to take some weight off the speakers, I don't really need it since the speakers are very potent, but I shop therefor I am...I guess. No but seriously, just the premonition of what it will sound like makes me...very excited!
A tip is to look inte the prices on the internet before buying, I paid $456 total to have this gem in my livingroom.

By the way, anyone that has a sub that successfully performs together with this system? I would like to know the brand and stuff (and I guess I don't want to pay more than what I paid for the system!). Thanks!

Similar Products Used:

Denon, Teac, Panasonic, Onkyo, Nakamichi

Excellent sound for the size and price, good remote, exceptional AM/FM reception, appearance.

No major faults so far.

I was looking for a small system to be used in my living room (family room has a combination Adcom/Carver system) which would deliver good sound but at the same time not be especially obtrusive.
I selected this system when it was auditioned mainly from the excellent-sounding speakers which came with the unit. After setting up the unit at home, I was surprized by the excellence the tuner, both AM and FM. The AM portion is far superior to my Bose Wave for pulling in distant stations clearly (such as KGO in San Francisco at night), and the FM is cleaner also, especially for one public FM station which oftentimes somewhat fuzzy on most units, but absolutely clear on the Yamaha.
On top of all that, the unit looks good and is very well constructed (receiver portion is almost downright heavy). The unit blends well with the rest of the living room, takes up very little space, and sound great.
This unit is far superior to, say, the Bose Wave system; at less than half the price for the full-sized Bose system, this unit is a bargain.
For some, the only knock would be the fact that the CD player only holds one disk; since I use this mainly for FM, I don't consider this a problem.

Similar Products Used:

Bose Wave Radio

Clear Mid & High, 40wpc power.

None

This is a very good system at reasonably price.
This is one the the best mini system that I've ever know (Denon D-M3, D-M5, D-M10; This system ; JVC FS 5000; Teac refference 300/500).
I also use a subwoofer to get the sound down to 30Hz.

Similar Products Used:

Denon D-M5

I am very happy with the yamaha pianocraft. It has a lot of depth of sound and I like the seperate bass and treble switches. It is very stylish and easy to find room for. I think it is ideal for a bedroom or office, but at a strong 40 wpc, it can even fill a living room with clean size. I recommend this to people with limited space who still want good sound. I chose this over the denon d-m5 because it is less expensive and after a very positive review at ign.com. I am very pleased with this system.

Similar Products Used:

denon d-m5

Nothing comes close to its overall sound quality in this price range, clean and simple operation - no gimmicky extras that simulate "value", speakers sound as good as others costing as much as this whole system.

The CD motor is faintly audible while playing, included interconnects don't do this system justice, the matching optional components (tape, MD) are VERY hard to find, quirky remote control design takes some getting used to.

In truth, I had intended to purchase an entire home theater system. But after ringing up the total, I realized that I should settle for a good stereo setup (after all, this was only going in my small bedroom - I was aiming high).

After searching around a bit at mini-systems ranging from $200 Aiwa boxes to $700 Denon/Mission combos, I had almost settled on the Yamaha GX-505. It was only $400 and sounded about as good as one of the Denon's I listened to.

When I discovered the MCR-E100, I was truly astonished. The first thing I noticed was how great it looked (I have the gold version). It is also very clean and simple as far as operation - except maybe for the oddly designed remote (which I'm finally able to operate from memory with the lights out).

Then I turned it on... and I have to honestly say, it sounded better than a component system the store had setup in the sound room, which included a Yamaha RX-V800 receiver ($800), Yamaha CDC-685 cd player ($200) and a pair of Energy bookshelf speakers ($400). Contrary to some reviewers' experience, I found the highs to be smooth and bright without being too sharp. The unexpectedly solid bass makes the listener search in vain for a sub; but alas it is coming from the two small speakers. I found no need to adjust the treble/bass controls, mainly because I enjoy listening to music exactly as it was recorded.

I took it home and immediately added a pair of Monster Interlink 400 interconnects and some original Monster speaker cable. I thought I was impressed at the audio store, but this system instantly doubled its clarity! Out of curiousity I plugged one side of the included patch cables and balanced left/right to hear the difference... incredible! I can now hear absolutely ZERO hiss even up to 3/4 max volume. And I only paid $500, plus cables... I could have cried.

If you're considering this system... I strongly recommend that you don't waste any more time looking for another system when you could be enjoying this one. Just do yourself a couple favors: 1) get good interconnects and speaker wire, 2) if you plan to add the matching tape deck or MD recorder, ask the sales rep about availability.

I can truly say this has been the best audio purchase I've ever made.

Similar Products Used:

Old Sharp POS, Pioneer components (still having nightmares...)

Sounds awsome, looks cool, the speakers sound a lot larger than they are. The reciever can push a lot better speakers than the ones that come with it.

a little scratchy on the high end, unusual antenna connector, could use more inputs.

A great system only thing I need to do now is upgrade my cables and get a sub. This system sounds better than a lot of component systems I've heard.

Similar Products Used:

I tested out all the Mini's at Magnola and this was the best. Even though this wasn't the most expencive the salesperson kept trying to convince me to buy it.

AMAZING sound, small, versitle, asthetics, everything you want for the plasure of music.

None

A fantastic sound experience. The speakers do give you a little bit of bass, but for the ULTIMATE sound, add a decent powered subwoofer (the receiver has a sub-out) and you now have a concert hall in your bedroom/living room/any room.

Excellent quality and finish. Complete sound. Good functionality.

CD player motor is quite noisy, can hear it if i sit too near. My old JVC is much quieter though 6 years old.

A little too weak reproduction of the higher bass frequences and the upper mid-range.

Amazing super-low-bass sound. These small speakers can actually reproduce low bass with greater precision than my 5 times bigger Sonab speakers. And they are GOOD!

Yamaha also has an impressive quality all through the product. Even the package is neatly done. The speaker wires are not that impressive though. Not that I buy the nonsense with several-100-dollar-cables but these are a little too small.

Also the electronics have a great functionality. Connectivity as a full-size "real" hi-fi stereo kit, even a sub-out.

As mentioned above the CD is a little noisy, thats a bit annoying. Except for that this little b*stard keeps impressing and making me glad each day I come home and turn some music on.

The sound is beautiful, especially when listening to piano music and jazz. That's the E100's back yard.

The price is definitely ok, too. For just $50-100 more than the mainstream crappy plastic with 3D displays and chrome plastic details all over the superlight plastic speakers you get this rock solid super-quality all-metal package.

Similar Products Used:

Big, big Sonab speakers, 5 yrs old fullsize Sony reciever and JVD CD. Excellent stuff but big and ugly.