|
|
Power, Performance, & Perks… Things To Consider When Choosing A Stereo For The KiddiesSep 21 '03 Write an essay on this topic.
Popular Products in Toys
The Bottom Line CD player? Detachable speakers? Remote control? Alarm Clock? Before you buy a new stereo, CD or cassette player for your child, do your research and weed out the unnecessary “perks”.
When the brood came to me and asked if they could spend some of their hard earned money on a new CD player, I had to laugh. It seems like my love of music was finally starting to rub off on them. Granted, their taste in music is different from mine – they are more than happy listening to something silly like The Animaniacs but completely turn their noses up at traditional “kids music”. I agreed to pay for half of the cost of the CD player as long as I had some say in the ‘picking out’ process. If I left it up to them, they’d pick out one of those gaudy shelf systems with all the lights, extended bass boost, fifteen inch speakers but sounds like complete garbage. They started poking around online and came up with a few solid picks – most of which were shot down by me [much to their dismay]. As grown up as they’d like to think they are, they are still kids – and still have those heavy hands that kids are notorious for. They’ve already been on the receiving end of several of my old portable CD players and shelf units and while they all still work [for the most part], they don’t exactly look as good as when they were handed over to them. So the quest began, some two months ago, to find the best CD player on the market for four young boys … little did I know this would be as trying as picking out a new vehicle. What They Wanted CD player, cassette player [a double deck with record capabilities if possible], AM / FM tuner, AC and DC power, headphone jack, detachable speakers, extended bass boost. Things they wanted but didn’t say were necessities: karaoke capabilities, microphone jack, ability to pick up television broadcasts and a few others that have since escaped me. What I Agreed To I agreed to almost everything except the detachable speakers. These are just an accident waiting to happen and I could completely foresee one of the speakers getting pulled to the ground, dragged around by one of the big dumb dogs or not being placed back onto the stereo properly and it getting destroyed when they went to move it. With a little debating and the ‘patented mother evil eye’, we all agreed on the list and moved on. Thankfully for me, they aren’t brand specific kids [yet] and would go with pretty much any name or make that met their criteria. We all agreed to a $100.00 price cap so I’d end up paying $50.00 and they would each pay $12.50. I really felt that a $100.00 limit was more than fair and in all honesty, if they saw something that was a few dollars more [and worth it] I’d pitch in the extra amount for them. Then came searching the internet, reading reviews at Epinions, visiting stores and trying to narrow down the choices. You’d think they were picking out internal organs the way they debated with each other over the features … “This one has a digital clock…” … “Well this one has lights that flash when the music is playing” … “Ooohhh cool, this one has an alarm clock…”. I love my children, but next time they opt to purchase something that costs more than $20.00 – I will hand them the cash and let them fight it out. What I Learned 1. Looks aren’t everything. If you are going for the sound factor, ignore what the unit looks like. Sure the Barbie and SpongeBob ones might look great and will match your childs room décor but you have to ask how long that trend is going to stick around. Some of the best sounding systems we checked out were the most boring to look at and didn’t have all the funky and cool features – but ultimately you were getting more for your money since you were generally getting more power and a more solid product. Sticking with the basics, like non digital tuning, means there are less things that can break or need repairing. 2. Hi-tech or low-tech?. You have to take into consideration the age of your child, how rough they are on things and the number of people that are going to be using this. If this is just for listening to “their” music then chances are they won’t need 20 speakers that need to be systematically arranged around the room for optimum sound. Take a look at the features – are they digital or knobs? Are they solid enough to put up with a lot of use and abuse? While you are at it, be sure to read over the warranty to see what can be replaced and what is covered. 3. CD, cassette or both?. With prices on CD players dropping all the time and cassettes being hard to come by, ask yourself, and your child, if a cassette player is really a necessity. My boys love to make cassette tapes of them goofing around or reenacting scenes from movies so they definitely wanted a cassette recorded which usually means you have to go with a double deck [one to play and another that can play and record] since the prices are almost the same for a single as they are for the double. Check the CD and cassette doors to see how they function – do they open smoothly, are they solid, do you think they’ll break easily? 4. Speakers. If your kids are anything like mine, they take great pleasure in playing the same song over and over and over again. I am not sure if this is some genetic thing that they grow out of, but they tested my patience on more than a few occasions with songs from television shows [Scooby-Doo, SpongeBob, Dexter’s Laboratory etc]. This is where the speakers come into play. Make sure that they will be able to get a good sound from it but not something that they will be able to turn up so loud that the neighbors start complaining. And whatever you do, if there is a preset for an alarm – make sure that the volume is adjusted before they go to sleep. Nothing like being awakened to the shrills of kids music. This also goes hand in hand with the headphone jack – test out the sound, see if there is a good connection or if you get a lot of crackling and see if there is a way to limit the volume of the headset. 5. Size. There are so many different sized units on the market that you will literally get sick looking at them. The bottom line in this situation is to look at what you are getting verses the size. Some manufacturers go for the “bigger is better” format and make units unnecessarily oversized to try and pimp it. Crack open one of these monsters and you’ll see all the wasted space. Since size wasn’t really an issue in this case, I left it up to them but when they started looking at the mega boom boxes that were almost frightening, I managed to steer them away from them and back to the more practical shelf units. If this is going to be a portable unit, carried from room to room, stick with something that has a solid carrying handle and attached speakers. 6. Features. Does your child really need something that has more controls and gadgets than your home entertainment system? Chances are they don’t, so try to steer them away from them. In the long run it’s just something else that has the possibility of breaking or shutting down the entire unit. You’ll want to make sure that there are enough controls to adjust the sound and options on the unit, but not so many that they get frustrated. Look at the controls for the cassette and CD player – some of the cheaper cassette players don’t have a rewind button so you have to eject the tape, flip it over, fast forward it, eject it, reverse it and then hope you got it where you wanted it. This means a lot of extra work for the machine and internal parts so spend the extra few dollars for something that will last. 7. Power. You’ll want to check out how the stereo is powered, making sure that the cords are all stickered with the UL seal of approval. Battery power should be a real concern if this is going to be a portable unit, moved from room to room or taken with them when they visit friends. Most boomboxes or portable stereos run off of C or D cell batteries – usually from four to eight batteries – which means a pretty big chunk of change when it comes time to replace them. You can check out rechargeable batteries but personally I’ve found that they don’t really last as long as standard batteries. The Nitty Gritty If you know what you are looking for the best thing to do is to hit the stores and check out what they have that would fit your needs. From there you can comparison shop the stores in your area as well as checking online to see if you can get a sweeter deal but don’t forget to check out the shipping fees, return policy [and if they charge a restocking fee] and all the details about the product. Sometimes merchants have the wrong photo listed which means you’ll be reading the product specs of one item but seeing a completely different image. Dealing with an honest and dependable merchant that has a solid customer service department will be a huge help if you need to make a return or you receive an item that was damaged in shipment or is defective. If you are purchasing this from a retail store, make sure you ask about the return policy and how long you have to make a return, if there is a restocking fee on returned non-defective items, if it can be evenly exchanged for a different model and if you are tight on funds – you can ask about the floor models that are often sold at less than half the retail price. Don’t get so wrapped up in the purchasing process that you forget about the kids. If they are chipping in for it or plan on working off the price through chores then you owe it to them to at least listen to their feedback. After all, it’s going to be their stereo system and they deserve to have a little say in which one they end up with – that doesn’t mean you have to give in and let junior get the monster sized, mega-mondo, ultra deluxe, ear shattering boombox, just listen to what they have to say. I let the boys do most of the debating over the different models we looked at and only stepped in when things got a bit too heated. While there was no bloodshed amongst the brood, I did end up putting about a hundred miles on my vehicle, sucking down more Starbucks coffees than I care to divulge and ended up having to lug home a box that was so big a family of four could live in it. You’d think these companies would want to be a little eco-friendly and cut down on the amount of styrofoam they shove in these boxes. All in all, a majority of the shopping experience was a trip, to see my boys bickering over the size of a knob or what the speakers look like [not sound like, just look like] and making their final choice [one of the first ones we looked at] was a tremendous amount of fun. Sure there were some minor scuffles and pout faces but those were all forgotten when we unpacked the box, started hooking everything up and tossed in a few CD’s. As always, thanks for the read! ^V^ Freak ^V^ © 2003 Freak369 Related reviews … Philips ACT758317 Personal CD Player Aiwa XP-V511 Personal CD Player Sony CFM-30TW Single Tape Boombox Fisher SLIM-2000 CD Shelf System Sony MDR W08L Vertical Headphones  |
| Read all comments (3)|Write your own comment |
in Online Stores & Services, Home and Garden, Kids & Family, Wellness & Beauty, Restaurants & Gourmet, Books
- Top 10|
Ads by Google
|
by elzora
by elvisdo
by bmcnichol
by tiffy0380
