JVC MX J500 Stereo Mini System

Pros: Excellent sound, nice looks, great value
Cons: No surround sound, one shared set of control buttons for both tape decks, no subwoofer

The MX-J500 produces 120 Watts per channel (RMS, according to manufacturer’s claims). It features 3-way speakers (6 5/16" woofer, 2" midrange and 1 5/8" tweeter) and bass reflex for better bass reproduction.

The system...

Pros: Excellent sound and presence, 3-CD capacity, simple, oodles of power
Cons: Somewhat unattractive, bright display

First, let me start by saying that I love this thing. I have owned upwards of 5 stereo systems in the past three years, and none have come even remotely close to reaching the sweetness of this thing.

Of course, I originally wanted the J900,...

Pros: Great sounding and looks very nice.
Cons: None.

I highly recommend this to anyone that is looking for great sound and a nice looking system. The roll out control panel is one of those little extra details that make this system stand out. This system impressed me with its ease of use and the JVC name...

Pros: Sound is good.
Cons: Ugly. Plus, see the rest of my comments.

This stereo was given to me as a gift, otherwise I would never own such an ugly piece of equipment.

I've owned it for about a year and a half now and over time this is what has happened:

- The disk changer, noisy to begin with, got noisier.
- The volume used to ramp up to MAXIMUM (!!!) all by itself without warning until someone told me to twist every wire, including all the speaker wire, to minimize interference. It seems to have worked, with only the occasional violent volume attacks.
- The CD drawers often won't open, telling me that there is NO DISC.
- The CD play buttons are often completely unresponsive.
- It will only play one CD then stop, instead of playing all three. It tells me, guess what, NO DISC.

I have hit the thing, I admit, but it deserved it. I can't wait till it is completely dead then I will scour the garage sales and second hand stores for reliable and well-built stereo components from the 1970s.

DOWN WITH CHEAP JUNK.