Best Buy in Audio Shelf Systems
Written: Jun 21 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Clean, Crisp Sound....More than ample bass when needed....300 Watts!!!...Attractive Price
Cons: Digital Sound Controls are a little confusing
The Bottom Line: All in all this is a great little unit. The sound is outstanding, and the price is right. This unit is a must-see!
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| rusttribe's Full Review: Philips FWC80 CD Shelf System |
The review I am writing is actually for the Philips FW-C870, which is basically the same model as the one in the picture, but with solid wood speaker boxes, rather than the cheap plasic ones. (More as to why this is a bonus later)
If you are like me, you find shopping for a shelf system to be utterly confusing. In the stores it is always so hard to tell what sounds good and what doesn't. The store employees generally know squat. And there are usually like 30 different models and brands to choose from.
The first store I looked at had a number of top models from Sony, Awia, Philips, and Panasonic. Many of the models all seemed to have the basic features, and the big variances were wattage, size, looks, and price. Some of the units looked nice and simple, but were over $500! Others were only around $200 with good features but were god awful ugly. (Espically some of those crazy JVC units and this one Philips one that is black and orange!!!) Who designs these things?
So I went to another store with even more choices. I wasn't looking for one with a ton of worthless features, just one that played music that sounded crisp, sharp, with just enough bass, and that was affordable. In the second store, among all these ugly big plastic boxes, was this one unit with solid wood speakers. The sales clerk informed me that the unit just came in and was the only one they carried with the wood. After listening to a Dave Matthews Band CD that they clerk had in this machine (the Philips FW-C870), and then some others, i realized two things. First, Philips makes a pretty mean machine. OF all the ones i listened to, theirs were the best sounding. Second, the wood speakers makes all the difference.
Okay, now some details about this unit. It has 300 Watts, in a 150 X 2 configuration. It has a 3-CD slide out changer, but a nice feature lets you change 2 of the discs while one is still playing. (I love that feature). It does have a pretty garash and cluttered display, but it can be dimmed down or even turned off. One of the nicest features is Philips new wOOx Bass System. This feature gives you 3 different dynamic bass levels, which really do get the job done. It does have all of the different tone and scene settings. For example you can set the system to know you are playing rock or jazz in a hall or disco. Worthless features if you ask me!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
rusttribe
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Location: Sacramento, CA
Reviews written: 7
Trusted by: 0 members
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