Not the smallest, but not far off the latest and greatest...
Written: Jul 11 '01
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Pros: Small, light, good battery life, LCD remote, 40-sec anti-shock
Cons: Wall battery charger, not made of magnesium alloy, may dent easily
The Bottom Line: Not the smallest or lightest, but the best of the older crop of MD-Players by far...
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| RobF1UK's Full Review: Aiwa AM-HX50 Personal MiniDisc Player |
Aiwa AM-HX50 MiniDisc Player
Reviewed on Wendesday 11th July 2001
Foreword & Disclaimer
Please not that all the opinions and views expressed in this review are my own. Your own personal experience(s) with any and all of the units mentioned my differ from my own, so please do not take anything here as fact. This review is based on the first few days’ initial use and may be subject to updates as my experience with each unit continues and expands. I would also like to mention that this is my first serious review of an audio product, so forgive me any
Design & Size
The design of the Aiwa AM-HX50 is in my opinion a mix of more contemporary and older design cues. One Half of the fascia is very smooth and uncluttered; whilst the other side displays the corrugated look seen on the aforementioned R90. Personally I am not a fan of the corrugated style, but it may indeed appeal to others. The ‘smooth’ (and uncluttered) style has been seen more recently on the latest crop of MDPs, such as the Sony MZ-E900, Aiwa HX100/150 and Panasonic SJ-MJ88. The overall design theme of the unit’s fascia is a large circular feature with incorporates a smaller ‘window’ on the left, in which the MD being used (played) can be seen. All of the controls located on the player have been kept out of the way on the side(s) of the unit.
The size of the HX50 actually shows the beginning of the trend for smallest possible size. Comparing the HX50 to my Sony MZ-R900, the two are very close in dimensions. The biggest difference is on the “thickness” of the two units. To my eye, the HX50 appears to be around half to two-thirds the thickness of the R900. This is easily explained by the fact that the HX50 is a player, whilst the R900 is a recorder. In terms of weight, the claimed figure for the HX-50 (including it’s rechargeable gumstick battery) is 92g. This compares against 57g for the SJ-MJ88, which is one of the latest 2001 players. However it is worth noting that the HX50 is constructed from aluminium and not magnesium alloy, making it heavier to begin with.
Operation
This player operates in much the same way as other portables. On the player itself, there are buttons for Play/Stop, FF, RW and Volume +/-. Whilst being small, the buttons themselves are not overtly small (as on some of the latest portables). They are bigger than the buttons on the main unit of the R900. During operation, as there is no LCD on the main unit of the HX50, a small LED is located next to the buttons, which flashes red when the player is in use (and obviously doesn’t flash when the player is not in use). The controls for Bass (DSL) and the display of disc/track titles and times, volume level and battery level are handled exclusively by the remote.
My single biggest dislike about the HX50 as a whole evolves around the charging of the ‘gumstick’ Ni-MH internal battery. Unlike the R900, where the AC adapter simply plugs into the unit and charges the battery whilst it still resides in its compartment, you need to first remove the HX50’s ‘gumstick’ and place into a battery charger, which then charges the battery whilst being plugged into a wall. My main gripe is that there is no indicator for when the battery has become fully recharged, and constantly removing the ‘gumstick’ to charge creates un-necessary wear and tear on the battery compartment door. It is also worth noting that the manual states that the Ni-MH rechargeable ‘gumstick’ takes 8hrs to recharge, whilst here on T-Station the figure is 70mins.
Features
The extras functions of the HX-50 are a mix of standard and more contemporary features as seen on the R900: In no particular order:
- 40sec Ant-Shock memory
- 19hrs Ni-MH battery life / 27hrs AA battery life / 50hrs combined battery life
- Backlit remote
- Timer function
- 3-Level DSL (Bass)
As with most portables the HX50 can use AA batteries via the use of a, in this case, transparent external battery compartment/case that attaches to the base of the player via a screw locking system. The timer function is operated exclusively from the remote and can be set is 10 minute intervals from 10 minutes up to 3 hours. This feature has most recently been seen on the Sony MZ-R900 and MZ-E900
Remote
The remote supplied with the HX50, is the same remote used with majority of Aiwa MD portables produced at the time. The remote part number is RM-HX30. As already described previously in this review, most of the units main functions are operated from the remote. DSL (in three stages from off to DSL3) is operated by the DSL/Enter button on the face of the remote. Displaying track titles and disc titles is operated from the DISP/Search button, also on the face of the remote. I am not going to needless bore you with every detail of the remote.
My initial impression of the remote was that is was not that solidly constructed compared to my Sony MZ-R900 remote. While this still remains true in my opinion, it is not as poor as I initial thought, and especially after getting used to the headphone jack placement on the remote (next to the cable attached to the remote, unlike other manufacturer’s remote deigns which place the jack at the other end of the remote). The backlit also seems to be a slightly more vivid (at least to my eyes) green colour compared to the shade of green my R900’s remote displays. Finally, the clip on the HX50 remote seems nowhere near as study as the remote clip on the R900 (and in my opinion that is saying something!).
Accessories
The accessories supplied with the HX50 are pretty much standard fare, they include:
- The backlit LCD remote (RM-HX30)
- Stock Aiwa earphones
- Battery charger
- Ni-MH ‘gumstick’ battery and battery case
- External AA battery case
- Case (pouch, basically the same sort of pouch supplied with most MD portables)
As previously mentioned, I’m not much of a fan of the battery charger supplied and mostly don’t use the supplied pouch either (already owning a couple of cases I prefer to carry my portables around in). As with all portables, the stock headphones are terrible, and I use my Sony MDR-EX70LP’s.
Conclusions
Overall, for the price I paid for the HX50 (£80 UK), I am impressed with it. So far the unit seems very robust (which I like, especially considering it is made of aluminium and not magnesium alloy). I do still prefer the remote supplied with the R900, but saying that the HX50 remote does beat the R900 remote by being flatter whilst clipped to my belt. The HX50 remote also seems to stay in the position it is clipped longer than the R900 remote too, but this could just be me.
I have also been pleased with the sound quality produced by the HX50. Comparing it again to my R900, the sound seems to be warmer than the Sony, but in the same respect the R900 sound seems crisper and more defined. I do also prefer the bass (DSL) on the HX50 – it is less intrusive than the bass (sound presets) on the R900. However, the R900 does trump the HX50 by offering more adjustability on bass and treble, which means that I can find a better personal setting than on the HX50 (not that the HX50 offers this feature).
To finish, I would like to say that the real test (after everything already mentioned) of a players ‘desirability factor’ is other people’s reaction to it. In this department the HX50 succeeds admirable. Here is the situation: I have a girlfriend who is impressed by very little in the way of ‘gadgets’ (she is a person who is of the opinion that one CD-Walkman is as good as the next, irrespective of features and anti-shock etc). Her first reaction upon seeing the HX50 was “what is that?” followed by grabbing it and playing around with it. She has since borrowed it (after making me make copies of most of her U2 collection from CD to MD) for an undisclosed period of time. Basically she likes it - a lot. That means that I won’t be seeing or using it more than fleetingly for a while (not that I mind) :-)
Final Grades (out of 10):
Design & Size 8
Operation 8
Remote 7
Accessories 7
Overall 7.7 – Not bad for a 1999 MDP vs. a 2001 Sony R900 (MDR)!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 120
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Epinions.com ID:
RobF1UK
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Reviews written: 1
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