Can't complain for the price I paid!
Written: May 30 '02
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Pros: Cheap, variable features, feature laden with Remote Control.
Cons: Headset quality
The Bottom Line: A portable unit that has lots of bells and whistles, yet is cheap to buy.
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| casualsuede's Full Review: Aiwa XP-V716 Personal CD Player |
In the past, portable CD players were big, bulky and had little features. Now, as the new millenium passes us by, portable CD players are becoming more feature laden. However, it is hard to distinguish one model from another, since all of them are the typical One-bit (read: Bitstream) processor units that provides decent sound at a cheaper price than multi-bit units.
However, one area of differentiation has been how much "anti-skip" buffer the players have. While the V716C does not provide a unique amount, it provides an interesting twist to the Anti-skip buffer and also has other features that does not appear in even expensive players.
Choices!
There are two items that can be varied. The first is the Anti-skip buffer. The DSP chip will drain the battery quicker if it is turned on, but Aiwa has created a two-setting buffer in which the lower setting will preserve some battery life while providing protection. The first setting is at 48 seconds, which is now the industry standard. At this setting, I could not get the unit to skip short of throwing it down on the ground and breaking it. The second setting is set at 12 seconds and it does a fine job when it comes to light activity, such as walking, but I did get it to skip when it came to more vigorous activity.
The second is the bass boost. With manufacturers like Sony, it's either no bass or bass overkill. The Aiwa unit has two settings. I leave it in the first setting and it provides enough bass, while saving on the battery life.
There are other small touches I like. First, there are three settings for the battery indicator and if the battery becomes low, it leaves enough time to change it.
Another is that the unit can recharge Ni-Cad and Ni-MH batteries when it is plugged into a car or AC adapter. It came in handy when I was travelling cross country and an outlet for recharging my batteries was not readily available.
The unit came with a car kit set, which includes the car charger/power unit and the adapter which plugs into the car. The cassette did not fit snugly and I am forced to jiggle with the cassette adapter roughly 50% of the time (it would only be heard on one side of the speakers). Annoying, but no big deal. The remote that comes with the unit also works well up to 5 feet away, but it is narrow and friends using off to the side does not get picked up (may not be a bad thing afterall).
The sound? It was decent, warm and fairly detailed. It was not as good as my old Kenwood unit, that used 18 bit D/A converters, but it was more than acceptable. It also had very good output and volume was never an issue. The headset is the standard piece of crap and I highly suggest that you replace them with a good headsets (I recommend headsets with Neodymium magnets that are on ear, not in ear or bud style).
For the price I paid, this was one of the best investments in audio I made in 2001.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 59.00
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Epinions.com ID:
casualsuede
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Location: toronto
Reviews written: 161
Trusted by: 9 members
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