JVC KS-FX240 Car Stereo: I got me a new toy!!!
Written: Sep 10 '00 (Updated Dec 15 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Excellent features
Cons: Some distortion, slightly less quality at certain volumes, could be easier to use
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| eharri3's Full Review: JVC KS-FX240 Car Cassette Player |
Well, I finally got sick of my fm modulated CD changer. For those of you not highly versed in car audio language, don't let that bit of jargon fool you into overestimating my expertise or depth of knowledge on the subject, which is limited.
To keep it simple, there are two types of CD changers. Fm modulated changers plug into your factory stereo or any other head unit. They're a type of universal CD changer. They play CD's on an fm radio frequency. Their quality is only as good as your fm radio's. So they sound OK, but a notch below CD quality. They work through a small control unit separate from the rest of your radio that comes with the changer and sends signals to it to control it. Dedicated CD changers work with head units that have built in controls. You get higher quality sound because it's CD quality, not radio quality. Which is what I was looking for.
For a college kid trying to get CD capability without loosing his tape deck, an Fm modulated changer seemed like a good idea at the time. It was cheap, fairly easy to install, and it played CD's. After awhile though I got tired of the slightly inferior sound quality and the unsightly black wire running to the control I had to velcro onto my steering column. And I figured, it's time to step into the big leagues.
And that's when I went out and picked up my JVC KS-FX240 cassette head unit with changer controls, along with the changer itself. I was finally able to get my newest toy installed the other day, and since then I have been making excuses to take long drives.
During those drives, I've noticed several things, both good and not so good. First of all, I guess I've just gotta get used to the tiny buttons on most after-market audio systems. My stock Ford head unit had big, fat buttons that I could have found with fingers the size of pickles. Not the case here.
The volume button is pretty sizeable, but the rest are fairly small and will take some getting used to. The labeling is also a bit small. Buttons for main functions, such as station presets and volume, are logically placed and easy to find. If you're looking to use the more complicated features, such as CD random or repeat play, it gets a bit confusing because some buttons serve multiple functions, which you usually have to choose between by holding it down for longer than usual. For example, if you press the right arrow to change stations the tuner will jump to whatever signal is strongest, or seek. To adjust it one station at a time, or use the tune feature, you have to hold it down for more than two seconds, release, then adjust the stations. A bit confusing, but I think I'll get used to it. Though a better setup would not require as much getting used to. Like for example on my factory setup there were separate buttons to seek out stronger stations and to adjust one station at a time.
It offers 18 FM station presets. This is a useful feature, as I divide my time between living at school in Maryland and at home in Philadelphia. I can program stations from both cities so I don't have to keep changing my preset stations.
When using the CD function you must press any one of 6 numbered buttons to move from one CD to another. I would prefer a toggle type switch like I've seen on many systems where you flip a switch upward or downward repeatedly to choose CD's. It would allow for less concentration on the radio and more on the road.
Other than this one flaw, the CD changer controls work well. The CD's change maybe a second or two more slowly than they did on my fm modulated unit, but still quickly enough, though I wouldn't exactly say that the mechanism works with amazing speed. Probably about average or maybe slightly slower than what you can expect from most mid level changers today, but not enough to make me complain. I counted about 9 seconds between when I chose a new CD and it actually started playing. It's also a bit louder than my older unit when it switches. It's easy to switch between the tuner, tape deck, and CD changer, as they have separate buttons that are clearly marked. I have not heard the changer skip yet, despite having ridden over some of the most pot-hole ridden sections of I-95 at 80-85 mph and even when flying over some of the craters that have developed in my neighborhood due to a neglectful streets department. I also like the removable trays in the cartridge, which allow you to more easily remove CD's by pulling out the whole tray rather than having to pick them out of there with your finger tips. This feature also makes it easier to clean out the trays and the inside of the CD cartridge.
The removable face plate is a useful security feature and comes with its own storage case. I do however question whether the modern car thief is fooled when they come across a 40,000 dollar car that seems to have no stereo.
There were also some other good features I noticed. The changer controls have random and repeat play, and you can choose to use the feature on one CD or to have it skip around to different CD's. The tape deck is also pretty awesome, in that it brings much of the convenience of CD music to cassettes. The fast forward and rewind buttons work two ways. Press them once to fast forward on one song. Keep pressing them and you can choose to have the player skip ahead on the tape to seek out the song of your choice, up to nine songs ahead. There are also repeat and scan functions for the tape deck. I did miss Dolby noise reduction at first. For those who don't know, it's a feature that reduces background hiss on cassette tapes for clearer sound that is closer to CD quality. But then when I actually played my tapes I found that most came through with good enough quality that I could do without it. If you find you have particular sound settings you prefer for different types of music, you can even store them in the memory. There is also a mute button, though a bit confusing because it's marked as something other than mute. It's a useful way to quickly lower the volume.
Other confusing elements included the tape player controls: The button that should be marked 'play' is marked 'tape' instead. And the rewind and fast forward buttons lack a feature I like to see in tape players. The first touch should start the tape rewinding or fast-forwarding, and the second touch of the same button should automatically play it. This deck is lacking that feature, and after you start rewinding you have to find the button that says 'tape' to get it to play again. Just one more thing that forces you to give the radio more attention than you should have to. And one last niggling complaint: The face plate wiggles when in place a bit more than I would like.
Now for the really important stuff, the sound quality. Bass and power are very good. At a medium setting the bass is deep and powerful. I would keep it around 4 or 5. On the really bass heavy songs, even though this thing really pounds out the low tones, putting it on level six causes a bit of distortion. Clarity at low volumes is also impressive, as the sounds remain clear and distinct, though I still sometimes detect just the tiniest bit of hiss, just about nonexistent except for slower songs. But even then there's still very little. The sound detail is also very good, as I can clearly detect all the instruments on a track. And yes, the sound quality of my CD's is noticeably better now. The sound is clearer and more powerful. I just wish the mids and the high tones were as strong as the lows.
Overall I give it a solid B. At 160 watts total, it makes very good power that results in deep, strong bass and detailed sound. At the 89$ I found it for because it's a discontinued model, it's probably just a tiny notch below some of the more expensive systems in clarity and prone to some distortion, but an iresistable bargain for those looking for higher sound quality than a factory head unit, good feature content, and changer controls at a low price. What makes it stand out is not the sound quality, though that is surely nothing to sneeze at, but the abundance of useful features it offers at a low price. If features like CD controls and a full logic tape deck are more important to you than absolutely top notch sound, go for it.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
eharri3
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Member: edward harris
Location: Philadelphia, Pa
Reviews written: 199
Trusted by: 83 members
About Me:
Anybody notice all these bugs always pop up right when it's time to distribute earnings?
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