Awesome system with great bass
Written: Dec 28 '00 (Updated Jul 03 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Lots of features, awesome sound, great bass (built-in powered subwoofers!), easy to use
Cons: Subwoofer speaker wire jacks are pain-in-the-butt spring clip terminals.
The Bottom Line: About as good as a mini system could get.
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| samdavidowicz's Full Review: Aiwa NSX-D77 CD Shelf System |
I was ready to get rid of my piece of junk GPX stereo with no bass and very little volume and upgrade to something bigger. I like Aiwa's stuff very much, and at the beginning of august, I saved up for three weeks to buy their top line mini stereo system, the NSX-D77.
The box that is comes in is huge, so you might have trouble putting it in a compact vehicle. It was worth the wait, and the trouble. Unpacked, the unit is a big larger than the other mini systems aiwa has, but not by much. It's still small compared to my GPX! Because of all the features Aiwa crammed into this guy (more on that later), this unit is pretty heavy, especially the speakers (it's not super-heavy, buy it's pretty heavy by mini system standards). We have the older version on my parents' bedroom, the NSX-A959, which is awesome, and I expected the D77 to be as good.
Like the 959, the unit's amp is divided into two parts: built-in subwoofer (one in each speaker) and main drivers. The D77 has 120w/ch for the subs, and 40w/ch mains, for a combined total of 160 watts x2. Setup was easy except when it came to the subwoofer connections: while the main section uses a simple RCA type jack, the subs use + & - spring clip terminals. Ooooh, those terminals. Come on guys, can't you put banana plugs on instead? Why the fuss? Because if you don't put the speaker wire tips in far enough, you won't get good sound. Insert the lead until it first stops, nothing more. Believe me, it took a few minutes of experimenting to finally get it to get optimal sound. (Generally, a newbie would probably have no trouble getting to work - even the spring clip termals. He'll just have to not push them in too far)
After that, everything was a breeze.
The features here are excellent: 4 EQ presets, 4 adjustable EQs (for tweaking the sound, from the lows to highs), 8 DSP settings (4 adjustable), full-feature 5 disc CD changer, duel tape deck, digital tuner (which has excellent reception if you mount the antenna right), an auxillery in/output, an optical digital output, and a great remote. Not to mention everything is easy to work with. So, how is the sound, you ask? For this unit's relatively small size, the sound is amazing, with the subs producing totally awesome bass. Despite the fact that the max volume level is 50, you rarely need to turn it above 20, no matter what you're listening to. Oh, by the way, this unit feature jacks for Aiwa's surround speakers (model SX-R275, around $100 - but you can probably find them for less), so get those and hook up you VCR or DVD player (I have both hooked up) and have a great, cheap home intertainment system. No matter what you listen to, this is, in my mind, the mini system to get.
Follow-up: Unfortunately, Aiwa discontinued this model and replaced it with a new one. So good luck trying to find one. Also, it's almost impossible to find the surround speakers. The only place that has them is Aiwa direct. You must call them at 1-800-buy-aiwa to get them.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
samdavidowicz
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Member: Sam Davidowicz
Location: Tamarac
Reviews written: 24
Trusted by: 2 members
About Me:
I work tech support and also do freelance tech work.
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