Audio Reviews

After having some trouble with the picture on my DirecTV, I decided to try replacing the cables. It was probably the best decision I could have made.

If you've got a lot of things connected in a home theater environment, then you probably know how the signal from some wires can somehow cross over to the other wires close by, and cause little zig-zag lines on your television set or static in the sound. Quite annoying, and fairly common with the cheap free-in-the-box wires, it seems.

These cables from Monster not only improved my picture and sound, but I was impressed at how thick and strong they were. They just blow the cheap wires out of the water if you compare them side-by-side. The high quality design, gold plated connectors, and double shielded coatings work wonders in preventing radio interference and static from other wires and sources. There really is a difference, and it shows. Yet another great product from Monster Cable.

Someone recommended checking out the J2HCAMSM6 which is the same as this product but twice as long and $10 less. If the extra length does not interest you, there is a better option.

For the same price as this excellent product, you can buy an even better Monster Cable, model number I203ASVP1M POD 203. It is an all-in-one cable with even better materials and will help minimize tangled wires. The easiest way to find it is to click on the "high performance connection kits" link while browsing the Monster Cable "audio-video hook-up kits." Check it out.

look up the "Monster Cable J2 HCAM SM-6 Hi-8/S-VHS" kit. Although it is titled for camcorders, it has the Super Video 2 (6 ft) and the Interlink 250 (6 ft) for $10 less. Trust me on this one... I went and looked at the packages to compare. You can also look up the products on the Monster Cable homepage. Enjoy listening!

These are the most amazing cables. I just hooked this up to my Polk RT800I speakers, and my Kenwood VR-2080 receiver and the difference is amazing. The bass is more defined, the trebble is crystal clear. I also got the Z2 Bi-wire cable for my center channel and that made a huge difference also. The voices are alot more defined. Worth the money !

Cable that never let you down! Try it, only you know the different.

I've been using my Z2s for about 1 year now... boy, what a difference. I spent a few days "auditioning" these cables when I first purchased them and the difference was immediately apparent. Bass output is so much deeper and clearer! BIG difference with the low frequencies. Without these cables, my speakers sound muddy and undefined. I didn't notice this, until I used the Z2s. Also, they look great and add a professional touch to your system. If you're looking to add clearer lows and better definition to your system, these guys can even make cheap speakers sound good. I'm now getting ready to buy another set for my A/V system.

My setup is.... B&W CDM 7SEs front Sony STR-DA777ES amp (the rest of the setup probably doesn't concern this discussion)

GREAT, GREAT! Installs without essential problems, can work with Rhapsody and Musicmatch and can play files that you have on your hard drive. Comments: a) SimpleCenter installs without problems. The only catch: to downolad firmware upgrade it is necessary to create account and register. If not done, the "download firmware upgrade" button is disabled (firmware upgrade must be done to use Rhapsody). It seems that this is nowhere documented that account must be created first (if at all), b) when creating account, there is no pop-up saying that registration is complete. Otherwise, no complains. Rhapsody and Musicmatch must have Universal Plug and Play servers activated. When done, both services are displayed on Omnifi screen. Can play albums, playlists and single tracks.

Screen is pretty readable (my initial worry was that it will be not) similar in setting and size to XM radio. Pretty complete information available on screen. There are 10 presets and favotites that can be controlled from the remote.

Network setup prety easy. I am using spare Wi-Fi WAP11 bridge from Linksys. No problems. Just plug the cable.

Sound quality OK. Marginally worse than when using ProHIFI from Xitel. However, reasonable even for listening classical music on high quality stereo (if you can accept the quality of mp3...)

Highly recommended. I am going to buy 2 more units. I want to have this little gadget in each room where I have speakers.

This device has transformed the way that I listen to music in my house. I haven't played a CD since I bought it! And best of all, it works with the Rhapsody service- it's like having access to thousands of CD's on my stereo. Highly recommend it!!

I love the DMS1 - setup was a piece of cake and using it is really easy. The best part is the ability to stream Rhapsody! Omnifi's tech support is very responsive as well. After trying over solutions - I cant recommend this enough!

I needed a new player and decided to go with a changer (oh, I'm so glad I did. They are so much more convienent than the single disc players). I wanted a quality player that didn't make a spinning noise when playing discs. I was tired of hearing spinning noise at quiet points in the movies. I also wanted a player that had quality slow motion capabilities and progressive scanning.

I did the research, shopped around, and talked to people and I settled on this model from Onkyo. Everything I was hoping for in my player has been realized.

Only complaint is that the remote is not "ergonomically" designed and has no backlight. But that said, the remote is more sturdy and of better quality than some ergonomically/backlit remotes i've had. And the Onkyo remote has more "quick access" remote buttons. A single button leads you right where you want to get to. For example, while watching a movie, if I missed some dialogue, I can just hit the "Subtitles" button on the remote and rewind a little to see it again with subtitles. Hit same button again to turn off the subtitles. So the remote is good too but not awesome in intuitive layout/placement of buttons. But the remote is also the least important thing to me because if it is a serious problem one can always get a universal "high-tech" remote if they don't already have one.

Best DVD player I've owned yet. I'm totally happy with it. i wanted to write this to let others know my experience who might also be wondering about this player. Good luck in your selection.

I did not buy this through Amazon, but I have to let everyone know, it is an awesome product. If you run across the DV-CP701, stay away. It has problems with showing green tint artifacts on backgrounds. The new 702 however has no problems and performs beautifully, especially when paired with the HTR S-760 Component HTiB. Great purchase, if you can find one!

This DVD player has been worth the money. Granted, it is more expensive than many others, but read the reviews on others...they all have problems. The Sony 665 has problems and Consumer Reports wasn't impressed with picture quality. Pansonics have glitches with playback, JVCs are almost as expensive...there is a new Toshiba out that might be worth considering.

The video and audio on this player are impressive...and I've had a Toshiba and Panasonic 5-disc changer in the past. The audio out of this player (digital connection to a Yamaha receiver) is incredible, much better than the others. There is a button for random play on the remote. I read people complaining about the noise on the Onkyo 701...there isn't a noise issue on the 702. People also complained of long times to change discs on the 701 and 702...this is still ture but it is no slower than the Panasonic F87 (which I owned and returned) and the F87 claims to have a fast disk exchange.

Having the 6th disk is nice and ordering it through Amazon/Crutchfield is an added bonus. The player arrived 24 hours after I ordered and I used the free/standard shipping. The item shipped from the east coast, so if you live out west, you might have to wait a day or two.

Great product, no complaints, looks sharp, awesome performace. Highly recommend, despite the price.

In The Past three years ive had four stereos this on one is the best because i can turn it up full blast without distortion ive also hooked 2 subs up to a 10" and A 8" it and it surely pushes them....it never shuts off or overloads...and the sound quality on it is amazing...

You haven't lived until you've gotten one of these suckers. I had a smaller stereo but this is so much better. You really have to hear to belive it. I got it when it was on sale for $130. I looked everyware for a good price for these and this was the best price. So if you need a stereo get this one it also works for a ipod.

This is the latest model and I got one this week. You simply have to hear it to truly appreciate how awesome the AK320 is. It puts my previous Sony hifi to shame. There is absolutely no distortion even at maximum volume and the bass is earth shattering. The reason why its sound quality is so good is because only Panasonic use BI AMP wiring which makes it sound as good as a professional studio speaker. This hifi has a stunning design and the graphics are cool. It plays MP3s as well. I've never seen such value at this price. This is the BEST hifi at this price. Buy it!!! Its the latest model.

This player is amazing small, sleek and beautiful. I have the Philips 401, loved it for it small factor using 8cm cds, but found it a bit too bulky. When I got this, Philips 431, my jaws dropped, 3/4 as small and twice as beautiful. I personally think this is the best deal for money for mp3 players. Here are my reasons:

1. Size. It's true that you can fit 2-3x times more songs on a normal size cd, but the normal size cd player are much too big compared to this. I have the iriver-350 as well, thin and nice but still too big compared to this exp 431.

2. Storage. One could argue that memory-based/hard disk based mp3 players are much smaller than this. But what about the cost? I find the cost for memory/hard disk mp3 players way too expensive. If a cd get scratched, we simply write another cd. But if you hard disk gets screwed up, there goes your couple of hundred dollars. As for the memory-based players, it's too much effort and time to download different songs each time. And for that money that you are paying???

Oh, and did I forget to mention that this wonderful player reads id3 tags as well, so you know what song you are playing!! And with the 480sec skip protection, you can easily bring it with you anywhere :)

I bought this awesome Mini CD/Mp3 player two day ago... IT'S EXCELENT!!! Seriously, don't serch any more. It has hundreds of functions, it works prefectly well. I dicided to buy exactly this player because of several reasons:
1º-It is amazingly small, you can take it around in any pocket
2º-Lots of songs fit in 1 Pocket CD if recorded in Mp3 format (between 40-45 songs, 4 and a half minutes each)
3º-The music quality of Mp3 format is as good as WAV (wich makes it better than a mini Disc that uses ATRAC 3)
In fact I couldn't beleive the amazing sound quality that PHILIPS has put into this particular player; I'm a maniac when it comes to music quality and both the player and the headphones ROCK!
Mini CD/Mp3 players are not common at all but definately SHOULD!
Believe, me if you are looking for the same things I wrote above in a player, buy this one... you won't regreat it; seriously.

Stop shopping, this is the one to get. And this is the store to buy from, with Amazon's top service.

These are the things I like about this MP3 player:

Quality construction, small size, nice layout of controls. It has a slide switch on the back to disable all the buttons, so you won't disrupt playback when it is in your pocket. The skip and search controls act like the ones on a CD player. You can press the forward and reverse buttons to go to the next or previous song. If you hold them down, they scan through the song. There are album forward and reverse buttons to skip directly to the next or previous album on your disc. Albums are a group of MP3's in a directory or folder on the disc, which you determine when you burn the disc. It recognizes and displays title and artist tags in the MP3 files if they are there. It also recognizes Joliet-formatted discs so you can use long filenames for the songs. I recommend keeping the filenames to less than 50 characters long because some players have trouble with very long filenames. This player displays the first 39 characters of long filenames, and otherwise does not appear to have a problem with long filenames. There are 2 levels of bass boost and 1 level of treble boost. The battery compartment is inside the lid underneath where you put the CD. The compartment has a hinged lid, so it won't come off and get lost. A remote control comes with the player that can optionally be used between the main unit and the headphones. Other accessories included are a wrist strap, AC adapter, and one blank disc.

These are the things I like about the pocket CD format:

Pocket CDs are so much fun. This format gives you more freedom from your computer, compared to relying on your computer's hard disk space and repeatedly downloading onto just a few memory sticks. You can actually afford enough blank media to convert your whole CD, tape, and record collection to pocket CDs. Disks are typically 210 MB each and very inexpensive when you buy a spindle, and each will hold 3 to 4 hours of music. I like putting whole box sets of Cds on one or two pocket CDs. The CD's you burn for this will also play in most DVD players, so if you have your DVD player connected to your stereo, there you have another way to listen to your collection.

for those of you looking for quality at a good price, this is the way to go. I began building my home theatre on a shoe string budget. After the TV, the speakers, the tuner and the DVD player, I was a little tapped for cash to spend on things like the tape deck. However, we all need one. So, I got this one from amazon. Its proved to be indestructible and very reliable. I've had no problems and it even survived being left in a snowstorm by my moron room mate. it still works like brand new! and the price, you cant go wrong. ... ! save some money and get a good tape deck!

I own the same deck except one model up. I have had it for four years and it worked flawless. I decided I needed another deck but not so many features. I ordered this Pioneer CT-W205R Auto Reverse Cassette Deck from Amazon at a great low price. It arrived within days (I paid cheapest shipping) Plugged it in ran some tests on all aspects and was more than pleased. Also love the "ONE YEAR PARTS/LABOR WARRANTY" The quality of the duplicating was great at both normal and high speed. I tested DB loss from master to copy. On normal duplication I saw about a one DB loss .On the high speed duplication I saw about a 1 ½ to 2 DB loss. But copy of master tape was still nice and bright in sound. Did not hear much loss at high end. Very quite during actual copy process. As usual typical noisy reverse mechanisms but my other one has that for last four years. Just nature of deck design. I think I will buy another soon because Cassette decks are going to be in short supply with in next few years. Thanks Pioneer and Amazon.com Great Product/Great Service.

My stereo is the focal point of my small apartment. Now, a large part of my music collection is on tape. And, if one has been shopping recently, its getting harder and harder to find a decent tape deck. everybody is buying CD and minidisc. most stores carry very expensive tape decks if any at all. After much hunting, I purchased the pioneer deck above. Its truly great. its got a good clean dolby sound and the one button dubbing is sweet. if you are looking for a quality piece to add to your home sytem. this one is cheap and well founded. go with this one. you wont regret it.

The best thing about this player is that it works the way you would expect it to. So many times the buttons on electronic stuff appear to be designed by someone from Mars. Also, the player reads the file names and plays them in the order that they are sorted. (No more renaming mp3 to something like 01-001.mp3) Further, the item shows up as an external harddrive on your computer and it allows you to just click and drag mp3s to it. It also functions as a flash drive which you can use to bring files home from work.

All around it is a good item.

i can store more than 40 songs and im very glad!!!!! :)

I am not a whiz with electronic gadgets or computers, but I had very little trouble transferring my favorite CDs onto my personal audio player (PAP). The MusicMatch Jukebox software is easy to use. However, my PC (with Windows XP) didn't allow me to use MusicMatch to transfer my tunes to my PAP (something about newer files on the Lyra that didn't match older ones on my PC), so I just moved files directly by dragging them and dropping them. I accessed the files through my PC's control panel, and the files transferred very quickly. I had no problems at all transferring converted MP3Pro files that way.

The RD1090 has easy-to-use buttons and a control knob. There are twenty settings for programming tracks. I used this feature to mark the beginning song of each CD I've transferred. This makes it easy to scroll from one set of songs to the next. I also used MusicMatch's MP3Pro setting when I transferred my CDs into files, so the song quality is enhanced and the music files are more compressed than they would be in MP3 format. The Lyra delivers rich sound quality, and there are six DSP (digital song profile?) settings: flat, bass, pop, jazz, rock and tone. In the "tone" mode the bass and treble levels can be adjusted to suit listening enhancement. I could tell a difference when I toggled from one setting to another. Since I have different genres of music on my PPA, this is a nice feature.

The Lyra RD 1090 comes with an armband carrying case, a neck strap, and "e.clipz" headphones. The headphones have decent sound quality and are comfortable when clipped behind the ear correctly.

I think this is the perfect way to carry and listen to 8 hours of music. There's also an external memory card slot to upgrade memory (SD and MMC compatible). The PAP's case seems sturdy, and the backlit LCD display is easy to read. I highly recommend this sleek, easy-to-use PAP. If I can figure out how to use it, anyone can!

I started out with a Rio Volt to play my MP3s on the go. What a piece of junk. Then I purchased a Nomad Jukebox. It holds 10gigs of MP3s, but the battery life is short, and I wanted something relatively cheap I could afford to leave in my car. Enter the Samsung MP3 CD player which I found on sale and with a substantial rebate that rivals the price of other portable CD players. It plays my CD-Rs and CD-RWs almost flawlessly. (I blame the few glitches I've encountered on scratches and cheap media.) I listen to audio books and text-to-speech MP3s (as well as music) in my car during my commute, and the last track memory (a.k.a., resume) feature is an absolute must. This player also starts up a lot faster than any other portable MP3 player I've seen. Battery life is good...maybe 8 or more hours using rechargeable batteries. I've owned enough portable music players to know to just throw away whatever headphones/ear buds that are included, and use my own. I'm going to buy another one of these players for use around my house as soon as I see it on sale again and throw out my Nomad.

I bought this player to use during my daily 4 miles of walking around my neighborhood, so the anti-skip feature was important. The player does a very good job with the anti-skip protection. As long as I carry the player above my waist so that my leg movement doesn't jostle it a lot, the player works quite well, with only an occasional minor glitch. If not moving, the player works perfectly.

The player has a 4-line display that gives you a lot of information, particularly with mp3. Battery life is excellent and the display shows you when the batteries are getting weak.

A lot of people complain about the cheap headphones that tyically come with portable players. I personally found the Samsung's headphones (they're the clip-over-the-ears type) to be pretty good.

The player handles my homemade CD-R disks and the commercial CDs flawlessly. It did not work well with my CD-RW disks. I suspect that the problem lies with my old H-P CD-RW drive rather than the Samsung player, since I've had other problems with the drive.

One feature I really like is the "hold" switch. Turn it on and none of the other buttons on the player will work. This prevents accidentally pressing a button (such as the "off" button!) while I'm out walking and it's bouncing around a bit in the carrying case.

In summary, I'm very pleased with this player. For the price I paid, it was a great deal.

Fully satisfied. Outstanding sound quality. Addition of FM would have been better.