The first store I looked at had a number of top models from Sony, Awia, Philips, and Panasonic. Many of the models all seemed to have the basic features, and the big variances were wattage, size, looks, and price. Some of the units looked nice and simple, but were [a lot]! Others were only around [not as much] with good features but were god awful ugly. (Espically some of those crazy JVC units and this one Philips one that is black and orange!) Who designs these things?
So I went to another store with even more choices. I wasn't looking for one with a ton of worthless features, just one that played music that sounded crisp, sharp, with just enough bass, and that was affordable. In the second store, among all these ugly big plastic boxes, was this one unit with solid wood speakers. The sales clerk informed me that the unit just came in and was the only one they carried with the wood. After listening to a Dave Matthews Band CD that they clerk had in this machine (the Philips FW-C870), and then some others, i realized two things. First, Philips makes a pretty mean machine. OF all the ones i listened to, theirs were the best sounding. Second, the wood speakers makes all the difference.
Okay, now some details about this unit. It has 300 Watts, in a 150 X 2 configuration. It has a 3-CD slide out changer, but a nice feature lets you change 2 of the discs while one is still playing. (I love that feature). It does have a pretty garash and cluttered display, but it can be dimmed down or even turned off. One of the nicest features is Philips new wOOx Bass System. This feature gives you 3 different dynamic bass levels, which really do get the job done. It does have all of the different tone and scene settings. For example you can set the system to know you are playing rock or jazz in a hall or disco. Worthless features if you ask me!
What I don't like about this Philips FW-C870 was the two 3-way maple wooden speakers. The two wooden speakers could very easily created a lot of dirts, dents, and scratches at the bottom by moving both of it around. There were also no four small circle grip tape to avoid damages.
A certain effect can be good for a certain type of music (instrumental for example) but not so good with a noisier and fuller sound (rock). It is important that the user is attentive for the best configuration for each music type. The configuration OPTIMAL is reasonable for all of the music. In the case of music with few different instruments, the effect HALL is fantastic. Another important tuning is the level of WOOX that should be chosen music by music.
A thing that impresses plenty is the design, reminding the seventies. It's a pity that the possibility of turning completely off the display doesn't exist. The display is very colorful in comparison with the sobriety of the set. The set is even more attractive without the grilles. But one should think very well in wear out the grilles if he's children all around.
I don't know why is so difficult to find this model here in Brazil. When we've found one, new, its price was only US$ 215.00. I only can imagine this seventies look hasn't attracted so many people as the JVC MX-GT90 GigaTube (ugly, ugly, ugly).
Our apartment is trembling now since the quality of the sound is so good in louder volumes that we don't notice the high acoustic power we're spreading. We hope our neighbors love the same musical stuff than we.
