Conference cookie::notes$archive:cd_v1

        i got one...the sound is great is great but...

        you can't crank it above 3 which is a slightly above 
        average listening level. why?  because the CD will then 
        skip from the vibrations made by the speakers.

        it has a cassette deck which, tho' i was doubtful, does
        make an incredible difference between taping from CD as
        opposed to radio/record/cassette...

        cost...around $200 thru none other than my gas credit card!
        they sent me an ad and i figured what the...well, anyway i
        bought it and i'm very happy with it even with the drawbacks.

       
        tlr

              p.s.  just as an afterthought...why would they make a 
                    portable CD player, such as mine, and then turn
                    around and tell you not to jiggle/jumble it etc.
                    because of it's sensitivity???  make sense???

    Anyone out there have a "Boom_Box" that they can recommend ?
    
    tom

    I got one from DAK for my wife for Christmas.  It's the $229 one
    on page 8 of their latest catalog.  It has CD player, AM/FM Stereo,
    dual casette decks with normal/CrO2 and high (double) speed dubbing,
    and a 5 band equalizer.  The "secret" brand name that they won't
    tell you is "Audio Sound Lab", a reasonably good Korean "private
    label" brand that has made equipment sold by GE and other well known
    names.
    
    PROs:  The speakers that come with it really sound quite reasonable
    for their size.  There are terminals on the back of the unit where
    the speakers attach which make it simple to attach better speakers
    whenever they're available.  The high speed dubbing works well.
    You can record from cassette/radio/CD and the tapes sound pretty
    good, too.  The headphone output is enough to convince me that the
    internal electronics are really good for a boom box.  The loudness
    switch actually does something worth doing (for a change).  It
    can be set to play tapes sequentially.  The CD is programmable for
    30 tracks, and will repeat the whole disc or the program indefinitely.
    There is a CD output with RCA jacks on the back for connecting it
    to your "real" system.  It can be powered from a car (probably directly
    with no voltage conversion) since it wants 13.7 volts input.  (The
    cable for car power is NOT included.)  The radio is quite sensitive
    and sounds good.
    
    CONs: It really isn't as heavy as the DAK ad claims, but it is big
    enough to be awkward to carry around.  It's nearly all plastic.  The
    CD player doesn't have random play and you have to pause it to skip
    to the next track; if it isn't paused it does "fast forward".  You
    can only find time remaining when you first insert the disc, not
    anytime.  The CD output on the back is ONLY the CD - the tapes and
    radio are NOT available there.  The hinge on the back of the CD
    player cover will really not keep dust out of the player, so be
    prepared to clean it regularly (which is easy to do).  If you want
    to take it out into wilderness, it takes NINE size D cells to power
    it.
   
    All in all, we're quite happy with it.  It sounds nice with the
    supplied (detachable) speakers, we don't plan to carry it around
    a lot or to power it from battery.  And it sounds nothing less than
    GREAT with "real" speakers attached, or fed into my regular stereo
    system.  The 5 band equalizer is more useful than you would think
    when listening to "normal" tapes, less useful listening to chrome
    tapes.  I can't say much about reliability, sice we've only had
    it a few weeks, but the sound of the CD unit is indistinguishable
    from my Sony when played through my big stereo system.  And with
    DAK's 30 day, no questions asked refund policy it seems worth a
    try.
    
    If anyone's interested, the DAK order number is 1-800-325-0800 24
    hours a day.  The order # is 4920 and it's $229 + $9 shipping.
    

    
    I've used the Sharp 'boom box' CD player...It has dual cassette,
    AM/FM radio, CD player, and a three band equilizer.  The size is
    small enough to carry around, but it eats up 8 D sized batteries.
    The sound is okay.  It sounds better when hooked up to real speakers.
    It costs about $299 from Lechmere.  In general I would recommend
    it for the versatility but not for the sound.  Portable CD players
    hooked up to portable speakers sound considerably better, in my
    opinion.

    Thank you all for the input so far. I'll pass it on to the "buyer".
    
    tom

        re .3 and the description of the "boom box" from DAK -
        
        My sister got one of those from DAK.  After about six weeks,
        she hit the pause to answer the phone, and the CD player
        never played again.
        
        She never moved it from the (clean) place she put it
        initially; it never got shaken or hit or carried or anything
        like that.
        
        It took her a couple of days to finally get through to
        DAK (lines were "constantly" busy), but when she did, they
        didn't even want to hear any details.  They simply asked
        whether she'd like an exchange or a credit.  And this was
        after she'd had it more than 30 days.
        
        She wound up returning it, and buying a (more expensive)
        version from Radio Shack.  (It sounds good, but it's missing
        a few features she has decided she wants - like it won't
        tell you how long the disc or any individual song is).
        I think she's going to find out how good their promise
        of "return it to any store if you're not satisfied" is.
        
Jim Stratton
        

    
    	I've heard one from JVC that was very impressive.  The
    cost was ~$300-350.  It had detachable speakers and a "sub-woofer"
    (I think they dared to call it that, and though I doubt it had the
    response of true sub-woofer, the whole box had impressive bass)
    that was part of the main unit.

            has anyone tried to hook external speakers?
            i tried but get no sound.  large *or* small 
            speakers...  anyone have a thought on this?

    Where did you hook them to?  The headphone output?  That won't work,
    the impedance is wrong and the power too low.  You need a set of
    powered speakers or a separate amplifier.
    
    				Steve

    Re: .8
    
    See .3 - it works just fine - IF your boom box is equiped for it.
    
    Bruce
    

    
    Re: .3
    	Bruce, what type of 'terminals' foes the DAK box have on the
    back? Are they screws, RCA jacks, or something totally unique? I
    am interested in the box, as long as your hasn't diad also. Can
    you provide me a status update on the one you have, and the terminal
    info.
    	If anyone else is interested I have found the same guts of this
    machine in a few other incarnations. One at Prime Value Mart, another
    at Zayre's. The packaging is the difference.
    
    	John
    

RE: .3, .11

The DAK boom box is still working fine and still sounds great.

The terminals are the kind that many speakers have on the back.  Push
terminals where you press a tab, a hole opens, you push the tinned
end of the wire in the hole and release the tab.  The wire must be
tinned or it breaks off after a few times.

This is actually more convenient than it seems once you've used it a
few times.  I expect it's less convenient if the amp that you usually
connect your "good" speakers to likes jacks on the end of the speaker
leads, but mine doesn't.

B

    

    RE .0
    
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