Korean Job Discussion Forums

[JongnoGuru]

I want to buy a small audio system for a 5-pyong room (about 16.5 sq. m / 178 sq. ft) in my home, and I'm hoping to get some suggestions or advice.

THE ROOM WHERE IT'S GOING:
The room is a den/study. There is a desk & chair, PC, bookshelves along one & a half walls, and a sofa along another wall. I'll arrange the audio system (main unit & speakers) on the bookshelves. I have a 2.1 speaker system with PC that sounds great, but it has its limits.

FUNCTIONS I WANT:
Mainly, I want to listen to music or radio in that room without having to turn on the computer. Features I need are CD player, tape deck, alarm/sleep timer, and sufficient power to fill not only that room, but also possibly the adjacent rooftop on occasion.

WHAT I DON'T WANT:
Anything beyond a two-channel setup. This isn't a home theatre, there's no need for surround sound. I want stereo and no more. I don't even want a subwoofer in there. Just two speaker and stop.

WHAT I'M EXPECTING TO SPEND:
200,000 ~ 400,000 won. I didn't set this budget limit arbitarily. I looked around for what I wanted, and this is the general range.

BRANDS I'D CONSIDER: (in nearly alphabetical order)
Aiwa, JVC, Panasonic, Philips, Sony and (reluctantly) Samsung.

In this low-tech, low-end market segment, I wouldn't be surprised if Samsung models offer competitive performance & features. It's just... I dunno. I've already got a lot of Korean-brand products in my home as it is. Buying yet another Samsung item seems just so Joe Six-Pack when you live in Korea, doesn't it? Particularly these days, when there's really no major price difference between foreign and domestic brands in this product segment.

Clicking HERE will show you my current "short"list. I've narrowed it down from 315 to the "Sweet Fifty-Two" finalists. Damn, I have to order something in the next two days.

Some of these systems have the features I like and they would seem (given the higher price) to be relatively good quality, though the power rating in a few cases is weirdly low. (20W + 20W???) Others have 5-disc CD changers, which I suppose I wouldn't mind having, but I wouldn't be prepared to trade a single function that I'd actually use(!) to get it.

Hmm, what else? Oh yeah, some of these are double tape decks, which I don't need or want.

Anyone care to offer an opinion? Much appreciated.

-- the guru

[Maserial]

For whatever it's worth, I've always been satisfied with Aiwa products, although there are certainly many good companies out there. The XR-DB30 seems to be a satisfactory model, with 60+60, MP3 CD, and such. It has a nice color scheme as well.

[hypnotist]

The Denon products have a very good rep back in the UK, but might well blow your budget...

Samsung aren't THAT bad - they're on the up as a brand anyway.

Power can be quoted in three ways for stereos: RMS, MPO (rarely used) and PMPO. Believe the RMS figure. PMPO is just marketing shit and doesn't really relate to anything useful.

See http://www.mark.lineisp.co.uk/rants.htm for more...

[JongnoGuru]

[hypnotist]

Well, since you asked.. (well you didn't but anyway)

The AWP-ZP3 has a USB port but it doesn't have a tape deck...

You can compare it to the XR-MN75 here: http://www.eu.aiwa.com/en/compare.php?c=47&model1=XR-MN75&model2=AWP-ZP3&model3=

Note that the AWP-ZP3 costs £80 (around 180k won) in the UK: http://www.askdirect.co.uk/search/Aiwa_AWPZP3.html as opposed to £120 for the XR-MN75 http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10001&langId=-1&catalogId=3801&productId=174318&clickfrom=name

They don't seem to sell the XR-DB30 in Europe so can't be any help there.

[hypnotist]

Oh, and Aiwa is owned by Sony. Forgot about that, and wondered why sites kept pointing to the Sony homepage!

[JongnoGuru]

Well, that's one Aiwa I won't be buying. Thanks. The USB host is a draw, but no tape deck means no deal for me.

I was going to wait till I narrowed down the finalists to about 5~10 models based on the abbreviated Korean specs before I started checking the manufacturers' websites.

Two or more of the Samsungs also have a USB host (AND high power ratings) but thankfully I don't care one bit for the design or colour schemes of the Samsung models. I know that Samsung is a brand on the way up, and that it has taken the market zeitgeist away from Sony in display devices. But I was serious when I said I am reluctant to buy another Samsung (or LG or whatever) product at this point. It's not that I still doubt or sneer at the quality or performance of their products; it's the monotony of Korean brands in my home that I'm looking to avoid. (By the same token, were I fan of Ladies' Professional Golf, I'd probably be turning my attention to tennis or pro bowling at this stage. )

Yes, Denon is huge in the UK and in Korea as well. In fact, no brand retains its resale value like Denon here. I have one of their AV receivers and universal DVD players in another room. As it happens, Denon doesn't offer anything locally in my feature/footprint/power range, which is just as well, since it would probably blow my budget like you said.

[JongnoGuru]

BANG!!!

*blows smoke from pistol barrel*



AWP-ZX7 233,000 won
������: Aiwa
����: Separable
���: CD Audio
��ǰ���� :
- ������� : 60W + 60W
- Full Logic Single Auto Reverse Tape Deck
- Vertical 5 MP3 CD Changer
- MP3CD, CDR/RW
- CD/Tuner/Tape
- CD > Tape sync-record feature
- AM/FM 30 presets
- Play Mode(Shuffle/Program/Repeat)
- ���� ��ȭ ����� Bass/Treble
- �����Ǽ��縮 : ������
- ��ü : 190 x 277 x 361.4 mm
- ����Ŀ : 170 x 277 x 188 mm

What they foolishly neglect to mention in these specs is that it also comes with a USB host. I had to poke around on the individual vendors' websites to find that out.

So, a model that wasn't on my shortlist, wasn't even under consideration, turns out to be the winner. Thirty-seven AWP-ZX7 owners give it an average rating of 4.5 "stars" out of a possible 5, so I expect it will perform to satisfaction. My only regret is that the silver/black colour scheme reminds me of the Samsungs, and the design is nowhere near as compelling as the XR-DB30. However, there is always the guest room... Guests need an audio shelf system, don't they? They expect it, in fact. Right? Of course they do!

Thanks go to Maserial for reminding me that I always liked Aiwa and focusing my search, and to the Hypnotist for prompting me to be more thorough in verifying the features of each unit.

It should arrive on Monday.

[Tiberious aka Sparkles]

[JongnoGuru]

Please accept my heartfelt condolences on your recent loss, Tiberious. I know that such sorrows can try our faith and weigh heavy on our soul. But perhaps you will, in the days (hours?) ahead, focus yourself on the task of selecting a new audio system. And in so doing, you might start a thread where friends of the dearly departed Aiwa can come and pay their respects and chime in on a worthy replacement. I know the old Aiwa would have wanted it that way.

[Tiberious aka Sparkles]

[Maserial]

[JongnoGuru]

Wow. I don't think I've ever been as unenthused about a new audio purchase as I am with the AWP-ZX7.



Appearance

Looks much better in reality than in the above photo. But it's considerably larger and more ungainly coming out of the box than I expected. Yes, I did check the dimensions before I bought it, and it does fit on the bookshelf where I planned to put it. But it's bigger and bulkier to the eye than I would have liked. The side-mounted vertical CD changer really makes it jut out to the right. The speakers are bigger than I'd thought too (more on them later). The front control panel isn't as attractively off-balance as it might appear. Overall, it looks "high-tech" were this the early 1980s. I don't mind that too much. For the furniture-grade retro look in a small package, there's really no beating Tivoli Audio (photo below) for style AND sound quality...unless you want to spend over 1 million won.


(subwoofer not shown; jar of artichoke hearts sold separately)


Features

Tried & succeeded running internet streaming audio via the Aiwa's USB host. Tape deck performs as advertised. 5-CD changer is a little slow with the vertical CD player, but there's far less internal clunking and banging when changing CDs than I've experienced with systems featuring the standard horizontal arrangement. FM/AM tuner was average. A manual tuning dial would have been nice. The two-stage "i-Bass" enhancement is a good thing, and I leave it engaged all the time. Without it, the sound reproduction is just too tinny, vague and not "all there".

Sound Quality

This is where Aiwa stumbled badly. The highs are sharp and sometimes crisp, but awfully thin a lot of the time. The lows are basically okay, and with the right settings can be boomy in a good way. It's the damned mid-range that's artificial and devoid of richness. Strained and fake ... like they didn't even try. ("We're Aiwa. We proved ourselves in the '80s, so these days we're just mailing it in -- suckahz! ") Almost no solid alto or tenor.

I don't think I'm being picky or overly sensitive. All in all, this system just doesn't sound much better than a cheap LG system someone gave me back in the mid-90s. Actually, it doesn't even match it, if memory serves.

The features all perform well, but if the sound is sucky, who cares about the USB host, 5-CD changer and full-function remote? It's amazing what a sickly little sound those relatively big speaker cabinets turn out.

Thought it might do a better job at higher volumes and in a more --- &*$!!#&%#^*(!@@!!! I'm gonna kill that dog!! she just now crapped on the hallway floor!!! I'm sitting here typing this, listening to the Aiwa blaring from the dining room, and that beast dumped right outside the dining room door!! ... Hmm... I think she's going to be a hi-fi critic when she grows up --- so as I was saying, I dragged the 60W-per-channel Aiwass down to the dining room to ... open 'er up a bit.

Tiled floors, mostly bare walls & glass; dining hall opens to the kitchen, more hard surfaces in there. In short, the worst acoustics possible. Wasn't planning on having any audio in that room, but I don't know where else to put this disappointment. A roof audio system? A basement-blaster? Oh, it's damn loud enough. It's just not damn good enough.

[Khunopie]

Here's what to do. Toss the speakers and find a set of decent bookshelf speakers. I use B&W 601's hooked up to el cheapo electronics and the result is very satisfying and musical

[Maserial]

From your description, it seems as if Aiwa really dropped the ball on that model. I've been considering a similar purchase, and based upon your assessment, I will certainly avoid that model like the plague.


Perhaps it would best function as a bathroom-blaster.