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Show St6reO SyStSmS Isn't it time the buzz about the latest developments in handheld devices, laptops and digital imaging has overshadowed tremendous advances in an consumer product: stereo systems. Stereos are becoming works of art thai add class to a room as well as great sound. New features old-scho- ol that let you play digital files as cassettes and even LPs will well as CDs, quickly turn you into an audiophile. The first thing to decide is what features are most important to you. Do you need a cassette deck? Will a single CD player be enough? is radio reception an issue? Do you really need surround sound? Also consider the space you have. Then pick a price range and stick to it. Most people can find something for between $200 and $600. Keep in mind that you do get what you pay for; if sound quality and power are your biggest issues, you may need to lean toward higher-en- d systems. Space Sayers The JVC It features a 120-wa- pictures. It definitely grabs your attention, with its sleek silver exterior and blue or orange LCD that aliows you to see the CDs inside. The sound is just as impressive, and at just three inches thick, clears your space for better things. 00 dual cassette deck, three-C- D er, Philips has ($599; philips.com) is a com pact system with a CD burner. As a stereo it holds its own with a three-Cchanger, 200 watts of power, sur round sound and three-wa- y speakers, not to mention great radio reception. Plus it has the added bonus of a quality double-spee- d burner with text editing. It's also speak- R (write-onc- e computer. And did we mention grammable timer and the karaoke an optical digital out- mike input, so you can sinpo alnnp? o put that rt is a system that mounts on the wall MP3-Friend- Electronic music files are here to stay, and consumer electronics manufacturers are creating add-o- n devices to play MP3 files on your home stereo without having to boot up. DigMedia has made a combination CDMP3 ($499.95; stereo for listening without a a computer. Digisette's is a ($199; digisette.com) new portable MP3 player that plugs into any cassette drive. Duo-Ari- WWM31BW Photos courtesy JVC Nakamichi, Samsung, AudioRequest. 48Mb memory. Samsung makes a product, the Wingo ($399; samsung.com), with a bit less similar n T Hard Core The next step in home audio is the digital audio server (DAS). AudioRequest ($799; request.com) by Request Multimedia seems to be the best of this emerging category. DAS is a CD player, MP3 Player and cassette player all in one. It's designed to play back and organize digital music files through your home audio system. AudioRequest has a 17.3Gb hard CD player and a Celeron drive, single-dis- c Stereos are becoming works of art that acid class to a room as well as great sound. ly mp3shopping.com) player that will connect to any home ClLlM le FWR8 ers. And with a pro- http:nakamichi.comsoundspace) portable player that has a brought CDs) and CD-R(rewriteabie) compatible so you can listen to all those CDs burned on the solution. The SoundSpace 5 ($800; and from with a back to your home stereo. Philips tt to dub to an external minidisc or CD burner, you really can't go wrong. If space you have for a bookshelf system, Nakamichi has a your computer to download already stored files or you can transfer to mix-maki- CD-- allows you Robertson memory. Burner Included Now that most of us have been weaned off of cassettes and are able to create our own CD compilations on the comput- three-wa- y three-pa- By Genevieve and resembles framed changer and had SOme new gear? D ($280; jvc.com) is a great mini system with ail the basics and enough power to drown out any roommate. MX-J5- yOU The MusicStore has a 5CB hard drive capable of storing 84 hours of music ripped at 128Kpbs. It can be connected to processor along with software to convert CDs into MP3s. It can also connect the Internet home through your computer, allowing you access to online music files. However, since these are digital files they aren't the same quality as the original CDs, but you do have the option to rip at 320Kbps, which is almost CD quality (you just can't store as many hours). The best thing about it is the ease with which you can sort through all your digital music files. The player reads artists, song titles and album titles to help you create and store your own playlists. Want More? steamtunnels.net 9 |
