Cheap JVC EX-A1 Compact DVD Audio/Video System with Wood Cone Speakers (Electronics) Price

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Customer Reviews of JVC EX-A1 Compact DVD Audio/Video System with Wood Cone Speakers

Great sound, design, and ease of use...
I've had the JVC for about two weeks now and I'm still loving it! As my title states, "Great sound, design, and ease of use" are the hallmarks of this compact audio/video player. <
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>First let me approach the design. You surely won't have any complaints about the aesthetics of this product(remote control being the only possibility). Beautiful speakers that appear to be very well built, along with a stunning central unit that is also solidly built. The brushed metal on the main unit is really attractive and rather than hiding it away in my A/V cabinet, I've chosen to display it right on top in plain view. And, because it's so small, it really doesn't take up much space at all. The main unit is encased in metal and I'm not certain how it operates without getting overheated, as there are no vents on the unit. This means that dust/hair cannot find its way inside, and with three animals, I've got plenty of that to go around. The removable grills on the speakers are nice and while you surely will want to show off the wood cones, I'm not comfortable leaving them unprotected. <
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>The ease of operation with this unit is simply refreshing. I previously had a Sony 5.1 system with a separate DVD player. That translates into wires, wires, and more wires. I paid about $750 for the whole Sony system about 5 years ago and it all came apart at the seams (started to suffer from numerous operational problems). Not to mention the fact that CD audio quality was rather lifeless on the 5.1 system. The JVC is a dream as far as set-up and operation. Could not be any easier. A couple of wires and you're up and running. Functions are easily figured out, although they are not very intuitive on the remote control. Peruse the manual though and you'll be up to speed in no time. The remote is rather crowded. I won't say it's poorly designed, because it does save the central unit from being riddled with barely used buttons. I have my satellite receiver running through the single Auxilary input, which is probably the one major flaw in design. Just one additional Aux input would allow you to directly connect, say, an ipod to the unit. As is, I would need an A/V switch box (splitter) in order to connect an ipod....or I could unplug the satellite every time I wanted to plug in my ipod...not very convenient. The only other thing that bothers me is that you cannot get Virtual Surround from the Auxillary input. For some reason, the VS is disabled when accessing the Auxillary mode. Strange, but I can live with it. <
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>Finally, the audio quality of this unit is fantastic. The power/volume will not overwhelm you so much as the clarity and detail that it brings forth. The speakers are very capable of producing full sound in a small to medium sized room. My family room is about 12x15 and it does an excellent job of filling the room with rich, warm sound. The volume is adjustable up to a level of 50, but I've only turned it that loud on a James Taylor CD to see how it sounded. I figured that I wouldn't blow any fuses on a JT album, and I was correct. It was remarkebly clear and lacked any distortion at this level. I'm certain that a track with considerable bass would not sound as good at this level though and I won't even try it. For casual listening, I've found the volume in a room my size never exceeds 35 on the volume level. That goes for DVD's as well. The JVC really excels at reproducing vocals and higher tones. Quite amazingly in fact. The speakers have pleasing bass response as well, although I've opted to salvage my old subwoofer from my 5.1 system. It seems to add a little to the fullness of both CD's and DVD's. The midrange is lacking a little bit, although by playing with the bass/treble controls, you can successfully mask this shortcoming. I do find myself adjusting the bass/treble based on what type of music I am listening to, as opposed to just setting and forgeting about it. The Virtual Surround is a nice feature and, while it won't give you the 5.1 effects, it does create a nice soundfield in front of you. Lord of the Rings and even Saving Private Ryan sounded pretty darn good. The DVD player seems to read discs faster than my older players ever did. It seems to get up and playing much quicker. <
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>Overall, I am really quite pleased with this system. Looking forward to creating a jazz and classical library to really take advantage of this units strengths. <
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Looks better than it sounds. Remote is poor.
SOUND <
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>Thus far, I have been disappointed with this product. The sound quality is slightly better than a good boombox. I find that high frequency sound is lacking. This surprised me because small speakers often have more trouble with low frequencies. <
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>TUNER <
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>The FM tuner is very poor. In live near Philadelphia and I have never had reception trouble with even the cheapest radio. This JVC receiver has pervasive static and often drops from stereo to mono on high power, local stations. If you like radio, you will not like this receiver. <
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>CONTROL <
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>The remote is poorly designed. It is overloaded with dozens of very small buttons of questionable value / use. It is also unintuitive. I consider myself to be very technically inclined. I had a difficult time getting oriented with this remote. The poor design guarantees that my wife will never use this system. That could be a good thing depending on your point of view. :-) <
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>MISSING CLOCK <
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>I purchased this JVC for bedroom use. The display may be dimmed or shutdown, which is very nice. Unfortunately, there is no clock. This surprised me as I assumed that this product was targeted for executive offices and consumer bedrooms / offices. A clock with an alarm / wake to music should not have cost much. <
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>BUILD QUALITY <
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>The receiver and the speakers appear to be very well built. These have clean lines, a decor friendly look / color, and a solid feel. Unfortunately, the remote, which is what you touch all of the time, is poorly designed and made of a cheap, hard plastic. Also the buttons are too small and numerous.

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Great little system
This little system does it all. Radio, cd's and DVD's. It's perfect for us as a secondary sound system in our bedroom. A seperate sub woofer is available for purchase if you want to pump up the base. We experienced a very smooth transaction with Amazon's vendor so are well pleased. With the sub woofer the JVC EX-A1 would actually be better than our main system.