( 22 reviews )
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Posted: Jun 28 2009
I foolishly trusted the "SONY" name, and bought three of these units, sight unseen, for long-term gifts. I have since found out (independent confirmation from THREE different "giftees" who have no mutual contact between them) that NOT ONE OF THESE DEVICES WILL PLAY A CASSETTE AT NORMAL SPEED! This is BAD, as not one of these items can be returned. Thank you, SONY, for making me look like a cheap idiot! As if I needed help in this department.
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Posted: Jun 27 2009
I work at home and have a boom box on my desk to listen to the radio, CD's, and the occasional cassette. I spend at least eight hours a day here, so what I listen to is very important to me. About once every five years, my old boom box dies (in this case, the CD player stopped working). Because of the switch to mp3's, there isn't as much choice out there as there used to be for an AM FM, cassette, CD unit. Last week, I purchased the CFD-OS1, and it is better than the five year old Philips unit it replaced. I've tried every feature on it and they all work great. It looks great, takes up very little space on my desk, delivers great AM FM reception to my house in San Francisco, and has a bright cheerful sound. Of course it doesn't boom out bass, it's not supposed to. As long as you understand what this unit is supposed to do, you will be extremely happy with it. I thought maybe I might decide to get a Bose desk unit this time, but I decided to save the extra $450 for something else. This was a great $50 investment.
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Posted: Apr 15 2009
I am a teenager who insists on records for home use, cassettes for portability. That being said, upon finding this boombox and using it for a day, and it looks promising. I bought it at Target to replace a Sony CFD-E75 from the late 1990s (admittedly a more upscale boombox) and this one holds its own. I have never had trouble with a Sony. Responding to another reviewer, the STEREO/MONO function does have a purpose; stereo FM reception is more sensitive than mono, so when a station is distorted, setting it to MONO can completely eliminate the fuzz, or at least improve it significantly. Trust me, this button IS useful. I took off a star mainly because of a few minor details, but it does a good job. The bass is a little lacking, but it is by no means intolerable. Just be sure the MegaBass is on. Perhaps hooking it up to PC speakers or a stereo amplifier would make it sound a little fuller. A good use would be on a desk, a medium-sized room, or in the kitchen/garage. The CD player works fine, as does the cassette player and radio. One area to note is that the cassette does NOT automatically stop when fast-forwarding or rewinding, although it does play to a stop. Unlike the CFD-E75, it does not automatically switch functions (for example, you must press to listen to a CD, whereas some will automatically switch to the CD player when is pressed) and does not have a remote, although you lazy people know you really don't need one. The cassette records wonderfully. It gives a good clear sound, and my full-size tape deck shows that its recording levels are set at a good maximum level for best quality. It also comes with a replaceable cord, so if you either damage it or lose it, just get a new one at RadioShack. A good boombox for a good price.
