Peak Power

... And boom goes the bass

Lessons in MiniDisc are what N. RAMA LOHAN gets from a cosy midi system that goes big on the bass as well ... watch the ladies swoon as our Kid Slick unfurls his, er, newfound knowledge

DEFINE being in the right place at the right time. Can't? Well, I can ... it's when your el cheapo combo CD/tuner/cassette system packs up on you and a saucy new review unit lands on your lap.

JVC UX-MD9000R Ultra Micro Component System

The kind soul that subjected itself to me in this story is the JVC UX-MD9000R Ultra Micro Component System. Micro they say, and micro it is, nestling perfectly in the confines of my habitat -- my bedroom.

Features

Even at a glance, this JVC reeks modernism -- the MiniDisc format, the fascia and operation panel are all utterly 90s. With colours of blue, red and white, the front panel oozes taste and style. And the black speakers plus silver head unit is quite a cool combi. Operation buttons are small yet sensitive to the touch.

Think of the basic needs of today, and the UX-MD9000R slides into your selection list with AM/FM tuner, alarm clock, CD player and, of course, MD. Rigging this machine up was quick and easy. Basic speaker cable connections to the rear of the system with spring clips and an antenna wire wrapped around the loop -- you're now prepared for some good time rock 'n' roll.

Click to open the CD compartment, and the lid does the spread eagle ever so slowly. Watch the CD go swoosh for reading through the transparent lid.

Performance

Hit "Play" and move back ... way back. The first thing that gets you from this player is its bass response, its huge bass response.

Okay! Some disco from the 70s courtesy of Blondie, Boney M and even Village People sounded fine and dandy, but put on some bassy rock music and it becomes a bit of a messy affair.

If you've been hard pressed to pick out the bass lines on Deep Purple CDs, especially the un-remastered versions, look no further, but otherwise, the boom is a tad exaggerated. And as if that weren't enough, there's a function called AHB (Active Hyper Bass) Super Pro, engageable only from the remote. Talk about redundancy!

Since the bass reflex ports are at the rear of the speakers, you might want to spend some time gauging the perfect distance for a palatable dose of them rumbles -- the way I did.

With a system this tiny, it would be unfair to expect its audio performance to be all that great. Besides the overpowering bass, clarity and definition are both decent. Staging details were a little difficult to pick out but as a room companion, the music that came out was quite cosy, indeed.

What's a little unnerving, though, is the tracking mechanism. Track-skipping can be a bit scary if you're used to the silent approaches of many other systems -- this one groans like a disgruntled old man (not always, though).

But it was the thought of fiddling around with the MD that had me rubbing my hands in glee. Slip a pre-recorded MD and the red indicator light above the slot comes on. Reading time's fairly quick and silent. Like the CD, the MD nuances on this JVC combo system tended to sound a little boomy.

Theoretically, we all know that there's a hint of compression on MD recordings, but given the physical dimensions of the puny little drivers, this inadequacy is almost negligible.

Out went the darn Mariah Carey album and in went a blank MD for a recording test drive. Sampled tracks included Lou Reed's Lisa Says and Walk On The Wild Side, Gentle Giant's Peel The Paint and Peter, Paul and Mary's cover of John Denver's Leaving On A Jetplane.

Other than the basic recording function, the bulk of the editing menu is on the remote, which is constructed decently enough. Also found on the remote are tweak options for bass and treble, tuner, clock and so forth.

For a fairly new recruit in the MD realm, it didn't take that long for me to work out the mechanics of CD-to-MD recording (Hey, a drummer could do it! -- Ed.). If you're using an already recorded MD, make sure there's space left or the display will read DISC FULL. In that case, engage the erase function and make space for it, or get another blank disc.

An important feature that JVC has included on the UX-MD9000R is the display of remaining recordable time in either "stop" or "record" mode. Thank the digital domain, otherwise most of us will still be watching the cassette reel reaching the end and hoping that the entire song from a source manages to squeeze in just before the tape ends. Remember those heart-stopping moments when the tape player goes "taark", and the song just needed an additional three seconds for a perfect fit? Things have changed, thankfully.

It was fun to be able to write the song titles into the software itself -- something you can't do with cassette -- rather than writing it on the darn sleeve. Doing this was fairly simple as well, just tweedle with the EDIT/TITLE button and work your way around the arrow keys ... you'll soon be smiling.

My, oh, my! What a joy it was to be able to join tracks together, divide them and even move 'em around. Yup! It's actually possible to move the first track you've recorded to fit in between track five and six, for those of you unfamiliar with this format. Amazing, ain't it? Heck, you can even connect other sources, be it a turntable or cassette deck to "save" your fave tunes.

Performance? Only numerous playback sessions and careful scrutiny revealed a loss in the lower and higher frequencies. So if you're going to indulge in this form of inspection, you've missed the reason for the MD's existence. It's a replacement of the audio cassette, not CD, and if you've dabbled in the former format a fair bit, the MD experience is quite invigorating.

Conclusion

Hours of fun -- that's what the UX-MD9000R is all about! If you're not fussy about great sounds, this little gizmo is it. Where taste, style and application are concerned, this player comes out tops.

Calling all cassette disciples -- MD's quite a cool format, and the JVC is just the perfect introduction to it. So take a spin.

Model: JVC UX-MD9000R Ultra Micro Component System
Price: RM1,799
Review sample courtesy of JVC SALES & SERVICE (03-703-3222), 5 Jalan U1/23, HICOM Glenmarie Industrial Park, 40150 Shah Alam, Selangor.

For: Classy; well-constructed; ideal for a bedroom.
Against: Boomy bass.