kenratboy Posted June 2, 2003 Share Posted June 2, 2003 JVC MX-GT88. $249.99 - last night at work, we were listening to reggae on a local station. I have no doubt that the stereo is only playing low bass at resonate frequencies, as ALL the bass was EXACTLY the same. Absolute crap, plain and simple. I mean, literally, ALL the bass was ONE tone. Every control input makes beeps, so if you turn up the volume, it beeps at you. They have 8" woofers and they were bottoming out all night long. I am glad I know better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prodj101 Posted June 2, 2003 Share Posted June 2, 2003 I think the name "gigatube" tells you enough about the quality of this product Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m00n Posted June 2, 2003 Share Posted June 2, 2003 Why is it when I look at that thing all I can think if is a transformer toy. I keep expecting it to transform into some walking robot and start shooting rockets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougdrake Posted June 2, 2003 Share Posted June 2, 2003 Looks like just the ticket for my impromptu outbursts of break dancing on the street corners of Phoenix, in my asbestos summer suit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m00n Posted June 2, 2003 Share Posted June 2, 2003 Doug, I would very much enjoy seeing that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted June 3, 2003 Share Posted June 3, 2003 I am ashamed to say that, indeed, that product sits on a shelf in my audio department... "Tower of Power" SHEESH. Right next to Sony's S.W.A.T. shelf system - actually a cool idea - a wireless transmitter/receiver built in, so you can hook it up to your computer and jam your mp3's without running a 50 foot minijack-to-RCA cable. Too bad it sounds like ***... Shelf systems suck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenratboy Posted June 3, 2003 Author Share Posted June 3, 2003 ---------------- On 6/3/2003 12:25:52 AM Griffinator wrote: I am ashamed to say that, indeed, that product sits on a shelf in my audio department... "Tower of Power" SHEESH. Right next to Sony's S.W.A.T. shelf system - actually a cool idea - a wireless transmitter/receiver built in, so you can hook it up to your computer and jam your mp3's without running a 50 foot minijack-to-RCA cable. Too bad it sounds like ***... Shelf systems suck. ---------------- The thing is there is a rift in audio gear. When I got my Aiwa back in 1996, it sounded good (WAY better than the JVC reviewed) and looked OK. Now, either you get the getto blaster like the JVC that sounds like ***, or you get an 'executive system' - and those are pricey and too small. It is hard to get a good system without blowing a grand now days I wish more people could go the $150 receiver, $150 CD player, $200-300 speaker route and get a taste of real audio. That might seem weak to you, but it would be night and day compared to the JVC aformentioned, no? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m00n Posted June 3, 2003 Share Posted June 3, 2003 Oh CMon now you guys... For what it is, it probably does just fine. Jeebus, just because it aint Klipsch does not me that it is automatically a peice of poop. It's a friggen boombox not a home theater system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougdrake Posted June 3, 2003 Share Posted June 3, 2003 KRB - Don't be shy. Is this you posing with this gem? Also, you forgot to mention that it is bi-amped. This, quoted from the BB web site, boombox section: "Q: I do a lot of break dancing and I want a big bass sound. How do I get it? A: You can't get the same bass from a boombox as a home unit, but you can't take a home unit to the beach either, so it's a trade-off. To get the best bass sound, look for a unit with bass boost. The manufacturer usually will use this as a selling feature and list it in some flashy font on the front. Also, look for bass vents, sometimes called ports, which extend low-frequency response." And this from the product description: "When it comes to gut-churning, wall-rattling bass, this baby doesn't fool around. The MX-GT700 wears its allegiance to the bottom end like a badge of honor, with the unmistakable top-mounted Gigatube ducts that dominate the 3-way speakers' muscular profile. Each massive duct extends down the back of the speaker enclosure to vent a system of tuned resonating chambers that squeeze every ounce of boom from the dual 7-7/8" subwoofer drivers. 110 watts of dedicated bass power per side enable this behemoth to deliver all the crushing volume you'd expect, as well as impressive punch and depth at more civilized levels. It's been suggested that you could dry your hair using the air that blasts from the Gigatube ducts, but we wouldn't necessarily advise it especially not without ear protection!" Uh, yeah. And the JVC pictured above is not the worst offender in terms of garish design that can be found on their shelves. (No offense, Griffin, I know you're not responsible!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEAR Posted June 3, 2003 Share Posted June 3, 2003 WOOHOO a JVC ghetto blasta for all the MOFO's Get your break dancing carpets out and start spinnin LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
formica Posted June 3, 2003 Share Posted June 3, 2003 ---------------- On 6/2/2003 5:14:59 PM m00n wrote: Why is it when I look at that thing ... I keep expecting it to transform into some walking robot and start shooting rockets. ---------------- lol... ... ditto ... "more than meets the eye" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenratboy Posted June 3, 2003 Author Share Posted June 3, 2003 ---------------- On 6/3/2003 12:57:32 AM m00n wrote: Oh CMon now you guys... For what it is, it probably does just fine. Jeebus, just because it aint Klipsch does not me that it is automatically a peice of poop. It's a friggen boombox not a home theater system. ---------------- No no no, the $250 'executive' systems we sell sound WAY better. It was just so freaking distorted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skonopa Posted June 3, 2003 Share Posted June 3, 2003 Okay, for some fun tonight, I went over to Best Buy to play with some of those "wonderful" shelf systems. I went there with my trusty copy of Eternity X's "The Edge" in tow (one of the best power/prog metal CD's I have ever heard! Who said that metal cannot be sophisticated?). I tried a couple iterations of the JVC "giga-tube", as well as a Philips version and that Sony "W.A.T." system. I tried several tracks from the CD. My overall impressions - for $200-$300 systems, they actually sound pretty decent if not cranked up too loud and the bass levels set to minimum. These modern systems do sound way better than the old boombox I had when I was a kid (which I still have in the basement). They also sound a lot better than that Sanyo shelf-system that I had bought when I first moved here and was living in the apartments (for which I also paid around $230 some 9 or so years ago). Still for the same price, I would seriously consider looking into one of the ProMedia setups. Of course, the ProMedias don't come with a CD player, tape deck, or radio tuner. It is obvious these systems are marketed for boys in the pre-teen to teen range. Just look at thier appearances. The big, high-tech, "space shippy" looks. Like m00n so nicely put it - "I am waiting for the thing to transform into a robot and start shooting rockets." There are also all kinds of gimmicky, dancing displays and all of the gimmicky "sound modes", such as "Dance", "Pop", "Rock", "etc" as well as the "Church", "Concert", "Dance Hall", etc. I listened in the "normal" mode, that is the mode with all that gimmicky junk turned off and the built-in equilizer set to all flat across. These units actually produced a decent mid-range and high. You could get some detail, but not anything like you'd expect from the Klipsch, but still not bad for a $250 unit, especially if you don't turn it up too loud. If you turn it up too loud, than it distorts like hell. You are not going to get concert-level volumes out of these things without distortion, regardless of how big a wattage number they may print on the front. Personally, I think my Tivoli Model Two radio that I have in my office does a lot better as far as getting a detailed sound out. Of course, it is tough to really listen with all the other racket that was going on in the store, thus necessitating the "turbo sound" setting to get enough volume out to listen. Also, if you take some time to properly arrange the speaker side-units, you can get pretty decent imaging out of the thing. Now about the bass - the thing that is so hyped up about these. The bass is boomy as hell, especially if cranked up. It is not very accurate, which what the CD I was listening to really demands. I had to keep the bass levels down to minumum to avoid any excessive boominess. I guess if you like to listen to all that bass-heavy crap to ohh and ahh your friends, than these units may fit your bill (I should have brought my bass-test CD - I'll have to try that next time I am there ). Of course, you know what these kids are going to do as soon as they get one of these things - crank up the bass to max level and let'er rip! Also, the bass does not go very low. There are tracks on the Eternity X CD that has some incredible sounding pipe-organ parts that goes real low. For example, track 6 - "Imaginarium" has an incredible sounding interlude about 6 minutes in with pipe-organs that easily goes down to the 20hz ranges. My REL Storm III reproduced that with no problems, but none of these units can come anywhere close. Than again, it is not exactly fair to compare a $250 stereo with a $2000 subwoofer. About the "drying your hair with the port" as claimed in the product description. Yeah, you probably could, if you crank up the bass level and volume to full-blast. However, be prepared for some extremely crappy sounding, boomy, overdriven, distorted bass. Now, with all the friggan hair that I have, I'd probably need something a bit more powerful . As an aside. I went into the speaker listening area to play with the Klipsch Synergy speakers again. There was this one guy that had the Bose turned up to max playing some rap crap. So, just for fun, I selected one of the rock tracks on the pad along with the SF-2 speakers w/ KSW-12 sub for the Klipsch and turned them up to max. The Klipsch SF-2s where drowning out the Bose!!!. Not only that, the Klipsch still played with absolutly no distortion, while the Bose was sounding like pure crap at that volume. I don't know which Bose speakers the guy had selected, but that does show just how much better the Klipsch are to the Bose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
efzauner Posted June 3, 2003 Share Posted June 3, 2003 7 7/8th inch woofers! What a piece of CRAP. MY BOMBOX has 8 inch woofers! BIGGER IS BETTER. AND I bet there is no MONSTER CABLE inside! probably some 22 gauge solid wire! Where is this world comming to! I wonder what marketing guy decided to call them 7 7/8inch woofers.! Where they worried about false advertising if they called them 8 inch? GIGATUBE must be a derivative of the Klystron! HAH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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