Aiwa JAX-N 1

I bought this hi-fi system around a year and a half ago. I then bought a new hi-fi system about a year ago. The reason for this isn't that I am absolutely loaded and so like wasting my money on numerous hi-fis. The reason is...well should we just say if I was to excrete this out of my rectum, I would say it had fulfilled its job perfectly- being the biggest piece of c**p ever! I don't know where to start with explaining why.

Firstly I will start with the manufacturer's specifications.

1. The unit has got a 3 CD changer, so you can load 3 CDs into it at a time.

2. It supports CD-R(W) and MP3 formats, so it will play all music formats on any CD.

3. It has a 3-band radio, so you can listen to fm, am and mw radio.

4. It has got a bright LCD display to make for easy reading.

5. It has two tape decks, enabling quick and easy recording from one tape to another.

6. Each speaker has a 30W RMS output, with a 3-way speaker system to give superb bass features.

7. It features a remote control for easy operation of the machine.

Now for the truthful features:

1. The unit does indeed have a 3 CD changer. However, they are poorly numbered (i.e. grey writing on grey plastic. Their marketing department must have been on their toes to do that). This means that even if you put just one CD into the unit, you have a one in three chance of choosing the correct 'disc number' to match the CD. You see, the hi-fi automatically plays the CD in the 'Disc 1' slot, even if you haven't placed a disc in it. Its a bit like the 'yes it is, no it isn't' argument. It will carry on trying to play the non-existent disc, until after about a minute it realises it is trying to do a pointless task and then switches to Disc 2, then Disc 3. So, if your CD is in Disc 3, you will need to wait about two minutes before the CD starts to play!

If you place 3 CDs in the unit, and want to switch between them, it is actually quite surprisingly...slow. Yes, you press the Disc whatever number, and the machine will make a noise, the CD will stop, and after a bit of clanking, the next CD will start to play. This takes a good twenty to thirty seconds, so there is no such thing s a quick disc change.

2. It is meant to play all CD formats, even the relatively new MP3-CDs. Yes, it does do this, however it is extremely temperamental. Just like building a card tower, any false movement and you've had it. Even the smallest scratch on ANY type of CD format will cause it to spend about a minute reading the CD, and then either reject it, saying 'No Disc,' or it will play it, but keep on skipping and jamming. Original music CDs seem to be the least effected, but when was the last time anyone bought a CD, and not just copied it (or is that just me)?

3. Not much to say about this, it will play the three different bands, however with its in-built memory presets, you can not store radio stations that are of different wavebands, you have to switch to a different mode. For example, say if you wanted to store Radio 1, Radio 2 and Talk Sport. The first two you would store in the mod 1 memory, whereas Talk Sport (which is am and not fm), you would need to store in mode two. Therefore, you cannot simply use the number buttons on the remote control to switch radio channels. You firstly need to switch modes, which is extremely annoying and irritating, so I gave up on it after a day and a half. Also, no matter where you are, you need to plug in the aerial, or else all you get is a load of crackle and hissing (aka mosche music!).]

4. Yep, the LCD display is bright and easy to read. However when you put it into standby mode, the display starts flashing, which proves to be very distracting and so I always had to unplug it. THERE IS A WARNING HERE THAT IT MAY EFFECT EPILLEPSY SUFFERERS. The display displays (well, talk about stating the bloody obvious) the time, as well as the frequency of the radio station (not the name, it isn’t that advanced), what track etc of a CD is playing, and also what error has occurred if (or should I say) when one does.

5. Both tape decks play perfectly well. The buttons are chunky, so you can comfortably feel when you press them down and are clear to use. Only one tape deck has a record button. To record off CD, tape or radio simply requires you to play whatever it is you want to record, and then press the record button on the second tape deck. The recording quality generally is OK, however if you record (especially noticeable when recording from a tape) and listen to whatever you are recording with the volume up more than half way, the recording becomes quite 'hissy' and can sometimes make the tape un-listenable, which defeats the object of recording onto a tape. There is no quick way to erase a tape; you simply have to insert the tape and press record without anything else playing on the machine, until the tape reaches the end. It does this OK.

6. I'll keep this bit short and sweet (as you are probably getting bored of this review by now). The speakers are loud. They give fairly good quality sound, however when you use the 'enhanced bass' feature on the unit, or put the volume up, the sound quality deteriorates fairly badly, ending up in a lot of crackles. The bass doesn’t really give any bass, just the same crackles. The sound quality will do though if it is used simply as a family hi-fi.

7. A remote is a remote, with the ability to control the CD and radio, but not the tape. It will turn the machine in and out of standby mode. I never had to replace the batteries, so the battery life is very good.

The hi-fi came in two boxes, one with the speakers, and the other with the actual unit. It was easy to set up, one wire from each speaker to the unit and then another wire for the aerial. Plug the plug in and Bob's your uncle (as opposed to being your aunt, which could be a tad worrying). It comes with a one years manufacturers guarantee as standard. If it breaks though, don’t bother fixing it. Buy another, better one instead!

Set up was easy thanks to the easy to follow instructions, as was every day use.

To sum up, this machine is terrible- poor playback quality of tapes and CDs, poor radio reception, poor sound quality for a machine of its size, and generally a poor machine. What more can I say. Go and buy it. (For those of you who are still awake and paying attention, what I actually mean is don't buy it. However, those rude enough not to read the whole review and loose interest deserve to buy something as useless as this!) :-)