Aiwa XRM200

Author's product rating:   

How is the Sound Quality?	Excellent
How is the Look & Design?	Average
Range of Features	Above Average
Durability	Excellent
Value for Money	Excellent

Advantages:	Compact, Plays CDR's, Motorised Slide Action CD Tray .
Disadvantages:	Not the most attractive system, Poor Equaliser .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I've had this compact 'Aiwa Micro System' for over 3 years now and it still sounds great. It may not be over laden with features compared to today's modern systems but it can still pack a good punch.

Like nearly all systems it has all the standard CD features like: Next, Previous, Stop, Play, Pause, Fast Forward, Rewind, Repeat and Random. But what sets it apart from most others is it's 'Motorised Front loading, slide action CD tray'. This means that the front panel (including LCD screen) slides down and the CD tray pops out from behind. It can play CD-R's and so far I haven't found any that it won't play. The 'CD Blank Skip' button is great if you want to create your own mix CD's and not want it to pause briefly in-between track changes.

In the middle of the system there are 3 round but flat dials. On the left you have the Multi Jog dial, which allows you to jump to CD tracks very quickly. The right hand dial is the volume control, while the centre is the Function select buttons. The functions on this system are: Tape, Tuner, CD, AUX / Video and MD (via port on back).

This system has a single tape deck with auto reverse mode meaning that when it gets to the end of a tape it will automatically start playing the other side without having to turn it over. It has a push eject door and all the buttons used to control it are the same as those used for the CD player.

The tuner covers all three bands FM, MW and LW. Also has a wake up, sleep and auto record function. The graphic equaliser is somewhat basic with only 4 presents: Classic, Jazz, Pop and Rock. It's T-Bass system only has 3 bass settings, which doesn't leave you much room to play with. But then this was a cheap low-level system when I bought it.

The speakers are very good and with the dust covers off (blue) look really nice in a wood effect finish and silver / black trimmings. Each has it's own built in powered Sub Woofer and tweeter which will give out the equivalent of 80W of power (Subwoofer: 2x 30W + 2x10W RMS).

This system does have a few other plus points like: headphones socket, optical out (for connecting up to a Mini Disc) and line out connections. I would recommend this as an entry-level system to anyone if you can still get hold of it. I currently have it connected to my PC for a much-improved gaming experience.