Hitachi DV-RV 8500

Advantages: Good tone quality, looks, reliability and functions
Disadvantages: no cassette player facility

...I wanted a portable CD player for my home-office desk, because I found that playing CDs on my computer whilst I was working seemed to use up memory and sometimes caused my computer to crash. I wanted one with a decent tone, but one that would not take up too much room on my desk. My birthday was coming up (last year), so that answered my wife's question of what to get me for a present. Off we went to Comets. When we arrived there were many CD players that would have suited me for around the £20 mark, but my wife pointed to the Hitachi CX68 saying how good looking it was with it's round, blue-lit window on the front that indicated radio stations or CD information, depending on what was being played. I noticed that it also played MP3s, and that I thought, would be great if I wanted to download music from the internet. I've never... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Good looks, easy to use menu, great picture
Disadvantages: haven't found any yet

...This is great piece of kit and is a worthwhile addition to any home cinema setup. The look of the panel is very smart with its integrated speakers and blackish finish. This would be classed as a middle of the road plasma. Not cheap, but not overly expensive. I think it gives a good balance of cost and quality without breaking the bank. It has loads of great features on the easy to use menu system and enough connectors to keep an army of technophiles happy. The picture quality is fantastic but dont expect that as a given. As with any 'sensative' technology format you need to make sure you have the right combination of contectors, source signal, picture setup etc. Get it right and the Hitachi will provide hours of endless picture (and sound) satisfaction.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Very neat - seemingly a lot of kit for the money
Disadvantages: Noisy FM in weak reception areas. Choosy CD player

...to throw in a remote control and make it come in at under £50, I’d only be too happy to take one off their hands. So, after all the nasty things I’ve said about DSG (Dixons, Currys and PC World) in the past, this is where I end up, buying a Hitachi AX-M77 CD Micro System for £49.99. I have to say, that for something costing 50 knicker, I was only expecting to come home with something, shall we say, a bit more ‘own brand’, a bit more ‘Matsui’ let’s say. The purchase bit was easy – they were piled five-high at the end of a display cabinet, and not even the Currys assistant in Hounslow would have dared say ‘….and would you like an extended warr…..’ at these prices, or at least, maybe the sales pep talk they’d just been given (I got there as they opened their doors) had been just too much to take on board all in one go. Maybe it was the ‘go... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful