Technics SCDV290*

This is a system I owned a while ago but as I saw an advert for it recently I figured it must still be going strong so I decided to do a review on it.

The Technics SCDV290 set me back nearly £300 a few years back but I see it can now be purchased for the much more modest sum of £179.99. This system comes in four stacking parts consisting of the tuner, the tape decks (which are pretty much redundant these days), the 5xdvd player and the Dolby 5.1 amplifier.

The system comes with a very simple to understand installation and users guide which makes it very easy to install. The system itself is very durable and both feels and looks expensive, the cables and connections however are a lot cheaper looking and somewhat fragile but in the year and a half or so that I used this system I found no problems with any of it.

Installation consists simply of connecting the tape decks, the tuner and the DVD player to the amplifier via the cables provided and then the speakers connect to the sockets in the amplifier. The system is connected to your TV via scart lead and you are ready to go. You will need to position the system near to the TV so the connection via scart can be made but the speaker cable provided will allow you to position the speakers pretty much where ever you like.

If you want to have this system positioned further away from your TV there is the option to connect via an AV cable which would allow you to add an extension to it.

The sound from this system is very good, even when listening to old cassettes I still found the sound quality very good but as you would expect this system really comes into its own when you sit down to watch a movie in Dolby sound surround. Although this system can be improved on with the systems that are around today it was a very good system in its day and I am sure it would still hold its own to a certain extent in today’s market.

There are many preset sound effect levels such as, (concert hall, rock, hard, clean and rock) as well as the option to set your own favourites so you do not have to be fiddling about with the settings every time you sit down to listen to music or watch a DVD. The radio tuner has 39 presets so you can tune in your favourite stations so they can be found at the click of a button.

With a total output of 360W RMS this system is fairly powerful and would be plenty for the average sized living room, in fact I very rarely had it turned up more than half way for a movie and maybe slightly more when listening to music. It did once or twice get pushed to its limits during parties and the likes and it performs very well at high levels. It can operate virtually full volume with no break up in the sound as long as you select the right bass and treble levels for what you are listening to.

There is no doubt in my mind that it is worth the price it is available at now a days but I certainly would not pay what I paid for it any more because these type of systems have coma along way since then. It is a good looking system that as I have said performed well for the year and a half I owned it for and after having it for that length of time I sold it on and got half my money back on it because it was still in perfect working order and looked as good as the day I bought it.

The system is packed with features for every component so if you enjoy tailoring your viewing and listening experiences to the finest detail then you can with this but equally you can just stick it on preset and sit back and enjoy the sound.

If you are looking for this type of system at the moment then you should at least give consideration to this one. At £179.99 it is well worth its money and will I am sure bring you years of good sound. Technics is a well respected brand and when it comes to surround sound systems they certainly know their stuff. Although my new system is Sony I would certainly consider Technics again when choosing another. The Technics SCDV290 is slightly harder to find these days although they can be found both new and second hand on EBay.

I hope you are suitably enlightened on the subject and you enjoyed the read!

© thebigc1690