The frequency range is not quite as extended compared to a dedicated amp or reciever. However I find the sound very easy to listen to while still feeling powerful. I use it as an alarm clock and have enjoyed waking up to its sound daily. I switched the stock speakers for a pair of floorstanders and highly recommend doing so. The only thing I would change would be to remove the sound of the fan and the CD motor.

Great Sound

None

Brilliant. mi have built up the system with the cassete system, dolby surround set and mini-disc system. it is great i have hooked up my dvd player to the system ad have a complete home entertainment sysytem

Great Display and remote

Great system but hard to find the minidisc recorder, surround sound processor and the add on speakers.

Loud, clear sound for a small cd player. Nice, compact, stylish, and makes other cd players look dull and boring. Adds character to the room.

Hard to find the add-on components like the AV-5 Dolby Pro Logic Surround Processor and the MJ-L5 minidisc player/recorder unit.

This is a very nice cd player for any room of the house. It is worth the money and is even better with the whole NS-5 system (includes the surround processor and speaker pakage, and the minidisc player/recorder). I recomend this minisystem for anyone looking for something less than a huge home theater system but something more than a boom box.

Similar Products Used:

Panasonic, Sony, Kenwood, etc...

Neat little alarm clock with great sound and nice big display I can read with my nearsightedness.

If the power goes out - so does the alarm and time settings. It NEEDS a batter backup or something to hold the clock for an hour or so!

We use the NS-5 primarily as a CD alarm clock and as an amp for our TV in the bedroom. I like to sleep in the DARK instead of seeing displays flashing and coloring the ceiling at night. The unit has really terriffic sound for such a small package - espically when the speakers are replaced with something a little better - like those small bookshelf speakers you can get at Radio Shack. Then it sounded even better than ever! I don't like bulky remotes, but this one is so small it can get easily lost in places you wouldn't suspect.

We espically like the alarm clock feature. Setting it for wakeup via CD allows us to set it for one time and just remove the CD from the changer on the weekends... yes, we just pop in another disk when we want the wakeup, and it just starts right up in the morning, just like it did before we removed it.
Another plus is the sleep timer, which shuts it down and folds up the display, kinda neat little trick.

Sounds Great, Power

Large display that doesn't say much, weak am reception

At ubid's price it is a steal. I was able to drive a pair of psb 4T with no problem. And i'm using them at work with a pair of bic-rtr v43 which I also picked up at ubid for a steal and they sound great together. The aux-in is great for connecting your computer. It has a nice sense of style and is compact.
I'm tempted to look for the minidisc section.
FM reception is great but with the supplied antenna AM is crap. (since I rarely listen to the radio and never AM this is no big deal to me.)
The big display is great that it is easy to read but it shows icons for components you don't have aux-in is treated

Good sound, solid build, stylish

Limited interfacing (designed to mate with companion Pioneer components).

I bought the NS-5 from Ubid on a lark. The main attraction was to interface with a Sony MZ-R37 portable minidisc recorder I had purchased, so that I could record from CD to minidisc via digital optical interconnect. I was able to do this successfully, though I noticed that the recording level on the minidisc was very high (level not adjustable on that particular unit). Unfortunately, the optical output is the only one accessible without utilizing a dedicated ribbon interconnect which is only supplied with the matching components to the NS-5 (ie, MJ-L5 minidisc unit and AV-5 Dolby Pro Logic system). Also, the optical output is only active when playing a CD, and does not output a signal when using the tuner portion of the unit. There are a pair of RCA audio inputs, which I used to input the sound from the minidisc unit.
All this aside, I was pleasantly surprised with the sound of the unit (hooked up to an old pair of Radio Shack die cast mini speakers). Both the tuner and CD sound very clean. No harshness evident in the sound. What surprised me even more was the heft of the unit. I expected it to be fairly lightweight and plasticky, but instead found it to be very elegant and extremely heavy for a unit of such modest proportions. Also surprised to discover that it's made in Great Britain!
The motorized display is fun to play with, and is very legible from a distance. The credit card remote works well and weighs next to nothing. The timer functions are cool (sleep and wake-up), but unfortunately the timer-record function only works with the companion minidisc unit (through the aforementioned ribbon interconnect), deriving the signal either from the tuner or the Aux inputs.
All in all, a very nice unit for what it does. I've already had to order another unit for my girlfirend because she thinks it's so cool. At Ubid's closeout prices, you can't go wrong.

Similar Products Used:

None (I was never attracted to mini systems)

Powerfull bass, very sleek looks.

tape deck is a little noisy when FF or rewinding.

The version I got was an NS-6, it differs from the ns-5 by having better speakers, they are VERY powerful considering the size. I have the CD/Tuner section and the tape deck. The tape deck records from CD to tape well. If you wish to upgrade later there is also a MD output + line in.
One of the best mini system out there for the price.

Similar Products Used:

Sony P11 "cube" mini system.

good looking hifi, good value for money and great sound

noisy cd player

I have had the system for a while now and it`s still going stong i have upgraded the speakers for some jamo bookshelf speakers and replaced the speaker wire with some thicker wire and mounted the speakers on some stands.
This has improved the sound alot and the bass is more refined and the treble is not so harsh.
I have listened to some new systems recently and the NS-5 still seems to sound clearer and more dynamic.

I have a MJ-L5 minidisc player/recorder that matches the NS-5. Boxed, never used. Anybody interested I am open to offers.
yelloducks@btinternet.com

SOUND!!! and with its motorzied LCD it look preatty good

If these just came with binding post then i would have had gotten the surround processor for Dolby Pro Logc decoding

Should have done this review a long time ago....Anyway, I've had the cd receiver for 9 months now and just hit me how good this cd player really sound. This may only be 18 watts per channel but tell you what....i dont even have to turn the volume and the bass up whenever i use it. It aslo very detailed if there's such a thing. For the the price i got it its a steal...i don't think Pioneer is still selling though. For its price and value its definitely a recommded component. Check it out if you still can.