Summary:
Don't even consider buying this piece of crap!

Strengths:
none

Weaknesses:
worst speakers ever, no bass, confusing controls

Similar Products Used:
none

Summary:
I got this Sharp System 4 years ago, and its still working great! It has great sound for what you pay for. At about $150, you can add stuff to it and make it great.

Summary:
I've had the CD-C444 for a few years (got it as a Christmas present one year) and it's an okay system for casual folks. It doesn't have enough power to put out much bass, but mids and highs sound fairly good. I hooked a 25-watt amp to it that had been pulled from a car installation, and that improved things somewhat. I also hooked up some cheap Sony speakers that I had gotten at a garage sale--I can't really decide whether that was an improvement over the stock Sharp speakers or not. The 3-CD changer worked well for the first couple of years, but nowadays it has problems queueing up some CD's--it will just sit there and read the CD, and never play it. That drives me crazy. I'm either going to upgrade to a shelf system (maybe a Kenwood, since I've had good experience with Kenwood car audio products), or a receiver-and-two-speakers setup (looking at Denon and Cambridge Soundworks, or Bose). But comparing the Sharp system to a real system is like comparing a Volkswagen to a Porsche ... it isn't really an accurate thing to do.

Summary:
This is a really really cool mini-system. The only thing it's missing is auto-reverse on the casette decks, and a flourescent display. The 3-CD changer is really convenient.