The Yamaha delivers a smooth, full sound that still retains plenty of detail. The CD player and display are superb (offering the full rosta of CDText features). The tuner delivers excellent results when fed with a good, strong signal. The range of inputs and outputs is excellent with full MD + Tape loop-throughs and separate Aux inputs AND a Subwoofer output - brilliant! The speaker terminals are also good strong binding posts capable of taking thick-core audiophile cables. The system and speakers are also compact and unobtrusive and no flashing lights or LEDs! The system is built to deliver sound of the best quality - which is exactly how it should be! As a whole the system is responsive and ergonomic. The layout is simple and focused and just has the features you need for day to day use. The more technical issues are left to the gloss black remote. On this subject, the remote is not the sleekest in the world but sits comfortably in the hand and is intuitively laid out.

For what it is and what it costs the weaknesses of this system are few and far between. However, as mentioned above, the speaker wire is very sub-standard and spending a bit more will really breathe a new life into the system. As a test, I hooked up the system to my Eltax monitors (What Hi-Fi Award Winners a few years back) and THEN...wow!...does it sing. The supplied speakers are good (far better than Aiwa, Hitachi, Goodmans etc could manage!) but hook it up to a good pair of specialist speakers and this system will blow you away. The soundstage is wide and timing is spot on. The precise Eltax's love the lush Yamaha sound and the result is absolutely delightful. The sound is wonderfully clean - totally free of electronic noise - and every level of the track is revealed with a natural ease. So...perhaps the weakest link in the system are the speakers and hence potential buyers should not be put off if the system is offered as "system only". However, I use it with the supplied speakers for every day use and they more than suffice!

Similarly to the above reviewer I bought this micro system to take back to University with me instead of my separates system. I was led to believe that the product was an end of line but at the time of writing many retailers still carry it - with the cheapest one being considerably more than I paid. The system has proved itself to be an extremely good purchase. The only other option I seriously considered was the superb Denon-DM31 which worked out considerably more expensive although the sound quality (with the Denon/Mission speakers) was slightly better than the Yamaha. The quality of the build is superb - the speakers are beautifully finished in Yamaha's "Piano Craft" black lacquer and the system has a solid metal fascia (although the plastic buttons let it down). The system handles all music with finesse and ease. Yamaha traditionally tunes its products for a "natural" full and lush sound which, can sometimes sacrifice some detail and dynamics. The CD player on this system is the stand-out component and actually outclasses my Yamaha separate system in terms of musicality, detail and dynamics. The whole system perhaps lacks the incredible detail that the Denon delivers but it is priced far more competitively and the forgiving sound is far more suited to pop and FM-radio. It's a winner at every level!

Similar Products Used:

Listened to: Denon DM-31 with both recommended Mission built speakers and Tannoy ones. Also listened to micro systems from Bush, Goodmans, Hitachi and Sanyo.

Really high build quality for a micro. Excellent sound quality for the money! High quality binding posts, sub woofer pre-out and gold plated phono sockets. The unit also has a really nice display.

The supplied speaker cable is sub-par and is worth replacing with something a little more decent right away. Gains are heard right away with a change to cable talk 3.1 cable. The styling of the remote might not be to everyone's taste but I like it.

Recently had to sell my seperates system due to it never being used (couldn't keep karting it to and from university like that) and had to find a Micro System to replace it :( Luckily, when browsing a Dixons store in the town centre I came across a discounted Yamaha E300 Pinaocraft at £150. I bought it right away, as for the money it was blatantly a far superior bit of kit than the Goodmans, Bush, Sanyo and even Sony models for the price.