Sound Judgment -- The Second Time Around

Having a stereo hookup in the living room--or wherever you do your serious listening--spawns an urge for a second system, in the den, in the bedroom or at the office. Until recently, such a supplementary stereo usually meant inferior sound, fewer features and limited versatility. Today, however, a second system covers a broad range of options. At one end of the equipment spectrum, there are tiny speakers, such as the AudioSource LS-Six, that fit in the palm of your hand and can be connected to a personal portable stereo of the Walkman type. Call it the Walkman Connection. You listen via headphones while jogging or cycling; when you reach your destination, you swap them for the tiny speakers and the band plays on. Of course, exactly what constitutes anyone's second system is a matter of available space and budget. For example, you can get truly hedonistic with the $1000 Luxman RX-103 stereo receiver, which has a wireless remote-control box that lets you operate the equipment from across the room. Related Luxman components that can also be controlled--from, say, your bed without your having to ruffle the sheets--include the PX-101 turntable and the KX-102 cassette recorder. In similarly sybaritic style, there's the Bang & Olufsen 8000 system. With microcomputer options as well as remote control, its receiver, turntable and cassette deck are all designed to look (continued on page 190) Sound Judgment (continued from page 107) virtually like clones of one another; when arranged side by side, they form a convincing display of Scandinavian high style and high tech. Again, this is equipment to provide unprecedented luxury in any room of the house or, for that matter, in an executive office. One of Akai's prematched-component systems, the PRO-3033 ($1800), can also be operated from across the room, using wireless remote control. Units in that setup include an integrated amplifier, a digital tuner, a direct-drive turntable, a cassette recorder and a pair of three-way-speaker systems.

If space for speakers is a problem, you can choose from among a whole new crop of speaker systems whose sound belies their petite proportions. They will provide fine stereo and clean sound, their only real drawback being a relatively limited response in the deepest bass. Some likely entries are the remarkable KEF 101, the Aiwa SC-A1, the Phase Tech PC 60, the Celestion SL-6, the ADS 300W and the Technics SB series. Two items of special interest here include the Bose 201, smallest of the systems that provide the reflected/direct-sound spread, and the Sony SA-55, known as an active speaker because it includes its own built-in power amplifier. Connecting it to a component such as a tuner or a tape deck that lacks a power amp gives you a complete sound system.

Another space saver is the combination-type component that unites a full-feature cassette deck with a stereo receiver. Recent versions of this kind of unit are truly impressive. For example, the Kenwood KRX-7 provides digital tuning and furnishes 45 watts of power output per channel. A built-in clock/timer can automatically activate the tuner and the tape deck. Sansui's CR-M7 uses digital tuning, while its CR-M5 includes a short-wave band with conventional tuning. Sony's models in this product class offer automatic tape selection and real-time indication of tape used. A cassette/receiver, the KR-1000, is among Yamaha's new products. This type of unit is also featured in Aiwa's V-500 system, which includes a front-loading linear-tracking turntable, an equipment rack and a pair of speakers. Turntable and speakers are included with the cassette/receiver in Panasonic's Systematix series.

Actually, a portable unit that combines a cassette deck and a stereo receiver is still a widely available type of secondary hi-fi system, but any resemblance between the latest crop of portables and what we used to tote a few years ago is purely semantic. The new sets boast new features and better performance, and at least a dozen manufacturers known for their commitment to hi-fi have brought out some notable totables that can serenade you while you're stretched out on a beach blanket and also provide yeoman service indoors as that second system.

Yamaha's new PC-9 unit, for example, has breakaway speakers for improved stereo spread. The cassette deck sports feather-touch controls, and the amp section has inputs for an optional turntable. All for about $500.

Some of Panasonic's new portables also permit detaching the speakers; its model RX-5350 includes two short-wave bands and a five-band graphic equalizer for tailoring the stereo to better suit an outdoor or an indoor listening environment.

One of Pioneer's sets also has the short-wave bands, while two others offer a music-search option for their cassette sections. The cassette portion of Toshiba's RT-200S may well be the first portable that has, in addition to short wave, automatic tape reversal. A three-band equalizer, plus the music-sensing feature, is found in Sony's CFS-500.

Among the Marantz Gold Series of musical movables is the PMS 6000, which, in addition to a cassette deck and a receiver, has a drop-down turntable with magnetic pickup. One of the heftiest of portables is Kenwood's DC-20, with computer-controlled cassette functions and a receiver that uses true digital tuning while providing 20 watts per channel for its two-way speaker systems--which, again, may be separated from the main unit.

The unique turntable fitted into Sharp's VZ-2000 portable plays both sides of a record without your having to turn the record over. This trick is accomplished by the use of two tonearms, both of which are vertically mounted and linear-tracking. Computer control keeps them on course. The speakers in this set are each biamplified (separate amps for woofers and tweeters).

Among Sanyo's portables is the model M7830K, which includes four speakers. Another Sanyo, the MX650K, features a dimension expander for enhanced stereo; this unit will also operate from an external record player with a magnetic cartridge. Fisher's new PH430K has a five-band graphic equalizer and removable speakers.

Hitachi has no fewer than nine new portables. Its model TRK-W1H includes two cassette decks, one of which may be removed to become a personal stereo unit with its own headphones. When inserted into the main body of the set, it permits the making of tape copies in conjunction with the permanently built-in cassette deck. Among recent entries from Aiwa are the CS-500, with four speakers, and the CA-100, with detachable speakers.

The major trend in second-system design right now is that new breed of audio components known as the midi. As the name suggests, a midicomponent is smaller than a full-sized version but larger than the cigar-box-sized mini- or microcomponents that have never quite captured the fancy of U.S. buyers or the all-out efforts of many manufacturers. Today's midis are small enough to fit into spaces impossible for full-sized components. At the same time, they employ easy-to-handle controls, more features, higher power, the latest noise-reduction techniques, digital tuning, etc. Indeed, for many a buyer, some of the midis could well serve as a first system.

First or second, a typical midi system with components stacked one atop the other or fitted into a wrap-around or rack takes up no more space than, say, a medium-sized television set. Moreover, being separate components, they can be arranged unstacked, in any manner you choose. For example, Sansui has one set of midicomponents finished in soft white. Perched on a shelf or even a dresser top, they look like a collection of boxes. When you get closer, you see that they mean business in solid stereo terms.

While there are obvious similarities among the midis in terms of format, there are also differences--as among full sized components--to appeal to different buyers. For example, if you prefer the black-matte look, one series of Technics units (turntable, preamp, power amp, cassette deck and tuner) forms, when stacked, a square of colored pin points of light set against the subdued tones of the various front panels. The visual effect is especially striking in a dimly lit room. But don't let that Star Wars control panel fool you--this system provides first-rate stereo.

If color turns you on, there's a Fisher system on the drawing boards that will be finished in soft purple. Slightly larger than average midi size is the Yamaha LC-G55 system, in which a tuner, an integrated amplifier and a cassette deck are fitted into a rack, while a normal-sized turntable sits on top.

A graphic equalizer and a straight-line-tracking turntable are featured in Onkyo's Radian series, which also includes a tuner, an integrated amplifier and a cassette deck. Hitachi's midi system is built around a cassette deck/tuner with a separate power amp and a turntable whose linear-tracking tonearm is attached to the lift-up cover of the turntable. An option with this system is a graphic equalizer.

Kenwood's New Life midi series includes a vertical turntable with linear-tracking arm. Its height is the same as that of the other components stacked one atop another.

Alternately, this system can be fitted into a rack with rollers so that you can push it around for convenience of operation, or even out of sight when not in use--though with its smart contemporary looks and clean sound, you won't want it out of sight for long.

Aiwa's midicomponents include cassette deck, integrated amp, digital tuner with presets, front-loading automatic turntable and prewired component rack. (Speakers are optional.)

A linear-tracking turntable is featured in JVC's Stylistic "mini" series. Also available are a cassette deck, a digital tuner and an integrated amplifier (25 watts per channel) on which the less-often-used controls are hidden behind a flip-down on the front panel. Speakers and equipment rack are included. Mitsubishi still calls its petite components micro, but let's not quibble; the amplifier can deliver 50 watts per channel in stereo use and can also put out 100 watts in mono operation.

Pioneer calls one of its smaller component setups a Shelf Component System. The X-50 uses a 40-watts-per-channel integrated amplifier, a full-logic cassette deck and a digital tuner with 16-station storage and recall. It also has a built-in clock/timer to preset programs for listening or recording. An interesting option for this system is a turntable that loads from the front and is enclosed in a case strong enough to support the other components when they're stacked atop it.

A digital tuner, a 50-watts-per-channel integrated amplifier and a feather-touch-control cassette recorder are the basic components in Sony's Prodigy series. All have controls that are flush with the front panels and that operate at the touch of a finger. Compact components from Teknika Electronics include a soft-touch-control cassette deck, a 20-watts-per-channel integrated amplifier, a tuner, a turntable, speakers and a rack.

In the stereo systems from Meridian (of England) and Schneider (of West Germany), not only do the individual components nestle against one another but their physical contact makes electrical contact--without the use of cables--via built-in special connectors.

Beyond that similarity, the two systems differ markedly. Meridian emphasizes a cool simplicity in its styling and its number of operating controls (a few of its switches do double duty, and some knobs you might expect to find--such as tone controls, which Meridian believes add nothing to music reproduction--are missing). Meridian also uses a modular approach for specific components--for example, you can start with a 35-watt amplifier and add modules to it later for increased power.

Schneider's components bristle with control knobs, switches, printed legends and colored indicators. Even its station-tuning dials contain more than the usual amount of numbers, since they show short wave as well as regular AM and FM markings. The Schneider line is very extensive, with receivers as well as separates, several turntables and cassette decks, six speaker systems and various equipment housings.

With either of those systems, the elimination of interconnecting cables means, of course, that the individual components have to be closely installed. It also does away with the mess of wiring and of cable-routing. By the same token, it also reduces the possibility for deliberately connecting audio components in some unique manner or for introducing other-brand units into a given system. But then, that is not one's primary motivation for getting a second system; the emphasis here is on performance, with a large measure of convenience and freedom from nuts and bolts. On with the music!

"A portable unit with a cassette deck/receiver is still a widely available type of secondary hi-fi system."