PHILIPSFX10 Bluetooth Stereo System for Home with CD Player , MP3, USB, FM Radio, Bass Reflex Speaker, 230 W, Remote Control Included

Paid $170 for it, so all information in this review is based on that price point.To give you an idea of the kind of listener I am, as a lifelong musician/composer/producer I've gotten pretty picky over the years about sound quality. I listen to music pretty much all day 40 hours a week and have been using only headphones for it for years, (I cannot recommend VMODA's Crossfade Wireless 2's enough!) so when I switched jobs and found myself able to be home for work I thought it would be fun to have the option of listening on actual speakers too. The genres I listen to the most are:- Metal of all kinds but mostly symphonic metal (Dimmu Borgir, Mechina, Fear Factory, etc - it's very fast metal with an entire symphony or a load of keyboards playing at the same time, so very sonically rich/complex)- Drum and bass (Black Sun Empire, Doom Poets, Technical Itch, Upbeats, Misanthrop, Hive, Skynet, KYROS, etc)- Original movie scores / trailer music (mostly symphonic and some choir elements)- Rap/hip hop (mainly old gangster stuff like Mr. Doctor, Dre/Cube, etc)Here's what I was wanting / expecting when I went looking for a stereo and eventually picked this one, and then how it matches up to my expectations.Transparent sound / clarity - 4.75 out of 5.To me a good set of speakers or headphones is better the LESS they change the sound of what I'm listening to. I want to hear the music as clearly and closely to the original mix as possible. To be specific I don't mean I want a WIMPY sound with no definition - I want a system that STRONGLY pumps out the sound so I can clearly hear every element, but the way the original engineers meant for it to sound. For the most part this system kicks out strong, very clear sound.But the reason I knocked a quarter point off is that I really don't understand why there is no way to TURN OFF the EQ function. In case you're not a raging audiophile nerd :), the way the EQ function works in all stereos is that it routes the original sound through an audio processor that then changes the sound around to match each EQ setting's target (for example, "ROCK" EQ presets usually crank up the bass and treble and cut the mids, "POP" usually pushes up the mids and emphasizes vocals, etc). However, the reason that can sometimes be really bad is that someone has ALREADY very obsessively tuned every sound and moment of what you're listening to in order to make it sound as good as possible - the original engineer who mixed the record. So going with our original example, if you're listening to really heavy metal and the engineer has ALREADY engineered it to have heavy bass and high elements, trying to stack another change to sound on top of that can sometimes make it end up sounding crappy or not clear. It's just frustrating to have what's clearly a fantastic amplifier > speaker > box setup, but be unable to pipe sound through it without the unit changing it.I should make sure to say it still sounds amazing, but I would have really liked a simple option to turn off the EQ (or if they'd just included a "FLAT" setting).Speaker Response / Accuracy - 5 out of 5If anyone reading this is wondering what I'm talking about with speaker response, I'm referring to whether or not the system can handle pumping out music with a lot of complex elements at extremely high speeds while maintaining an accurate picture of the overall sound (in other words, it doesn't get "muddy" or "sludgy" sounding). This system does this excellently and in fact is much better at it than I expected. For reference check out something like Dimmu Borgir's "Maelstrom Mephisto" or Mechina's "Praise Hydrus" - both songs with a massive variety of sonic elements, and it blasts those out perfectly (and can get pretty freakin loud doing it). Both of the above songs sounded amazing even when pushed pretty hard.Build Appearance and Quality - 5 out of 5The visual styling is definitely making a loud statement (that statement being "I'm futuristic and tech-looking and belong at home in a game like Deus Ex"), and it's something I personally love since the techwear/futurist aesthetic complements my already futurist-ish office setup. The quality of the build seems quite solid as well - head unit is all framed in metal and is relatively heavy (a good sign...means the internal components aren't cheap garbage). The speaker boxes are definitely a touch above your average bookshelf speaker and certainly seem durable enough. I don't think there would have been any harm in putting grilles over the actual speaker cones...but provided you don't have Gremlins throwing ninja stars around in your office, I think you're good ;)Bass Response / Low Frequency Handling - 4.90 out of 5The bass response is 85-90% perfect and in fact is really quite remarkable for a system that doesn't have its own dedicated separate larger subwoofer. I'm actually pretty impressed at how low the frequency response goes on this thing - it slams drum and bass way harder than I was expecting, and even symphonic death metal comes through super clear and slamming with a clean but powerful kick drum sound. The only reason I knocked off a tenth of a point was that (only in very specific tracks - "Dark Helmet" by Doom Poets/Technical Itch is one example) the lowest end of the sound very slightly bogs/clenches up because the speakers are trying to push out bass that is probably a little lower (frequency) than what the speakers are actually capable of reproducing. But reminder...I'm being pretty picky about this, probably...and I'd bet 98% of people wouldn't even notice or care.Doohickeys / Bells and Whistles Features - 3.0 out of 5I honestly don't personally care almost at all about these kinds of features but thought I should be thorough and rate them in case anyone is interested. So what I'm lumping in here is additional options like "Bass Boost", "MAX Sound", etc. The features themselves are fine and work just fine, but here's why I give it only a 3. Both of these features have been bog-standard in stereo gear for as long as I can remember (at least 20-30 years), but stereo companies just keep re-naming it and claiming they're some kind of innovation LOL. "Bass Boost" (aka MEGA Bass, Thump Bass, Super Donkey Bass, etc) has been around forever. All it is is cranking up a certain couple of low end frequencies. And "MAX SOUND" (aka Loudness, Loud Boost, XTREME!, Planet Crusher, etc) is nothing new either - it's just effectively cranking the sound so it makes it "sound" louder (which by the way almost inevitably makes it sound worse). Both of these features work just fine on this unit and the Super Donkey Bass does punch clearly. But the reason I gave it 3 stars is that for something branded and sold as a "mini hi fi system" they could have at least included a few "fake surround" modes or something.Connectivity / Input Options - 5 out of 5Very impressed with the wide range of ways you can pipe music into this thing. USB, CD, aux in, Bluetooth, (and the CD player handles MP3-only data cd's too, I believe). Input options this rich should be standard on all stereo gear, honestly.Overall Score - 5 out of 5For what I paid for it, what I use it for, and the things I care about it doing, I give it a 5 out of 5. Given the price point the only reason I could possibly think of NOT to buy it if you're in the market for a system is if you really hate the visual styling (strong black and gold color schema with an inescapable futuristic/techie slant). And then you'd REALLY have to hate it because this is a killer system.

The sound out of the speakers are magnificent. It’s easy to use. You don’t need an encyclopedia to figure it out. It has everything I need plus an mp3 socket. You don’t need an encyclopedia to figure it out. It’s attractive and it fits well in my bookcase.

I also have a Sony CMTSBT100, and have used it without issue for about 5 years. I wanted something new, so ordered this. I do like the look and the gold accents on this. (Is that what “sheerness” is?)The description does indicate FM only, but the manual that the product links to shows the unit with AM and FM radio. It turns out that there are 2 manuals for this, but Phillips would not give me a straight answer on this, even when I sent them BOTH of the manuals I pulled from their website. So that was disappointment number 1, no AM radio. Why are all the manufacturers trying to kill off AM radio?I won’t base my rating on this as it was described as FM only, and it was wishful thinking for me.The unit arrived very well packaged and no blemishes. Setup was easy enough once I figured out how to connect the 4 speaker posts. I couldn’t even read the supplied instruction sheet as it was too tiny and too confusing.I checked all the functions, including a usb stick with MP3 files and Bluetooth. Everything worked the way it was supposed to.The unit does put out some heavy power when you have the MAXX and DBB3 activated. However, it is severely lacking in the high range, which was disappointment number 2.When I set it up I was testing the sound and loudness. I could fell my desk vibrating some 25 feet away. My downstairs neighbor complained I was playing it too loud.This does have a nice sound to it, especially with newer music which seems to be bass heavy. I just need boosted high range as my ears are older.The FM radio was disappointment number three. First because of how the stations are tuned, but setting favorites was easy enough. The real disappointment was with radio reception.I am in NYC and there are many FM stations. And I’ve had 3 different mini systems in the same spot before this one and there were no issues with radio reception. With this, though the stations came in, the signal would drift and there was slight static present at times, even though the antenna was stretched all the way out and positioned in different directions. On my other units I just dropped the FM wire behind the cabinet on which this sits, and had no reception issues.I think the biggest disappointment is the remote. It’s very lightweight and very cheap feeling. The buttons get stuck half the time as the buttons do not protrude enough from the openings. So if you happen to press a button in the corner, it will get stuck in the hole for that button.After living with this for a day and a half, I have boxed it back up and gone back to the Sony. I am going to keep it as a backup unit. I would have eventually gotten used to the sound signature of the unit, but I need AM radio. I go to sleep with AM news radio every night. I have the Sony on about 20 hours every day and it has lasted about ( years so far.