Pros: Incredibly clear, powerful sound, massive bass output for a small unit, auxillary line-in ability
Cons: Archaic mechanical tape operation buttons, no LCD screen back-light, eats batteries - lots of em.
The Bottom Line: If your looking for a portable system with sound clarity, high volume and room filling sound, look no further, the Sony G-70 is your answer.
spunkyjivl's Full Review: Sony CFD-G70 Cassette/CD Boombox
The Sony G-70 is quite possibly the baddest, best sound boom box on the market today.
With its 3 separate amplifiers, each driving their own set of speakers, one amp runs the main mid-range speakers, one runs the tweeters and one 12watt amp runs the built-in subwoofer. This tri-amp configuration enables this portable stereo to put out some of the cleanest reproduced sound I've ever heard on a small, portable, compact system.
Operation:
The G-70 has all the basic features you'd find in a portable stereo. It sports a CD player, tape player, and a digital AM/FM tuner and digital volume control.
The CD player operates like any other with the ability to play standard CDs, CD-Rs and CD-RWs. If you are looking for a portable system that can play MP3s, you will have to look elsewhere.
As mentioned, the cassette player uses antiquated mechanical push buttons for its operation. I have not used the tape player, as I no longer possess any of these out dated fossils. Seeing that this is the latter half of 2003 and everything is digital, I dot know why Sony decided to include one.
The radio tuner is average, with average reception, not much to say about it really.
Features and Sound:
The G-70 packs quite a few features for a portable system.
Most notably and visibly is the massive built-in subwoofer with has its own dedicated 12watt amp. The little sub is capable of adding plenty of bass to add to your music's dynamics. It has three levels of adjustment: Off, mid, and full activation.
The hyped "Game X-pand" found on this unit is simply the turning on and off of the tweeters. While engaged, the tweeters do provide and extended or raised audio perception, but simply just add a massive amount of treble.
There is also a 3 band pre-set equalizer. You can select: Full treble and Bass, full Bass, full Treble, full midrange or completely off. A simple poke of the "sound" button either on the unit or the included remote changes these tones. With so many variables included, you would be hard pressed to find a sound set up that you didnt like.
The line-in feature really sets this boom box apart from the rest of the crowd. You can hook up a game system, TV, VCR, DVD, what ever you want to plug into it via the included "junction box" that interfaces between RCA cables and headphone style audio plugs.
The LCD screen is really the only thing I would change about this unit. Its very small, doesnt display CD text, and has no back-light.
Battery consumption can be quite harsh, especially if the subwoofer is maxed out and the Game X-pand tweeters are on. Definitely have an AC power source near by for extended usage.
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