Boston Acoustics Microsystem AM FM CD White

by Boston Acoustics

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 11 x 4.3 x 6.9 inches ; 11 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 12 pounds
• ASIN: B00078F22Q
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #108,113 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

The Boston Acoustics MicroSystem CD Player and Clock Radio is designed for people who take their music and their waking seriously. Offering full, rich sound that you never thought possible in a system this size, the MicroSystem is versatile enough to be your bedside companion of choice or your stereo system of choice.

The Boston Acoustics MicroSystem CD is a CD player and AM/FM tuner perfect for home or office use.

Boston Acoustic's stylish system is small in size, but big on sound.

The MicroSystem CD can be operated either by the small remote stored inside the unit or the simple controls on top.

The three auxiliary inputs are ideal for iPods or other MP3 players.

The Heart of the Receptor: BassTrac Technology
At the heart of the MicroSystem is Boston Acoustic's BassTrac technology, a proprietary Boston-designed circuit that tracks low frequencies and prevents audible amplifier distortion. Unlike conventional "limiters," BassTrac doesn't merely chop off the tops of the distortion-inducing signal peaks. Instead, it actually preserves the waveform's shape so the fidelity of the signal is maintained, while preventing distortion.

For those of us who can't explain the difference between AM and FM to a room full of first graders, this basically means that the MicroSystem is designed to give you all the bass without any of the distortion. The result is a full, pleasing broadcast at any volume for any type of music. When combined with the system's dual speakers, BassTrac circuitry provides such astonishing bass response that your friends will be convinced you have a subwoofer hidden in the room. In other words, the MicroSystem will give you a rich and smooth sound, whether you're cooking to fusion jazz or heavy metal, or waking up to the traffic report.

Elegance, Performance and Convenience
The MicroSystem CD is designed to take tabletop performance to the next level. Featuring a slot-loading CD player, AM/FM tuner, and remote control, the MicroSystem offers CD, MP3,WMA, and CD-R playback and includes three auxiliary inputs, including a front-panel jack ideal for your portable digital music player of choice. A stereo headphone jack is also included. The credit card-sized remote control conveniently stores inside unit, or sticks to most metal surfaces, meaning you'll never have a problem locating it, and the unit's easy-to-read display automatically dims in dark environments.

The MicroSystem weighs in at about nine pounds and measures 14 x 4.5 x 8.5 inches (WxHxD) -- making it ideal for a bedside or kitchen table. The radio includes 12 FM and 12 AM presets, and the dual independent alarm clocks can be set to music, buzzer or both. Like any good clock radio, it also includes a built-in snooze and sleep functions. And a battery back-up stores both the presets and the alarm settings during power outages, giving you the peace of mind that you'll never have to worry about getting to work on time.

Easy-to-use, intuitive buttons on the top control panel, and an illuminated on/off button, make operation during your dozing-off or waking moments as easy as it gets. Boston Acoustics has also given you the nice option of going to sleep with one station and waking up to another. You can also go to sleep or wake to your favorite CD.

What's most refreshing about the MicroSystem is that while it's small enough to fit anywhere in the house, it's still powerful enough to create an exceptional presence in any room. Much more than a clock radio, the MicroSystem is powerful enough to take on your living space by delivering the full, rich sounds you'd expect from a much larger -- and much more expensive -- component system.

Product Description

Imagine having a superb stereo system that fits on your nightstand, near your bed, so tiny it can fill a room with delicious sound and true-to-life performance. The MicroSystem CD takes tabletop performance to the next level, with big, rich sound you never thought possible in a system this size. It's an elegant, all-in-one package so versatile it's perfect as a bedside alarm clock, a room-filling stereo, or even stereo sound for your TV. It even has convenient front inputs for your iPod or other MP3 player. The MicroSystem CD features easy-to-use, intuitive buttons on the top control panel for your convenience. A magnetic, credit-size remote control enables you to operate the MicroSystem CD from anywhere in your room. Dual speakers with unique BassTrac circuitry provide such astonishing bass response your friends will be convinced you have a subwoofer hidden in the room. A powerful, state-of-the art tuner pulls in weak signals with unobstructed, next-door clarity. Yet, of the many remarkable features of the MicroSystem CD, it's the quality of the sound that's most stunning. Clear and uncolored. Pure and natural from one end of the spectrum to the other. That's the philosophy behind this unique special table radio that belies its form and takes you to a new dimension of sound appreciation. You won't believe your ears - but this radio is simply pure joy! Is it miraculous? Perhaps. A miracle sent through the ingenius audio engineers at Boston Acoustics! Stereo headphone jack Easy-to-read display automatically dims in dark environments Illuminated on/off button Battery backup saves presets and alarm settings Alarm operates even in a power failure, so you'll never miss the big meeting Go to sleep to one station and wake up to another / Wake to CD Intuitive, one-piece design Unit Dimensions - 4.5 x 14 x 8.5 (113.9 x 355 x 216.8mm) / Weight - 9 lbs (4 kg) 110-120V AC Powered

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Probably the best CD Table Radio, December 3, 2005

By 

J. Shackelford "Jim Shackelford" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Boston Acoustics Microsystem AM FM CD White (Electronics)

As I see it there are three choices in good CD table radios: Bose, Cambridge Soundworks and Boston Acoustics. If there's another one out there, no one is writing about it.

Based on extensive reading of what consumers and audio reviewers are saying, and hearing the Boston Acoustics in the store, we bought the Boston Acoustics yesterday. Not disappointed.

If you want good sound and a low price, you can probably get a mini shelf system for $400, or get better components for $500. If you want good sound that you can carry from room to room, with no connections to make, these table radios are the right thing.

Everyone talks about the sound quality, with reason. The BA sounds good! It is clear, natural, full, and has adequate bass. What stands out though is the tuner. I'm not a radio lover, because of the lack of good stations, but if the tuner is your thing, I'd recommend buying this above any tuner I've had in car, boombox or components. Across the dial it pulls in dozens of stations strong.

So far what I miss is a volume knob. Like so many new products, on the BA you press the volume control lots of times to advance or decrease volume. Otherwise it's well designed. We took it out of the box and plugged it in, without reading the instructions, just like a $20 clock radio. My wife loves the fact that there's nothing new to learn.

We have various CDs and CDRs that will play in one device and not the next. So far they all play in the BA table radio.

Thirty years ago when you bought a stereo it generally lasted until you wanted something better. I had my second system for 27 years. With CD players I don't know if you can find that kind of longevity. Reliability is a big deal now, when comparing brands. What leaned us hard toward Boston Acoustics was that we've heard of a lot of people who had problems with their Cambridge Soundworks' radios, and a repair guy told me he saw more Bose than anything else. Ask me in 20 years, but we're hoping that Boston Acoustics is the most reliable of the trio.

To us $499 is a big deal. (Good luck finding a lower price, unless you buy one on eBay, which could void the warranty.) This is our main sound system now. (And it has jacks in the back so you can play a cassette deck or other equipment through it.) We carefully asked Tweeters if they had a thirty day satisfaction policy. They do. But this unit is not going back. It's also available in more stores than Bose or Cambridge Soundworks, so check it out.

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nice Alternative to a Component Stereo, June 4, 2005

By 

Beabea (Chicago, Illinois USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Boston Acoustics Microsystem AM FM CD White (Electronics)

My wife and I are in our 40s, and we bought this to replace our 1980s big component stereo system. Overall, we are very satisfied with this. We have it in our family room and it nicely fills the room with sound. Note that you can not get that wall shaking volume that you could with a big set of speakers, but you get great sound at the levels that you probably listen to most often. There are several nice features too. We plug our MP3 player into the line in connection which is on the front. The reception is great. If you want some more punch to the sound, you can add a subwoofer, but I doubt that you'll want to do so. It also has a nice remote that is stored in the front panel. It is set up with an alarm, snooze control, etc to work as a clock radio, but I would consider it a waste to use it as such since the sound is so good. Before buying this, we also listened to the Bose Wave which costs the same. We thought that the sound from each unit was very similar and chose this because we liked the features better.

In summary, it's a lot of money, but it was worthwhile to downsize from our old stereo system.

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Big wow, but there are issues., December 27, 2005

By 

Michael J. Leone "Mikele" (ESCONDIDO, CA. United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Boston Acoustics Microsystem AM FM CD White (Electronics)

This was to be a christmas present to my wife. She had been bugging me for years to get a new clock radio. $500 is an awful lot for a clock radio. I looked at the Bose, Cambridge and the Boston Acoustics. I actually purchased the Cambridge system and brought it back after reading about problems with it. It came down to Bose or Boston. I went with the Boston system. We now take you to christmas morning. My wife unraps the gift, opens the box and immediatly plugs it in. She turns on the radio and we are both floored. The sound eminating from this unit is unbelievable. Deep, full and clear. The smile on my wifes face made this purchase worth it. However, in a matter of seconds that smile changed to a frown. She wants to play one of her new cd's. She loads it in the player and low and behold it spits it back out. Problems with the cd player. The next day I brought it back to Tweeter. They gave me another one. I felt I had better try it there to see if it worked ok. Guess what, that cd player also did not work on that unit. Is it my imagination or do you suppose we have a quality control problem? The manager insisted they bring yet another one out of stock and try it. Third time is the charm. It all worked this time and the cd sounded awsome. At least for the moment, we are both very happy. I guess only time will tell. I give this 5 stars for the sound, and 3 stars for quality control. I'd say that equals out to about 4 stars overall.