Customer Reviews

JVC XL-FZ258BK 5-CD Changer

5 star:		(60)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

This is a great buy at twice the price. There are two features I would have liked but not major ones. Let me say first of all, I am a part time DJ and I cannot tie up all my CDs in a large 100 or 200 CD carousel. I need easy access to load and play lots of new music to build play lists. If you never remove your CDs then I would consider a different player. If you carry your music back and forth to the car or work (or DJ like I do) and want to only load a few CDs for an evening then this is the best I've seen. First, the good features; a 5 CD drawer that can be opened without stopping play, good display, easy to use remote, easy to use front buttons, a power cable that detaches from the back (a BIG help in a crowded cabinet like mine), optical digital connection, headphone jack w/volume control. Now, the bad features; there seems to be no way to display the time for a cut other than the elapsed time. I am slightly disappointed in this obvious feature I have seen on every CD player in the last 10 years or so. A minor irritant to me, you might not miss it. The other feature is the optical digital. I would have liked a coax digital as my Kenwood VR-309 receiver only has one optical port and that is used by my JVC XV-511 DVD. Other components in my system for sound, 3 x Dual 5" Vifa speakers w/ Al dome tweeters from Speaker City in Glendale, CA, with 2 x Optimus 5 from Radio Shack for surrounds. The sound of this setup is superb. This unit is a great replacement for my Kenwood DP-R3080 CD.

I bought this to replace a 5-cd shelf system when the cd function froze. After buying and returning two other players (different brands and much more expensive) I ended up with this one. Two features are of the utmost importance to me - random play and quick changes between tracks in random play. While the time between tracks when changing discs is still unacceptable at about 8-10 seconds, it is the shortest I've found. The two I returned were 21 and 16 seconds, completely unacceptable. As a comparison, my now-defunct shelf system was also a carousel changer and only took 3-4 seconds max to start the next track when changing discs.

Like I said, overall it's acceptable, but there are two other features that I don't like. The first is the unadjustable brightness of the display. If you are one of those people who like to chill in the dark to your favorite music the display is annoyingly bright. Not a big deal since a layer or two of window tinting can tone it down.

The other grievance is that you cannot switch between random and continue play with the music playing. You have to stop the music to change, which of course means interrupting the current track.

As a plus, this unit has a headphone jack and a 'power' button on the remote. The other two more expensive ones didn't.

Since pickings are slim in this category of components, I think it's the best for the money.

This CD player takes the cake! It was the only one that played all my scratched CDs -- I took them to Circuit City and tested almost every player in the store and this was the ONLY one that passed through the skips!

Everything else about it is great -- you can't go wrong for under $150.

I don't understand all the negative reviews about this changer. I've owned this changer for about 6 months now, and find it more than suitable for casual use. My previous 5 disc changer was a Kenwood CD-203 (purchased in 1998); I also own a Pioneer 301 disc changer. Before purchasing this changer, I was quite apprehensive due to the negative reviews on here. I bit the bullet, as my Kenwood changer was acting up, and I am quite happy with this product.

This changer has never skipped on me or presented other issues. I use the optical output on the changer to connect to my receiver, and the quality is excellent. The remote works even with sloppy angles. The changer is quiet when changing CDs (rotating the carousel), and the display is readable from across the room.

There are a few little quirks: The changer differentiates between 'exchanging' a CD (thus not interrupting the currently playing CD, and not opening the drawer all the way) and 'open', which stops the current CD and opens the drawer. Personally, I find the distinction a little annoying, since I almost always want to 'exchange'. My previous Kenwood has no such distinction.

I also wish the remote layout and buttons were a little more friendly to use by touch and not by sight--I like to listen to music in low light or even darkness, so I had to memorize some of the remote buttons (In particular, 'disc skip' is located in the middle of the remote).

However, these are extremely minor nits. The changer is excellent, feels sturdy, and has survived about 600 hours of use in the last 6 months. I am delighted with my purchase and would recommend the changer to anyone looking for a low capacity changer.

Well, I personally didn't buy this product off of Amazon.com, but I do own it, so its all good. I was really surprised at the quality of the sound from this product. It's an excellent buy. For the price, I really don't think that you can get a better deal. One of the things I like best is the ease of use, espically w/ the Compulink system. If you have a JVC amp w/ a remote you can control the CD player too. Also, if you buy this, use the digital out feature. The sound quality is much better than from the RCA jacks.

I am very sorry I previously wrote a favorable review of this product. I have had nothing but troubles with mine, and I have had mine replaced by JVC TWICE, each AFTER they were sent in for repairs, but were not really repaired. My brother's also has troubles, but he has decided to live with it, given the fact that JVC has not been able to give me one that actually works properly. Yes, it plays the CDs, but most of the time, when I turn it on, the door opens on its own, and the carousel turns, and then the door closes again. During that time, it will not accept any commands. The second one had a more serious problem with the disc exchange feature. I WILL NEVER BUY A JVC PRODUCT AGAIN. Given my experience with 4 new, factory sealed players, ALL of which were defective, and given the fact that they were unable to actually repair anything when they attempted to do so, I think they must be the worst company I have ever had the misfortune of doing business with. Do not buy this.

If you want a high quality, easy to use 5-CD changer, you can't go wrong here. Front panel is comprehensive yet easy to use. An excellent choice if you want to upgrade from a single CD player (put in 5 CDs and press "random" and you will be all set). If you're building a DVD library as well and have some extra money to spend, consider investing in Onkyo's 5 DVD/CD changer. Otherwise get this.

We ordered this changer last December and it arrived in perfect condition - so far, so good. It worked great for eight months.
But then it totally froze up in mid play with five CDs locked inside. Since we live in Hawaii and would have to ship the unit to Honolulu for service, we were concerned about the condition of the trapped CDs (and their eventual return). Trying to contact JVC for "customer service" is a total joke. They have an 800 number with the usual menus but it is impossible to talk to a real person. The only option was to e-mail them which they said they would answer in five days. Customer service? Well, ten days later we get a standard form e-mail telling us to ship the unit to Honolulu (which we already knew) with no mention of the concerns expressed in our e-mail about the trapped CDs.
Our search of the internet turned up enough horror stories of JVC "service" that we've decided to heed the first rule of those who find themselves in a hole: stop digging.

After purchasing the FZ158BK 5 cd changer and returning it because it didn't come with a remote control, I decided to try the next model up. The FZ258BK is very easy to use and the sound is very clean and tight. I have purchased other JVC brand audio/video equipment and this item was definitely worth the money. It is an excellent addition to our component system and would highly recommend it.

I found this changer to be very easy to operate. All the buttons on the front panel are all in line and it is not hard to find what you want to do when making changes.The best part that i like is that you can change cds while one is playing and with quiet operation. With the platter type you can see 4 of your cds while one is playing as opposed to the stacked type that just grinds through to find the right cd. As far as cons i haven't found any. I bought this after looking at other reviews and this had a lot of stars. So i would say buy it.