Customer Reviews

Sony ZS-X1 S2 Sports CD Boombox with FM/AM Radio and ESP CD Shock Protection

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Before purchasing this unit I searched many sites on line for reviews, and kept finding the same 3 reviews, as if they were copied and spread from site to site because no one else took the time to review this product. So I will now add my thoughts, recently having purchased the Sony ZS-X1 boombox.

I will admit that I hesitated a bit before buying this because of several negative reviews I found. There's a review floating around saying the sound quality is terrible. The person did say that they were using it outside constructing decks or whatever, and admitted it sounded better at lower levels. I think I can understand how this boombox will not rock anyone's world outside, which is actually a difficult task with any portable player, given the ambient noise of the outdoors be it urban or suburbia.

My review is based on this; I am replacing a boombox I had in my kitchen, and I usually play music while doing the dishes (some ambient noise in itself, yet of course in an enclosed environment). I think this Sony unit sounds excellent. The 'megabass' feature truly does add bass that my last TWO units NEVER had... I believe my former units were in the $45-65 price range. This Sony is definitely a bang for the buck device, and I am truly happy with the sound and physical design.

I had no need for a waterproof device, yet my Sony sports Discman always outlasted any other brand due to the anti-shock, rugged construction, so I figured the boombox should also have a long lifespan. Are you paying for a name? Possibly... but it certainly is one I trust.

I confess that I cannot accurately comment on the longevity of this product, since I've only had the unit a few days. However, I just wanted to add a few thoughts to let people know that this device sounds excellent and best of all has a little low end punch to make music lovers of any genre enjoy. I bought the boombox based on Sony's reputation and my previous experiences with their products, and I have no regrets. Remember, it's a portable boombox, not a home theatre system.

This stereo is really good if you need to bring it with you a lot. I've had mine for about a year and it still works as good as it did when it came out of the box. The only problem I had was that the antenna broke after the second week of having it, but still get good reception on the radio. It sounds really good, the bass on it is really deep and doesn't distort the sound, even at high volume.

I purchased this boombox just as a hurricane was threatening (the third of the season) and wanted a decent battery powered radio. The unit was well made and extremely convenient to haul around given the handle configuration. Additionally, the tuner's ability to capture even weak/distant fm radio signals was a great bonus. As always, Sony comes through and although I agree that you do pay a little more for the Sony brand, the quality is always there.

vicky,anthony, chy-1 from the BERMUDA TRIANGLE B.D.A
we love our sony boombox it's better than the bosie
system.it's lite weight and water resistant.
we like the space age look and we take it and
listen to it in the car on long drives as well as
picinics.we have a great, afordable boombox
just right for us.thank you sony and amazon.

I picked this up the other day because our stereo has been out of commission. I was a bit hesitant but encouraged by my wife who said we would just get "for now" till we found a stereo we really liked. I was really impressed with this. It's easy to use and it sounds fantastic. Even the AM talk station here sounded good. We had guests over the night we bought it and they remarked how good that sounded for a boombox. I may put off the stereo search for a little while longer.

I got this radio to replace the one I used in the shower while doing my make-up and getting ready in the morning... This radio is so lightweight and crystal clear... The sounds is amazing, the controls are SOOO easy to use.... The CD player works with amazing ease... I cannot say enough about this radio... It was a gift from a friend and I'm forever in his debt..... Donna Marie

This boom box is well made, but it hurt my ears. Seriously, this thing needs a subwoofer. Even with the Mega Bass on, it's too treble. It's like it has only two settings: high pitched and higher pitched. I'm a big fan of bass, so I like to hear that deep sound as the foundation of the music. I didn't hear it with this unit. I returned mine and got a boom box with a subwoofer. If you don't care about the bass or the ability to adjust the sound beyond two settings, this box might be fine for you.

OK. I bought this player the week it was released, over 4 years ago, and it still works like the day I bought it. It is used on a toolmakers workbench, and can easily fill the shop with nice smooth sound. No it does not have mega-bass as the button suggests, and you'd best leave it on all the time. My main complaint is that the MP3 decoder circuit is not fully compliant. Many Mp3 files have returned the error, "NOT MP3". And when using LAME encoding at any VBR settings, the player does not know what to do with the silence between tracks, and makes a 2 second "BRAPPPP" which is quite annoying. And when I contacted Sony for a firmware upgrade, the tech man said it is not upgradeable. That was a big mistake on Sony's part since encoding technology is being improved everyday and is often not backwards compatible. Many much cheaper players for CD and DVD can be upgraded and I will look for that feature for sure next time. But as I said, it does function within limits and is easy to keep clean, though now the writing on the controls is wearing off. I have made many 12hr plus CD's using a lower grade 128Kbit CBR sampling rate and the sound and convenience are quite acceptable. Also it does read up to 95minute CDr's with no trouble as well.

I recieved this cd player as a gift. It worked very well for almost 6 months. I started noticing strange watery noises in the background of my mp3 cds. It grew to be so loud and distracting that I cannot listen to mp3 cds anymore. Then regular cds, burned or not, could not be read. It just spins around really fast, and displays: no disc. I have to take the cds out and put them back in 5-10 times to get the stupid thing to read. I have not beat on this thing at all, it looks brand new still. I am very disappointed with this cd player.

I bought this cd player about 8 months ago for my 5 year old. It is a replacement for the Disney cd boomboxes that never worked. (See my review)

A hundred bucks might seem a little excessive to spend on a radio for a 5 yr. old, but considering all this one has to offer I think it'll be worth it in the long run.

1. This radio is built tough. The carry handle is molded into the body. One less thing to break. This one has survived many trips into the backyard. the antenna also folds straight down ito the radio so it is completely out of the way when not in use.

2. It's light weight. Even filled with batteries, it's light enough for a 5 yr. old to carry around.

3. There are not a lot of complicated buttons and switches. This one is pretty straight forward and easy to use.

4. It's got great sound quality for a cd boombox this size.

This cd player seems like it will last a long time. At about twice the price of the ones that NEVER worked at all, I think that this one is a bargain.