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Best Sony Boombox In A Long Time – With A Few Minuses, December 30, 2007

By 

Andrew Siew (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) –

  

  

This is by far one of the best sounding CFD-G series boombox from Sony to date. With all those years experimenting with different subwoofer sizes and enclosure volume and bass reflex port lengths, Sony has finally found the right equation in the 700CP. To call this machine a boombox may be a bit of an insult, given the kind of sound it can deliver with its enormous speaker system and a powerful bi-amplifier.

The CFD-G700CP is huge. This is a boombox that requires so much table space it makes your Micro Hi-Fi (if you have one) look really small. I’m sure some will get turned off by its loud and aggresive look, but the teenagers and those young at heart will love it. Especially the sound.

The 700CP can pump out so much bass, if you have not seen the unit yourself, you’d be wondering if you’re listening to the bass sounds from a mid-sized bookshelf Hi-Fi. Of course, all that bass is worth nothing if the system can only deliver loud punchy bass with muffled mids and highs. No. The 700CP delivers everything from somewhere around 80Hz all the way to 16KHz, all in great clarity thanks to its Bi-Amplifier. The two full range speakers and metal tweeters are driven by a stereo amplifier used primarily to deliver mids and highs, and the 13cm subwoofer is pumping air through the front dual bass-reflex ports using a dedicated bass amplifier, keeping the mids and highs completely uninterrupted.

Even at high volume, the sound from the subwoofer remains solid and deep, and if you think there is just way too much bass, the subwoofer has two level settings for you to keep all that rumbling under control. You can also turn the bass amplifier off completely to listen exclusively to the sounds from the mid-high speakers.

The impressive sound lies in the fact that each speakers (the two mid-highs and the woofer) are housed in independently sealed sound chambers within the boombox. Sony has done alot of homework over the years in coming up with the best way to make boomboxes sound good, and all that research was thrown into the CFD-G700CP.

The line-in port is neatly tucked away at the lower right hand side of the system with a built-in line in plug and also a jack, so you can either connect a portable music player directly to the device using the built-in line in plug (3.5mm stereo plug) or connect anything else to the device using a cable with a 3.5mm stereo plug on one end.

This boombox is of course missing a back-lit LCD, which is strange considering there was an earlier generation G series model (G55 I think) that came with a red LED backlighting. Also, the cassette deck is a single-direction deck, so if you’re still playing alot of cassette tapes, you’ll be a little disappointed by the lack of the auto-reverse feature still found on most mid-range to high-end Micro Hi-Fis. The device also supports MP3 playback as well, but does not support Sony’s proprietary Atrac3 files.

Hear it to believe it. This machine trumps Sony’s CMT-EH10, CMT-NEZ33, CMT-NEZ55, CMT-EH15, CMT-EH20 plus alot of those self-proclaimed micro hi-fi systems out there. You won’t be dissapointed. And to top it off, it runs on 8 D-size batteries (even the cheap Manganese ones) when you can’t find an AC outlet or when there’s a power outage.

The downside to this monstrous boombox is its weight and of course its size. The boombox comes with a thick and robust handle, simply because the weight of the machine is enough to make it a great dumbbell. The machine shapes like a jetpack lied down, and the handle folds up right in the middle of it. Carrying the machine will be quite a chore and you may end up bumping the thing all over the place.

If you’re looking for a music system that plays tapes and CDs and runs on cheap batteries and doesn’t sound like a tin can, you can’t go wrong with the CFD-G700CP, as long as you can live with the weight and the size of it.

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 Comments (7)

Ready for takeoff, June 3, 2008

By 

P. Brodersen (Oklahoma) –

  

Well, it arrived yesterday, in the original packaging with the tape sagging, but the internal fitted-cardboard packaging protected the unit just fine. I lugged (that term used purposefully) the box into the kitchen, unboxed it, and set it on the kitchen table. Most of it (the table, I mean.) This unit is HUGE.

It looks ready to take off, or strap it to your back like the rocket pack from the Rocketeer (and it’s about that same size). Pictures on the Amazon site give you the breadth but not the depth of the sizing.

Assuming you can handle the size, the main function of the unit – produce quality sound at high volumes – is worth the entry fee. Classical, simple vocal, pop, rock, country – excellent sound and reasonable tone-shaping controls – presets for rock, salsa, flat, and a couple of others do shape the sound a bit. 3 levels for the bass add, tied to the red rim light on the center bass speaker.

Controls are reasonably intuitive, although the station preset button is strangely hidden on the cassette side. The manual is adequate and provided the answer.

Con 1: wish the red light was not tied to the bass add, so it could be turned off. My intended use for this is to show movies outside while camping, and the red light is going to be annoying.

Con 2: I see no reason why the 3.5mm input jack has to be behind a plastic door – requiring you to open it each time to use it or the provided 6″ or so pre-attached cable.

Con 3: Size. And LOUD appearance. Think Flash Gordon and you’ll be close.

Pros: great sound, clear controls, good operation, features do what you expect.

Summary: if you can handle the size and appearance, you’ll have a great boombox.

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